THE MIDDLE EAST

This area is the cradle of many of the great religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Islam, among others. It is also a region of the world where a great deal of struggle occurs. There are racial, religious and ideological differences among the peoples which give rise to endless conflict and strife. The Nile, Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flow across the barren desert. Here can be found some of the world's richest people, and ironically hundreds of thousands of the world's poorest people too.

Reverend Moon sent missionaries to as many countries as possible. The first missionaries came in 1969, and a few others came in the early 1970s. In 1975, many missionaries arrived. The missionaries, who were working separately in their own assigned countries met with Reverend Chung-hwan Kwak, director of World Missions, in Athens. It was decided there that the area would be combined into one missionary region.

The missionary countries in Southwest Asian region are Turkey (the headquarters recently moved there from Greece), Saudi Arabia, South Yemen, Iran, North Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, Bahrain, Lebanon, Qatar, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Cyprus and Oman.

The first group of missionaries to this area were sent from Europe. The Netherlands sent Hermann Ten Bekkel Huinink, Peter Verbeist and Peter Ellis to Greece in 1969, 1973 and 1976 respectively. It sent Norbert Boland to Iran in 1969 and Bert Boland and Michael Gepkes to Israel in 1971 and 1972 respectively. In 1969 Britain sent June Darby Perrin to Jordan and Carlo Zaccarelli to Syria. It also sent George Robertson in 1973 and David Blair in 1974 to Cyprus. Austria sent Harold Unger to Turkey in 1969 and France sent Remi Blanchard to Lebanon in 1969.

By the spring of 1975 when missionaries arrived from the United States, Germany and Japan, only Harold Unger and Peter Verbeist from the ealier group remained in the region. There were new eight members in Lebanon and one in Turkey. Due to dictatorial governments and strict social regulations, it was difficult to dispatch three missionaries to each country in the region. Some missionaries assigned to countries with very restrictive policies found it difficult even to visit those nations. Some could not stay more than a few days in their assigned mission country and others were expelled almost as soon as they entered. Due to these difficulties, the missionaries had to seek out countries where they could settle down during 1975 and 1976. In the midst of such circumstances they invested their effort to lay the foundation for the establishment of Heaven. The history of missionary work in the Middle East described in these pages concerns the work that began at the meeting in Athens in late 1979.

The regional leader, Thomas Cromwell, spent his first five years in Egypt and Jordan. He later testified to those years of living in a spiritual desert as having taught him unforgettable lessons about God, Satan, Jesus, True Parents and himself, and to the difficulties of trying to lay a national foundation in a very restrictive environment.

Reverend Chung-hwan Kwak organized the region in the early 1980s. Thomas Cromwell explained that while the region provided them with all the required opportunities for the establishment of Heaven, none of the countries by itself could do so.

There were seventeen countries in the region and not even one missionary could stay in countries such as Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, Oman and South Yemen. Missionary work in these countries faced special difficulties. This was due to the closed nature of the societies, and governments that meted out harsh treatment for any unauthorized religious or political activity. Missionaries were even expelled from Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The area has gone through dramatic change since 1975. Ayatollah Khomeini took power in Iran in early 1979 and influenced governments from Islamabad to Rabat with his revolutionary tactics. Soon the bloody eight-year war with Iraq broke out, casting a shadow over the entire region throughout the 1980s. Lebanon was cut in two by a domestic conflict that began in 1975. The intense war there created barriers among the local communities and doubts were raised as to whether Christianity and Islam could co-exist peacefully.

The Camp David Accord signed by Egypt and Israel in 1978 completely divided the Arab world. This led most countries to sever their relationship with Egypt. North Yemen was at war with South Yemen. Greek Cypriots laid bare their hostility to Turkish Cypriots. There was hardly any sign of peace in the region prior to 1980.

Missionaries regarded this situation as an important one for the introduction of the Principle and Reverend Moon to the region. In his words to foreign missionaries in 1975, Reverend Moon said that no one but he could solve the Middle East problem.

Reverend Moon instructed missionaries assigned to the region to proclaim his words there. However, it required tremendous effort for them to concretely carry out that direction. Indeed, during the 1980s, missionaries had only the vaguest idea how to be effective in their work, and had had no experience of working together in the same area. Even amidst the tough external challenge, the thought that they were connecting the unique religious tradition of the area with the current providence of Heaven inspired them greatly.

While in the process of planning and launching several business ventures, they were able to decide on the direction to be taken in the future. Taking on too much at once given the limited resources proved imprudent, and the missionaries had to focus their work on one or two particular projects. During the first decade, some remarkably fruitful ventures developed, including in the field of publishing. Outreach efforts also produced a network of contacts in the religious, academic and political spheres, and in the media and business communities.When members recall the early days of this region now, in the latter half of the 1980s, the feeling they have is that progress has been made. The educational, publishing and academic activities are on a strong foundation. The Middle East Times and PWPA are in an active position to influence the policy-making process thus the governing of nations. In addition, the church began to distribute a free magazine Glyfada Shopper in Greece. As it received a favorable response from advertisers it has since became a source of income.With Greece being incorporated into the European Union in 1992, a newspaper, the Greek Economic Review, was published. Missionaries have not merely prayed for the restoration of this region, but worked within society for its accomplishment.

Thomas Cromwell is said to have taken ten years to visit all the countries in this area. It may seem that development of the mission has been slow in Southwest Asia. What always inspires members here, however, is that they are doing missionary work on the most significant and enthralling front line of restoration in the world. Although there are only a few members, they have gained profound personal experience with God and True Parents, and have confronted the numerous challenges that provided them with an opportunity to grow.

Afghanistan