LEBANON: In Muslim Middle East, Jehovah's Witnesses congregate in secret

An elegantly dressed Lebanese woman in a black and white Chanel suit stood up and offered her seat to a Philippine domestic worker, "Please sit, I'll go look for more chairs."

The unusual scene in Lebanon, where wealthy locals more often than not abuse and exploit migrant workers from Asia, was at an undercover Jehovah's Witnesses congregation just outside of Beirut.

Recently, more than 200 Jehovah's Witnesses gathered in the basement of a posh building north of the capital. They divided up into two rooms, one for the English-speaking and one for the Sinhalese-translated session for Sri Lankans.

Unlike other parts of the Arab world, Lebanon is known for its tolerance of multiple religious confessions. But even that has a limit, especially for faiths like Jehovah's Witnesses that are not registered or officially recognized by the government.

It is estimated that there are over 15 "Kingdom Halls," or prayer gatherings, in Lebanon, which for now appear to be tolerated despite fears that participants could be harassed or deported. "My employer is Greek Orthodox, but she likes that I am a Witness," a young Philippine woman explained. "She knows that she can trust me. She lets me come to the meetings."

Unlike in the West, however, she does not go door-to-door preaching. Proselytizing to Muslims is a punishable offense in most Arab countries. Though the Lebanese constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the government relies on a confessional system in which each state-sanctioned religious community holds an independent civil court to adjudicate personal status matters, namely marriage, divorce and child custody. 

Jehovah's Witnesses say they feel like an oppressed and silenced minority. They say that the Maronite community in particular vilifies them. "They spread lies about us, claiming that we are Jews," said an Armenian convert.

Jehovah's Witnesses is a relatively young faith. In the late 19th century, an American named Charles Taze Russell led a Bible study group after the publication of his "Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society." The group dubbed itself Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931. 

Followers believe that the End of Days began in 1914 with Armageddon approaching. They observe only one holiday: The Last Supper of Jesus, or the Memorial Service as they call it. An estimated 18 million adherents regularly attend Kingdom Halls or proselytize worldwide, including in the Arab world. The Council of Elders, based in Brooklyn, oversees the activities of the group, publishes religious materials and disseminates doctrinal interpretations.

The Beirut service began with a warm welcome from one of the "brothers," who then summoned another member to deliver the sermon. He discussed their beliefs, reading from the New Testament and arguing that, after Armageddon, only 144,000 true believers will accompany Jesus as he rules from heaven. 

The witnesses listened solemnly, rising and praying when called to do so. Finally, the preacher concluded, offering to dispatch learned members to the homes of newcomers.

Two Lebanese and two African members walked to the front of the hall to collect a plate of unleavened bread and a glass of red wine. 

Once the memorial concluded, they rose from their seats and chatted quietly with one another. The Ghanaian and Philippine couple rushed their daughter home "to finish homework." A Lebanese man carried his young son on his shoulders; the Lebanese women giggled with their Philippine sisters and most of them gave a smile and a handshake to all new faces.

"I hope to see you Thursday so we can talk next time," a young Liberian man said kindly to an American newcomer. "You are always welcome here."

-- Becky Lee Katz in Beirut

Photo: The front cover of an Arabic-language Jehovah's Witnesses pamphlet. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Voice of reason]

When my Jehovah's Witness mother died in 1992 I did not know she had passed away until it came up in the social security database in 1993.I was completely cut off and treated as DEAD all because I was disfellowshipped for leaving JW and becoming a born again Christian.
I was not allowed to comfort my own mother in her last days,even though I was the family anchor,with the most money,most energy who always took care of my clan.
There is NO other group on earth not the the Taliban,not the USA prison system,not even the other notorious cults... nobody is as cruel as the JW cult!
Think about it...

[Voice of reason]

Jehovah's Witnesses are wolf in sheep's clothing but God is the personification of love.

