Stories & Identities of Muslims

I am Assia. I grew up outside of Chicago; and I find that my life straddles what it is to be Muslim and American. Being born to Algerian parents, I attended an Islamic school and a Sunni mosque around the corner from my home. I watched Nickelodeon and Al Jazeera. I got takeout food from Kentucky Fried Chicken and the falafel place down the street. I find that Americans seeing me scarved think that I'm not American.

I am Anila. I am a twenty-five-year-old Canadian woman. My parents are originally from India and Pakistan. It has been hard for me growing up in Canada. For years I was confused about my identity. Am I Canadian? Am I Indian? Am I Pakistani? Am I Muslim? I finally came to the conclusion that I am all of these and yet none of them. The only thing I really am is Anila — a young woman struggling within herself to personally effect change, a young woman who wants other young girls to grow up feeling less confused about who they are and proud of being themselves, not the statues that society creates, statues of perfect little girls who grow up to be perfect little women. I am a young woman who is struggling to gain inner peace, to reconcile who she is, within herself.

I am Asra. I live in West Virginia. As a Muslim American daughter, I broke religious boundaries by entering into premarital relationships and by getting pregnant. My pregnancy led me back to my faith. I even went on the journey to Mecca. And my faith helped me to see how I, as an unwed mother, am connected to other progressive Muslims and Muslim leaders in the past and present.

I'm Ali. I came to America last year for high school. I'm from Saudi Arabia. I'm with the YES program of the US Govt, a program where Saudi students can live with an American family while attending a semester or a full year of high school. I really like my host family. I admire their marriage and the way the mother and father treat their kids. There's something different about them.

I'm Abdulaziz, better known to my friends as Aziz and I'm a pre-med student from Saudi Arabia. Coming to study in America was quite the culture shock. From women to friendship, the differences stack up, but America isn't so bad. School was my main motivation when deciding to come to America. The United States has the best colleges and universities; and I wanted to get a good degree. At my high school, tests are taken in order to receive scholarships. When students score a 90 or higher on the exam, they can study in America and the Saudi government pays the bill. I didn't expect that I would get to go to school here. I guess that I am just lucky.
One cultural difference I've noticed is attire. Abayas are worn by women at home because a woman's hair is beautiful and it is like a gift for her husband to see. It is like a diamond or something really beautiful. You want to keep it away for only special people to look at it. But here, women show a lot of their bodies.

Hi I'm Kevi. My parents came to America as refugees from Iraq. Going to American schools, I fell in love with an American guy. But this is unacceptable in my family's culture; so I had to run away from home in order to marry the man I love. So now, I never get to see my family. I'm married and have my own two children; but oh how I miss seeing my parents and my grandparents. I wonder if they will ever know my children. It's so sad for my heart.

I am Haman. I always said that Christian people are foolish and mad because they believe that the Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Is Mary was the wife of God? There were many questions in my mind, which I can ask to Christian people. How a man, Jesus Christ, can save you? How you can call God the Father? God is God, and He has no wife that He can have Children.
I was praying and asking to Allah for help for the wisdom and knowledge so that I can convert Christians to the Islam. Hand bills that I pick was Gospel of John and when I read it, my eyes were opened: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. But I still thought that Christians were foolish to not know that Allah was in the beginning.

I was continue praying to Allah for to accomplish my vision converting Christian into the only and holy religion of Islam. One night I saw in dream, a man dressed in white appeared and asked me "Do you want to convert Christians to the Islam?" "Yes", I answered. "Then read the Quran with meanings in your own language." Through reading more about Jesus in the Qur'an and by meeting a Christian man, I began struggling with the truth and eventually asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins.

My name is Salha. I am a mother of ten children and we live in Nashville. I don't speak English very well...mostly because I'm always in the home and not around many English speakers. I would love to study English with a native speaker.

My name is Mohammad. God spoke to me in a dream last night. A man in white approached me and gave me a book and said, "For eternal life, read this."

SOURCE: A local mission-minded church planting pastor with a Muslim-outreach program

How to Reach Muslims with the Gospel

I got to hear a Muslim Background Believer (MBB) share her testimony today. She was a Muslim for 24 years and has been a Christian for six years. She shared facts about Islam from personal experience and helped us understand how to begin a Gospel-oriented conversation with our Muslim friends.

