Contents
Introduction
Understanding Muslims
1. Who are these Muslims I meet every day?
2. Pillars of Islam: beliefs and practices
Engaging with Muslims
3. Four keys to fruitful engagement
4. Bridges to the gospel
5. Bible passages to share with Muslims
6. Reaching out as a church
Resources
Chapter one
Who are these Muslims I meet every day?
I live in a city of about a million people. I can go for days or even months, without seeing a Muslim in certain parts of my city. But there are other places where I can see my Muslim fellow citizens every day. I can shop at their stores; I can visit in their homes; I can be their friend.
But to be their friend and really care about them - to love them as God loves them - I must know something about them. I need to ask questions; I need to learn about them. In the end though, my biggest question as a Christian is: how does the gospel intersect with their daily lives and beliefs? If I am their friend and I love them as a friend, then I must find those points of contact with the gospel and help them understand who Jesus Christ really is.
So who are these Muslims I meet? What do they believe? How do I interact with them? Let me say, these are big life-learning questions that you will not find answers for by spending an hour or two reading a book. I am going to present to you some basic do's and don'ts, but in the past 20 plus years I have learned that everyone is different. Our Muslim friends come from different countries, cultures and ethnicities - and have different beliefs and practices. There is a common core of beliefs, but from that common core there are many different manifestations - from radicalized Islam like that of Al Qaida and Islamic State to more "charismatic" non-violent forms of Islam like Sufism - and then everything in between.
Most likely, your Muslim friend is somewhere in the middle. They are just trying to get by, raise a family, and keep their faith. The difficulties of doing these things may be compounded by the fact that they are in a strange place, surrounded by a new culture,and have lots of pressures pushing at them from many different directions.
It is not uncommon for first-generation families to send their daughters back to their home country, especially during those difficult teenage years, in order to protect the honour of the family. We have even seen mothers take their girls back home to "properly" educate them and find them husbands, often to the fury of their daughters! These mothers are willing to leave their husbands and sons in the West, travel back home and live in their country of origin until their daughters are raised and married. After the wedding they will return to their husbands and sons.
This brings us to some general principles and observations about Muslims, and how we approach being friends with them for the sake of the gospel.
1. All Muslims are different
For almost 20 years my wife and I worked in a primar-ily Sunni Islamic country where everyone pretty much believed the same things. Since moving back home we have had to adjust to all the different manifestations of Islam that a plural society has to offer.
The biggest difference lies in the fact that many of our friends are either Sunni or Shi'ite Muslims. This divide dates back to the sixth century and the death of Muhammad. The Shi'ites believe that Ali ben Talib, Mu-hammad's son-in-law, was the legitimate next leader of Islam. Ali, the husband of Fatimah (Muhammad's only daughter) had distinguished himself in his devotion and enthusiasm for the cause of Islam. He even claimed that Muhammad had endowed him with Muhammad's desig-nation (ilm) and with special spiritual knowledge (nass). Ali claimed that he, like Muhammad, would be able to speak directly with God and continue to receive special revelation. However, Ali did not have the support of the majority. The people thought he was quick tempered, out of control and unreliable.
Abu Bakr, Muhammad's father-in-law, had also dis-tinguished himself as a leader and wise man. After Mu-hammad's death the people wanted to confer divinity on him. Abu Bakr took charge and settled the issue by ap-pearing before the crowd and saying: "If anyone worships Muhammad, Muhammad is dead; but if anyone worships Al-lah, he [Allah] is alive and does not die." He settled the issue and provided stability for the people. As a result, Abu Bakr was made the first caliph (successor of Muhammad) Ali's supporters, however, were not in favor of this choice and the seeds of division were sown. The Arabic word for this splinter was shia, and thus we have the origins of the Shi'ites (the minority) and the Sunnis (the majority).
