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| "Chris,t who died for us on the Cross so we could live" |
A growing number of Muslim refugees in Europe are
converting to Christianity, according to several Church reports in
Europe, which have conducted mass baptisms in some places.
Reliable
data on conversions is not available but anecdotal evidence suggests a
pattern of rising church attendance by Muslims who have fled conflict,
repression and economic hardship in countries across the Middle East and
central Asia.
Complex factors behind the trend include
heartfelt faith in a new religion, gratitude to Christian groups
offering support during perilous and frightening journeys, and an
expectation that conversion may aid asylum applications.
At
Trinity church in the Berlin suburb of Steglitz, the congregation has
grown from 150 two years ago to almost 700, swollen by Muslim converts,
according to Pastor Gottfried Martens. Earlier this year, churches in
Berlin and Hamburg reportedly held mass conversions for asylum seekers
at municipal swimming pools.
The Austrian Catholic
church logged 300 applications for adult baptism in the first three
months of 2016, with the Austrian pastoral institute estimating 70% of
those converting are refugees.
At Liverpool’s Anglican
Cathedral in the UK, a weekly Persian service attracts between 100 and
140 people. Nearly all are migrants from Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere
in central Asia.
One in four confirmations conducted
by the bishop of Bradford, Toby Howarth, over the past year were of
converts from Islam. Most were Iranian and most of those were asylum
seekers.
Mohammad Eghtedarian, a curate at Liverpool
Cathedral and a refugee from Iran who converted to Christianity and was
later ordained, said the church was helping people to develop their
faith and to apply for refugee status. “These two are intertwined. Most
people apply for asylum on the basis of their religion,” he said.
His
own journey, from the Iranian city of Shiraz to the UK, took him
through half a dozen European countries, by truck, train and on foot.
Destitute and terrified, he was offered practical and emotional support
from Christians along the way.
Before being granted
asylum, Eghtedarian spent four months in Tinsley House detention centre,
near Gatwick airport. “Every day was challenging and beautiful.
Challenging because I didn’t know if they would deport me; beautiful
because I was in the Lord’s hands. I promised the Lord: if you release
me, I will serve you.”
Now he devotes himself to
helping other refugees. “People are desperate. They spend a lot of money
and waste a lot of money. They are vulnerable, abused and sometimes
[they have been] raped.” The experience of being a refugee was degrading
and dehumanising, he said.
Johannes, another Iranian,
left Tehran for Vienna. Born into a Muslim family, the 32-year-old – who
was previously called Sadegh – began questioning the roots of Islam at
university. “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?
“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.”
Johannes began the process of converting to
Christianity in Iran. He was ambushed with a group of others leaving a
bible class but managed to escape and went into hiding. When the
Austrian visa he had already applied for came through, he left the
country.
Now waiting for the outcome of his asylum
application, he has not told his parents of his conversion: only his
sister knows his “secret”.
Authorities say there are
about 90,000 Christians in Iran, though some human rights organisations
put their number as high as 500,000. While Iranian law does not order
the death penalty for converting from Islam to another faith, courts
have handed down death sentences based on interpretation of Sharia law
and legal opinions issued by religious leaders.
Last
year, the Austrian bishops’ conference published new guidelines for
priests, warning that some refugees may seek baptism in the hope of
improving their chances of obtaining asylum.
“Admitting
persons for baptism who are during the official procedure classified as
‘not credible’ leads to a loss in the church’s credibility across the
whole of Austria,” the new guidelines say.
Since 2014,
applicants interested in converting to Christianity with the Austrian
church have to go through a one-year “preparation period” during which
they are informally assessed. “There has to be a noticeable interest in
the faith that extends beyond merely the wish to obtain a piece of
paper,” said Friederike Dostal, who coordinates preparation courses in
Vienna’s archdiocese.
“We are not interested in
proforma Christians. You have to be able to register some kind of
process of change in people.” In 5-10% of cases, she said, applicants
broke off their course before they were baptised.
In
Liverpool, Eghtedarian acknowledged that the factors leading Muslims to
convert were often complex and multilayered. “People are desperate for a
better life and sometimes they will lie for it – that’s
understandable.”
The church had a difficult road to
navigate, he said. “We have a mission to give them the message of Christ
– a message of peace, salvation and freedom. The only person who knows
what’s in people’s hearts is God. It is not for me to judge.”
At
Liverpool Cathedral, there is an established process. People are
registered when they first come to church in case evidence of attendance
is needed for an asylum application. That may be followed by five
sessions of baptism preparation and 12 sessions of confirmation
preparation. “This way we get to know them and see how they’re involved
in the life of the church,” said Eghtedarian.
If
necessary the church will provide a “letter of attendance” for the
immigration authorities and support them through the appeals process.
Asked
if some people pretended to convert to Christianity in order to help
their asylum applications, Eghtedarian said: “Yes, of course. Plenty of
people. I do understand there are a lot of mixed motives. There are many
people abusing the system – I’m not ashamed of saying that. But is it
the person’s fault or the system’s fault? And who are they deceiving?
The Home Office, me as a pastor, or God?”
Abuse took
many forms, he added. “Don’t people abuse the tax system or the NHS?
Look at MPs. And look at people who go to church to get their children
into good church schools. Is there any difference, morally? You want to
find the best school for your child, we want to find the best life for
ourselves.
“We still try our best to serve people.
Jesus Christ knew Judas was going to betray him but he still washed his
feet. Thank God it is not my job to judge them.”
The
Church of England does not collate figures on conversion. “This can be a
delicate issue and we want to be sensitive to the backgrounds that
people are from,” said Howarth.
“There are many reasons
[for conversion] but among them is undoubtedly the mass movement of
people and the increasing interconnectedness of the world,” he said.
Conversions were happening across different faiths, he added, citing the
example of black prisoners converting to Islam. “The world– and
people’s identities – are being shaken up.
“When we do
confirmations, we work hard to make sure the person is serious. We all
have mixed motives. But if someone says ‘I believe this’, who are we to
make windows into people’s souls? The only thing I can do is see if
people are still there a year later – and often they are.”
Read more: European churches say growing flock of Muslim refugees are converting
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