Love God reject cult.
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Cults/jw.htm

http://newsblaze.com/story/20090321133416zzzz.nb/topstory.html

http://www.howcultswork.com/

[Robin]

CULT - The etymology of the word “cult” has been bastardized by the fanatical Conservative Right, or Evangelicals, over the years, to include any Christian religion that they do not approve of. A brief study of the word “cult” will reveal the true intent of the bigotry behind it’s abuse by so called “Christians.”
DISFELLOWSHIPPING Follow this thread . http://www.watchtower.org/e/19880415/article_01.htm
Shunning or excommunication has been recognized as a Christian doctrine since it's inception by the Christian Congregation in the 1st century. The "New Testament" doesn't allow for 'stoning', which this compassionate disciplinary action replaced. If the church's of Christendom followed this Bible doctrine there would be many fewer church goers, but their leadership allows "uncleanness of every sort" Ephesians 4:19, which is why they are mostly in decline.
What you mostly read here is the rantings of professional bitter opposers.

[Robert King]

Jehovah's Witnesses have heretofore played a vital role in the outworking of Jehovah's purpose to bring the world into judgment with himself, trough Christ.
http://e-watchman.com

[Guard against the JW life-thieves]

Unfortunately Jehovah's Witnesses are insidious in their effects. They hold your whole life hostage by teaching you that to leave the group will doom you to destruction and mark you as belonging to the devil. The truth is that once you are in you will have no freedom in your life anymore. Consider what this would do to a child indoctrinated with this kind of life view. I know this because I was one and went through hell trying to make a life for myself which was free from fear of what they had indoctrinated me to believe. The watchtower has no real for the wellbeing of their followers in the here and now but pretend to give you a chance of 'eternal' life. The potential for damage is huge and anyone who tells you different is lying. The people who are posting anti-jw here are just trying to warn everybody about the real nature of this group. They are NOT 'hating', they care and don't want people to have to go through what they have been through. I know, I've been through it. Listen to me, DO NOT TRUST THE JW. If you are still in, do the proper research and GET OUT.

[Voice of reason]

Jehovah's Witnesses are a religious group that separates families - in Scientology it's called disconnection, in JW it's disfellowshipping and shunning.

Family is the most sacred nucleus of society, not religion, and belief in doctrine should not come before a family's love.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_witnesses#Disciplinary_action

http://www.xjw.com/shunning.html

[B-I....N-G-O!]

WTS can't wait to be driven underground, and globally persecuted as they feel this will trigger God into action to protect them and end ALL governments. As described....interestingly in 1975! So why are they asking the UN for "refuge" and "protection"???

Mans Salvation Out of World distress At hand ( 1975)chap. 14 pp. 260-263 When Man’s Old Order Makes Way for God’s New Order

Likewise, the national and state governments ( UN) under the leadership of the modern-day Gog of Magog cannot disincorporate the “faithful and discreet slave” whom the reigning King Jesus Christ has found reliable and has appointed “over all his belongings” on the earth. They cannot do so, for this corporate “slave” was never incorporated under the laws of any political government of the world. (Matthew 24:45-47; Luke 12:42-44)

This “slave” class has existed from the first century C.E., when the royal Master, Jesus Christ, organized it, and it has continued active in his service down to this time and is responsible to him and not to “Caesar” or to Gog of the land of Magog. This holds true, also, with respect to the Scriptural governing body of the anointed “faithful and discreet slave” class.

The political governments of the symbolic “wild beast” may dissolve the corporation of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and its Board of Directors and also other legal corporations of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses in various lands, but they cannot dissolve or revoke the theocratic appointment of the governing body that represents the “faithful and discreet slave” class.

45 It will be no new experience for Jehovah’s Christian witnesses to go underground in carrying on their spiritual activities. In the first century of our Common Era, according to secular history, the faithful Christians met together in the catacombs of the Roman Empire during its beastly persecution. In this twentieth century the Christian witnesses of Jehovah have carried on with their disciple-making operations in spite of bans and proscriptions, maintaining a successful underground system.

46 For decades now, they have continued their worship and service of their God behind the so-called Iron Curtain that screens off the Communist lands. Even if, during the invasion of the hordes of Gog of Magog, they are obliged to go underground world wide, they will keep organized.

They will try to keep in communication with one another. Especially will they pray for one another when physically scattered from fellow worshipers of Jehovah. They will continue to rejoice in their spiritual paradise, for they know that the violent persecution at the hands of Gog of Magog does not mean that they have lost divine favor, approval and blessing. Their spiritual qualities will shine more brightly than ever before, and they will not permit their spiritual lives to be snuffed out by men who can kill only the body, but, after that, can do no more to a faithful Christian who keeps his integrity to Jehovah God.—Luke 12:4; Matthew 10:28.

