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“What is Islam?” at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Matteson, IL

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Biographical Notes on Rev. Hicham Chehab:

Rev. Chehab is a native of Lebanon, born into a Muslim family. Through our Lord’s sovereign grace, Rev. Chehab was brought out of

the Muslim Brotherhood into a relationship with the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Chehab earned a Masters degree on the history of Islam from the American University of Beirut, and wrote a Ph. D dissertaion on the early sources of Islam. Chehab worked in Lebanon as a journalist specialized on international issues, Middle East affairs, and adjunct professor of history at the American University of Beirut (2002), as well as Concordia University, Ann Arbor, MI, 2008. Chehab shares the love of Christ with people from the Middle East through his work at Salam Christian Fellowship in the Midwest.

Course Description:

With the tragic events of 9/11, America awoke to find itself

engaged in a new kind of war following the collapse of the Soviet Union. While the

previous threat had come from a well-defined enemy, this time, the challenge to

America is an elusive foe at their doorsteps or inside their communities. It is a foe that

hides under the cloak of the second largest religion in the world: Islam. Reactions to

this challenge have ranged between confusion to political correctness.

How do we respond to this new challenge? There are two organized groups among

Islam who have clear-cut agendas. The first Islamic group strives to destroy the

American way of life by employing terror. The second group endeavors to transform the

social fabric of today’s America through converting people to Islam as well as political

and social activism, with the long-range objective to Islamicize the West. There is a third group, which is the largest: Muslims who come to the West dreaming of a better life

Hesham Shehab

Hicham [pronounced HESHAAM] grew up in a world of bitter animosity between Muslims and Christians, which he experienced personally in a physical attack when only about 7. By age 13 he was recruited by an extremist Muslim group and later fought against Christians in the 1975 war in Lebanon. He was preparing to become a Muslim Preacher (Imam) when a car accident laid him up for a year. In 1980, in his first semester in college, his brother was killed by Christian militia. Hicham's response was to study by day, and by night take out his revenge in attacks on Christians. However, hearing the Sermon on the Mount, in a course of cultural studies (in college), brought him to faith. Later, Hicham earned an M.A. in the history of the Arabs and did Ph.D studies in the history of Islam. Hicham finished his pastoral education at Concordia, Fort Wayne, IN, and is currently in the Ph. D program there. Presently, Hicham, and ordained LCMS minister, pastors Salam Christian Fellowship and works as a missionary to the Muslims with the Lutheran Church in Illinois.