Saatu’l Islah. the Arabic Broadcast of the Back to God Hour, has been on the air for fifteen years. In all that time there have been very few letters from women listeners. In a Moslem culturc the woman has a very difficult life, and it is only lately, as more women have becomc well-educated, that there has been any attempt to change this century-old pattern. Even now there are very few city women who would consider living in a country village—the contrast is so great. To a visitor in the Middle East this fact is noticeable. The country seems to belong to another century or is a place where time has stood still.
However, we do know that there must be many women listening simply because mention is often made that the whole family is gathered around the radio listening to the Bible studies or Sunday sermons. Recently we received a letter from a lady doctor on the staff of a hospital in Misurata, Lihya, which we know will catch your imagination.
She writes: “Greetings and peace from the Lord of peace, from our God Jesus Christ, to whom belongs all glory and honor for ever and ever. Amen. I give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior, and I thank you because of all your labors in expounding the Holy Gospel, and I wait eagerly for the beginning of your programs because I am here leading a lonely life in this country and my only comfort is to listen to your program and feel closer to my Lord and Savior. I do hope that you will send me your literature so that I benefit from it and grow in my faith and knowledge. Thanking you in advance. God be with you.”
For background we should describe the situation in Libya now. In 1970 the country was taken over by Col. Gadafy, the most fanatical of Moslem leaders. Rich with oil, Libya is now trying to make up for lost time. After forty years of Italian colonialism, Libyans are now forging ahead propelled by a fierce nationalism. They have turned to their neighbor Egypt for the necessary trained help, and over 100,000 Egyptians have found jobs waiting for them in Libya. Without a doubt some of these Egyptians are of the Coptic church -and some, like this doctor, are evangelical Protestants. Try to sympathize with such Christians as they work in an environment which is fanatically antagonistic to the Christian faith.
Replying to letters from Libya always makes us a bit sad because we must inform the listener that we cannot send them any of the books which we advertise on our broadcast. They simply will not be delivered. How, then, can we help this woman and other listeners who desire the spiritual food and fellowship that every Christian needs for his or her daily life?
Thanks to your support and the way in which the Arabic broadcasts have expanded, we are happy to say that we can help. Yes, by means of one airmail letter we can inform each listener of our entire broadcasting schedule. Usually the listener has just discovered us on one station.
Besides the station on which this lady doctor found us, she will then discover that she can pick up the program on the three other stations which reach the Middle East successfully. We broadcast on five stations in all. For Libyans the most popular station is that of Cyprus which is only heard three times a week, late in the evening. She can also get us in the morning at 6:45 Cairo time, from TWR, Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles; or at 8:45 in the evening from the Seychelle Islands in the Indian Ocean; and late at night from TWR, Monte Carlo.
Are you wondering—why so many programs—and isn’t this a lot of repetition? There is no repetition because we stagger our program schedules making it possible for a listener to pick up three different Bible studies in one day or three different sermons on a Sunday. For a shift worker, as the doctor probably is, this would be an added boon. Remember that in Libya there is simply no other source of contact with Christians, no place to worship—no visible church at all. Can you imagine how much this “voice” contact means?
Many listeners remark that they wish our programs were longer than the fifteen minutes on weekdays and half-hour on Sundays. You see the air is filled with other sounds and those who are hungry find that time too short. Compared with the total program hours in each day we have lots of room to grow.
With radio then we have not only initial contact but also follow-up.
As a young woman from Sudan expressed it: “. . . we believe you are truly interested in our spiritual lives and you want to us to come back to the Lord Jesus Christ. Your ministry has had a tremendous influence upon us and has enabled us to be saved from many a crisis in am lives.”
Because of the vastness of the Arab world -it stretches from Morocco in the west to Iraq in the east—and because of those US million potential listeners, we are thankful that we can broadcast from five different locations. Some countries can only pick up one broadcast clearly—or some listeners may nut have the best of short wave sets and have to rely on the medium wave from Monte Carlo or Cyprus. This is why we are always eager to expand on the Cyprus station because it is the station which best reaches Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Libya. It is hardly necessary to point out why we are so eager to bring the Gospel of peace to these particular countries at this time.
Radio is indeed a very vital part of life in the Arab world. As one listener expressed it: “Please consider me a member of your broadcast family.” Could we ask you who read this article to mentally add these brothers and sisters to your prayer list? They thank God for this “voice” which comes to them with spiritual food—they would appreciate your prayers and awareness of their existence.