Practical Considerations about Building Friendships with Muslims:

• Christians are afraid of Muslims. Churches are afraid of entering the Muslim community.
• Christians try to either debate Muslims or avoid them.
• Muslims say that God is Creator, merciful, and just.
• Muslims know that Islam has problems; therefore, we have to point them to the solutions found in Scripture.
• The Qur'an: Sura 4.171 - Jesus is said to be the Word of God, so we should ask, "What is the difference between God and His Word?"
• The Qur'an is supposedly a confirmation of the Bible.
• Muslims believe that Jesus was the only sinless prophet.
• Muslims respect John the Baptist, so ask, "Why did John the Baptist come?"
• Be reminded that Muslims are people who have the same needs and problems that we do.
  
• Muslims believe that Christians worship three gods: God, Jesus, and Mary.
• Muslims need to hear that we do not believe in three gods, but One God, His Word, and His Spirit.
• We can ask, "Which came first: God, His Word, or His Spirit?"
• Muslims reject the idea of Christ's death and resurrection, the infallibility of the Bible, and salvation by grace. They think Christians deny their sins and put it all on Jesus, absolving themselves of responsibility.

Areas of Connection with Muslims:

1. The Bible: "Would you like to read the Bible?" Of course they don't. They think it is corrupted, but the Qur'an says the Bible is God's Word, and God is more powerful than people. People cannot change the Word because God protects His Word. This truth can break down this huge barrier and then it opens the door for a Bible study. They have to trust in the Word. (John 1:1)
2. Sin: It is okay to talk about sin. Muslims want to be good. At this point, use the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). This sermon was radical teaching for the Jews, and it continues to be radical teaching for Muslims. Help people to understand the sacrifice story of the Bible. Do not be afraid of helping them understand Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.
3. Proselytism: Muslims will say, "You are only helping me because you want to convert me to Christianity." Our response: "I am helping you because Jesus helped me. I love you because Jesus loves me. I want to love you and help you because I want you to experience His love. I am simply an ambassador of Christ, but we do not force anyone to become a citizen of His Kingdom."
4. Passion/Compassion: The #1 characteristic that makes a difference with Muslims is our passion and joy for Jesus. If they cannot see our passion and joy, then they will not want what we have.
5. Prayer: We have to continue to pray because God is only at work. Prayer is our most powerful gift.
6. Do not Argue with Muslims: It is better to lose an argument and win the person than win an argument and lose the person.
   
7. Remember: Everything in the Bible applies to every situation. Our greatest power is the Living Word.
8. Moralism vs. Power: Muslims know the difference between right and wrong, but they do not have the power to do what they are told to do. they are raised with high expectations to do a lot, but they do not know how be righteous, and they cannot do so because Christ alone is the power of God for righteous living.
9. Islam fails in the end: Islam is a broken worldview. It cannot stand. Walk in the Spirit, and do not be afraid to be bold in love. Do not be afraid to push, which does not mean to be offensive but rather to go the extra mile and push through the veil into peoples' hearts and lives.

Perfect love casts out fear.

The only thing going for us as Christians is prayer, because even if we know all the methods and techniques for church planting and church growth, the church will not grow without prayer.

Tips for Reaching out to Muslims

Tips for Reaching out to Muslims

• Intentionally welcome Muslims to your neighborhood.
• Pray for them as you walk around the community, as you pass by homes and businesses.
• Speak to those you meet while shopping and take an interest in shops frequented by those from different cultures.
• Be aware of and able to talk about current events in their home countries.
  
• Ask how their family members who still live in that country are doing.
• Involve families in reaching families, especially with Muslim leaders in the community.
• Share meals in their homes.
• Make them welcome in your home, giving them an opportunity to learn about Christian families.
  
• Include single adults in your outreach.
• Be aware of Islamic holidays and be prepared to talk about how and why your family observes holidays as Christians.
• Learn their language and culture. This will help you earn the right to share your faith.
• Offer to teach your Muslim friends English and about American culture, and ask them to teach you about their language and culture.
• Find and use tools available for sharing your faith within Islamic settings.
• Be ready to listen at length to their stories, discerning how God already is working in their lives.
• Expect to see a hunger for spiritual truth.
  
• Expect to hear about dreams and visions.
• Be ready and able to share appropriate Bible stories in response to life situations and questions asked.
• Remember that some of your new friends may be functionally illiterate.
• Bathe yourself in prayer.
• Prepare for spiritual warfare.
• Go in pairs for strength and accountability.
• Understand that young Muslims often are attracted to the forbidden.
• Be careful not to circumvent Muslim parents as you share your faith.
• Be wise and bold in your witness to those with status within Islamic communities.
• Within your own church, talk publicly with discernment and sensitivity for converts' well-being.
• Choose team members carefully.
• Keep outreach and publicity low key.
• Do not treat any converts as trophies.
• Prepare converts from Islam for the biblical reality of persecution.
• Gather families of converts into small groups and establish house churches.
• Model a form of "church" that expresses their own culture (indigenous) and is exportable to their homeland (reproducible).
• Place a desire within new believers to return to their home country to share the Gospel.
• Be seen as a believer who loves only One God and His Bible.
• Express genuine love for them and their gatherings while avoiding church property-based ministries.
  

