Christian Church Rises In Arabia

[DeSwiss]

SOURCE: al-Jazeera

Christian Church Rises In Arabia

By John Terrett, in Doha, Qatar

Work has begun on the construction of Qatar's first purpose-built church in the desert outside Doha, the country's capital.

Although the country's native inhabitants are entirely Muslim - and are prohibited by law from converting to another faith - the new Catholic church will cater to the large number of Christian migrants who have come to the Arabia Gulf state in search of work.


Costing about $15m, the new church is
being constructed outside Doha, Qatar

Roman Catholics from all over the Arabian Peninsula - many of them migrant workers - are helping to pay for the $15m building, which is scheduled to open at the end of the year.

Overseeing the church is Paul Hinder, the Catholic Church's Bishop of Arabia. A Christian in the heart of the Muslim world, his diocese is the entire Arabian peninsular, encompassing six countries.

He oversees churches in Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen and even in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam where Christianity is practiced behind closed doors.

Speaking about the Christian communities in Saudi Arabia, he said: "It's not an open church. Privately the Christians may gather in their houses in a very discreet manner."

"Of course it's not easy to be a bishop here ," he said. "But at least regarding the church life it is full of vitality."

more: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/32CC5571-64DA-45AA-BDE5-A0CA68CD4616.htm

*** - "But at least regarding the church life it is full of vitality."

Except in Europe.

[brentspeak]

1. Two world wars in Europe pretty much killed the church

Every facet of European life and culture was changed irrevocably due to the wars, and I suppose the church was a casualty of that gigantic upheaval.

[Solo_in_MD]

2. Another aspect of the Sharia many do not realize

Although the country's native inhabitants are entirely Muslim - and are prohibited by law from converting to another faith

[MistressOverdone]

3. The folks who attend that church

have more guts than I. I like not having to worry about blowing up on Sunday.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Qur'an says to respect the People of the Book

though who knows how the Wahhabists interpret this. I know that when Saladin the Magnificent recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders, he didn't slaughter people wholesale, as the Europeans had done; he allowed those who were Christian and those who were Jews to continue to practice their faith. Yes, they paid a tax--because they also were not required to serve in the military and the tax was in lieu of this service. And let us remember that Moorish Spain had a large Jewish population before the Christian takeover in 1492.

Sadly, things deteriorated since the glory days of Islam. But I'm glad the church is being built.

Note: There are Christian churches in Syria where they still read the Bible in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.