Connecting with Muslims E-Book

Fouad Masri

• Herausgeber: IVP
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 227

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

- 12th Annual Outreach Resource of the Year (Cross-Cultural) How can we build bridges with Muslims?Muslims are our coworkers, neighbors and friends. But Christians don't always know how to build relationships with Muslims. Fouad Masri provides practical ways for Christians to initiate conversations and develop relationships with Muslims. He offers insights into Muslim culture and helps Christians understand and relate their Muslim friends. Masri addresses seven common questions that Muslims ask about Jesus and the Christian faith, providing sensitive answers that winsomely guide Muslims to Jesus without arguing or awkward debating. With real-life stories of fruitful conversations and genuine relationships, Masri helps readers see Muslims as Jesus sees them, without fear, with love, hope and expectation. You don't need a Ph.D. in Islam to share your faith with a Muslim. You just need the heart of an ambassador. Discover how.

Leseprobe

Connectingwith Muslims

A Guide to Communicating Effectively

Fouad Masri

Foreword by Josh McDowell

www.IVPress.com/books

InterVarsity Press P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426 World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com Email: [email protected]

©2014 by Fouad Masri

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept., InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the IVCF website at www.intervarsity.org.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

While all stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information in this book have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

Cover design: Cindy Kiple

Images: tea set: Pam McLean/Getty Images coffee cup: malerapaso/Getty Images green tablecloth background: kyoshino/Getty Images flower border: © azat1976/iStockphoto

ISBN 978-0-8308-9590-8 (digital) ISBN 978-0-8308-4420-3 (print)

To my precious family,

whose love and prayers have

helped me finish this book

Contents

Foreword

Introduction: The Communication Gap

PART 1: Practical Ways to Connect with Muslims

Chapter 1

Our Role in the Great Commission

Chapter 2

Compelling Evangelism

Witnessing Like Jesus

Chapter 3

Compelling Evangelism

Practical Approaches

Chapter 4

Bridge-Building Approaches

PART 2: “Always Be Prepared to Give an Answer”

Responding to Seven Common Questions Muslims Ask

Chapter 5

What Do You Think of Muhammad?

Chapter 6

Hasn’t the Injeel Been Corrupted?

Chapter 7

Who Is Jesus, the Son of Mary?

Chapter 8

Who Actually Died on the Cross?

Chapter 9

Don’t Christians Worship Three Gods?

Chapter 10

Why Did Jesus Have to Be Sacrificed?

Al-Adha in the Injeel

Chapter 11

Is the Gospel of Barnabas True?

Chapter 12

Use Your Tools

Acknowledgments

Appendix 1: The Parables of Jesus

Appendix 2: Jesus in the Bible and the Qur’an

Appendix 3: The Miracles of Jesus

Appendix 4: List of Terms

Appendix 5: Translations of the Bible

Appendix 6: Five Basic Beliefs of All Christians

Appendix 7: Five Practices of Christians Who Are Following Jesus

Appendix 8: Global Statistics About Muslims

Notes

Praise for Connecting With Muslims

About the Author

Crescent Project

More Titles from InterVarsity Press

Foreword

Christians have not always been very aware of our Muslim neighbors. We may not have thought much about the quiet shopkeeper checking out our order or the young graduate student at the library in her hijab. But after 9/11, Christians became alert to Muslims, and we didn’t always respond well. Many saw all Muslims as threats to be feared. Some even felt compelled to strike back and hurt those who hurt us. However, this is not the heart of Jesus our Messiah!

Other Christians soon turned this around and opened their eyes to the new opportunities for evangelism and outreach. Muslims are not the enemy—they are people created in the image of God, priceless in God’s sight. Jesus lived for them and died for them, and Christians likewise ought to love them and share the good news of the gospel with them.

But this hasn’t always gone well either. Sometimes Christians have been so intent on winning converts that they have tried to argue Muslims into the kingdom, debating about theology or mixing up religion with politics. Some of our Muslim neighbors have been on the receiving end of sales pitches that brushed aside their faith and tried to sell them a Jesus that didn’t make any sense to them. We have tried to get them into our churches without first welcoming them into our hearts and homes. This is not the way of Jesus.