The Muslim World Facts

Five Pillars of Islam:
1) Confession of faith: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet."
2) Ritual prayer: Observed five times a day; directed toward Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
3) Almsgiving: The Zakat or purification tax (approximately 2.5% of one's wealth) for the poor.
4) Fasting: Observed during the holy month of Ramadan.
5) Pilgrimage: Every Muslim, if able, is expected to make at least one pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca during his or her lifetime.

Islamic Glossary
1) fatwa: legal ruling by a man of high standing in Islam that someone is in violation of Islamic principles and should be punished by faithful Muslims. Muslims debate who has authority to issue a fatwa.
2) imam: the leader of prayer in a Muslim mosque
3) Mecca: City in Saudi Arabia that was home to Muhammad and is now the center of Islam. Muslims bow toward Mecca when they pray.
4) mosque: House of prayer. Literal meaning: "place of prostration."
5) Ramadan: Ninth month of the Islamic calendar when Muslims fast from food, water, sex, cigarettes and all worldly pleasures during daylight hours in order to bring themselves into closer relationship with God and others.
6) hadith: The sayings from the life of Muhammad as recorded by trusted companions; second to the Qur'an in authority for Muslims.
7) jihad: Exertion of effort to advance Islam. Often equated with a holy war or a national struggle, but also refers to personal struggle to advance Islam within one's own soul. The Qur'an says a warrior who dies in jihad goes straight to paradise.
8) sharia: Rule of Qur'an and Hadith. Laws and religious regulations of Islam that govern all of daily life.
9) Qur'an (Koran): The holy book of Islam, considered the word of God existing from eternity to eternity.

Divisions of Islam
1) Sunni: Believe leadership of Islam should come from among Muhammad's tribe; considered the "orthodox" of Islam; emphasize the individual's direct relationship with Allah without any human mediation; are culturally and religiously diverse and do not insist on uniformity in every question of faith or religious practice; found from Africa to Indonesia, the Middle East to Asia, approximately 87% to 90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni.
2) Shi'a: Believe leadership of Islam should come from descendants of Fatima, Muhammad's only living offspring, and her husband; places a heavy emphasis on leaders called imams, regarded as successors of Muhammad who possess complete knowledge of the Qur'an; the last imam is unseen, having disappeared from human view in A.D. 878; all current Shi'a clerics derive their authority as deputies of this unseen imam; the majority of Shi'as live in four countries: Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq; 10% to 13% of the world's Muslims are Shi'a.
3) Sufi: The mystics of Islam; often the prophetic voice of the faith and highly influential through the centuries; seek direct union with Allah through asceticism, contemplation and prayer; conservative Muslims view the movement with skepticism and at times see it as heretical; Sufis flourish in communities in various parts of the world by virtue of their sensitivity to and flexibility among local traditions and cultures; small in number, no reliable data exists on the global population of Sufi Muslims.

Other Recent Facts about Islam and Muslims (2010)

• 6.8 billion people on earth; 1.57 billion (1 in 4) are Muslim
• Islam is the world's fastest growing major religion
• 60% of the world's Muslims live in Asia; only 20% live in the Middle East and North Africa
• Arabs comprise only about 20% of the world's Muslim population
• Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population: 202,867,000, or 12.9% of the global Muslim population
• Iran is home to more than 1/3 of the world's Shi'a Muslims
• The word Islam translates as "submission" (as in submission to Allah)
• The word Muslim means "one who submits"
• Muslims, like Christians and Jews, consider themselves children of Abraham. They trace their lineage through Ishmael, who is said to have settled in Mecca after he and his mother were ordered out of the tribe after the birth of Isaac
• Contrary to what many Westerners believe, Muhammad is not considered the originator of Islam by Muslims. He is considered God's final prophet - part of a long line of prophets that includes Abraham, Moses, Ishmael, and Jesus
• Muslim prayers are memorized recitations. When reciting them, they always face the holy city of Mecca. Their prayers are not directed to the city itself, but to Allah. In the United States, Muslims orient themselves toward the northeast when they say their prayers
• Islamic scholars have said the Qur'an is to Muslims what Christ is to Christians: God among us, the very personification of the divine.
  

IMB Article: Why did you wait so long to tell us?

Many events in the Old & New Testaments, including key moments in the lives of Moses, Elijah, the Apostle Paul and Christ himself, took place in the Middle East and North Africa. Yet, the message of the Qur'an now dominates this region, which once was very Christian.

