Muslim Cleric Gets Angry at Christians in Morocco.

Every summer foreign tourists pour into Morocco and some of these tourists have an agenda. Their purpose is to distribute Christian literature to the dominant Muslim population of Morocco. One particular team went to a park in the ancient city of Fes. They loaded up a car with a lot of Christian literature and headed for the park.  When they arrived they split up into three different teams and proceeded to give out literature. It wasn't long before they were spotted by curious onlookers who approached them for some of the free books they were handing out. All of a sudden they were mobbed by Moroccans who were grabbing at the literature. The team soon ran out of literature and went back to the car to get more. Quickly, however, the crowd became overwhelming. Everybody wanted something and it became a dangerous mob scene! The leader told the girls on the team, “Get in the car NOW!  We need to go. This is getting out of hand!”  As he was getting into the car a hand stopped the door from closing. He looked up into the face of a very angry man who looked like Osama bin Laden. Although the team leader had never met this man before, he knew who he was just by his appearance, his beard, and his clothing. He was the cleric from the local mosque and his turf had been invaded by infidels propagating a foreign religion. He was very, very angry.

Through patience and a calm discussion with him, he eventually relaxed a little bit, but threatened to take the team to the police because they had violated the law.  The team leader asked him to let me take the foreigners back to their hotel and then they could discuss it later. He backed off when he realized there were a bunch of western girls in the back seat of the car. The team leader was able to close the car door and lock it. He couldn't drive anywhere because the mob was totally surrounding the car. The Muslim cleric had stirred them up and now they were angry. The team leader started the engine and began to move slowly through the crowd.  People kicked and punched the car but they were able to get away. 

Muslim Students Searching for Truth Find it in the Bible.

The Karaouine University in Fes.

A young man was distributing literature on the streets in Muslim Morocco among some university students that were hanging around on the streets while they were studying for their exams. He was handing out copies of the Bible in Arabic and some other Christian books and as he was walking home, he heard some footsteps running up behind him.  “I’m in trouble.” Was his first thoughts. “I must have angered some people.” He wondered what was going to happen.

Turning around, he saw two students approach him and the young man said, “Yes? Can I help you?”  The two students said, “We would like to have some of those Bibles that you were handing out.” “Why?”, the young man asked. They said, “We are searching for truth.”  Wow! The young man couldn’t believe his ears!  He asked them to wait and he quickly ran home and picked up several Bibles and other Christian books and returned to give them to the students.  The were very grateful.  He never saw them again but rejoiced knowing that they had access to the truth for which they had been searching.

Sex and Prostitutes in Morocco.

Due to high unemployment in North Africa, there is a thriving prostitution industry. Girls, boys, and transexuals are easily available in the big cities as well as small villages. Foreign tourists typically look for them in big cities and locals go to the smaller villages. Recently, two American missionaries decided to go into the mountains where the prostitutes lived and give them literature. They packed their bags and headed off to the area where the prostitutes were known to live. The missionaries had heard they often surround men and pull them in their houses by force.  It was good the two missionaries went on their mission together. When they arrived, they told the girls that we brought gifts for them. The two missionaries were soon surrounded by a crowd of young women and they began to distribute Bibles and audio and videotapes. The prostitutes were very happy to get them and sure enough, they grabbed one of the missionary's arms and wanted not only the books but also their "business".  The two young missionaries made it clear they were not interested (one of them had to inflict a little pain by twisting a girl's arm to get the message across) but they finally got the message.  The missionaries eventually left leaving behind books that held truth that they hoped would result in a spiritual new birth for these women. 

Morocco needs Christian missionaries who will reach out to the prostitutes and give them a message of hope. No one else cares about these young girls. Most of them were married and divorced before they turned twenty. Their families forced them into a life of prostitution in order to bring in money. Girls have been known to cry and ask for mercy while engaging in sex with their customers. Some have even pleaded to be taken to the homes of the men and offered to be their slaves. Grasping at anything to provide hope, these women live in a dark world of misery and despair. 

