Reaching Your Muslim Neighbor with the Gospel

1

Islam or Islams?

Why It Matters

If you are in the West and chose to pick up this book on evangelism to Muslims, it is likely that you have heard two common claims: (1) Muslims are among the most challenging people groups to evangelize, and (2) Islam is the fastest-growing religion on earth. I contest these two inaccurate claims in this chapter and the next, respectively. Here I share four short stories from my interactions with Muslims. The ultimate point of these stories is twofold: in your evangelism, it is best to distinguish Muslims from Islam and also to think of various Islams instead of one monolithic religion. This understanding will help you greatly as you proclaim Christ.

Different Muslims, Different Islams

A few years ago, I heard of a Muslim cleric who had recently moved from the Arab world to my city in the United States. He was assigned to be the imam (leader, teacher) of the local mosque. Thrilled by his arrival, I contacted the mosque and invited the imam to meet for coffee. He was thrilled, also, to learn that I was originally from Egypt. When we met, we joyfully exchanged Arabic-style greetings with different dialects and big laughs.

Our conversation began as I asked him about his hometown and how he ended up moving to the States. After the first few sentences, it became obvious that he thought I was Muslim. Many Muslims believe an Egyptian must be a Muslim since they do not realize that, based on unofficial records, Christians account for at least fifteen to twenty million of the ninety-five-million total population. At the first opportunity, I conveyed to him cordially that I was born into a Coptic Christian family and had never been a Muslim. This information changed the tone of the conversation. He said that of course he was aware of the Christian population in Egypt, but he immediately attempted to dissuade me from Christianity by citing how erroneous many Christian beliefs are. He claimed it was a waste that a man like me would follow such idolatry and infidelity. He was keen to speak about the implausibility of three gods or of God having a son. As I listened with a smile, he warned me that the destiny of a polytheist like me is hellfire. While I did not plan for a religious debate, it appeared that I was invited to one.

My goal for this meeting was simply to get to know him and begin a friendship, but his devotion to his Islamic beliefs steered our friendship in a unique direction. The more I attempted to reduce the intensity of his preaching, the more he felt the duty to convert me to Islam, insisting that he feared for my eternal destiny. This was an experience with an imam who recently immigrated from the Arab world to the United States. He represents a specific kind of Islam, so to speak.

But there is another imam whom I have known in the same city, and my experience with him has been quite different. This imam was born and raised in the United States. His family immigrated from Asia before he was born. I have visited his mosque many times and have had many conversations with him about Islam and Christianity. He believes that all Christians and Muslims will be admitted to paradise, as long as they do good works as prescribed in both their scriptures. He also believes that Islam as a religion is nothing more than being kind to people. When I've asked him about a specific set of doctrinal issues explicit to Islam, he has dismissed the whole concept of particularities, saying that all religions aim at making us live together in peace and that Islam is no different. For him, the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has nothing to do with Islam because they twist the religion of peace to fulfill their agenda-all their deeds were condemned by the Quran and Muhammad's teaching. When I've asked him why I should convert to Islam if Christians will be admitted to paradise anyway, he has not given a compelling answer but has said that I should choose the new, higher, and better faith. In all our conversations, this imam has never mentioned the Bible being corrupt. He has never accused Christians of polytheism, nor has he stressed the implausibility of the Christian faith, although he clearly rejects the deity of Christ. Thus, for this imam, Islam is a wonderful fit in a pluralistic Western society, and it must be presented in such a way.

The difference between these two imams is vast. One possible reason for such a difference is their different places of origin. A Middle Eastern imam reads Arabic Islamic sources and views the exclusivity of Islam as a distinctive aspect of the religion, while an American imam strives to make Islam appealing in today's multireligious context. Thus, it seems that we are dealing with two Islams instead of one. Both Muslims are likely well versed in Islamic doctrines, but they differ in their emphasis and articulation of Islam. This understanding will help you in your interactions with Muslims. I want to share two more stories to illustrate this point.

On a trip I took to Thailand with some American students, we entered a mosque. Our desire was to hear what the Muslims in that mosque believed about Islam. Three exceptionally hospitable Thai men met us once we entered; one of them was the imam. Although their mother tongue was Thai, they spoke to us in good English. In establishing their Islamic identity, they emphatically greeted us in broken Arabic: As-salamu alaykum (Islamic greeting meaning "Peace be upon you").

As we sat down to talk, the conversation began with general inquiries about Islamic beliefs and practices. Then a student asked the imam about his views concerning the verses in the Quran that command Muslims to fight Christians and Jews. The imam responded that the Quran included nothing of that sort. The student showed him the verse (Q 9:29), at which time the imam seemed puzzled. It was not that he had never seen it but that he never had to deal with its meaning. Out of respect, the student did not want to push the conversation to investigate the matter further.

When the imam heard I was a native Arabic speaker, he was in awe. He said that he had been trying to learn the language of the Quran for eight years and that he traveled to Saudi Arabia for education but had not learned much. To him, Arabic was the language of heaven-the most beautiful language, since it is the language of the Quran, although he struggled to read or understand it. He was thrilled to practice his Arabic with me, and the conversation developed.

I asked him what he thought of Allah's ninety-nine attributes or names. As a point of reference, we should say that Allah in Islam is known through ninety-nine adjectives or names that reflect his divine characteristics and deeds. The imam said he had a list of these attributes. His list provided the Arabic attributes with English translations, and he told us that he often used them in his meditation, although he did not know why there were only ninety-nine instead of one hundred. I introduced one possible reason: the list lacked a name for "the loving one." He was perplexed and examined the list repeatedly in an attempt to find a term for "the loving." His attempt was in vain, but then he said, "Allah is merciful and compassionate," to which I responded, "Indeed, it is listed that way, but there is no term for al-muhibb (the loving one)." Then I pointed him to one of the other ninety-nine names of Allah: al-daar, which literally means "the harmful one." I asked the imam what he thought of that name. He said he had never heard of it in this way, and he insisted that Allah could not be harmful. He again examined his list of English translations, at which time I pointed out that the adjective was translated as "the distresser." I also mentioned that some Muslims today argue that this and many other attributes should be removed from the list because they do not present a commendable and respected picture of Allah. He was speechless.

This conversation indicates that many who claim to be Muslim-even those who are somewhat educated in Islam-know very little about the religion. They practice what they are told in local mosques. The conversation also highlights that many non-Arab Muslims-by far the majority of Muslims-view the Arabic-speaking world as the heartland of Islam, where Islamic education is valued and trusted. Indeed, Arabic Muslim institutions are considered the religious elite for many Muslims. In a sense, most Muslims believe that Saudi Arabia is the "heart" of Islam since it has the two most holy cities-Mecca and Medina, where Muhammad lived-while Egypt is its "mind," since it is home to the highly respected intellectual center of Azhar University, the most prestigious Sunni school. Although non-Arab Muslims constitute more than 80 percent of all Muslims, Arab Muslims still control the knowledge in Islam, especially since the most trusted primary sources of Islam are in Arabic.

The conversation further demonstrates that outside the Arab world, many Muslims live and practice a version of Islam that fits their own culture, and they sometimes don't even know the essential basics about the faith. The Islam you encounter in Thailand is somewhat comparable to what you may find in other parts of Asia, but it is distinct in many ways from the Islam you may encounter in the Arab world, the heartland of Islam. Our final story shall clarify this point. It is about a Muslim woman I met in Egypt.

My first vivid...