An apologetics witness certified by Southern Baptists was among a small group of evangelical Christians escorted by Dearborn, Mich., police from the grounds of the Arab International Festival after the witnessing team said it was assaulted by members of the event’s security detail and several attendees.
Mary Jo Sharp, of Friendswood, Texas, who is an apologetics instructor certified by the North American Mission Board, said the police report caricatured the witnessing team as shouting hellfire warnings, while its evangelistic methods focus on sharing the gospel with Muslims in a logical, well-reasoned dialogue.
The apologetics group was in Dearborn as part of the Great Debate Series: Michigan, facilitated by The Center for Religious Debate, a subsidiary of Acts 17 Apologetics Ministry (A17), and decided to attend the festival to engage people in discussions about Christianity and Islam. No one was reported injured in the June 21 encounter.
The police report stated David Wood and Nabeel Qureshi of A17 were being vocal with the Muslims attending the event, saying they “were going to hell” for believing Islam. It was said the crowd became agitated at the aggressive dialogue and security was called to the scene. Wood, Qureshi and Sharp were “escorted” to the security command center and then taken from the grounds by city police.
“We didn’t ever say that. It’s a lie,” said Sharp, also a member of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Women’s Ministry Team.
A17, established by Wood and Qureshi, seeks to “present evidence for the existence and attributes of God, the inspiration and historical reliability of the Scriptures and the death, resurrection and deity of Jesus Christ,” Qureshi said.
Qureshi said he and Wood were trying to talk with an attendant at a booth where a banner read “Islam: Got questions? Get answers.” The attendant initially did not want to answer Qureshi’s questions as Sharp videotaped but eventually did engage in the conversation. Security guards soon approached the booth and tried to stop the exchange. A female security guard slapped at the camera, closing the viewfinder in an effort to stop taping.
Sharp said the three left the booth “to regroup.” A nearby police officer assured them the video camera was legal because the festival was being held in a public place.
Qureshi decided he wanted to return to the booth and complete the interview so the video could be posted on the ministry’s Web site. This time, however, a fourth person was with them and three video cameras were running. A different attendant was at the booth, and he also hesitated before agreeing to dialogue. Soon another person grabbed at Wood’s camera and demanded an end to the recording.
The team said it saw festival security personnel, who were not associated with Dearborn police, speaking with two teenage boys. One of the boys approached Qureshi and demanded to know why he was there. The second teen snatched a pamphlet from Qureshi’s hand and gave it to a security guard, apparently thinking it was a gospel tract, when it actually was an Islamic tract Qureshi had picked up.
Four security guards then approached the Christian group and said it could not preach on the streets or hand out literature — neither of which the group was doing, Sharp said. Sharp and Wood videotaped that confrontation, and the security guards kept insisting the cameras be turned off and repeatedly hit the cameras.
After her camera was hit, Sharp said, “Hey, you can’t touch my camera. This is America.” The security guard replied, “I don’t care,” according to the group’s account.
The apologetics team retreated backward as the security guards and others followed, continuing to swipe at the cameras. One of the guards reportedly told the group, “Keep walking. Keep walking or I’ll make you keep walking.”
Qureshi said he and Wood were tripped and kicked as they retreated. When the team finally came upon a Dearborn police officer, it tried to explain the situation but was shouted down by the crowd as “liars.” Sharp said Wood and Qureshi eventually gave their accounts to the officer.
The three were then driven by the officer to their vehicles off the festival grounds. Sharp said they had intended to walk to their cars but the officer insisted on taking them.
The American Arabic Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the festival, did not return phone calls requesting comments on the actions of the security firm hired for the event. (BP)
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