Prostitution in Morocco is rampant. In large cities as well as in smaller villages, it is the "solution to survive" as seen by many families and even communities. Everyone knows it exists and there is plenty of demand, so the problem continues to grow. The result of this out-of-control activity is the spread of HIV/AIDS, increased abortions, and many unwanted children who are abandoned. 

Short term Christian missions teams don't typically approach the places where Moroccan prostitutes live or work. Long term resident missionaries need to make the effort to reach out to these women. Foreign women probably have better opportunities to have long term relationships ans conversations with these women. Who will go?

A Dream the Leads a Young Moroccan to Truth.

A foreign student lived with a Moroccan family for about a year to learn more about their language and culture.  The family had a private room on the flat roof of their apartment and it provided an ideal place to live. One of the four Moroccan children was interested in Christianity.  His name was Abdu and he and the foreign student would talk from time to time about religion.

One night Abdu had a dream and he heard a voice calling him and telling him to “Go into the light, go into the light.” He had the same dream the next night and it really shook him. He took the Bible that the student had given him and he locked himself in his room and started reading it. He eventually became a believer in what he read and a follower of Jesus Christ. He said one of the reasons why he was really drawn to the Bible was the details. It had organized detail that he didn't find in the Koran and words of truth and encouragement he didn't find in the Koran. He also found a message of salvation, forgiveness and hope. That is why he gave his life to Christ.

His mother eventually found out and was very upset. She was a nurse and got her hands on a bunch of drugs and forced him to take them to try to get this Christian spirit out of him. She also hired the local Muslim cleric to try to cast out this Christian spirit that had entered her son. It was a difficult time, so he had to move away from this family.

He was riding in a bus one time reading a Christian magazine in Arabic and the gentleman next to him asked him what he was reading. Abdu told him and explained to the man the Christian faith. Sure enough several days later, the police came knocking on his door, arrested him and brought him to jail. He had to pay the equivalent of $500 dollars to be set free. He didn't have that money, so a friend came and bailed him out. Abdu was happy to be released and continues to be a witness for his Savior to this day.

Foreigners Meet Moroccan Christian on the Beach in Morocco.

The beach in Tangier, Morocco

One summer a young man was with a group of international people who were a part of a short term summer outreach. They were on the beach in Tangier, Morocco and they were trying to conduct a discrete “open air outreach” on the beach. They got into a circle with their guitar and we were singing some Christian worship songs in English and also in Arabic. No one was paying any attention to them or what they were doing. The leader thought to himself, "What are we going to do?" Off in the distance he saw two young men. One was beating on an upside down bucket like a drum and the other one was using a broken tennis racket as a guitar. They are singing at the top of their lungs and doing their thing. So the team leader called them over to come and join the group. They did and they started beating on their bucket and singing with us and making noise. All of a sudden, they got the attention of the people on the beach!

Before they knew it, they had a crowd of over 100 people gathered around them, looking to see what was going on. The crowd was a little too big and sure enough the police came running and told the people to go away. The team leader asked the police if it was a problem with the people around us. The police said, “We are trying to protect you. It is a problem for us because we don't want our people harassing tourists.” So lots of people left, but there were three or four Moroccans sitting with the group who didn't leave. A discussion began about religion and the Christian faith.

The team leader was in a discussion with one young Muslim Moroccan man and another young Moroccan man sitting next to him jumped into the conversation defending Christianity. The first young Muslim man then said to him, “Are you a Christian or something?” The other Moroccan man said, “Yes, I am.” Wow, that took the Muslim man by surprise! This was the first time the team leader had heard a person publicly express they are a Christian to a stranger in a Muslim country, and it was the first time for this Muslim as well!

When they were finished with their discussion, the team leader told the young Moroccan Christian, “Can we get together tomorrow and talk?” He was about 18 years old and had been listening to the Arabic Christian radio programs from Monte Carlo and had sent away for the Bible correspondence courses. He became a believer and follower of Jesus and so did his two friends! The only believers they knew were just the three of them. They had actually baptized each other in a river! The team leader was was the first Christian they had actually met. A few months later, the team leader and another friend visited these new Moroccan believers in their village to do discipleship work with them and to teach and encourage them. It was a great time of fellowship and also they were part of the discipleship camps that some of the Christians arranged every summer for new Moroccan believers. 