(...)

They will let their God manifest his protective power over them. They will remember and put faith in the words of the prophet spoken under stress of a similar invasion against Jehovah’s worshipers: “Do not you be afraid or be terrified because of this large crowd; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15) Their trust in the Almighty God will not be misplaced. He will make it His battle, for the fight is really, not against them, but against Him their God. Now he is truly angry, and he is fully justified in expressing his anger!

49 Now the “great day of God the Almighty” has arrived, and it is the time for the “war” that will mark that day for the vindication of Jehovah’s universal sovereignty. That figurative “place,” that explosive stage of hostilities between God the Almighty and Gog’s forces, called in Hebrew Har–Magedon, has been reached. (Revelation 16:14, 16

THAT DAY HAS ARRIVED? THE EXPLOSIVE STAGE....HAS BEEN REACHED?

[Cathy Conscience]

Worse than Jonestown and Branch Davidians combined?
It's about dead kids people!

Everybody,everywhere knows about the many Jehovah's Witnesses (possible 200,000 or more since WW2) including many children who have died as a direct result of rejecting a life saving blood transfusion.
The Watchtower society has in the past applauded these *martyrs for Jehovah*.Come lawsuit time and POOF JW want to shoot the messengers and deny it all.

It's about dead kids people!

JW please EXPLAIN THIS

Jehovah's Witnesses use 80% of the bag of Red Cross donated blood for their *fractions* and also use *hemopure* which is COWS BLOOD

Blood transfusion to Jehovah Witness is like psychiatry to Scientologist
Jehovah's Witnesses WORSE than Jonestown Branch Davidians combined 250,000 DEAD Jehovah Witness Men,Women,Children since 1945 over blood ban

The Watchtower organization has vacillated on its position concerning blood in recent years. Many blood fractions are now allowed that were forbidden. A number of its members died that could have survived under the present rules. Sadly, the Watchtower leadership takes no resonsibility for this.

http://www.cftf.com/comments/kidsdied.html LOOK

[John]

You have to realize that the Jehovah's Witnesses heavily outreach recruit like no other group.
They are at MY HOME trying to recruit my family, I talk to them once or twice and have recently done a little online investigating and find they are reprehensible and I have rejected them forever.

The problem is they will not take NO for an answer,they keep coming back and back like no other religion to sell a product that is harmful.
So,they will get scrutinized more than any other religion.It doesn't matter that they are no worse or no better than any other religion in my city as the other religions are not intruding interloping into my family.

http://www.freeminds.org site on the Watchtower

[John]

Dear "Reading the Watchtower",

Am i to assume that your interpretation of Luke 12:42-46 can only mean that there are "two slaves, a good one and a evil one existing at the same time"? After re-reading the scripture carefully, it mentions "But if ever that slave should say". It's not another slave here, its the same one that could be Happy "if his master on arriving finds him doing so!" (refering to the faithful slave). And it goes on to say
"But if ever that slave should say in his heart, ‘My master delays coming,’ and should start to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,

46 the master of that slave will come on a day that he is not expecting [him] and in an hour that he does not know, and he will punish him..."

Please go and read it again. Use different bibles to confirm your understanding. Before you start saying that WTS are in error, and start pointing fingers at them, examine the Bible and see if it makes some sense.
About the cleansing part, does their being cleansed mean that they are therefore infallible? Does it therefore mean that they cannot be further refined? Your understanding of the 1919 "cleansing" is probably based on that wrong premise, in my humble opinion after reading what you said.

Apostasy is taught in the Bible, dont make it seem that only Jehovah's Witnesses made it up.
As again,Instead of going to great lengths to splitting hairs on these topics, focus on the more important things that the Bible emphasizes, namely- love for God, love for Neighbor, and keeping on the Watch.

[Reading the Watchtower]

What I don't understand is WTS has said that God has chosen them to be the only true religion by appointing them as "faithful and discreet slave class" According to Matthew 24:45-51 and Luke 12:42-46

(Luke 12:42-46) . . .And the Lord said: “Who really is the faithful steward, the discreet one, whom his master will appoint over his body of attendants to keep giving them their measure of food supplies at the proper time?

