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This thesis analyzes the activities and conditions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon within the framework of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the political developments in Lebanon. Their relations with the Lebanese state and public and their role in the domestic and regional political developments are discussed along with the roles of the outside actors such as Israel and Syria. In addition, the role of the UNRWA in Lebanon is analyzed from a historical perspective as an attempt to give a complete picture of the context surrounding the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The study shows that the Lebanese state totally rules out the resettlement of the Palestinian refugees because of sectarian and economic reasons and implements restrictive policies to prevent their resettlement. The legacy of the Civil War and the post-War problems in Lebanon are additional factors for the rejectionist policies of the Lebanese state. In the regional context, Syria has been the most important actor in Lebanon. It is found that Syria has total control of the Lebanese politics and Palestinian politics in Lebanon. Regarding the UNRWA, it is concluded that the Agency has operated as a quasi-state organ for refugees but the financial difficulties and its mandate prevents it to improve the conditions of refugees. The Agency has been very crucial for the refugees in Lebanon because the refugee community in this country is totally dependent on the Agency service.

This thesis provides the findings of an explanatory case study that utilized elements of ethnographic research to discover effective evangelistic methods being practiced among Palestinian Muslims in the West Bank. With the assistance of gatekeepers, twenty-four former Muslims were asked to explain how they were evangelized, with a particular focus on evangelistic methodology, the barriers to faith the respondents encountered, solutions to those barriers, and motivations to consider conversion. This qualitative study follows the research model of Thom Rainer (2001) by asking those who have actually converted to describe the things that were helpful in the process of their coming to faith. For a theoretical framework it utilizes a nuance of McKnight’s (2002) theory of conversion with an emphasis on crisis providing an intersection of the natural and supernatural for the purpose of conversion. This thesis investigates examples of effective evangelism within the context of the West Bank, giving thorough consideration to Palestinian Nationalism and Islam as overarching cultural influences. It considers fruitful practices being practiced globally among Muslims, comparing those with what was found being practiced in the West Bank. The advocates represented in this report were primarily Palestinians born and raised in the West Bank, with the exception of three messianic Jewish Israelis and an American missionary. Additionally, they were evangelicals who generally utilized a contextually sensitive, traditional mission approach rather than an Insider model. The end result is a knowledge base that can be helpful for future evangelism of Muslims in the West Bank or other similar contexts. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted