Patrick Sookhdeo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Patrick Sookhdeo
Enlarge
Patrick Sookhdeo

Patrick Sookhdeo, is a British Anglican canon. He is the director of the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity and of the Barnabas Fund. Sookhdeo is an outspoken spokesman for persecuted Christian minorities around the world. He has made many media appearances in Great Britain and is an advocate for human rights and freedom of religion.

Sookhdeo, a former Muslim is considered an international authority on jihadist ideology, and is the advisor[citation needed] to British and NATO military officers on radical Islam.

Contents

[edit] Life

Patrick Sookhdeo was born in 1947 in Guyana from a Muslim family who had migrated from Asia. His family migrated in the early 1960s to England. In 1965, as a student, Sookhdeo made his first contact with a Christian prayer group.

"I had associated Christianity with racism, colonialism and violence. But when I met this group of people with religious values, they were not violent . . . they were people with genuine concern for a foreigner like myself. That began the change in my thinking."

Sookhdeo converted to Christianity in 1969 and pursued studies to become an Anglican priest and went on to obtain a Doctorate in Oriental and African studies. During that time Sookhdeo began exploring inter-faith dialogue and became increasing concerned by the brutality being levelled at Christian minorities in Islamic nations, including death penalties for conversions from Islam.

In 1989, Sookhdeo created the London based Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity, and saw the creation of a global database on extremist movements and ideologies who were persecuting religious minorities across the Muslim world . By 1991, Sookhdeo was predicting that an "Islamic storm" was on the horizon. He also runs the Barnabas Fund, a charity that supports persecuted Christian minorities around the world. He subsequently obtained a PhD in Islamic Studies at the University of London.

He has authored several books, including, Understanding Islamic Terrorism. A number of his books have been translated into German.

[edit] Criticism

The Muslim Association of Britain, who have accused him of ignorance of the subtleties of Islamic theology and of "cherry picking" verses from the Qur’an to make his points.[1]

Some Christian church leaders in Britain have criticised him for speaking about the discrimination that Christians face in Muslim countries, because they think it hinders inter-faith relations within Britain. [2].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Response to: Patrick Sookhdeo Evening Standard (27th July 2005)
  2. ^ Dr Sookhdeo's Reply to two Methodist leaders in The Methodist Recorder, 2003-03-17

[edit] Works

[edit] Articles

[edit] Books and booklets

  • 1972The Asian in Britain, London: Community and Race Relations Unit of the British Council of Churches (booklet)
  • 1972Asians in Britain : a Christian understanding, London : Church Pastoral-Aid Society, ISBN 0854918310
  • 1983Christianity & Other Faiths, Attic Press, ISBN 0853643636
  • 1990Sharing Good News: The Gospel and Your Asian Neighbours, Scripture Union, ISBN 0862015472
  • 2001A Christian's Pocket Guide to Islam, Fearn : Christian Focus and Isaac, ISBN 1857926994 (also 2006, ISBN 1845501195)
  • 2002A People Betrayed: The Impact of Islamisation on the Christian Community in Pakistan, Fearn, Ross-shire : Christian Focus Publications ; Pewsey, Wiltshire : Isaac Publishing, ISBN 1857927850
  • 2002World of Islam: History of Islam, Mentor, ISBN 1857927990
  • 2002World of Islam: Islamic Theology, Mentor, ISBN 1857928008 (Paperback)
  • 2002World of Islam: Living Islam, Mentor, ISBN 1857928016 (Paperback)
  • 2004Understanding Islamic Terrorism: The Islamic Doctrine of War, Pewsey: Isaac Publishing, ISBN 0954783506
  • 2005Islam in Britain: The British Muslim Community in February 2005, Pewsey: Isaac Publishing, ISBN 0954783557
  • 2006Islam the Challenge to the Church, Pewsey: Isaac Publishing, ISBN 0954783549

[edit] Co-authored

[edit] Edited

  • 1974All One in Christ: The Biblical View of Race, Marshall, ISBN 0551053984
  • 1978Jesus Christ the Only Way: Christian Responsibility in the Multicultural Society, Paternoster Press, ISBN 0853642362
  • 1988New Frontiers in Mission, Baker Publishing Group, ISBN 0801082846
  • 2004The Persecuted Church, Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation

[edit] Interview

[edit] Sermons

  • MP3 of sermon giving at St. Paul's Anglican Church Carlingford on "Islam & Christianity". [2]

[edit] See also