(Islam Online) - Christian missionaries are relentlessly trying to convert half a million Muslims in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) to Christianity, warned refugees returning home from the camps set up for the victims of the war there.
The country has 50 million people, about 5 million of whom are Muslim. About 70 percent of the population is Christian.
The Muslim refugees said that the missionaries are taking advantage of the harsh living environments in the camps in the east of the country. U.N. aid is scarce, and Iran is the only Islamic country that sends aid, but its aid is also insufficient, the refugees explained. Hunger is forcing many to turn to the missionaries, who have their own food assistance program.
The refugee problem arose after President Laurent Desire Kabila took over the government and a fierce civil war started between his forces and those of the opposition about two years ago. The Muslims living in the eastern states were hardest-hit by the war, according to Ahmad Kasisa, who recently visited Yemen to explain the plight of Congo's Muslims.
"Food is not enough to sustain yourself. A tiny bit of rice and beans, if there are beans. The lack of medical services and plethora of infected water is spreading diseases," Kasisa said. He accused the U.N. of partiality in distributing food. "They favor the Christians."
Kasisa said the missionaries were more dangerous, however, calling them, "human wolves." He said that an Italian missionary group, Caritas, has opened field hospitals and schools for the refugees in which priests teach. The group has overwhelmed many Muslims, who decided to convert to Christianity.
He said that Muslims in the Democratic Republic of Congo had a bad image. "They are seen as backward, unable to speak French, the language of government, the farmers who do not know about city life."
