Updated 03:46 pm.EST, Mon November 23, 2009

Society|Fri, Sep. 25 2009 01:12 PM EDT

Massive Muslim Prayer in D.C. Incites Christian Prayers

By Jennifer Riley|Christian Post Reporter

An unprecedented Muslim prayer rally to take place on Capitol Hill Friday afternoon has Christian leaders responding with calls for prayer and fasting of their own.

Christian evangelist Lou Engle of TheCall has partnered with Shirley Dobson, chair of the National Day of Prayer Task Force and wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, to issue an urgent nationwide call for Christians to pray and fast on Sept. 25 – the day when up to 50,000 Muslims plan to pray in front of the Capitol building.

The leaders urge the Church in America to fast and pray that Muslims would be moved by the Holy Spirit, be convicted by the testimony of Christ, and be visited by Jesus in dreams like many Muslims who have come to Christ have experienced.

“There is a great spiritual conflict with a rising tide of Islamic boldness being manifested,” according to TheCall Web site. “We must pray that God would restrain the spiritual powers behind Islam and grant us the great awakening that we desperately need for America.”

At 1 p.m. Friday on the west side of the Capitol, tens of thousands of Muslims are expected to gather and pray. The event, called “Islam on Capitol Hill,” is organized by Hassen Abdellah, a lawyer who is president of the Dar-ul-Islam mosque in Elizabeth, N.J.

Abdellah has come under fire from some conservative Christians for his connection to suspected and convicted terrorists. The Muslim lawyer represented a terrorist convicted of manufacturing the bomb in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. His client is now serving time in the “supermax” prison in Colorado.

In another case, Abdellah represented a Baltimore cabdriver who pleaded guilty of attending a jihad terrorist training camp in Pakistan and aiding a terrorist group.

But the Muslim lawyer defended his legal record, saying that he has also put many “bad people” in jail, according to The Washington Post. Moreover, he said the event will not include any political message.

"This is just about prayer," Abdellah told FOXNews.com. "The purpose is Islamic unity, so we can display the beauty of Islam. We believe the groupsare going to be people who love and respect America, and we want to let America know that we're here and that we support the country.

"I know it's difficult for people to believe it could be that simple."

But the Rev. Canon Julian Dobbs, leader of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America’s Church and Islam Project, warned in a statement this week that the rally is “part of a well-defined strategy to Islamize American society and replace the Bible with the Koran, the cross with the Islamic crescent and the church bells with the Athan (the Muslim call to prayer).”

Even some local Washington-area Muslim groups have decided to not join the controversial event. The All Dulles Area Muslim Society, one of the largest mosques in the D.C-area, told the Post that the congregation was busy with Ramadan and other activities to be involved in the prayer rally.

Similarly, the Congressional Muslim Staffers Association said it’s busy with its own midday prayer service and could not take part in the event.

For conservative Christians, they are keeping busy with plans for a national teleconference Friday night at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins will join Engle, Dobson, and other Christian leaders in the call.

On the Web: www.thecall.com

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  • Mon Sep 28, 2009 3:08 pm Agree: 1   Disagree: 1

    Abdellah is just trying to fool naive non-Moslems. He even contradicts himself in the process. "This is just about prayer," Abdellah told FOXNews.com. "The purpose is Islamic unity, so we can display the beauty of Islam." If this Moslem gathering at the Capitol were really "just about prayer", they could jolly well pray in their mosques as they do on every Friday. However, Abdellah reveals the true purpose of the gathering: "Islamic unity", and displaying the "beauty of Islam". This is political, not religious. The fact that they got less than one-tenth of the number of Moslems as they had predicted should not lull us back to sleep. The official slogan of the pray-in was "Our Time Has Come." Time to do what? Watch out! The two main speakers leading the Koran prayers were experts in Shariah law, trained in Islamic universities. They and the gathering of Moslems wants shariah law. We should understand that Sharia law requires imposition of Shariah law on the entire world -- willingly or by force. Sharia law requires legal inferiority for non-Moslems and for women. Shariah law requires the death penalty for blasphemy and for apostasy, and any "insult" of Muhammad or the Koran or Islam is considered blasphemy. There goes freedom of speech and freedom of conscience! This is what the Moslems at that political demonstration (under the guise of religion) stand for.