Mrs. Madany is doing secretarial work for her husband, Bassam M. Madany at The Back to God Hour in Chicago. She is well informed on conditions in the Muslim world.
However, we do know that there must be many women listening simply because mention is often made that the whole family is gathered around the radio listening to the Bible studies or Sunday sermons. Recently we received a letter from a lady doctor on the staff of a hospital in Misurata, Lihya, which we know will catch your imagination.
She writes: “Greetings and peace from the Lord of peace, from our God Jesus Christ, to whom belongs all glory and honor for ever and ever. Amen. I give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior, and I thank you because of all your labors in expounding the Holy Gospel, and I wait eagerly for the beginning of your programs because I am here leading a lonely life in this country and my only comfort is to listen to your program and feel closer to my Lord and Savior. I do hope that you will send me your literature so that I benefit from it and grow in my faith and knowledge. Thanking you in advance. God be with you.”
For background we should describe the situation in Libya now. In 1970 the country was taken over by Col. Gadafy, the most fanatical of Moslem leaders. Rich with oil, Libya is now trying to make up for lost time. After forty years of Italian colonialism, Libyans are now forging ahead propelled by a fierce nationalism. They have turned to their neighbor Egypt for the necessary trained help, and over 100,000 Egyptians have found jobs waiting for them in Libya. Without a doubt some of these Egyptians are of the Coptic church -and some, like this doctor, are evangelical Protestants. Try to sympathize with such Christians as they work in an environment which is fanatically antagonistic to the Christian faith.
Replying to letters from Libya always makes us a bit sad because we must inform the listener that we cannot send them any of the books which we advertise on our broadcast. They simply will not be delivered. How, then, can we help this woman and other listeners who desire the spiritual food and fellowship that every Christian needs for his or her daily life?
Thanks to your support and the way in which the Arabic broadcasts have expanded, we are happy to say that we can help. Yes, by means of one airmail letter we can inform each listener of our entire broadcasting schedule. Usually the listener has just discovered us on one station.
Besides the station on which this lady doctor found us, she will then discover that she can pick up the program on the three other stations which reach the Middle East successfully. We broadcast on five stations in all. For Libyans the most popular station is that of Cyprus which is only heard three times a week, late in the evening. She can also get us in the morning at 6:45 Cairo time, from TWR, Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles; or at 8:45 in the evening from the Seychelle Islands in the Indian Ocean; and late at night from TWR, Monte Carlo.
Are you wondering—why so many programs—and isn’t this a lot of repetition? There is no repetition because we stagger our program schedules making it possible for a listener to pick up three different Bible studies in one day or three different sermons on a Sunday. For a shift worker, as the doctor probably is, this would be an added boon. Remember that in Libya there is simply no other source of contact with Christians, no place to worship—no visible church at all. Can you imagine how much this “voice” contact means?
Many listeners remark that they wish our programs were longer than the fifteen minutes on weekdays and half-hour on Sundays. You see the air is filled with other sounds and those who are hungry find that time too short. Compared with the total program hours in each day we have lots of room to grow.
With radio then we have not only initial contact but also follow-up.
As a young woman from Sudan expressed it: “. . . we believe you are truly interested in our spiritual lives and you want to us to come back to the Lord Jesus Christ. Your ministry has had a tremendous influence upon us and has enabled us to be saved from many a crisis in am lives.”
Because of the vastness of the Arab world -it stretches from Morocco in the west to Iraq in the east—and because of those US million potential listeners, we are thankful that we can broadcast from five different locations. Some countries can only pick up one broadcast clearly—or some listeners may nut have the best of short wave sets and have to rely on the medium wave from Monte Carlo or Cyprus. This is why we are always eager to expand on the Cyprus station because it is the station which best reaches Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Libya. It is hardly necessary to point out why we are so eager to bring the Gospel of peace to these particular countries at this time.
Radio is indeed a very vital part of life in the Arab world. As one listener expressed it: “Please consider me a member of your broadcast family.” Could we ask you who read this article to mentally add these brothers and sisters to your prayer list? They thank God for this “voice” which comes to them with spiritual food—they would appreciate your prayers and awareness of their existence.
Mrs. Madany is doing secretarial work for her husband, Bassam M. Madany at The Back to God Hour in Chicago. She is well informed on conditions in the Muslim world.