Moroccan Pharmacist Receives Gift of Hope.

A husband and wife went to a small village in the mountains to visit some friends. They had to go to the pharmacy and after they made their purchase the husband asked the pharmacist, “How much do I owe you?” He said, “Nothing, this is for you for free.”  The husband then gave the man a New Testament in return as a gift. He said “Oh wow, I have been wanting to read one of these. I admire the unity you have in Christianity that we do not have in Islam.” The husband and wife thought that was very interesting and they had a nice discussion about why he was interested and what he thought about Christianity. The Moroccan pharmacist was very excited to receive the New Testament.

Young Moroccan Man Decides to Follow Jesus Christ.

A visiting Christian to the country of Morocco had the blessed opportunity to lead a young Moroccan Muslim man to the Lord. They met on the streets of the old city of Fez. The young man managed a little tourist shop where he sold trinkets and hand made souvenirs. He said he managed to get his hands on a copy of the Bible in Arabic.  The visitor was rather surprised as most Muslims have never seen a Bible.  Asked how got a copy, he said that he had heard about a Muslim tourist guide who had received a copy of the New Testament from a tourist, but he didn't want it. So the young Moroccan man approached him and asked if he could buy that Bible.  The guide sold it to him. It was an Arabic/English New Testament which made it very favorable for him to put his hand on because he was trying to study English. He began to read it and it had a powerful impact on his life as he realized that he was reading truth. 

The visiting Christian managed to find a copy of a book called This is Christianity. It helped him to understand salvation and the Trinity. One night the young Moroccan man came knocking on the door where the visiting Christian was living. “I have a few questions.” He said.  They sat down and discussed the Christian faith. After wards the young Moroccan man said he was ready to give his life to Christ. Wow!  The two prayed together and when they were outside and walking towards the Moroccan's house, the young Moroccan believer in Jesus started running and then he put his arms out and shouted, “I feel free as a bird!” He ran all the way home with a lot of joy in his heart.

How to Find a Bible in Muslim North Africa

Fez, Morocco

Christians have found it difficult trying to get booksellers to sell the Bible in North Africa. Bookstores usually do not sell Arabic Bibles because they were too afraid they would be shut down. Creative ways needed to be found to get literature out to the people. One way of doing this was through used booksellers. Used booksellers tend to congregate around the universities and run their business out of "shacks" or on a blanket on the sidewalk.

One Christian man nervously approached the used booksellers with several bags of Arabic Bibles and offered them for sale. They said they would take them all!  This went on for several years and during the course of that time, they asked for more and more Arabic Bibles and New Testaments. Asked why they wanted so many Bibles, they said they wanted  Bibles because the students in the universities were encouraged by the professors to read the Bible as a piece of literature. So they were encouraged to go out and look for Bibles and the first place they went were the used book sellers.

The used booksellers would buy them and put them out and take the risk that the people at the bookstores would not take. They didn't care if they were shut down, because they would just open up in another shop, stall or blanket somewhere else. That was a great ministry and isn’t being done anymore today because there’s no one who wants to do it.  This is a HUGE opportunity for someone to take on to sell Arabic Bibles to used booksellers in all of the major cities of North Africa. 

This could be accomplished by people who embark on short term missions trips to Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and many other Muslim countries. 

Tunisia Revolution a Warning for Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt.

Countries of the Maghreb face revolutionary unrest.

The recent revolution in Tunisia is a big wake up call for the other governments of North Africa. Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Egypt all have dictatorial governments that frequently oppresses their people. Human rights abuses abound, and there is a lack of freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the press is tightly controlled by the few who are in power. Morocco is ruled by a monarchy, King Mohammed VI, and is currently a peaceful nation. But unemployment is also high and the jobless youth are getting restless. Satellite TV and the internet are spreading images rapidly around the world and reigniting the restlessness that exists in the Arab world. The time has come for change and the leaders of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Egypt are not prepared for the future. The most progressive is Morocco with the king having made huge strides in reforming the country. But will it be enough? Time will tell along with the population. Rising food prices and other commodities are a leading cause of this unrest.

