Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Mormons for Mohammed

In the most shocking competition between world religions and denominations since Jews for Jesus, dozens of Muslim missionaries with Mormons for Mohammed will hit the streets of Salt Lake City starting next week for a monthlong campaign at TRAX stops, downtown areas and college campuses aimed at the area's 500,000 Mormons.

More than 600 people took an anti-Mormon training course last month at the 10,000-member Dearborn Mosque to prepare for the "Behold Allah" campaign. The blitz also will involve radio and newspaper ads.

Mormons for Mohammed' official mission statement is "to make the Prophethood of Mohammed an unavoidable issue to all Mormon people worldwide." They claim that belief in Mohammed as the last Prophet is a logical fulfillment of the prophecies of Hebrew scripture. Greg "Abdul" Sorensen argues that Islam is the fulfillment of Mormon aims. A specifically Mormon mission is necessary, as "Mormon people tend to dismiss evangelistic methods and materials that are couched in Muslim presuppositions and lingo, because they reinforce the assumption that Mohammed is for 'them' not 'us.'"

The Mormons will be offered pamphlets and Mecca-safety videos. Much of the organization's success in other areas has been found with disaffected teenage males.