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مشاهدة النسخة كاملة : Arabs try to court new US evangelical leaders



من هناك
07-13-2007, 08:35 PM
The following paragraph alone shows clearly why there can never be
friendship between Islam and evil:

"Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition,
told attendees that Israel's support was "nonnegotiable"...American
Evangelical leaders believe Evangelicals have a biblical and moral
obligation to support and protect Israel because it is "God's foreign
policy" and because Israel is an important catalyst in the second
coming of Jesus Christ. They believe that the Israeli-Arab conflict
is a battle between good and evil."

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Arabs Court New US Evangelical Leaders


IslamOnline.net & Newspapers

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?
c=Article_C&cid=1183484176267&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout

CAIRO — Aware of their influential political clout, the ambassadors
of nine Arab countries recently approached young US Evangelical
leaders to court their support for Arab causes, The Washington Times
reported on Wednesday, July 11.

"They were assessing the next generation," said Richard Cizik, vice
president for governmental affairs of the National Association of
Evangelicals (NAE), who attended the meeting.

The meeting, held on Monday, July 2, at the Egyptian embassy in
Washington, was attended by the ambassadors of Algeria, Morocco,
Libya, Kuwait, Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt as well as the
representative of the Arab League.

Among prominent Evangelical leaders present were Rev. Jonathan
Falwell, son of late Rev. Jerry Falwell and pastor of Thomas Road
Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., Gordon Robertson, son of
televangelist Pat Robertson and Paul Crouch Jr., son of Trinity
Broadcasting Network founder Paul Crouch Sr.

The two-hour, top-secret meeting was orchestrated by Pentecostal
evangelist Benny Hinn, a native of Jaffa, Israel, who has conducted
crusades in Jordan and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

"The meeting was reflective of the generational changes that are
happening, and everyone knew it," said Cizik.

"A lot of theological boundaries were crossed."

The recent death of Rev. Falwell, who personified the Christian right
and gave evangelicals a strong political voice, has officially
ushered in a new leadership of the influential Evangelicals, the
fastest-growing faith-based group.

Many pastors and experts believe the new leader generation embraces a
different more centrist agenda.

Evangelical Christians have had a growing impact on American
political landscape, in part because adherents believe conservative
Christian values should have a place in politics — and they support
politicians who agree with them.

White evangelicals make up about a quarter of the electorate and a
large part of the Republican Party's base.

Israel

The meeting focused on the Evangelicals' unwavering support for
Israel and the possibility of adopting a more balanced approach.

"One of the ambassadors mentioned that American Christians seemed
always to favor Israel in all situations, even when Israel was
wrong," Falwell wrote in a column last week for WorldNetDaily.com.

He said Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy, the meeting host, called for
building bridges between the two sides.

"He went on to emphasize that we should have an open, honest
conversation about what is necessary for bridges to be built between
Islam and American Christians."

Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition,
told attendees that Israel's support was "nonnegotiable".

"[But] we would also love to build far more positive relationships
with Arab nations."

American Evangelical leaders believe Evangelicals have a biblical and
moral obligation to support and protect Israel because it is "God's
foreign policy" and because Israel is an important catalyst in the
second coming of Jesus Christ.

They believe that the Israeli-Arab conflict is a battle between good
and evil.

Many conservative Christians believe that US President George Bush's
support for Israel fulfills a biblical injunction to protect the
Jewish state, which they think will play a pivotal role in the second
coming.

But Joshua Youssef, pastor of Church of the Apostles in Atlanta,
begged to differ.

"I shared that the message of the church has become too politicized,"
the son of Egyptian-born evangelist Michael Youssef wrote in an e-
mail from London.

"While I differ slightly from my brothers on the issue of Israel, I
do not believe that this is an issue which should divide us."