Equipping Christians to Reach Muslims: An Interview with Usama Dakdok of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry, Pt. 1

Originally here: http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2010/03/equipping-christians-to-reach-muslims-an-interview-with-usama-dakdok-pt-1-11161

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Posted: 15 Mar 2010 09:00 AM PDT Usama Dakdok of The Straight Way of Grace Ministry  Usama Dakdok longs to tell Christians and the Muslim world community that only the love of Christ can overcome the dangers of true radical Islam.  Dakdok, a Coptic Christian (Christian native of Egypt), runs the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. The organization’s motto is  “Equipping Christians, Reaching Muslims.”  He has been in America for 18 years.  I became aware of Dakdok’s ministry after publishing an article on Jewish-Muslim tensions at UC Berkeley.  This is the first of my two-part interview with Dakdok.  Q: How did you and your family become Christians in Egypt? A: My family was always Coptic Christian. Coptic means Egyptian. This was the main faith in Egypt before Islam, since biblical days when the disciple Mark brought the Gospel to Egypt. He was a bishop of Alexandria. I gave my life to Jesus as Lord and Savior at age 11, after a revival at the church, and was baptized at age 12.  Q: Is the Christian community still accepted well in Egypt? A: Christianity has not been well accepted since Islam came to Egypt in the Dark Ages (circa 641 A.D.). Four million Christian men were killed in the first 100 years. Their women and daughters were raped and taken.  The government is Islamic; all children of Muslim men are automatically considered Muslims by Islamic law even if the mothers are American, Christian, etc. Last Christmas, some Christians were shot in an Egyptian church by an Islamic terrorist group.  Q: Did your Christian faith help you filter through what Egyptian schools taught about Islam? A: Yes. There is much indoctrination of the children in schools to believe in the Muslim faith. Western culture is ostracized in the school system, to make the children think that Christianity is silly. For example 1+1+1=3, not one Godhead of three persons.  Q: Why don’t Muslims believe in Christ as the Messiah, since the Quran contains many same stories as the Bible? A: Muslims believe that Jesus couldn’t be a deity; as Allah is only one, God can only be one. Jesus to Muslims was a good teacher, good man and good prophet, but not God’s Son. Muslims actually think they are honoring Jesus by not calling him a god. But [I believe] He cannot be a good teacher if he lied about being God’s Son or the way He died.  Q: Is Allah the same being as the Jewish and Christian God? A: I believe Allah is not the same God. I believe he is Satan because he leads people astray. Quran 1:1 says “Praise be to Allah, God of this world” – and 1 Corinthians 4:4 says Satan is the god of this world. Quran 3:54 says “Allah is the best of deceivers,” but Revelation 12:9 calls Satan the Deceiver.  Q: So, are most Muslims lacking knowledge of what the Quran really says? A: Many Muslims, “good” Muslims as Westerners call them, are not following the teachings of the Quran. They are Muslim without true Islam. Much of the text they read has been what we call “abrogated” – changed to have a different meaning for presentation to the world community. There are 124 verses to quote to Americans with abrogated interpretations.  Q: But some people say the Bible is “abrogated,” too – people give it their own interpretations. A: The Old Testament is not abrogated by the New Testament; it is fulfilled.  Q: Why do you think people are converting to Islam in such large numbers today, even in America? A: The number is not large. Many new converts leave Islam within a year, because they are taught a false Islamic faith and abrogated Quran. The Quran of love and respect for women does not exist. Plus, names are added as “converts” upon a first visit to a Mosque.  Check back for part 2 of my interview with Dakdok. In part 2, he will discuss the dangers of extreme Islamic terrorism. The views expressed in this interview do not necessarily reflect the views of The Underground.

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