43 Happy is that slave, if his master on arriving finds him doing so! 44 I tell YOU truthfully, He will appoint him over all his belongings. 45 But if ever that slave should say in his heart, ‘My master delays coming,’ and should start to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,

46 the master of that slave will come on a day that he is not expecting [him] and in an hour that he does not know, and he will punish him with the greatest severity and assign him a part with the unfaithful ones.. . .

WTS has misapplied Jesus parable of one slave, that may or may not be faithful,and, may or may not be rewarded, instead, as two slaves, a good one and a evil one existing at the same time. Scripture does not teach that. On this false premise they have assumed the authority of God's official spokesman for the world, with not so much as one scripture to substantiate that claim.

Worse they claim this appointment took place in 1919 when they were "cleansed" by God and Jesus, and restored and approved for pure worship,(WTL Isaiah's Prophecy 2001-2 chap. 27 p. 397 Jehovah Blesses Pure Worship) while they continued to celebrate christmas,birthdays, and venerate the cross for the next several years, until 1931(WTL Proclaimers chap. 14 p. 200 “They Are No Part of the World”) when these practices were found as pagan and "unclean" .

Why didn't they know that before? Since they said that "from pentecost 33 each generation of anointed faithful slave has fed the other!(WTL God's Kingdom of a Thousand Years chap. 17 pages 344 The “Slave” Who Lived to See the “Sign”) " Why did they say they were cleansed and practicing pure worship when they were not?

Just Search WTL its all there. What is very disturbing is basic Human Rights of freedom of conscience, and expression of JWs who learn these discrepancies are suppressed under threat of expulsion by WTS even when it is the truth..per WT literature.... WTS labels their members who rightfully bring these errors to light as apostate,..what would the UN say?

Read the watchtower about a "classless society" http://www.watchtower.org/e/20020101/article_02.htm

[Vasilios]

Mr. Freeedom... the best assets we can give to Jehovah is our time in the ministry. If we gave everything we owned then people would say that we were extremist and we were unreasonable.

"John came neither eating nor drinking, yet people say, ‘He has a demon’; 19 the Son of man did come eating and drinking, still people say, ‘Look! A man gluttonous and given to drinking wine, a friend of tax collectors and sinners."
Matthew 11:18-19

We don't sell everything we own, we are sinners; we do sell everything we own, we have a demon and are extremist. Really then, what will make you happy?

[Freeedom]

Jehovah's Witnesses are WORSE than Scientology because they are older established 'Bible based' pseudo Christian cult which makes them more seductively appealing.Moreover,they outreach by making one on one home visitation which makes them intrusive like telemarketers.
Although not as up-front brash about taking your money that still is what they end up trying to do in the end.

[If the end of the world is coming any minute....what do you need your assets for,why not give it to Jehovah?]

MONEY$$
http://www.freeminds.org/organization/business/the-watchtower-way-of-laundering-money.html

[BillN]

I haven't seen as many comments about an article about Lebanon as this article about the JW in Lebanon.
Wow.

[Francis]

Jehovah's Witnesses are worse fanatics than many mainsteam churches.

Thet are extreme in their control of followers.

Scientologists declare their outcasts "suppressive persons."
Another Scientology policy - called "disconnection" - forbids Scientologists from interacting with a suppressive person. No calls, no letters, no contact.

An SP is a pariah. Anyone who communicates with an SP risks being branded an SP himself.
Jehovah's Witnesses disfellowshiped person (DF) is exactly the same as Scientology suppressed person (SP)
Jehovah's Witnesses are EXACTLY the same.


SHUNNING
http://www.xjw.com/shunning.html

[luzcannon]

I was raised a JW. They are no more, and no less, benighted than any other religious group. They preach sheer nonsense, like all the rest, but I kept some of the truly extraordinary (for religious people) ideas:

