Former Muslim Extremist now Lutheran Minister to Speak in Mesquite

Former Muslim Extremist now Lutheran Minister to Speak in Mesquite

“This is a real story of redemption,” said Pastor George Mather of the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Mesquite. “From Muslim to Lutheran, sniper to minister, this is an amazing story.”

Pastor Mather was referring to a visiting minister who will be speaking at his church on March 4.

Hicham Chehab grew up in a world of bitter animosity between Muslims and Christians and by age 13, he was recruited into a Muslim extremist group, some say the Muslim Brotherhood, in his home country of Lebanon. Lebanon was divided along sectarian lines, Christians and Muslims.

The situation was aggravated by the presence of Palestinian refugees and The P.L.O., the Palestine Liberation Organization. Chehab completed training at military training camps and took part in the civil war when it broke out in 1975.

“I participated in most aspects of the war, from shelling Christian neighborhoods to setting up ambushes for the Christian militias. I found I could not shoot people just because they weren't like us. No cause was worth the bloodshed, so I decided to focus on Muslim religious studies instead,” said Chehab.

In 1980, when he started his studies, his only brother was killed by the Christian militia. He became a sniper at night and a student during the day but one day during a class in cultural studies, he began to read the Bible. He read the Sermon on the Mount about “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” and found a turning point in his life. He began to work for peace and reconciliation.

Over the next several years, he worked as an activist and a peacemaker while continuing his study of the Christian religion. He earned a Master of Arts in the history of Arabs and did Ph.D studies in the history of Islam. He was baptized as a Lutheran in 2000.

In 2004, Chehab and his family moved from Lebanon to the United States. He began his religious studies at Concordia Theological Seminary in Indiana and started an Arabic Bible study group. In 2009, he was ordained a Lutheran minister and began as a mission pastor to Middle East communities in Chicago.

“This is part of our church’s ministry program to encourage and celebrate our faith,” said Pastor Mather. “We try to present a variety of important information to our congregation and speakers help us interpret our contemporary world through a Lutheran Christian perspective.”

Pastor Chehab currently holds services at Salam Arabic Church in Lombard, Illinois, and has a community center for outreach to people of the Middle East. Worship and Bible studies are conducted both in Arabic and Farsi and most of the congregation are from the Middle East or from Africa. Launched in 2008, his church is the first Arabic Lutheran mission group in Illinois.

“Some people may feel uncomfortable about Pastor Chebab because of his background but we feel those are the people who should come to hear him speak. Then he can be judged on what he says and what he believes not on how he looks,” said Pastor Mather. “Religion is about forgiveness.”

Pastor Chehab will be the guest speaker for the Prince of Peace Church on March 4 at 3pm at a location in Mesquite yet to be determined. The organizers want to make sure the venue will be large enough to accommodate anyone who wishes to attend. The location will be advertised the week before the event. The event is free and all donations made by check are fully tax deductible. For further information, please call the Prince of Peace Church at 345-2160.