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Christians set to convert football fans
(16 June 06)
A DVD that attempts to convert Muslim Arab football fans to Christianity during the World Cup divides opinion within the Christian clergy.
The international organisation Arab World Ministries (AWM) is planning to distribute a DVDthat includes a tract explaining the Gospel during the football event in Germany. “This event gives Christians an opportunity to reach out to people we may not usually meet,” said the AWM.
In this tournament the Arab world is represented by teams such as Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, apart from the German population of Arabs, estimated at between 280,000 and 350,000, according to the AWM.
The DVD includes a short film which the AWM said is “intended to appeal new believers and have viewers on the edge of their seats.”
Member of the British association for the study of religions Rev Kevin Tingay does not agree with this kind of religious practice. “There are ethical questions about it and a great deal of insensitivity particularly with Arab Muslims. I would not support that kind of missionary activity which is exploiting people’s vulnerability”, he said.
Church of England priest Rev David Hart said that sometimes these practices are done very surreptitiously by people who are often very well funded: “I’m speculating, I don’t have this evidence but my understanding is that quite fundamentalist Christian groups are behind and normally have quite large sums of money to spend on this kind of work.”