Interview with Father Zakaria Botros, 'Radical Islam's Bane'
An interview with the Coptic Orthodox Priest with a 60 million dollar bounty on his head from al Qaeda.
I am a Copt. In my early 20s, I became a priest. Of course, in predominantly Muslim Egypt, Christians—priests or otherwise—do not talk about religion with Muslims. My older brother, a passionate Christian learned that lesson too late: after preaching to Muslims, he was eventually ambushed by Muslims who cut out his tongue and murdered him.
PrintInterview with Father Zakaria Botros, “Radical Islam's Bane”
FrontPage Interview’s guest today is Coptic priest Fr. Zakaria Botros, who al Qaeda has called "one of the most wanted infidels in the world," issuing a 60 million dollar bounty on his head. Popular Arabic magazines also call him "Islam's public enemy #1". He hosts a television program, “Truth Talk,” on Life TV. His two sites are Islam-Christianity.net and FatherZakaria.net. He was recently awarded the Daniel of the Year award.
FP: Fr. Zakaria Botros, welcome to Frontpage Interview.
Botros: Thank you for inviting me.
FP: Let’s begin with your own personal story, in terms of Islam and Christianity.
Botros: I am a Copt. In my early 20s, I became a priest. Of course, in predominantly Muslim Egypt, Christians—priests or otherwise—do not talk about religion with Muslims. My older brother, a passionate Christian learned that lesson too late: after preaching to Muslims, he was eventually ambushed by Muslims who cut out his tongue and murdered him. Far from being deterred or hating Muslims, I eventually felt more compelled to share the Good News with them. Naturally, this created many problems: I was constantly harassed, threatened, and eventually imprisoned and tortured for one year, simply for preaching to Muslims. Egyptian officials charged me with abetting “apostasy,” that is, for being responsible for the conversion of Muslims to Christianity. Another time I was arrested while boarding a plane out of Egypt. Eventually, however, I managed to flee my native country and resided for a time in Australia and England. Anyway, my life-story with Christianity and Islam is very long and complicated. In fact, an entire book about it was recently published.
FP: I apologize for asking this, but what were some of the tortures you endured when you were imprisoned?
Botros: Due to my preaching the Gospel, Egyptian soldiers broke into my home putting their guns to my head. Without telling me why, they arrested me and placed me in an extremely small prison cell (1.8x1.5x1.8 meters, which was further problematic, since I am 1.83 meters tall), with other inmates, and in well over 100 degree temperatures, with little ventilation, no windows, and no light. No beds of course, we slept on the floor—in shifts, as there was not enough room for all of us to lie down. Due to the lack of oxygen, we used to also take shifts lying with our noses under the crack of the cell door to get air. As a result, I developed a kidney infection (receiving, of course, no medical attention). Mosquitoes plagued us. Food was delivered in buckets; we rarely even knew what the gruel was. The prison guards would often spit in the bucket in front of us, as well as fling their nose pickings in it.
FP: My heart goes out to you in terms of this terrible suffering you endured.
What is your primary purpose in what you do?
Botros: Simple: the salvation of souls. As I always say, inasmuch as I may reject Islam, I love Muslims. Thus, to save the latter, I have no choice but to expose the former for the false religion it is. Christ commanded us to spread the Good News. There is no rule that says Christians should proselytize the world — except for Muslims! Of course, trying to convert the latter is more dangerous. But we cannot forsake them. This is more important considering that many Muslims are “religious” and truly seek to please God; yet are they misdirected. So I want to take their sincerity and piety and direct it to the True Light.
FP: In what way can you summarize for us why you think that Islam is a “false” religion?
Botros: Theologically, as I am a Christian priest, I believe that only Christianity offers the truth. Based on my faith in Christ, I reject all other religious systems as man-made and thus not reflective of divine truths. Moreover, one of the greatest crimes committed by Muhammad—a crime which he shall surely never be forgiven for—is that he denied the grace and mercy that Christ brought, and took humanity back to the age of the law.
But faith aside, common sense alone makes it clear that, of all the world’s major religions, Islam is most certainly false. After all, while I may not believe in, say, ...
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Although I am not of Arabic origin but I do speak and understand very well the Arabic language. I would like to say to Mr Pat Anderson (and others who think like him) that if Kindness means to hide the truth and to not reveal sin within the human being whether of Muslim Background, Buddhist or Christian background, than how do we describe our Lord Jesus of Nazareth who publicly criticized and revealed the hypocrisy, evilness and fake of Pharisees and Sadducees ??
We love people of Muslim background and it is for that reason that we aught to and we have the mandate to reveal the dark and evil origin of their religion of of their prophet.
Father Zakaria has embarrassed many Christians with his TV programmes. I am a Christian myself and have many Muslim friends. Real Chistianity is what Christ has taught us: Be kind to your fellow men and women and harm no one. Zakaria has been harming millions of our fellow men and women. Muslims are fine people and want to live in peace with us and the rest of the world. We should be kind to them. We should live together in harmony and peace. Stop what you're doing to them and to us Father Zakaria if you are a real Christian.
Thank you Fr. Zakaria, for all that you have done, May God bless you in all your future undertakings, pray specially for you to bring many many more people to Our Lord and Saviour. God bless you abundantly and strenghten you and protect you always.
Jesus died for all, Muslims, Christians, Pagans,and everything in between. What believers must do is pray fervently for people like Father Zakaria and pray that God give us that same boldness to declare His oracles with consistency. Muslims are not bad people but they are mislead into believing that their doctrine is superior. I'm sure Mohammad's intentions to find the True God were just as honest as some of us search this world for answers and guidance. Yet, though we walk in the flesh, we wage not against the flesh....the great Deceiver is behind all this. I know many Muslims and they are good people. it's hard for them to believe we are sincere when we play church by day and play somethng else by night. We can't even tell the chuch apart from the world. We have to share the Jesus that had and still has compassion for the lost. We must share His love with them. We must share our hope with them. More importantly, we must pray for them so that God through Jesus Christ may shine His Word and His light upon them...afterall...they are from the lineage fo Abraham.
It is people like Father Zakaria Botros that remind me, that there are people out there that are fighting for our rights as Christians, and make us feel that we are not constantly plagued by the rapid reproduction of Muslims. Thank you Father Zakaria Botros, you deserve the best now and forever. You endured through alot, especially with your older brother, I would die if I ever lost my older brother. Your a great and awsome man, keep it up, and keep fighting father! No one can stop you, even if you have a 60 million dollar bounty on your head! See how keen Muslims are to get Christians to shut up and not point out the many defects of their religion! For God Sakes! Americans put a 25 million dollar bounty on Osama Binladin and the Muslims put a 60 million dollar bounty on Father Zakaria's head! Pathetic Muslims are!
Thank God for such a brave and selfless man, who has the guts to stand for a Holy GOD, who in the end all men will have to face.
iam a catholic born in iraq and now lives in australia.when i was born there was nearly a million christians in iraq.now there is under 200 thousands and in 2-3 years there will be no christians left in iraq as muslems threating christians and killing them as we saw on the 31-10-2010 the killing of 60 and includin the priests and injuring of another 60 in sayidat al najat catholic church in baghdad by muslems.you can see it at u tube.i took my first comminiuon in this church.
All the world's population except a small fraction know what Qurana contains because of the language. Now the father appears to be the first person to bring to the knowledge of the world including muslims about what the contents of Quran by translating it. Instead of finding fault with the father it would be advisable to introspect and shed wrong portions.
May The Holy Spirit watch over Fr. Botros and protect him always.
I admire and have great respect for the honesty and sincerity of Father Zacharia.There is no doubt that when it comes to The religion of Islam he is in effect exposing that relgion for what is a, bogus religion full of cruelty, lies and contridictions. In my view the overwhlming majority of Muslims have'nt even read their so called Quran,but rely on what they are told by their their Immams.It is thus in their interest to perpetuate the lie and enhance their authoraty.