Islam’s Public and Private Face

Many pray openly five times a day, fast publicly from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and publicly repeat the shahada (confession of faith): “There is no God but God and Muhammad is the apostle of God.” What is not public is that most Muslims (perhaps three-quarters) are into folk stuff, mixing so-called orthodox Islam (five pillars and strict monotheistic beliefs) with popular practices.  Here, life revolves around charms, amulets, curses, blessings and a whole lot of fear.

Will Evangelical Attitudes Toward Muslims Continue to Harden?

The purpose of this post is not to beat up on evangelicals but to help us stay focused on the mission of God. We may never understand what motivates Muslim militants, but what we do know is that Islam is reeling. Humanly speaking, the future is bleak for the Middle East and much of the Muslim world. One hundred years ago, Samuel Zwemer advised against stereotyping Muslims and urged Christians to “awaken sympathy, love and prayer on behalf of the Islamic world until its bonds are burst, its wounds healed, its sorrows removed, and its desires satisfied in Jesus Christ.”  “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

A Lasting Legacy of Samuel and Amy Zwemer in Bahrain

Despite winning only a handful of converts, Samuel Zwemer was the greatest missionary the United States has ever sent to the Muslim world.  Of him, the historian Kenneth Latourette said, “No one is more deserving of the title, ‘Apostle to Islam.’” He was a gifted evangelist, a prolific author, a compelling speaker, and a dedicated professor—never deviating from this message: Muslims need Jesus, and Christians need to reach them.

Christians and Muslims Alienate Each Other

Twelve simple ways to stop the alienation:

1. Relate to individual people, not abstractions.
2. Talk to people, be a student, and remain curious about the content of what someone believes and the ways in which they live out their faith.
3. Acknowledge that you are not as knowledgeable as you think. Stay humble.
4. Ask God to reveal ways in which you operate out of prejudice—ways about which you have absolutely no awareness.
5. Meet a Muslim, or several Muslims, rather than listening to what the media tells you about Muslim or the generalizations they make about “Islam” or the ‘true Muslim’
6. Dare to love people—all people—regardless of the cost.
7. Thank God you were given faith, not because of something good about you—your intelligence or your goodness—but because of something wonderful about God.
8. Find your worth and value in the fact that Christ died for you and loved you even when there was nothing loveable in you.
9. Keep your feet on the ground and your head out of the clouds. Keep it real and learn from that reality.
10. Don’t become a hater. Haters are haters even when they claim to be guided by God. When you kill, torture, or hate people because they are not like you, or because they don’t believe what you think they ought to believe, you are a hater and not of God.  You grieve God and displease Him.
11. Be clear about your salvation. You are not saved by being an American or a Saudi, a Republican or Democrat, a liberal or conservative, a Yankee or a Southerner, a Baptist or an Episcopalian, a Christian or a Muslim, a Harvard or Wheaton College grad….You are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and that not of yourself. That is not just good news; it is the best news!
12. There is still time to change and stop alienating people of other faiths. The Holy Spirit is always there waiting for you to love as you are loved.