Progress in Malawi

ITMI’s Tim Keller is back in Cape Town from his third trip in the last five months to Malawi. Last October he and Steve Evers delivered 300 copies of Biblical Principles for Africa by Dr. Peter Hammond to the President and every Member of Parliament.

In December, Tim and Bill Bathman conducted a Biblical Worldview Seminar in Zomba, the former capital. On that trip they talked briefly with Rev. Malani Mtonga, the Presidential Advisor on Religious Affairs, and gave him a copy of Hammond’s latest book Character Assassins as a present for the President.

Last month, Tim and Peter Hammond traveled to Zambia and Malawi for ministry and seminars, taking a truckload of Bibles, Christian literature and other much needed supplies. Their arrival in Malawi coincided with a great political upheaval in the country.

The President, Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika, a keen Christian, had just resigned from his political party (the UDF), but still retained control of the country. Muslims who had ruled the country for the past ten years controlled the party. The President, having read Dr. Hammond’s timely book, recognized the evil trends conspiring to overthrow him, resigned from the party taking several other Christian Parliamentarians with him to form a new party.

The Muslim faction had been plotting to assassinate the President and very nearly accomplished it. Malawi has traditionally had Christian leadership until about 10 years ago when Saudi Arabia offered to pay off the countries enormous national debt in return for being able to choose the political leaders. Since then they have been building mosques all over the country with petrol-dollars and the imposition of Sharia Law was being planned.