Thousands of Muslim migrants convert to Christianity in mass baptisms after reaching Europe... but are they just desperate for asylum?
Church leaders say the conversions may have been done under 'pressure'
Migrants desperate for a better life may believe it could help their claims
One Berlin church has reported 1,200 Muslim converts in past three years
Another in Hamburg believed it would carry out 500 by the end of the year
Thousands of Muslim migrants are converting to Christianity after they arrive in Europe, raising concerns they are being carried out in a cynical attempt to gain asylum.One Evangelical-Lutheran church in Berlin has seen 1,200 Muslim converts in the past three years,
while another 80 were baptised at a ceremony in Hamburg.Now some church leaders have claimed the conversions are done under pressure - with the migrants being taken advantage of due to their desperation for a better life.
Some 80 migrants from Afghanistan and Iran are baptised at a ceremony recently in Hamburg. Thousands have converted from Islam to Christianity after reaching Europe, raising concerns about their motivations
Some church leaders have suggested the conversions from Islam to Christianity are a cynical ploy to help with bids for asylum, while others say it is actually viewed with suspicion by immigration authorities
Others have suggested it is an 'abhorrent' form of abuse, enacted on people who are desperate for a new life
Pastor Gerhard Scholte, from the Reformed Keizersgracht Church in Amsterdam, suggested such mass conversions may be a form of 'abuse', according to The Daily Beast.
He said: 'It is taking advantage of people in weak positions and it’s all about the figures. That is abhorrent to me.
'Unless it saves lives, we are not eager to convert. In that case however, we convert anyone who wants to. This is what our church did to help Jews in the Second World War.'Another official said such conversions were advantageous to applicants, because once converted they could not be sent home without their lives being at risk.
This was because in many Middle Eastern countries, turning one's back on Islam was punishable by death.Recently one church in Hamburg converted 80 people from Iran and Afghanistan in one ceremony, stern.de reported.
Its pastor, Albert Babayan, says he has completed several hundred so far this year and is expected to top 500 by the end of December.
Photographs of the recent ceremony showed dozens of people lining up for the procession into the water, while others play tambourines and pray.
Source
Church leaders say the conversions may have been done under 'pressure'
Migrants desperate for a better life may believe it could help their claims
One Berlin church has reported 1,200 Muslim converts in past three years
Another in Hamburg believed it would carry out 500 by the end of the year
Thousands of Muslim migrants are converting to Christianity after they arrive in Europe, raising concerns they are being carried out in a cynical attempt to gain asylum.One Evangelical-Lutheran church in Berlin has seen 1,200 Muslim converts in the past three years,
while another 80 were baptised at a ceremony in Hamburg.Now some church leaders have claimed the conversions are done under pressure - with the migrants being taken advantage of due to their desperation for a better life.
Some 80 migrants from Afghanistan and Iran are baptised at a ceremony recently in Hamburg. Thousands have converted from Islam to Christianity after reaching Europe, raising concerns about their motivations
Some church leaders have suggested the conversions from Islam to Christianity are a cynical ploy to help with bids for asylum, while others say it is actually viewed with suspicion by immigration authorities
Others have suggested it is an 'abhorrent' form of abuse, enacted on people who are desperate for a new life
Pastor Gerhard Scholte, from the Reformed Keizersgracht Church in Amsterdam, suggested such mass conversions may be a form of 'abuse', according to The Daily Beast.
He said: 'It is taking advantage of people in weak positions and it’s all about the figures. That is abhorrent to me.
'Unless it saves lives, we are not eager to convert. In that case however, we convert anyone who wants to. This is what our church did to help Jews in the Second World War.'Another official said such conversions were advantageous to applicants, because once converted they could not be sent home without their lives being at risk.
This was because in many Middle Eastern countries, turning one's back on Islam was punishable by death.Recently one church in Hamburg converted 80 people from Iran and Afghanistan in one ceremony, stern.de reported.
Its pastor, Albert Babayan, says he has completed several hundred so far this year and is expected to top 500 by the end of December.
Photographs of the recent ceremony showed dozens of people lining up for the procession into the water, while others play tambourines and pray.
Source
Last edited by a moderator:
)