Yes, persecution is a reality, but we've allowed ourselves to be silenced. The voice of Islam has been raised because Muslims are willing to pay the price to make their message heard. Meanwhile, we Christians have done less and less to make Jesus known.

There's more openness than ever. We must raise our voices.

Former followers of Islam tell us it's not that they didn't want to know Jesus - there was no one to tell them. When they hear of the resurrected Christ, of the joy and power He gives, they're overwhelmed. They wonder why we waited so long to tell them.

We think that the Middle East and North Africa are unreachable. We must change our mindset - it is reachable.

There are 1.6 billion people globally who have never even heard the name of Jesus. We need to move to the last frontiers and mobilize the church in America in these last days. We'll never finish the job with 5,000 missionaries - or 8,000. However, if 16 million U. S. Christians join in the Great Commission task, what a phenomenal difference it will make.

We must sacrifice our passion for the American dream to accommodate the sending of the Gospel financially. Certainly gifts to the mission field work must increase. But as Christians give, it's my sincere desire that the vast majority of the money be used to impact the vast majority of lostness in the world.

When you really catch His heart for the nations, you'll give like never before.

Johnny Hunt
FBC Woodstock, GA
traveljohnnyhunt.com

A Global Snapshot of our Mission Challenge

• 4,743 people groups not engaged at all with the Gospel
• 6,426 unreached people groups (those with less than 2 percent of people who profess to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ)
• 1.7 billion with little or no access to the Gospel
• 1.5 billion Muslims - 22% of the world's population
• 950 million Hindus in the world
• Christian witness among China cities less than 1%
• 355 million in South America do not know Christ
• Less than 1% Christian among more than 270 million living in the Central Asia region
• 97% of all Palestinians are Muslim
• 89% of Northern African and Middle Eastern people groups are unreached.
• 311 people groups in India have no known evangelical believers.
  

The Dynamics of a New Birth

Many diagrams exist that illustrate the process of a lost person coming to faith in Jesus Christ and becoming His devoted disciple. The following diagram follows a -12 to a +4 linear scale of a person being completely closed to Christ to becoming a reproducing disciple-maker. A diagram like this can help us identify where a lost person is and how to get them closer step-by-step to receiving the Savior and joining the Kingdom.

Level -12: No God framework. God is confirming His existence. Our task is Prayer

Level -11: Experience of Emptiness. God is confirming His existence. Our task is Presence.

Level -10: God framework. God is Revealing Himself. Our task is Presence.

Level -9: Vague awareness of and belief in God. God is Revealing Himself. Our task is Presence.

Level -8: Wondering if God can be known. God is Revealing Himself. Our task is Preparation.

Level -7: Awareness of Jesus. God is Guiding the person closer. Our task is Preparation.

Level -6: Interested in Jesus. God is Guiding the person closer. Our task is Preparation.

Level -5: Experience of Christian Love. God is Guiding the person closer. Our task is Proclamation.

Level -4: Aware of the basic facts of the Gospel. God is Convicting them of sin. Our task is Proclamation.

Level -3: Aware of personal need. God is Convicting of them of sin. Our task is Proclamation.

Level -2: Grasp the implications of the Gospel. God is Convicting them of sin. Our task is Power.

Level -1: Challenged to respond personally. God is Converting them to salvation. Our task is Power.

Level 0: Repentance and faith. God is Converting them to salvation. Our task is Power.

Level 1: Holy Spirit and baptism. God is Transforming their lives. Our task is Encouragement.

Level 2: Functioning member of local church. God is Empowering them. Our task is Encouragement.

Level 3: Continuing growth in character, lifestyle and service. God is Empowering them. Our task is Encouragement.

Level 4: Part of team leadership. God is Empowering them. Our task is Support.

How Can Christians Best Pray for Muslims?

1. Let us begin in prayer by asking God to give us a heart filled with love and compassion towards Muslims
2. We also need to pray in faith and confidence that God will hear us and will move powerfully in answer to our prayers of love and compassion. (John 14:12-14)
3. When praying for Muslims, pray that they will have a full revelation of the true God and His loving character. (Hebrews 8:8-9)
4. Pray against the fear that influences many Muslims. (1 John 4:18)
5. Pray that Muslims will also understand that God desires for everyone to know Him as children and not as slaves. (Galatians 4:7, Matthew 18:3)
6. When we pray for Muslims to get saved, we are really praying that they will be convicted of sin and know true repentance. We are also praying that they will experience God's total forgiveness and thus be able to forgive others. And, we are praying that they will know the assurance of salvation through Jesus, something Islam can never offer them. (Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Peter 5:6, Matthew 6:14-15)