Islamic preachers seeking to convert African Christians to Islam are asking them to repeat the words, "Jesus is the slave of Allah and Mohammed," a video compilation released by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) appears to show, Christian News reported.
MEMRI said Egyptian cleric Wahid Abd Al-Salam Bali has been leading an Islamic conversion mission in Africa, traveling to predominantly Christian areas of Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania and Ghana.
In the video, Bali claims to have converted more than 4,000 people within a seven-day period in Malawi alone, the Christian News report said.
The video shows Africans undergoing Islamisation rites where they recite the shahada, the Islamic creed. In addition to the customary, "I attest that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger," the new Islamic converts are made to say: "I bear witness that Jesus is the slave of Allah and his messenger," the report said.
The video shows Bali asking the converts to repeat this line over and over again.
Bali is also shown leading a group of children in Islamic chants, followed by repeated exclamations of "Allah Akbar." He teaches the children to hold up one finger as they recite the shahada, a Muslim gesture that signifies their belief that there is no other god but Allah.
The video also shows a young man being instructed by an Islamic cleric to remove his cross necklace and repeat the shahada.
"You will become a Muslim. You will pray five times a day with the Muslims. You should take off the cross, because this is only for Christians," Bali says.
The man then rips the necklace off his neck, raises his finger in the air and repeats the Islamic creed.
A clip in the video called "Conquering a New Village" then shows a group of Islamic clerics addressing a crowd of impoverished Africans. One preacher asks, "Who among you wants to join Islam?" A majority raise their hands.
He then leads the crowds in reciting the shahada, followed by declarations of "Allah Akbar."
It would seem that the Africans were convinced to join Islam because of the promise of financial gains. Speaking through an interpreter, the Arabic-speaking preacher tells the crowd that Muslims have come to help them because in Islam the rich are commanded to give to the poor.
The crowd gets excited as he speaks.
"It is Islam that commanded us to come here, to resolve your problems, and to help you," the preacher says. "Because the Prophet of the Muslims, Muhammad, peace be upon him, says that the rich should give to the poor. That is why we have come to you."
