Janab MM Akbar, Director of the Niche of Truth, has now openly issued “challenge” through posters in Chunkapara, Pathanamthitta, Kerala. We gladly take the challenge as the Holy Spirit we have received is the Spirit of Courage and Wisdom. Following is the copy of the letter we have sent to Janab MM Akbar.
Janab MM Akbar, Director of the Niche of Truth, has now openly issued “challenge” through posters in Chunkapara, Pathanamthitta, Kerala. In Chunkapara Christians are currently under the attack from the followers of the “religion of peace,” Islam, under the pretext of a book written by a late pastor critiquing Islam. While SAN neither accepts nor rejects the said book in totality as it is yet to read it, we assume that there might be unsubstantiated claims in the book going by certain pronouncements of the honorable court and if our assumptions are correct, we disassociate from any unwarranted and unsubstantiated criticisms and issue an unqualified denouncement of such criticisms. However, instead of leaving the matter to the honorable court, certain sections of Muslims have taken the law into their hands and attacked a church and many Christians. In the context of this violence and terror, the Niche of Truth, who until now claimed that Islam is the religion of peace, has now in an unprecedented way issued a public challenge for an open debate through posters at the place of violence probably under the false impression that Christians would be frightened by its terror and violence. While the Salafai version of Islam stands now exposed as a cult of violence and we are glad that the hitherto evader of debates, Janab MM Akbar has come forward though with a violent challenge. We gladly take the challenge as the Holy Spirit we have received is the Spirit of Courage and Wisdom. Following is the letter we have sent to Janab MM Akbar.
We Accept Your Public Challenge at Chunkapara: Let us Decide Topic, Format and Mutually Convenient Date
Let the name of the Triune God Jehovah, the only true name of God upon which all the true prophets have called; who incarnated as Jesus Christ; on whose name every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess; at whose name every spirit of and by name deceiver and murder shall tremble and flee; and in whose name every blessing shall come to pass and every curse removed; who never misguides or misguided any, guide all honest seekers into the delightful Truth and save from the sorrowful lie be glorified.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds ; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2 CORINTHIANS 10:4 & 5 To,
Janab MM Akbar, April 11, 2010Director, Niche of Truth
Subject: Acceptance of Your Open Challenge at Chunkapara in an Agreeable Format and Time
Dear Janab MM Akbar,
Greetings from Sakshi Apologetics Network.
It has been reported to us by our fellow-Christians that Niche of Truth has published “Islam Challenges” poster at Chunkapara (Pathanamthitta, Kerala) and nearby places. Please see the attached photo of your poster.
It is with sadness and an equal measure of amusement that we read your open ‘challenge’ posters. While we are unable to understand the real intentions of your challenge in a place where a few anti-social elements from your community had unleashed a wave of violence on the pretext of a book, we are amused that you who always evaded our debate invitations is now issuing public ‘challenges’. Irrespective of your qualification to issue a “challenge,” this letter is to let you AGAIN know that we accept your challenge as we always did in the past and are ready for an open public debate in a mutually agreeable format as it is done across the world on an agreed topic on a mutually convenient date. We hope that unlike in the past when you evaded from debating with us, this time you will show forth intellectual courage to debate with us on fair and equal terms. Before, we come to those; let us share a few words about your open challenge posters.
Disappointment With Your Attitude:
Lack of Social Commitment: First, as law abiding, peaceful and courageous citizens of this great nation, we are saddened to see your attempts to create communal tension and social disharmony. As you know, Chunkapara is now tensed with a few anti-social elements from your sect or community taking law into their hands by attacking a church and Christians to respond to a book critiquing Islam written by a late pastor. As we have not yet read the book we neither subscribe nor denounce the book in totality. However, going by the certain pronouncements of the honorable court, we assume that the book contains certain unsubstantiated and malicious claims and if our assumptions are correct, then we certainly disassociate from those views and have confidence the law will take its own course. At the same time, we are saddened to see that instead of condemning the anti-social elements in your community and educating them to abide by the law of the land; you are now encouraging them by your open challenge poster. If Christians, who have valiantly fought and died as martyrs for this nation, have not retaliated with equal measure
of violence, it is only because our commitment to a much higher and lofty morals taught in the Holy Bible and our love for this nation.
