Legendary Bible Smuggler Urges Christians to Engage in 'Good Jihad'

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070716/28474_Legendary_Bible_Smuggler_Urges_Christians_to_Engage_in_%27Good_Jihad%27.htm

[The Christian Post] 18 July 2007--A legendary missionary who smuggled Bibles behind the Iron Curtain is calling on Christians worldwide to join the “good jihad” for the souls of Muslims in the Middle East and in other Islamic nations.

Though the term jihad carries a negative connotation – especially after the 9/11 attacks and current events around the world involving Muslim extremists - Christians have a biblical mandate to wage a “good jihad,” according to Brother Andrew, the founder of the international ministry Open Doors.

“It is literally quoting from the Bible because Paul said, ‘I fought the good fight’ and in the Arab Bible it says, ‘I fought the good jihad,’” said Brother Andrew during a recent interview with The Christian Post.

Brother Andrew explained that there are two types of Islamic jihads. The real jihad, according to most Muslims, is a spiritual battle with the heart to follow the decrees of Allah and rules of the Koran. The other jihad, which leads to violence and destruction, is only carried out by a minority of Muslim extremists.

“I think we have to distinguish between the jihad of extremists and fundamentalists – which are only a small part of the Muslims - and the good jihad against sin and self that all of them and us have to fight,” clarified Brother Andrew.

The idea of Christians waging a “good jihad” is a central theme in the Dutch missionary’s new book, Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe in Christ. The book narrates the coming to Christ of several Muslim men and women in an undisclosed Middle East country based on true events, and the subsequent trials and even martyrdom that they confront.

Throughout the book, the characters struggle to not only maintain and protect the existing Christian population, but also to expand Christianity by ministering to Muslims interested in knowing more about Isa (Jesus). As a result, the characters demonstrate how to wage a “good jihad” to win souls for God.