  • Sat Sep 26, 2009 4:33 pm Agree: 6   Disagree: 1

    lark, where do you see anyone is trying to take away these muslims constitutional freedoms? Just because we disagree with their religious views and are praying for them to see God's truth as found in His Word, by no means says we want to take away their freedoms in the process.

  • Sat Sep 26, 2009 2:31 pm Agree: 3   Disagree: 7

    I find it Ironic that Christian that are clamering about losing their constituttional freedoms, are wanting to steal the constitutional freedoms of their fellow Americns who happen to be Muslim. They don't understand what freedom really means.
    There is a great response to the Lou Engle, Shirley Dobson call to prayer here: http://www.aboutchristiansingles.com/society-culture-politics/urgent-nationwide-call-to-prayer/

  • Sat Sep 26, 2009 1:14 pm Agree: 9   Disagree: 2

    I don't think this muslim rally is anything to worry about,our GOD is greater than this and HIS will be done.PRAISE TO OUR LORD AND MASTER JESUS CHRIST

  • Sat Sep 26, 2009 7:52 am Agree: 8   Disagree: 3

    jkabres -"MASSIVE?" Come on, there were only 3000 people there. Speak the truth - this is pure and unadulterated sensationalism.

    Only 3000 attended? lol Good! But they were the ones anticipating 50,000..CP wasn't overstating the number...

    http://islamoncapitolhill.com/Home_Page.html

    Don't miss that sentence at the bottom...ugh

  • Sat Sep 26, 2009 1:35 am Agree: 5   Disagree: 3

    Peace,Grace and Blessing be to all Christians, Muslims and Jews...the more we study and truely try and dialogue together, the more God will answer the prayer that "seek and you will find" God is Himself seeking for truth worshippers in Spirit and Truth. Al-Ghazoli is a Libyian who was seeking, a grad of Al-Azhar, a friend of Gadaffi, and wrote "Christ,Muh. and I" of how he couldn't reconcile that Muhammad pbuh, had taken a six year old girl Ashia,as his wife when he was in his 50's?
    Yes, it is true, sad to say, that 1 billion people might follow this example? www.answering-islam.org pray that all eyes are opened to the truth before its too late.

  • Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:37 pm Agree: 6   Disagree: 5

    I don't think it's childish, Cindy, if you compare it to Elijah confronting the false prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel...

  • Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:22 pm Agree: 7   Disagree: 7

    "MASSIVE?" Come on, there were only 3000 people there. Speak the truth - this is pure and unadulterated sensationalism.

  • Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:06 pm Agree: 14   Disagree: 4

    cindy, "childish reaction", praying that the Holy Spirit would speak to those gathered for this event in a way that would draw them to the saving knowledge of Christ. And the "childish reaction" is? Considering the only way a person can be saved is by repenting of their sin and turning to God by putting their complete faith/trust in the person and finished work of Christ alone, I do not see how you can see this as a "childish reaction".

  • Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:03 pm Agree: 7   Disagree: 15

    Interesting that there will be about the same number of Muslims at this prayer rally as there were Glenbeckians in DC a couple of weekends ago. It's amusing that the more militant Christians feel threatened by this to the point that they are planning counter-prayers. Is this a "my god is more powerful then your god" thing?

    Of much more concern to secular folks is the "Take back America" foolishness going on this weekend. There lies the real danger to our Constitutional government, the Christian Nationalists who want to institute their own flavor of Sharia law.

    And you wonder why atheism is growing by leaps and bounds? You religious are bringing it on yourselves.

  • Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:52 pm Agree: 11   Disagree: 15

    "An unprecedented Muslim prayer rally to take place on Capitol Hill Friday afternoon has Christian leaders responding with calls for prayer and fasting of their own."

    Okay, for those of a certain age.."Anything you can do I can do better, I can do anything better than you ..."

  • Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:18 pm Agree: 12   Disagree: 17

    What a childish reaction. Goodness.

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