Zachariah Anani

Zachariah Anani (25 December 1958 – 4 July 2016,[1] Arabic: زكريا عناني, also Zack or Zak) was a Lebanese-Canadian former Sunni Muslim citizen of Lebanon who later converted to Christianity and settled in Canada in 1996. He described himself as a former militia fighter.[2]

Biography

Anani was born in Beirut and claimed descent "from a long line of imams" and that he was "expected to become one at the age of 14." Anani says that he became a fighter in a Lebanese militia and "at the age of 14."[3][1]

Anani claimed to have been trained to fight and kill Jews and to hate Christians and Americans. He said his family was pleased with his decision because they believe Islamic teachings promise reaching heaven if he were to die in battle against "unbelievers." Ironically, Anani said that he faced Muslim groups, who fought among themselves and usually Israelis only once.[4][1]

He was later to meet an American Southern Baptist missionary, who inspired him to convert to Christianity, and later moved to Canada.[3]

Anani was a naturalized citizen of Canada.[5] He lived in Windsor, Ontario.[6]

Anani had a controversial career as a public speaker on Islam in the 2000s.[6][7] He has been described as part of the counter-jihad movement.[8]

Anani was included in the manifesto of extremist Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik in a section against the Council on American-Islamic Relations for criticizing Anani's views.[9]

Controversies

Anani attracted criticism with talks such as a 2007 lecture at Campbell Baptist Church in Windsor, Ontario, The Deadly Threat of Islam in which he characterized Islam a faith that worships a god who "fights and kills," "strikes with terror," and forbids the taking of prisoners in battles against nonbelievers.[10]

Anani was one of a number of converts to Christianity who are public critics of Islam, including Ergun Caner, Walid Shoebat, and Mark A. Gabriel, who have been accused of inflating or inventing details of their life before conversion to Christianity.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Zachariah 'Zak' Anani, fearless Christian". Cape Gazette. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  2. 'Zachariah Anani phone interview' on CBC radio (January 16, 2007) Archived November 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. 'Ex-terrorists' in Ann Arbor / Credibility questions' by Ali Moossavi (TheArabAmericanNews.com) Archived July 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Biography of Zachariah Anani on shoebat.com Archived 2007-02-27 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Gordon, James (7 December 2006). "Jihadist-turned-peacemaker denied entry". The Ottawa Citizen. ProQuest 241008942.
  6. Schultz, Melissa (27 January 2007). "Panel on terrorists draws crowd, protests: Some have called three speakers at U-M fakes; organizers says they wanted to improve cultural climate". Detroit News. ProQuest 404347634.
  7. Paddock, Richard (4 April 2007). "Stanford limits audience for talk by '3 ex-terrorists'; University plans to bar most journalists and the general public to allow a free exchange of ideas". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 422132576.
  8. Bale, Jeffrey M. (October 2013). "Denying the Link between Islamist Ideology and Jihadist Terrorism "Political Correctness" and the Undermining of Counterterrorism". Perspectives on Terrorism. Terrorism Research Institute. 7 (5): 37. JSTOR 26297006.
  9. Fantoni, Beatrice (27 July 2011). "Canadians included in Norway killer Breivik's manifesto". Alaska Highway News. ProQuest 879845627.
  10. Chen, Dalson (12 January 2007). "Rage over anti-Islam rally: 130 attend raucous session". The Windsor Star. ProQuest 254724548.
  11. "Bearing True Witness (ex cathedra editorial)". Christianity Today. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
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