Posted on 05/31/2004 9:00:49 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia, May 31 (Reuters) - A Christian Arab who was held captive by al Qaeda militants in Saudi Arabia said on Monday he lied to them about his faith and praised their battle against the West, to save his life.
Nizar Hajazeen, a Jordanian software businessmen who was at the Tower hotel in the Oasis compound during the 25-hour drama in Khobar, said the militants lectured him about Islam and their aim to liberate Saudi Arabia from "infidels and crusaders".
The complex where the militants held about 50 foreigners -- including some Westerners -- was their last target in the violence in the eastern Saudi oil city in which they killed at least 22 people.
Hajazeen, 32, had tried to call a cab to go to work on Saturday but the phone lines were jumbled.
"I went down and the Filipino receptionist told me there were terrorists in the compound and gunshots were heard," he told Reuters.
He tried to help security guards close the hotel entrance gate but the lock did not work and a manager recommended he hide, Hajazeen said.
"I went to the room of a Jordanian colleague. Someone banged violently on the door. We opened and there were two men, one with a machinegun, another with a revolver. They were wearing black track suits," he said, adding that one had a wounded arm.
Both were in their twenties.
"They asked us if we were Arab or Westerners. We told them: 'We're Arab'.
"One then asked if I was a Christian or a Muslim. I told him we were Muslims and showed him my colleague's Koran as proof. I told him we supported them and that we were against America and Europe. I had to say that."
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY"
Residents of the compound said the attackers asked everyone they encountered if they were Muslim or Christian, before taking them hostage or killing them.
An Oasis manager said the gunmen shot and killed several Westerners as soon as they entered the complex.
The gunmen made two Indian hotel staff with master keys show them where the Westerners were, Hajazeen said.
His brother called him on his mobile phone to wish him a happy birthday -- a day late -- just as the militants were saying their motive was to drive Americans and Christians from their country.
"They asked me to turn off my mobile but did not take it away as they did with others," Hajazeen said, adding that they told him and his colleague to stay in the room and left.
"We stayed locked in our room. One of us was hiding in the shower, another one was hiding in the bathtub," Hajazeen said, adding that from time to time they sneaked back into the bedroom to watch the news on television.
He said that before commandos freed them on Sunday, compound security guards called his mobile to ask him to check if the militants had rigged his floor with explosives. He found nothing.
"Before the commandos came, there was heavy gunfire and one explosion shook the hotel. We could hear glass being smashed, screams... It sounded like someone was giving out orders."
Saudi security forces later called them out, saying: "Do not be scared."
Making his way to freedom he saw the bodies of four Indians and an Italian cook.
"They had been shot dead. Some were on the staircases."
Because of this.
The context is the time right after Jesus rose from the dead.
JOHN 20:18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her. JN 20:19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. JN 20:21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."49 [Jesus said] I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
ACTS 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
ACTS 1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
AC 1:15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus-- 17 he was one of our number and shared in this ministry."ACTS 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."
From the above verse through the end of Acts Chapter 2, you will see the rest of the dramatic transformation that overcame Peter, who had denied Christ three times before the Cross (before he was indwelt by God's Spirit) but then, filled with the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, rose up in the midst of a group who'd been hiding for fear of the Jews, stood boldly and proclaimed the gospel to them, and over 3,000 souls were saved that day.
Before the Cross, Jesus said to the disciples, "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever -- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." (John 14:15-21)
When Jesus breathed on the disciples they entered into the fulness of their salvation, meaning, they could be no more saved than they were that day. On the day of Pentecost, the Father sent the Holy Spirit again to give the disciples (even more) power to be His witnesses. Hence, we see the 180 degree turn-around in Peter, confirming Jesus' words that "you shall know them by their fruits."
What an interesting thread this one has become.
The passage to which I referred and several others have quoted, required an individual to deny Christ before men.
I've already addressed the St. Peter comment. Read the entire thread.
yeah you're right... he'll be hiding like Salman Rushdie
So, what has that got to do with the Jordanian? He may have still been cowering in fear in the upper room, from a spirirual perspective, not yet having his eyes opened.
But according to you, he could regain his eternal life by confessing before men again. But then he could lose it again after that. And so on, and so on.
They are simply words. Christ is in your heart and if you deny him there, then yes, you may well be damned.
But to deny Christ in order to survive is not going to damn one to external hell.
FOR THE LAST TIME! READ THE WHOLE THREAD!!!
Just the fact that he married Laksmi Padma-aaargh!
I mean, did she even look in the mirror before she accepted his proposal.
Are ya' daft, woman?(!)
Already answered. Read the thread.
I stand by it.
We do worship a God of love, a God of forgiveness.
I claimed no such thing Ms. Pot. STOP putting words in my mouth.
And you ARE obnoxious.
Please point out to me where I said that.
He didn't have a muslim faith so he doesn't have to renounce it. He wanted to make a record of what happened and knows better than you that he could well be a target again for doing so. It appears to me he is willing to take that risk and thus publicly announced that he is in fact a Christian.
Rejoice.
hehehe you're right
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