There is a Muslim extended family whom I love dearly...The primary focus for me is a woman whose initial is A...
She and her family are from Afghanistan and Pakistan. She had polio as a child and walks with a terrible limp, causing her lots of pain and back trouble. She has a precious young child who was born with Fragile X syndrome, retardation, autisitic-like and many, many physical problems. He is having surgery on his back (scoliosis) on June 3.
A Christian organization *rescued* them and brought them to America. They were outcasts in their countries because it was thought *allah* had cursed them with such bad fortune. Upon their arrival here, A's husband abandoned her, ran off with a "healthy" 15 yo girl, to have "healthy" children with. A is just devasted. And now she struggles with her problems and her son's problems alone.
I got to witness to A, told her about Jesus, His work on the cross, salvation through Him. I told her that her son would go to heaven with us, and doesn't she want to be there, too? She listened to me, at least. I felt from her that she can't speak of her allah like I can boast of our amazing True God. She makes comments about how allah is cruel...
I sent her a fantastic book written by an ex-Muslim who is now in ministry to Muslims. I sent her a beautiful, perfect card about Jesus loving children so much and He holds them when they are going through pain and we can't make it better for them. I also gave her more resources to check, the author's phone number and websites who minister to Muslims about Jesus.
47 comments
Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God 9 not by works, so that no one can BOAST, you dumb bitch.
Great that you saved them. Sad that it's only to get you bonus pts with your sky daddy.
*Sighs*
Another notch on your bed post I see, "Look Jesus, I've 'saved' this many people".
This Muslim woman is probably too polite, to tell the people who rescued her from her homeland, to knob off and stop preaching; she probably feels she owes you a debt.
Can't you just be supportive instead of attempting to 'witness' her and convert her to yet another branch of the same stupidity? Once she is Christian, she will still suffer from the effects of polio, her child will still be disabled, however you'll be full of that damned sense of smugness you arseholes get when you think your doing the Lord's work.
Who's really benefitting here?
They were outcasts in their countries because it was thought *allah* had cursed them with such bad fortune.
The same way you fundies, every time a natural disasters occur, shit yourself with glee because you think it was the work of *god*? (Why's *allah* in asterisks anyhow?)
I felt from her that she can't speak of her allah like I can boast of our amazing True God
And I've had it with this stupid Dubya! Next year I'm voting BUSH instead! [/parody]
How about you actually do something to help this poor woman, instead of preaching to her about how your invisible sky daddy and son are better than her invisible sky daddy? You're just making her life worse by giving her false hope. Not to mention shame and confusion when Jeebus doesn't end up help her.
I presume this Christian organisation brought the Afghan family to the U.S? If they wanted to "save" a woman and child in such poor health, why did they bring them to a country with such a poor health system?
"I got to witness to A, told her about Jesus, His work on the cross..."
I can just picture Jesus yelling at the people gathered around his crucifix, "What are you staring at? I'm trying to get some work done here!"
@ Milking the Catz
"Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'" (1 cor. 1:31)
this is not really particularely fundie. they're trying to help the poor lady. what difference does it make to you anyway?
STFU for a minute, and try to understand her situation, really understand it.
She's caught up in a situation beyond her control, effectively alone in a foreign country, and fighting against her own cultural programming in order to feel worthy of existence.
You've pinned her in a corner, she already feels guilty because no amount of logic can erase the nagging feeling of wrong doing brought upon her by her religion, and now, you're trying to make her feel even more guilty for not practicing your religion after you rescued her from her previous situation. (not much of a rescue, considering, but whatever)
It's wrong to do that to her.
A Christian, a Muslim and my atheist off-Jew ass. WTF is that.
Ciao.
I'm sure there are many other forms of help a single mother with a disabled child could have used. Instead, you chose to teach her another fairy tale.
Arrogance solves nothing. Charity does.
"a beautiful, perfect card about Jesus loving children so much and He holds them..."
Sounds like Michael Jackson.
You need to leave this poor woman alone. The last thing she needs is guilt. Her life is already shit, thanks to religion.
For fuck's sake.
Of course she says Allah is cruel. You'd be saying the same thing about your God if you'd survived having polio as a child in Afghanistan, the Taliban, the invasion of the US, and then were brought to that very country to raise your disabled child alone after your husband left you. Add to that the social isolation and...
Don't think your imaginary God would have helped you any more than Allah helped her.
PS. They're the same God.
Wait. She's got an autistic son?
*remembers the thing with the autistic kid getting "healed" by that one church*
Don't let them get near him with their duct tape and pillows, "A"!!
"She makes comments about how allah is cruel..."
Her husband left her, her child has severe special needs, and she herself has a terrible limp. Of course she feels like Allah hasn't been kind to her family. If she was Christian, she'd say the same thing about God. If she was a atheist, she'd still be upset sometimes about the unfairness of it all.
Stop trying to convert her. You're not helping. Actually support her instead.
Edit: NotYou said it better.
Well aren't you a smug, self-righteous little shit. You don't "love" this woman you're taking advantage of her grief and fear to force your religion onto her, so that you'll have something to brag about to all your loser asshole buddies on RR. Do you guys ever do a good deed without running back to the computer to crow about how holy you are? No, cause it's all about you. Leave your poor neighbor alone if you can't be a friend to her without preaching at her all the time.
I dunno, her own story is tragic but I'm not sure that iSong6:3 is really making it worse. Swapping stories *might* give her more hope-- I doubt she'll be too much worse off here than in Afghanistan anyway, so she could chalk the improvement (if any) up to Jesus and look forward to even more future happiness in the afterlife for her and her son. And there'd be also the thought her ex would end up in hell, in which case she'd feel less guilty about being mad at him.
Yes, iSong6:3 is being opportunistic and selfish, but I'm not certain s/he's making it any worse, actually.
Friends, has life forked you over? I mean really, really forked you over? Well don't you worry. In two shakes of a lamb's tail there'll be a Christian fundy there to witness to you. It will make your previous misery seem like a walk in the park.
By your logic since her "Allah" is not real and yours is... YOUR GOD SCREWED HER LIFE UP. (Psst... Its the same god...)
Love me! Or I will give you retard babies!
And you are not helping because you want to help, you are helping so you get rewards.
Jesus said his followers can move mountains, not to mention healing the sick, only need to pray. So go ahead and pray for their healing. I'm sure it'll be very convincing after the results are seen. Or your prayers fail, which means that you are not a real Christian.
And your use of word "witness" is wrong, you should say "rumour" or "hearsay" or something.
I want to say, "Blasted vultures! Can't you just help the person and let that be enough?" The thing is, they really do see what they're doing as further "help." That's the tragedy of it all -- the sincerity of it, especially combined with this poor woman's authoritarian upbringing and current life traumas, must make it ring powerfully true to her. I don't resent the fundies for doing this, because they really are trying to help -- but, man, sometimes, I really wish they'd quit trying to help!
~David D.G.
My best friend is a Muslim. She celebrates the Ramadan each year. Even though I am an atheist, I let her celebrate her religion in peace. I would never dream of "witnessing" lack of belief in gods to her.
I did, however, ask another Muslim friend, how they knew that the scriptures telling how you ought to read the Quran, were really from Allah or Muhammad. But that was mostly from linguistic curiosity.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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