United States President Barak Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have both called for calm. Meanwhile the former President of Tunisia, Ben Ali continues to seek a country where he can request asylum. Having amassed huge amounts of wealth through his powerful position, Ben Ali won't be suffering in his future home country. His family has also fled the country.

Arab governments around the world are concerned that this unrest may spread. Rioting youth and the powerful images displayed on international news programs could ignite further revolutionary idealists around the world. Algeria has a very large jobless population along with the other Maghreb countries. Their populations have been amazingly patient for decades, but the clock is ticking and they are seeking change now.

What do you think will happen? What will happen to the Jews and Christians in Tunisia?

Christian Missionaries in Morocco Working to Share Truth of Jesus.

Meeting up with a family that lived in the country of Morocco in North Africa for many years, they said  it was an enlightening experience.  The majority of the people in Morocco are Muslims and the religion of Islam gives them a different mentality and a different way of looking at the world around them.  When they first arrived in N. Africa, they needed to learn the language.  So they enrolled in language classes.  They then needed to practice what they had been learning, so they lived with Muslim families.  They also spent a lot of time with the local people in the outdoor market places.  They were happy to teach me their language - Arabic.  It was hard though.  It took a lot of work.  The family made a lot of friends this way.  They also ate the food that they ate and tried to follow some of their customs.

Christmas in Morocco was always interesting. It provided an opportunity to tell the real story of Jesus' birth. "Papa Noel" (Santa Claus) was beginning to show up as inflatable toys in the mid 1990's. And New Year's eve provided an opportunity to give Bibles to people as gifts. All accepted with appreciation. 

Their purpose for leaving their home country and living in Morocco as a family was to tell the people the truth about Jesus Christ as written in the Gospel. When presenting the gospel, they learned that they had to be careful.  First, they had to earn the right to be heard.  They first had to listen to them and let  Muslims tell  what they believe.  After, they were able to tell their Muslim friends what they believe.  The best way to witness to a Muslim is by giving your personal testimony and tell them what Jesus has done for you.  So, that is what they did.  Sometimes the Muslims would want to argue. Most of the time the discussions were spirited. Muslims have some BIG misunderstandings about the Bible. They think that...

1.  The Bible has been changed.  It's not the original word of God.
2.  How can we say Jesus is the "Son of God" if God does not have a wife.
3.  Jesus was just a good prophet.
4.  Jesus didn't die on the cross, it was someone who looked like him.
5.  Muslims also think that if they convert, Christians will give them money, a wife, a visa to the west, etc. This is obviously not true. 

We do have some things about Jesus that we agree on.
1.  Jesus was born of a virgin - Mary.
2.  Jesus ascended into heaven.
3.  Jesus is coming back someday.

Muslims do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God or that he died for their sins.  They do not understand the term "Son of God". They think this is a physical relationship that the Bible is talking about, but it is not. It is a spiritual relationship between God and Jesus.  So it is very difficult to witness to a Muslim, but we know that the Holy Spirit will convince them, not us.  We just try to be faithful in what we do.

The majority of Muslims have never seen a Bible or held one in their hands.  One of the objectives of the family was to give Muslims Bibles.  Unfortunately Bibles are forbidden in most Muslim countries.  Bibles are not available in book stores.  The governments keep all Bibles out of their countries.  So, the Bibles have to be smuggled in and distributed discretely. The family believes that if Muslims read the word of God,  their hearts will be pierced with the truth that God loves them, Jesus died for them, and they can have assurance of eternal life in heaven.

The family did attend some of the rituals of their host country in order to minister and develop relationships with Muslims.  Some of the rituals they don't enjoy, but they did it to strengthen relationships.  Muslims typically are not open to the Gospel, but they are more likely to listen if they know and trust the missionary.  Only the Holy Spirit can draw a person to Jesus, so that is what the family prayed for.  Most Muslims are very friendly and very hospitable.  The family didn't feel like they were in any danger when they were living in a Morocco. The Christian family is sure that some day, millions of Muslims will know Jesus as their personal Savior.  In the mean time, they seek to be faithful in their work and continue to pray for Muslims.