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Church agencies reject conversion of Muslims
By Rachel Harden
CHURCH TIMES
LONDON (1/29/2005)--UK-BASED Christian relief agencies distanced themselves this week from the reported efforts of some Christian relief workers in Indonesia who were trying to convert Muslims.
A group of Christians in Banda Aceh, one of the areas worst hit by the tsunami, is reported to have taken over a hotel and formed a prayer network. Monday's Daily Telegraph suggested that some members of the prayer group saw their mission as "saving souls".
But Christian Aid, World Vision and CAFOD all spoke out against this strongly this week, saying that, though faith-based organisations, they offered aid unconditionally.
Chris Webster of World Vision, which is working with partners in many of the affected areas, said on Monday: "It is our policy to deliver aid on the basis of humanitarian need and irrespective of religious belief.
"While the majority of our staff are Christian, we have a strict policy that we will not proselytise, nor work with those who insist on proselytism."
The Roman Catholic agency CAFOD was working closely with Islamic Relief in Indonesia, a spokeswoman, Debbie Wainwright, said on Tuesday. Through the umbrella organisation Caritas, it had distributed "prayer kits" to Muslims living in camps in Aceh.
Ms Wainwright said that her agency realised the importance of faith to many people. "We are not an evangelistic organisation, and we work across faiths. We organised the distribution of prayer mats as last Friday was the festival of Eid, and many Muslims in camps did not have them."
Peter Graystone of Christian Aid said: "Our policy is never to tie proselytism with aid. We are an organisation driven by the gospel, and give aid unconditionally."
Funds for the tsunami appeal continued to grow this week. Y Care International announced it had raised more than £3.5 million through its emergency appeal.
The Mission to Seafarers is making up to £500,000 available for the relief of seafarers and their families; and Tewkesbury Abbey said this week that it had raised almost £15,000 acting as a local collection point.
South African church leaders went on a fact-finding mission to Somalia to assess the damage from the tsunami, ENI reported.
The Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, and the general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, Dr Molefe Tsele, led the visit to the region, where 300 people died and about 50,000 people were left homeless.
The first co-ordinated donation of medical supplies for disaster relief in the UK has been sent to the Maldives and Sri Lanka. International Health Partners UK is working with the Disasters Emergency Committee, the UN and the WHO.
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