A Strategy to Engage Islamic Youth and Young Adults in Grand Cape
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Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Project Documents Graduate Research 2014 A Strategy to Engage Islamic Youth and Young Adults in Grand Cape Mount County, Liberia Matthew .F Kamara Andrews University This research is a product of the graduate program in Doctor of Ministry DMin at Andrews University. Find out more about the program. Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin Part of the Missions and World Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Kamara, Matthew F., "A Strategy to Engage Islamic Youth and Young Adults in Grand Cape Mount County, Liberia" (2014). Project Documents. 64. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin/64 This Project Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Project Documents by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. ABSTRACT A STRATEGY TO ENGAGE ISLAMIC YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS IN GRAND CAPE MOUNT COUNTY, LIBERIA By Matthew Foday Kamara Advisers: Bruce C. Moyer Bruce L. Bauer ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Project Document Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: A STRATEGY TO ENGAGE ISLAMIC YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS IN GRAND CAPE MOUNT COUNTY, LIBERIA Name of Researcher: Matthew F. Kamara Name and degree of faculty advisers: Bruce C. Moyer, STD and Bruce L. Bauer, DMiss Date Completed: May 2014 Problem Since the arrival of the first official Adventist missionaries to Liberia in 1926, evangelistic efforts have been focused on non-Muslim communities. The nation’s 14 years of civil crisis left 105,000 disarmed combatants who are mainly young people. Most of these young people are found in Grand Cape Mount County, a predominantly Islamic community where they are engaged in illicit diamond mining, illegal harvesting of latex, and other criminal activities for their income. There is a need for the Adventist church to use this situation as an opportunity to reach out to them with pilot projects that will empower them for economic sustenance and spiritual development. This may initiate deeper relationships between the church and the Muslims in that community. Method Current literature including articles, journals, and books dealing with Christian- Muslim relationships and with contextualizing the Adventist message in Muslim culture were reviewed through library research. Literature on historical, cultural, social, and political analyses of Liberia and specifically Grand Cape Mount County were also reviewed. The project will include a Leadership seminar, study of Islamic culture, implementation of pilot projects, and placement of tentmakers in Grand Cape Mount County. Finally, the project will be evaluated with recommendations made to stakeholders at the close of the project. Expectation The implementation of this project will begin a new era in Adventist-Muslim relationships in Liberia. Participants trained by this project will be assigned to conference tentmakers who would be placed in strategic locations in the county. These tentmakers will introduce participants to business enterprises where they will gain work experience, which will motivate them to establish their own small businesses or work to earn wages for their sustenance. The goal is that, occupied with their new vocation, these young people will recede from criminal activities and become contributors to the economic development of their community. Adventist Conference leaders may also appreciate the new development as an opportunity to establish relationships with the Muslims in the county. Through such friendship evangelism, the church and stakeholders may be encouraged either to continue their support for the project or to introduce similar new projects (elementary school, clinic etc.) that will meet the needs of the community and strengthen relationships with the people. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary A STRATEGY TO ENGAGE ISLAMIC YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS IN GRAND CAPE MOUNT COUNTY, LIBERIA A Project Document Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Matthew F. Kamara May 2014 Copyright by Matthew Foday Kamara 2014 All Right Reserved A STRATEGY TO ENGAGE ISLAMIC YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS IN GRAND CAPE MOUNT COUNTY, LIBERIA A project document presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Ministry by Matthew Foday Kamara APROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: ______________________________ ___________________________ Adviser Director, DMin Program Bruce Campbell Moyer Skip Bell ______________________________ ___________________________ Bruce L. Bauer Dean, SDA Theological Seminary Jiří Moskala ______________________________ ___________________________ Kelvin Onongha Date approved To God Almighty; Who’s Noble Grace Sustains Us. To Nerissa; My Confidante and Companion in Ministry iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................. viii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................... ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ x Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem ....................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Project ............................................................................ 2 Statement of the Task ............................................................................ 3 Justification for the Project .................................................................... 3 Basic Assumptions ................................................................................. 4 Definitions of Terms .............................................................................. 5 Limitations ............................................................................................. 5 Methodology .......................................................................................... 6 Expectation From the Project ................................................................ 7 Outline of the Project ............................................................................. 7 2. THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION FOR ISHMAEL AND FAMILY ............................................................................. 9 Introduction ............................................................................................ 9 God’s Call and Promise to Abram ......................................................... 10 From Haran to Canaan .................................................................... 11 Abram in Canaan ..................................................................... 13 A Blessing to all Nations ................................................................ 14 Ishmael as a Beneficiary of the Blessing ........................................ 18 Place and Purpose of God for Ishmael and Family ............................... 19 The Birth of Ishmael ....................................................................... 19 Promise to Ishmael’s Descendants ................................................. 22 The Children of the East ................................................................. 24 iv Relationship Between Ishmael and Isaac: A Prototype for Christians and Muslims ........................................................... 29 Strategy for a Peaceful Co-existence ..................................................... 33 Theological Approach to Muslims ................................................. 34 Basic Knowledge About Islam ................................................ 35 Contention Over Jesus ............................................................. 38 Bridge Building With Muslims ............................................... 39 Using the Qur’an for Bridge Building ..................................... 40 Effort of Adventist Pioneers .................................................... 41 Building Trust With the Gospel .............................................. 43 Summary and Conclusion ...................................................................... 46 3. LITERATURE REVIEW ON RELATIONSHIP AND DIALOGUES BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS ............................................... 49 Introduction ............................................................................................. 49 Christian and Muslim Relationship ........................................................ 50 Abraham a Symbol of Love and Tolerance .................................... 50 The Common Word ........................................................................ 53 Dialogue Between Christians and Muslims ........................................... 54 Religious Tolerance ........................................................................ 56