THOUSANDS of Muslims are turning away from their religion and embracing Christianity amid ongoing violence in the Middle East, it has been claimed. Churches across Europe and the Middle East have reported a rise in attendance, mostly coming from new Muslims moving into the area. They have already seen thousands of Muslims converts - and some are expecting to see millions turn to Christianity over the coming years. Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC) said that despite millions of people - mainly Muslims - fleeing the war-torn Middle East due to violence and persecution there are scores turning to Christianity.
In Iran Christian churches are attacked with impunity and shut down by the nation’s Islamic government, mission group Elam Ministries said. The mission group stated that the number of Christians in the country have been growing despite the problems back home. Matthias Linke, a priest from the Evangelical-Freikirchlichen Gemeinde, in Berlin, said: “A lot of them come to Germany and think, here I can choose my religion and I want to choose a religion of freedom. For many Iranians that I've baptised, Christianity is the religion of freedom." Across Europe, a similar situation is being reported by churches and ministers. Trinity church in the Berlin suburb of Steglitz has seen the congregation explode from 150 to 700 thanks to Muslim converts. One Iranian convert, named only as Johannes, said: “I found that the history of Islam was completely different from what we were taught at school. Maybe, I thought, it was a religion that began with violence.” The 32-year-old added: “A religion that began with violence cannot lead people to freedom and love. Jesus Christ said 'those who use the sword will die by the sword.' This really changed my mind.”