They are pacifists, taking that "Thou Shalt Not Kill" thingy seriously -- unlike most other religions, and very very few "Christians," often leading to their imprisonment, persecution, or death -- even in the US (I had an uncle and a friend sent to jail during the Viet Nam war for refusing the draft on religious/ethical grounds). In other countries they suffer far worse. They will die for their beliefs if necessary, but never, never kill -- I admire that, and have kept that as one of my own values.They are anti-racist and anti-nationalist, believing (in theory) that we are all brothers and sisters. Kept that, too. They have often rescued others from, oh say, the Nazis --check out the scholarship on that and you'll see the best humanity has to offer -- and many of them would up in the death camps with the Jews, Rom, queers, etc. The rank and file are generally known to be exceptionally honest and hard working -- also a keeper. They taught me to question institutional and political authority -- all but theirs, of course.
and ...
My family are still devout and they have no place in their lives for a lesbian, however honest, peaceful, humanitarian, or spiritual, but I could have been ostracized by a Catholic, Protestant, Jewish or Muslim family just as thoroughly, depending on the virulence of scriptural interpretation. They are ignorant as all get-out about so many things I can't begin to list -- again, a pretty common trait in ideologues / the vast majority of human beings who just want to be told what to think and think they are right. They isolate themselves in a way that eschews most community involvement, and one wonders how they think things get done in this "worldly" world if no one participates outside of their own little group. Their theology doesn't stand up to scholarship or scrutiny, but then again the Sky Daddy folks are pretty silly as a whole.

Some good things have come from their stand on blood transfusion, although they have tortured logic to insanity to hold these views and equate them with the buy-bull. They DO protect pedophiles, if my experience is any indicator, but this can be said of many other religions (which are all cults as far as I'm concerned), and they have the same problems with corruption in their entrenched, male-dominated leadership as every other entrenched, male-dominated institution.
Some J-Dubs are scrupulous, and do a decent job of following the teachings attributed to Da Christ (I'm down with that, but not with Christians). Others -- and this will vary widely from congregation to congregation and region to region -- are totally vile excrescences masquerading as pious folk. Kinda like everyone else.
Would I go back or recommend them to others? Absolutely not (LMAO). But I'd rather be in a jam with a J-Dub than most other Hypochristians. Those posting who are rabidly defensive / offensive on either side have the conviction of their experiences and I don't doubt their sincerity (I know what they can do, Danny), but the JWs on whole are are no worse than any other dogmatic groups, and a bit better than most.

[Ted]

Oh, Please , you can blog or publish any thing on the Internet.
If they excommunicate someone you say"Oh what a terrible thing they kick you out if you are immoral" Then if the person isn't proven to be immoral or repents then "They hid a terrible sin!" to kick someone out , and all they did was...
Even 1/3 of Gods angles were kicked out of heaven for rebelling against God.So anyone can have some bad ones.
The world of pedophiles is terrible and hard to deal with especially if you are a very clean people and are just coming to grips with learning how to deal with it in this depraved world , and find it harder to deal with, in an exceptionally clean organization.Because this behavior is so new and far removed from what you know.
And with all this still stay within Bible guidelines.
How would you like them to handle it if you were falsely accused?
Or if you were the victim. And if someone came and confess to any preacher ,what is the likelihood he would do that if he knew he would be reported?
Of course you have to look after the children first and foremost however you can't throw caution to the wind and call the police to any and every accusation. Actually that is the parents responsibility not a ministers.

[Known by their fruits]

I wonder if this kind of abuse is isolated to just the US JWs....what happens in other parts of the world in this area??

http://www.watchtower.cc/courtdocuments.htm

[Derex]

My family has been associated with 3 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Atlantic Canada and Quebec over a 45 year period.

There were pedophiles in each of the three congregations, they were never exposed or reported to authorities. Elder’s within the Jehovah’s Witness Halls, kept it secret.
Elder’s will go to any lengths to hide any sin inside the Watchtower organization. They said not to tell “outsider’s” of inside problems, as it brings disgrace on Jehovah God.

ON January 1, 2008, the Watchtower organization bagan to publish two different Watchtower magazines. One for inside the cult, and one for the public. That should indicate the difference between what they tell the public, and what they dictate to the followers.
My expereince with the Watchtower organization has been very negative. The only thing it taught me was to be a good salesman.
It destroys families.

Check out the link below where Jehovah's Witnesses trespassed on a deputy sheriff's property to pick a fight and shot to death the deputy.

They also have commited rapes:Google: Jehovah's Witness sexual assault door to door
http://dannyhaszard.com/murderhaunts.htm

http://www.dannyhaszard.com/sexabuse/index.htm

[John]

Just a short comment. I have been all around in the world, including the middle east. JWittnesses do more there than any other christian religions. Not there to change muslims but reached the respect of many muslim communities. As muslims have high moral standards in general, christians dont. Jwitnesses proved that christians can live with high moral standards according to Bible, and this results to respect from others.