Australia for Islam!
An Australian visitor to a majority Muslim country was attending a Christian worship service when a young man approached him. “I hear you are an Australian”. His words in broken English had a note of urgency, “I want you to have this”. A strange looking key-ring exchanged hands. The symbolism was unmistakable. A small map of Australia surrounded by a large crescent moon. “I was a member of this Islamic Association in Australia before I came to Christ. Its motto is ‘Australia for Islam!’” The significance of the words were not lost on the Australian as he returned home to Sydney.
Muslim Growth in Australia
Sydney has more Muslims than any other city in Australia. From the 2000 census statistics of the total number of non-Christian religions in Sydney, Muslims represent nearly 40%. Almost 44% of Muslims are under 20 years of age and out of that number, the vast majority (85%) were born in Australia. The next two highest places of birth are Lebanon and Turkey. Of languages spoken exclusively at home, Arabic, Turkish, English & Persian (Iran) top the list. Between 1996 to 1999 the major source of Muslim immigrants were from Bosnia, followed by Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia.
Least Reached in Australia
Sydney has 20 major mosques, besides many other minor mosques and Islamic Centres. These are in suburbs where Muslims constitute a considerable percentage of the population. Some of these suburbs have state schools with a majority of students from Muslim families. There are also seven Muslim private schools.
It is not without significance that the only people group in Australia listed among nearly 1800 groups in the world classified as ‘Least Reached’ are the Turks, 99.9% of whom are Muslims, at least culturally. Added to this are the thousands of ‘boat people’ who are arriving in Australia illegally from Muslim countries, many of them hoping to settle in Sydney.
For several years a group of people committed to sharing Christ with Muslims have met regularly in Sydney for prayer seminars on Muslim Evangelism have been held in various suburbs across the city. With the Olympic year this has increased and a special team was formed to share the love of God with Muslim visitors to the Games. Direct evangelism using the Jesus film has been undertaken in several areas of Sydney and the more than 30 Arabic speaking Churches are becoming more aware of their special responsibility and opportunity to minister the Gospel. Indonesian and Iranian churches have begun to take up the similar challenge.
Flag of Australia
Map of Australia
Prayer Guide for Australia
* That more Australian Christians will be inspired to pray for the salvation of Muslim neighbours. That more Sydney Christians will wake up to and accept the challenge to be “Living Letters of Love” to Muslims.
* Pray that churches in Sydney will welcome new Muslim convert believers. That the team formed for outreach to Muslims at the games will continue to be used to stimulate missionary vision among Australian Churches to reach out to other groups throughout the world.
* Pray that God would soften the hearts of the Muslims in Sydney and that they would be open to message of the gospel.
Background on Australia (World Factbook)
The first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II.
Economy of Australia
Australia has an enviable Western-style capitalist economy with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Robust business and consumer confidence and high export prices for raw materials and agricultural products are fueling the economy. Australia’s emphasis on reforms, low inflation, and growing ties with China are other key factors behind the economy’s strength. Drought and strong import demand pushed the trade deficit up in recent years, although the trade balance improved in 2006. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.
About Australia
Population: 22,015,576 (July 2012 est.) World Rank #53
Life Expectancy at Birth: 81.81. World Rank #9
Ethnic groups: Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%
Religions: Catholic 25.8%, Anglican 18.7%, Uniting Church 5.7%, Presbyterian and Reformed 3%, Eastern Orthodox 2.7%, other Christian 7.9%, Buddhist 2.1%, Muslim 1.7%, other 2.4%, unspecified 11.3%, none 18.7%
Languages: English 78.5%, Chinese 2.5%, Italian 1.6%, Greek 1.3%, Arabic 1.2%, Vietnamese 1%, other 8.2%, unspecified 5.7%
Literacy: 99%
School Life Expectancy: 21 years
Middle Eastern Youths in Sydney Australia – Video
Talks by rapper and Muslim Napoeleon of Outlawz about problems living in Sydney and racism on all sides.
