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Amazing story.
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I don't believe it. THOSE statistics just AREN'T available and we all know it. They are MADE UP numbers to scare or validate. NO WAY TO KNOW THOSE STATS.
Changing faiths, the "faith of our fathers," just ISN'T done often or blatantly and we all know that too.
The middle east newspapers also LIE as much as do ALL THE OTHER RAGS in the world.
Also, NO Muslim cleric would ever say that because he wouldn't want it known. He probably couldn't read anyway. Their radio and T.V. news is mostly from abroad. Everyone lies about faith. If the imam said it, he was stoned or nuts.
Mecca, the HOME of Islam's holiest site, is run by the Saudis. They HAVE to be super-sensitive about Islam BECAUSE they have Mecca (and Medina).
BOTTOM LINE: We and they HAVE to stay nicey-nice because the Saudis BOUGHT BACK all the petroleum and natural gas in 1982 or so. (Probably with pocket change). We were there when it happened.
In the late 1920's early 1930's the King had SOLD all those mineral rights to the "BIG FOUR" oil companies. Later on a consortium came to be that was called the SEVEN SISTERS and it had the major interests in the petroleum/natural gas fields (on and off shore).
From the Internet: The "Seven Sisters " was a term coined in the 1950s by businessman Enrico Mattei, then-head of the Italian state oil company Eni, to describe the seven oil companies which formed the "Consortium for Iran" cartel and dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s to the 1970s.
The group comprised Anglo-Persian Oil Company (now BP); Gulf Oil, Standard Oil of California (SoCal), Texaco (now Chevron); Royal Dutch Shell; Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso) and Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony) (now ExxonMobil).
Since we were there in 1982 when the King BOUGHT BACK all the petroleum/natural gas rights we KNOW it happened so NOW the Saudi king is 100% in charge of the destiny of his country.
Side note: Some of those gulf oil-rich countries are getting low on petroleum. NO ONE had/has as much as does the KSA.
The news about Oman is that it is OUT of the black gold.
Saudi Arabia still has another 200 years of crude, very sweet stuff too, PLUS all the natural gas that always comes out WITH the petroleum.
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So, that being said, no imam over there is going to be STUPID enough to say falsehoods like that. Their news sources are absurd. The rags over there are the worst because those folks over there respect the written word, so if LIES are WRITTEN, they are more apt to be believed.
MOST of the anti-Christian rhetoric comes from Pakistan.
"Pak" means "pure" and "stan" means "land of" and the Pakis REALLY think that they are special. They ARE more educated than most because when the British were there they had most schools/universities built in Pakistan rather than India, so the Pakis are generally more literate than the rest of the Muslims. SO, they spew their anti-Christian rhetoric with IMPUNITY all over the middle and near east. It used to make me sick!
One of my oldest friends is a Pakistani Christian. Talk about an anomaly. He and his family finally did emigrate, yep, to the good ole USA.
My opinion: People don't change faiths often or easily because their families from eons back were always of one faith.
Those converts would have to give up forever ALL THEIR FAMILY, friends, the friends of their families, their jobs, acquaintances...everything.
And even then, SOME brother might just "honor kill" the convert. No one likes turncoats and changing from one faith to another is seen as a huge betrayal to all their world.
The statistics from Africa are even MORE unbelievable because their world is even MORE chaotic than the middle east. We have a priest from Nigeria and he gets the sad news of that country's civil war fighting from HIS family.
Sorry.
.....Yet people still come to faith in the Lord.
Do remember this saying:
” The blood of the Christian martyrs is the seeds for new Christian believers.”
http://www.christianforums.com/t7819271/
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1704007/6_million_muslims_convert_to_christianity_al_jazeerah/
Would it surprise you that now there is “fracking” going on in the western part of the USA. Even what you brought up now is considered “old hat”.
No need now to be nicey-nice anymore!
Rather,when people do change faith, they do not make a big deal about it.
Even the Saudis now must be on edge because of growing concerns with what is going on in Iraq/Syria because of ISIS and the Israeli/Pali going ons that was COLD and now has GOTTEN HOT again.