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(Day 10, for Wednesday, 10 September, coinciding with Ramadan 2008)

Muslims in the ancient capital of China

Beijing is the capital of the People’s Republic of China. The city was founded more than 3,000 years ago, and was regarded as the capital of China for over 850 years. Read the rest of this entry…

Filed under: Asia, East by TDI
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(Day 9, for Tuesday, 9 September, coinciding with Ramadan 2008)

Bringing God’s Love

Hong Kong, often called the “Pearl of Orient” is composed of Hong Kong Island and some associated areas on the coast of China. Hong Kong’s Muslim population includes 90,000 native Hong Kong residents (Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Malaysian, etc) and about 110,000 Indonesian migrant labourers. Hong Kong is officially HK SAR which means Special Administrative Region, set up by the People’s Republic of China. Read the rest of this entry…

Filed under: Asia, East by TDI
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(Day 8, for Monday, 8 September, coinciding with Ramadan 2008)

Peaceful despite religious and economic division

In 2007 Ghana celebrated its 50th year of independence from Great Britain. The country has experienced a long period of political stability and economic growth – which unfortunately has yet to reach all segments of society. Long periods of drought have brought some poor harvests and even moments without electricity, because water rationing at the largest man made reservoir in Africa, Lake Volta, sometimes keeps the electrical turbines from functioning. In general, the land in the North is much poorer and less productive than in the South (only one rainy season and one harvest in the North as opposed to two in the South). Great efforts are required by the government and the aid agencies to further development in northern Ghana. Read the rest of this entry…

Filed under: Africa, West by TDI
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(Day 7, for Sunday, 7 September, coinciding with Ramadan 2008)

Turning to Christ

As we follow Jesus, our identity and our sense of belonging are affected. Questions arise: Who am I? What are my values? New believers from Muslim backgrounds have similar questions. But in addition they also suffer intense psychological pressures that may include fear (of Allah, that He will punish them if they change, of family and relatives, of community, of death). They struggle emotionally dealing with difficult choices especially when the laws are against them or when believers do not trust those coming to faith. Some experience rejection from their community or even the Body of Christ or both, leading to shame. Read the rest of this entry…

Filed under: Muslims in: by TDI
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(Day 6, for Saturday, 6 September, coinciding with Ramadan 2008)

Surviving in Turkmenistan, Central Asia

Turkmenistan is not often a subject of the international news media but it did get some attention in December 2006 when its eccentric president, Saparmurat Niyasov, suddenly died. Turkmenistan is an independent nation between Iran and Uzbekistan. Almost 90% of its territory is sand or gravel desert, while the people live mainly alongside riverbanks and in various oases. The desert hides huge oil and gas deposits. Turkmenistan is the fifth largest supplier of natural gas worldwide. Even though the country receives large revenues from the hydrocarbon resources, inequality is rampant and most Turkmen struggle to survive. However, shiny marble luxury buildings pop up everywhere in the Capital city of Ashgabat. Read the rest of this entry…

Filed under: Asia, Central by TDI
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(Day 5, for Friday, 5 September, coinciding with Ramadan 2008)

The challenge: Winning the Bugis of Indonesia

The vast majority of the Bugis in Indonesia (over 3.5 million) live on the south-western peninsula of Sulawesi Island. For the Bugis people, Islam is part of their ethnic, as well as, their religious identity. They have a reputation of being fanatical Muslims with a history of violent persecution of the Christian minorities. In addition to following Islam, many Bugis people are involved in animistic spiritual practices such as seeking power from spirits of the dead, seeking help from dukuns (shamans), and using amulets and charms. Due to their links to dark spiritual forces, the Bugis people present a great challenge for those who seek to reach them with the love and truth of the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah (Isa Al-Masih). Read the rest of this entry…

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(Day 4, for Thursday, 4 September, coinciding with Ramadan 2008)

Islam in 21st century Europe

Flag of Spain

Much of Spain was under Islamic rule for almost seven hundred years. Al-Andalus, was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims, or Moors, up until the fall of the last Islamic stronghold, the city of Granada, in 1492. Muslim Spain or “Al-Andalus” is still seen by some as a good example of how Christians, Jews and Muslims should live together. However, most scholars have demonstrated that this ideal of Al-Andalus is not realistic. Read the rest of this entry…

Filed under: Europe by TDI
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(Day 3, for Wednesday, 3 September, coinciding with Ramadan 2008)

The colourful Bakhtiari people number between 750,000 – 1,000,000 and live in south western Iran in the clean and beautiful highlands of the Zagros Mountains. The Chahar Mahal Province has plains, snow-capped mountains, valleys, rivers and dense forests. It is the habitat of leopards, sheep and bears, and grows wild pistachio, almond, walnut, plum and ash trees. The Bakhtiari are divided into tribes, sub-tribes and clans. About half of the people retain their traditional lifestyle of shepherding for the men, and carpet-weaving and home making for the women. The rest are settled and involved in agriculture and a variety of commercial activities. Read the rest of this entry…

Filed under: Middle East by TDI
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(Day 2, for Tuesday, 2 September, coinciding with Ramadan 2008)

Be among the first to pray by name for the Shahran tribe

For the majority of Saudi Arabians their association to a tribe is a significant part of their social and cultural identity. People from Western countries have lost much of the experience of belonging to a very large extended family. For example: few Westerners can recite the names of their ancestors for 5-10 or more generations, however, it is not rare for some peoples in the Middle East to have this ability. Read the rest of this entry…

Filed under: Arabian Peninsula, Middle East by TDI
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(Day 1, for Monday, 1 September, coinciding with Ramadan 2008)

A Muslim Woman’s empty dreams

Tonight, the respected businessman Sharif is going to visit Nazira’s family. On the telephone he said he wants to talk with her father about a new car, but Nazira knows the real reason for his visit. Nazira is already 24 years old and single. For quite some time her family has been looking around for a potential husband for her. However, that is not so easy. Farud, for example, who wanted to marry her three months ago, is an alcoholic, like many people in Tajikistan. Read the rest of this entry…

Filed under: Asia, Central by TDI
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