Since Moses (sws) extradited the Israelites
from Egypt, the struggle for Jewish souls emerged. Moses (sws) displayed
signs and warnings to the Israelites to capture their souls. Similarly,
Jesus (sws) devoted his life to annex Jewish souls. Even Muhammad (sws)
aimed to encompass the souls of Jews in his mission. Jewish faith has experienced
many trials and tribulations over the centuries, from the punishments by
Crusaders and Nazis, to the pleasures of inter-religious marriages, all
challenging the adherence to Judaism.
A New type of Soldier
After World War II, a unique approach
towards Jews commenced. Over eight hundred different missionary groups
spending in excess of $250 million, mobilized to convert Jews without violence.
One of the greatest pioneers of this strategy was Moishe Rosen, himself
a convert from Judaism to Christianity in 1953. Mr. Rosen ambitiously advanced
an army of evangelists in 1973 named ‘Jews for Jesus (sws)’ (http://www.JewsforJesus.org).
In 1978, there were 10,000 Jews who believed in Jesus (sws). Through vigorous
tactics, by 1998, over 250,000 Jews counted themselves as Jews who believed
in Jesus (sws). These are impressive figures when taking into consideration
that there are only 13 million Jews world wide. Yet the battle was far
from over; a counter missionary group was formed in 1998 by Rabbi Bentzion
Kravitz entitled ‘Jews for Judaism’ (http://www.JewsforJudaism.org),
striving to take back souls confiscated by Christians.
The newest division in this triumph
to save Jewish souls are the ‘Jews for Allah’ (http://www.Jews-for-Allah.org)
founded in 2000 by Mohamed Ghounem. Though ‘Jews for Jesus (sws)’ has a
28 year advantage over ‘Jews for Allah’ (who recently celebrated their
one year anniversary), their resources and popularity are quickly catching
up with thousands of visitors per day to their website and two new books
to be published. Many Jews who become Muslim are secretive concerning their
conversion for safety reasons, hindering an accurate estimate towards the
number of ‘Jews for Allah’. Though thousands of Jews were recorded to have
converted to Islam when a presumed Messiah named Shabbetai Zevi converted
to Islam in 1650.
Some Orthodox Rabbis, Muslim Ministers
and Christian Priests from each camp view these organizations as an encroachment
and even anti-Semitic. Despite such controversy, the majority views these
groups as pioneers in building dialogue and understanding amongst each
side.
The Mission Statements
Each of the three groups attempts
to gain more Jews to their side through various ingenious strategies and
slogans. These peaceful and pleasant attempts are in sharp contrast to
the inquisitions, crusades and holocaust of the past generations. Each
of these groups utilize their interpreted status of Jesus (sws) as leverage
for their side.
‘Jews for Jesus (sws)’ founder, Mr
Rosen states: ‘they were not converted Jews -- they were converted sinners
who happened to be Jewish.’ The ‘Jews for Jesus (sws)’ mission statement
is: ‘We exist to make the Messiahship of Jesus (sws) an unavoidable issue
to our Jewish people world-wide.’ The group distributes signs stating:
‘Be more Jewish, Believe in Jesus (sws)’, ‘Jesus (sws) was raised in a
Kosher Home’ and ‘Everything you always wanted to know About Jesus (sws)...but
were afraid to ask your Rabbi’. They produce books, cassettes and most
recently in April 2001, a video entitled ‘Survivor Stories’ which proselytizes
through Holocaust victims.
‘Jews for Judaism’ pride themselves on being the first
and only active international, full-time counter missionary, educational,
outreach and counseling organization dedicated to countering the multi-million
dollar efforts of missionary groups. The three primary goals of ‘Jews for
Judaism’ are; preventative education, re-uniting families, and bringing
Jews home. Through their website, they list testimonies of former ‘Jews
for Jesus (sws)’ and material countering the Christian ideals.
‘Jews for Allah’ in essence compliments
both groups. They help ‘Jews for Judaism’ by also countering deity claims
towards Jesus (sws), as well as helping ‘Jews for Jesus (sws)’ by promoting
Jesus (sws) as the Messiah, a belief taught in the Muslim Holy book, the
Qur’an.
This organization promotes settling the differences among Jews through
Qur’anic teachings:
Have you not turned your vision to those who
have been given a portion of the Book? They are invited to the Book of
Allah, to settle their dispute. (3:23)
The ‘Jews for Allah’ mission statement
is: ‘Accepting the Messiahship of Jesus (sws) without the Trinitarian theology’.
One of their slogans is a star of David (sws) on top of a crescent moon,
with the caption ‘Judaism and Islam, a match made in Heaven’. Their material
contains an array of uniting similarities between Judaism and Islam as
well as a list of testimonies from both ‘Jews for Judaism’ and ‘Jews for
Jesus (sws)’, sharing their journey to Allah. This group was founded at
a time when dialogue between Israelites and Muslims was desperately needed.
All three groups provide an online
forum at their respective web sites to communicate and learn each other’s
points of views.
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