Lack of Moral Obligation: Second, more than anyone else in Kerala, you have a moral obligation to ensure that inter-religious discussions, however vociferous those may be, are never responded with violence. It must be recalled here that it is you who have started abusing other religions (Christianity and Hinduism in particular) as a means of showing the supposed superiority of Islam. You have called Jesus as ‘one who serves liquor,’ Yahweh as a ‘liar’, and have used other equally disrespectful and malicious language against the Christian faith. But, Christian faith, the true religion of peace both in words and action, have never responded violently but only refuted it thoroughly. In fact, the current controversial book is said to be a response for your abuses though we are yet to verify it. So, instead of trying to create an atmosphere of free and frank discussion, you apparently want to create an atmosphere of mistrust and terror, probably being under the false impression that in such an atmosphere Christians will not refute your malicious lies and blasphemies. Your actions are forcing us to think that you are an intellectual coward.
Absurdity of Your Challenge:
Challenge by an Evader: Third as stated before, we read your “challenge” with an equal amount of amusement. When we from the Christian side, have repeatedly and explicitly expressed our readiness in person, by letter, by email, by phone, and in public programs to publicly debate with you and when it is you who have evaded the debate (please read the proposed agreement published in our site www.sakshitimes.org), does your “challenge” have any meaning? At the best, it is a cheap publicity stunt of an intellectual coward and at the worst it is an attempt to create social disharmony by a terrorist ideologue.
Challenge without Content: Fourth, if your “challenge” has any meaning, you should have published the topic and invited willing Christians to discuss and finalize a mutually agreeable format. Without an agreed format, why do you assume that anyone will come for a debate? It might be that you will give 10 minutes to the Christian speaker and then you yourself may take an hour or more. Also, going by your past record, it might be that on the stage you may want to debate only Christian topics and never debate on Islamic topics. So, at the best, your challenge is a cheap publicity stunt of an intellectual coward and at the worst it is an attempt to create social disharmony by a terrorist ideologue.
Having stated our concerns, we repeat that we are ready for a debate on a mutually agreeable format on a mutually convenient date.
Further, since you in the past have blasphemed against the Holy LORD Jesus Christ and as the current controversy is about Muhammad, we propose that we should debate on both the topics to clarify our positions. Therefore, we propose the topics as “Morality of Jesus Christ and the Morality of Muhammad: Christian and Islamic Views.” Let us clarify the issues related to these topics in the interest of both the communities. We also propose that the format which we have published in our site can be considered as the format for the said debate.
Hope you would be intellectually honest enough to debate this topic and would respond to us at the earliest. Please do not respond any further by phone calls. Please respond only in writing as we would like to keep records of all the correspondence so that is transparent to public who is evading the debate.
Also, we want to debate with you, Janab MM Akbar and not with anyone else from your group. This is to expose your misinterpretations and refute your allegations to the public. So, you who challenged us in the context of violence and terror; show forth now your intellectual courage and honesty to debate with us on the topic Morality of Jesus Christ and the Morality of Muhammad: Christian and Islamic Views.
However, if your real intentions are mischievous and malicious and if you go ahead with your program on April 14, 2010 ignoring the fact that we have accepted your challenge, and if you make blasphemies against the Holy Biblical Faith at Chunkapara, be assured that it will be refuted at Pathanamthitta itself in the coming months. Be not under the illusion that anti-social elements in your group can prevent an intellectual refutation for your blasphemies.
Our Faithful Master promised to Apostle Peter who confessed Jesus as Messiah the Son of God “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). No matter how hard you try, you cannot prevail against the Church.
Note: A copy of this letter will be published soon at our website www.sakshitimes.org
With warm regards,
Your brother in humanity,
Jerry Thomas
