Raouf ghattas biography of williams

MURFREESBORO — At the 11 a.m. service Sunday at the Arabic Baptist Church, Maged Boles will be officially recognized as pastor of the congregation. Boles' installation comes less than five months after church co-founder the Rev. Raouf Ghattas died suddenly in November.

Recently, Carol Ghattas presented a framed portrait of her husband to the congregation that the Ghattases cofounded.

"Raouf would have never let me do that," said Carol Ghattas, smiling.

But the timing seemed perfect as the church celebrated its fifth anniversary April 3.

"We felt like it was a good opportunity to celebrate something.

Tennessee’s lone Arabic Baptist pastor dies

Some members gave testimonies. It was a very sweet service," Ghattas said.

She and her husband, an Egyptian native, came to Murfreesboro in 2009 after serving 20 years as missionaries in the Middle East and North Africa.

"We began teaching about what we were doing and about Islam and how to reach Muslims. At the same time, we were hearing t ARABIC BAPTIST LEADER RAOUF GHATTAS DIES AT AGE 69 VYMUQ