Mission
In addition to what he claims about his qualifications from Al-Azhar University, Gabriel has a doctorate in Christian education and a master's in world religion from Florida Christian University in Orlando. He describes himself as founder and president of Hope for the Nations, a "missions organization dedicated to bringing the Good News to the entire world, including Muslims". Gabriel prays "for the entire world, including Muslims, to come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ"
Gabriel's website was run by Bradlee Sargent, an American-born computer programmer who "saw the vital need of evangelizing Muslims in 1983, when he lived in Saudi Arabia." Sargent is a member of the Arabic Evangelical Church, organized by Syrian-born Christian Peter Shadid, which aims to guide the Muslims of Central Florida "away from the teachings of Mohammed and toward Christianity". Gabriel is listed as the owner of the new website established on 24 July 2006.
The books published by Gabriel are promoted by Stephen Strang's Strang Communications. Strang believes that "Y'eshua is getting us ready for his return". He believes that "Y'eshua is getting us ready, all of us, the Gentile church included, for the great influx of believers."
Some critics believe that Gabriel does not actually exist and that a body-double is being used in his videos. Among these are Basim Ghozlan, a former imam for the Islamic Association of Oslo and editor of islam.no, who denounced Gabriel and his book Islam and Terrorism.
Read more about this topic: Mark A. Gabriel
Famous quotes containing the word mission:
“We can come up with a working definition of life, which is what we did for the Viking mission to Mars. We said we could think in terms of a large molecule made up of carbon compounds that can replicate, or make copies of itself, and metabolize food and energy. So that’s the thought: macrocolecule, metabolism, replication.”
—Cyril Ponnamperuma (b. 1923)
“Every Age has its own peculiar faith.... Any attempt to translate into facts the mission of one Age with the machinery of another, can only end in an indefinite series of abortive efforts. Defeated by the utter want of proportion between the means and the end, such attempts might produce martyrs, but never lead to victory.”
—Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872)
“I am succeeding quite well in my work and the future looks well. What special mission is God preparing me for? Cutting off all earthly ties and isolating me as it were.”
—Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842–1911)