Christian Leader Explains Islam's Appeal to Religious Converts
by Chad Groening
April 12, 2005
(AgapePress) - A former Muslim woman who now heads an evangelical ministry says she understands why an alarming number of Hispanics are embracing Islam.
The Tampa Tribune newspaper recently told the story of a young Latino woman who, at age 14, affirmed the shah
dah once, in Arabic, before two Islamic witnesses is all that is required initially for a person to become a Muslim convert.W.L. Cati, president of Zennah Ministries, is a former Muslim woman who says particular groups of people are being actively recruited into her former faith. "Islam is going after those people that the Church, I feel, has neglected," she says. "Islam goes heavily after women in general, and after all the minority groups -- even the Afro-Americans and the Latinos. Also, they go after gays and people in the prisons. So it's a very sad thing."
Cati's belief is that Islam is especially attractive to many Latinos who come from a strongly Catholic background -- particularly those who "do their penance, buy their prayer beads, or whatever." Her theory is that "religion attracts religion," and a works-oriented faith, as she assesses Islam to be, will appeal to those who want to "work [their] way into heaven."
"And that's what's so appealing about Islam," Zennah Ministries' founder says. "Islam is a religion that tells you what to do. It tells you that if you pray five times a day, you're going to please Allah -- you're going to get points for heaven." Sadly, she asserts, people in many faith backgrounds prefer the false notion of works righteousness to the truth of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Cati says she is not surprised that Islam is finding willing converts among the Latino population, as well as among various groups that have been neglected by the Church. As a former Muslim who found truth and renewed life in Christ, she says she is committed to communicating the truth of the gospel and educating people about the differences between true Christian faith and the Muslim religion.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