One of the first questions to ask your Muslim friend is: "Are you Shi'ite or Sunni?" It is like being Catholic or Protestant; the chasm between the two is wide and deep. But just as all Catholics and Protestants call themselves Christians, so all Shi'ites and all Sunnis call themselves Muslims. You will not offend your friend by asking.
If you have friends from both groups, you will notice differences in their practice of Islam and especially in their celebrations. From that one major division there have been other minor splits and divisions. Today, within both the Shi'ite and the Sunni branches of Islam you will find a continuum of belief. There are radical fundamentalists who want to convert the world to Islam and there are liberal inclusivists who believe that everyone has a chance if they believe in the "one true God." There are also many cultural Muslims who have no idea about what they really believe; they just know they are Muslims and their children should only marry Muslims.
2. Don't speak disparagingly of Islam or Muhammad
When you are with your Muslim friends, never speak disparagingly of Islam as a religion or of Muhammad. No matter where your friends are on the continuum of Islamic belief and practice, all Muslims will instinctively defend Islam, and they will take it personally if you, as a Christian Westerner, speak in a hostile way about Islam or Muhammad. Many Christians want to debate or demonstrate the falsities or contradictions of Islam. We look for qur'anic texts that contradict one another or character flaws in the life of Muhammad, and bring those to our conversations. Sadly, the only thing that will do is drive a wedge between you and your friend.
They will not accept what you say for a number of reasons. First, unless you know qur'anic Arabic and can read from the original language, then your translation is flawed. In Islam the Qur'an is only authoritative in its original language. Any interpretation based on a transla-tion will easily be dismissed as flawed, as it does not meet the standards of the Arabic language. The second reason is the rule of abrogation in the Qur'an. Abrogation is simply a rule of interpretation that states that what comes later supersedes or even nullifies what came before. There are three verses in the Qur'an that acknowledge and or justify abrogation.
When we cancel a message, or throw it into obliv-ion, we replace it with one better or one similar. Do you not know that God has power over all things? Qur. 2:106
When we replace a message with another, and God knows best what he reveals, they say: You have made it up. Yet, most of them do not know. Qur. 16:101
God abrogates or confirms whatsoever he will, for he has with him the Book of the Books. Qur. 13:39
Rather than explaining inconsistencies in the text, many Islamic jurists acknowledge the differences and accept that the later verses trump the earlier. As a result, if you try to argue and debate, you find yourself beating against a wall you cannot knock down. Better to find other ways to the heart of your friend.
Third, while it may be true that Muhammad demonstrated numerous character flaws, it would be pointless to highlight them since in Islamic thought he is never considered perfect anyway. He was a man - a very special man to the Muslim, but just a man. Their understanding of Muhammad would be like our understanding of King David in the Old Testament: a man chosen by God, a king, a prophet, and even a type of Christ - but full of flaws and sin. Muhammad never claimed to be God and never claimed to be perfect. After his death, some wanted to deify Muhammad, but that was not permitted. I have never met a Muslim that considers Muhammad to be more than a man. He is called Rasool, (Rasul) the spokesman for God; but just a man. Attacking the life of Muhammad seldom leads to fruitful conversations with Muslims.
3. Muslims believe in "one true God"
When you speak of Allah to a Muslim, the word carries connotations and meanings that as Christians we do not agree with. For example, Allah in Muslim thinking is distant and capricious - he does what he wants, saves who he wants to save -and is seldom seen as loving. Allah does not have a son; he is not trinitarian. To the Muslim, he is, however, all powerful, all knowing and everywhere. He is the Creator and Sustainer and will re-
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" ENGAGING with.. Muslims "
Many Christians are fearful of engaging in conversation with Muslims - believing that they will be hostile to Christian beliefs and conversations about the Bible.
This short book is designed to help both Christians and whole churches understand more about the variety of Muslims there are living in the West, and to reach out to them with the good news of the gospel.
John Klaassen is Associate Professor of Global Studies at Boyce College, in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Previously he worked in relief and development in North Africa. He is married and has two children.
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