God Bless you
in the sweet name of our Lord and Saivor Jesus Christ. i live in pakistan and huge fan of Australian team and country because every Australian Cricketer belong to Christian. further my Elder brother settled in Australlia last 14 years in Sydney New south wales he is having two Houses and working As Financial Controller in Yokohama tyre Company. but unfortunately i am not able to visit in Australia because embassy Says you are not coming to pakistan .any way i am working In forman Christian College as an Assistant Accountat. if God ‘s Will i will go to Australia and spread the message of Jesus Christ all over the Sydney
your prayer warrior Gilbert John
Muslims do pray to God and not Jesus, a man.
So we dont need your prayers cause your prayers wont reach God. We dont need an intermediary person like Jesus or the priest to pray for us.
We pray directly to God for hope, forgiveness, love, and when in despair. God will answer our prayers.
Islam is not a better religion than christianity. It is different ways of practicing faith in God. The sad thing today is that too many people are thinking their way is the right way. Religion is a personal choice!!
Nat, Allah is not the God of the Christians. Many people have been falsely taught that Allah is simply another name for the God of the Bible. This is not true. This is stated to try and give Islam some credibility. The moon god Allah, or Al-ilah and other names is seen on many artefacts.
Moon worship has been practiced in Arabia and the Middle East since about 2000 BC. The crescent moon is the most common symbol of this god.
Mohammed retained almost all the pagan rituals of the Arabs at the temple, Kabah, and redefined them in monotheistic terms.
The moon-god was a male god and the sun-god was a female goddess. The moon-god was called by various names, one of which was Allah. Just as today, in worshipping their moon-god, Allah, they prayed toward Mecca several times a day, made pilgrimages to Mecca, ran around the temple of the moon-god called the Kabah, kissed the Black Stone, fasted for the month which begins and ends with the crescent moon, and they used to killed animal sacrifices for their moon-god, etc..
Before Mohammad, they believed Allah, the moon-god, was married to the sun goddess. Together they produced three goddesses who were called “the daughters of Allah.”
Mohammed was raised to worship the moon-god, Allah. The Quraish tribe into which Mohammad was born was particularly devoted to Allah.
When Mohammed proclaimed his new doctrine: “There is no…
Jesus is God….so praying Jesus is also praying to God. Jesus is 100% God and 100% man. Without Jesus, God wouldn’t exist seeing as Jesus is the Voice (“Logos”) of God who came to earth in human form by the conception of the Holy Spirit – even the Quran states this in Surah 2:87, 253. The Quran also calls Jesus “the Messiah” in 3:45, 4:157 and 4:172. A true reading of the Quran also shows that Jesus was “made dead and raised from the dead” in Surah 3:55.
I do feel scared of them !
I just pray to God Jehovah to bless this Big Island from evils!
please help us to pray for Muslims all over Australia to know the truth
(edited to remove the link, Admin.)
Every muslim prayes 5 times a day for the same thing that you try to achive. i a proud muslim im a proud Turk and im a proud Australian
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Do Christens not see that this law is broken with the trinity?
Turkic, Christians believe the father, the son and the Holy Spirit are the one God.
Isabella Let me put your words into mathematics for you, of your three separate person entity that make up your gods 1+1+1=
???????
God the person+ God father +God the Holy Spirit= I and you must have three different images by these gods as they are all separate.
Isabelle there are many christens that don’t believe in the trinity. Modern non-trinitarian groups or denominations include Christadelphians, Christian Scientists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Dawn Bible Students, Friends General Conference, Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovah’s Witnesses, La Luz del Mundo, Living Church of God, Oneness Pentecostals, Members Church of God International, Unitarian Universalist Christians and the United Church of God. Islam, which considers Jesus a prophet but not divine, has been described as anti-Trinitarian when compared to Christianity, or in books written for a Western audience: Islam teaches the absolute indivisibility of a supremely sovereign and transcendent god and is further distinctly anti-trinitarian as several verses of the Koran teach that the doctrine of Trinity is blasphemous.
I am bit confused that Jesus is god or son if god according to Christianity???? But according to Islam Jesus was messenger of god like Muhammad
God and allah are NOT the same being!
Jesus is the son of God.