What ISIS Wants

Recognize that evil is real. No need to whitewash that reality. Some have given themselves over to evil. But Muslims are not the enemy. Muslims are people whom God loves and for whom Jesus died. Be extremely careful how we talk about our dear fellow Americans and citizens of our earth who come from a Muslim background. 95 percent of all Muslims want what we want: a good job, education, a future for their kids, and to just hang out on a Friday night, watching a movie and eating pizza with friends.

Use the “terrorist” label sparingly. ISIS and Al Qaeda are terrorists. But so are groups in Latin America, Africa and throughout Asia, all non-Muslim. Be suspicious of anyone who is quick to call a Muslim a terrorist for killing and not apply the same label to someone else. Are drug cartels in Mexico Catholic terrorists? The million people who murdered in Rwanda were seldom referred to as terrorist—and most of them were from a Christian background. Are the KKK terrorists? Was this man who murdered the Muslims in Chapel Hill a terrorist? And if so, was he an atheist terrorist?

The real enemy is fear. Fear is the devil’s workshop. Perfect fear drives out love. Did you catch that? Fear drives out love. It’s supposed to be the other way around, but it works both ways. Only one remains: Fear or love. The devil roams around like a roaring lion—not a biting lion—a roaring lion.

Ethnography of South Carolina Mosques

In the winter and spring of 2024, I conducted an ethnographic survey among Male Muslims living in South Carolina to explore how Muslim leaders and their congregants viewed concepts related to worldview. The men were divided into two distinctive subgroups within the Islamic community: Islamic leaders/clerics (imams) and lay (non-clerical) Muslims. This is a brief summary of my findings…

Overcoming Fear of Terrorist Attacks

Here are 4 ways we can move beyond fear and continue reaching out to Muslims in the wake of yet another terror attack. I’m seeking to apply them in my own life—will you join me?

Purity, Defilement and Muslim Evangelism

The gospel is God’s good news for human beings mired in sin and its consequences. Often, this good news is presented as Jesus’ sacrificial payment of the just penalty for sin. This message is thoroughly biblical, and for many, it is good news indeed. However, for many Muslims, it is an answer to a legal question they are not asking. Rather, Muslims often demonstrate a felt need for cleansing. Jesus’ provision of complete cleansing from sin and a new spiritual nature can speak directly to these felt needs for purity, which are repeatedly affirmed in the biblical record.