That’s why I’m grateful for Fouad Masri’s Connecting with Muslims. This book shows how Christians and Muslims can connect with one another in real relationships of respect and trust. Masri is an Arab Christian and a skilled communicator who can explain the cultural differences and bridge the gap between different worlds. He explains where Muslims are coming from in ways that Christians can understand, and he explains Christianity in ways that make sense to Muslims.

Make no mistake: Masri is clear about the differences between Christianity and Islam, and this book will help the reader answer the tough questions about what we believe and what is really true. But he does so winsomely, out of shared relationship and community. Connecting and communicating go hand in hand. When trust is built, truth can be heard. Then we will not be “us” over here and “them” over there, but a community of friends who can all journey toward God together.

So I hope this book will help you understand how to connect with Muslims, but more importantly, I hope that you will actually live it out. Invite that shopkeeper for a cup of tea. Welcome that graduate student into your home. Get to know them not just as “Muslims,” but as Khalid and Sorayah, or Abdul and Minya, friends and neighbors, beloved by yourself and by God.

Josh McDowell

Introduction

The Communication Gap

With recent leaps and bounds in technology and travel, the planet is no doubt getting smaller. And yet, how well can we say we understand Muslims? And how well do Muslims understand Christians?

There are obvious gaps when it comes to Christian and Muslim relationships. Christians don’t really understand Islam, and Muslims don’t really understand Christianity. The divide between Christians and Muslims is at once social, spiritual and personal. In particular, two major gaps in communication and accessibility are impeding Christians’ communication with Muslims.

The first gap is a lack of understanding on the Christian’s part to Muslims and the religion of Islam. The second is a lack of communication tools that would help the Christian to effectively share the gospel of Christ.

An English teacher in Afghanistan (a Muslim country) was asked by a student, “Why are you a Christian?” The teacher stared at the student and avoided the question. When asked why she did so, her answer was, “I do not know Islam or what they believe about Christians.”

An evangelist was asked by a Sunni Muslim civil engineer, “What does the Bible say about Muhammad?” The evangelist read from John 10 and claimed that the Bible calls Muhammad a thief and a murderer. That was the last conversation the evangelist had with this engineer.

Unfortunately, Christians’ communication with Muslims has been overwhelmingly insensitive, and at times downright offensive. Communication with Muslims is characterized by an argumentative spirit and heated discussion. Instead of focusing on productive dialogue, too many believers are aggressive and uncompromising in their approach and end up alienating Muslims rather than befriending them. Discussions between Christians and Muslims that at first looked promising frequently dissolve into an impasse instead of resulting in an open pathway to understanding. On the whole, Christians are not finding accessible ways to connect with Muslims.

My hope is that this book will encourage and provide believers with communication and relationship tools to bridge the communication gap with Muslims. I hope that as you read these chapters you feel empowered to show love to Muslims as God brings them into your path.

My goal is to see believers have a crystal-clear biblical understanding of Islam and a variety of ministry tools for effective communications with Muslims. This book will introduce simple, conversational tools that cut to the core issues of Islam without offending Muslims or sidestepping the truth.

Cross the Street

You don’t have to listen too closely at church to hear people sharing about what short-term mission trips they are going on. It even sounds fancy to say, “I’m going to Beirut,” or “I’m going to Indonesia” or “I’m going to Morocco.” Many Western believers have taken the plunge to cross the ocean to minister to Muslims. Don’t get me wrong—these overseas trips are replete with amazing opportunities to meet new people and to engage with Muslims and explore a new culture. Even I go on them frequently. But in reality, there are Muslims living just across the street who have never been ministered to by their own neighbors.

Many Muslims have never been invited inside an American home, and many have never been visited by an American. Even more Muslims have never been invited to a Christian home and have never been visited by a Christian. Christianity Today reports that 42.5 percent of Muslims in North America do not personally know any Christians!1

A young lady recently took the Bridges: Christians Connecting with Muslims course (www.bridgesstudy.com) that is offered by the Crescent Project (www.crescentproject.org), a series that trains Christians how to communicate with Muslims in an effective and respectful way. This young lady discovered that she had a classmate from Egypt, and she decided to visit her classmate’s family in their home. As they chatted over Egyptian tea, talking about the beauty of Egypt, her classmate’s mother looked over her teacup and said, “You are a nice American.”

Slightly surprised, the young lady replied, “Thank you.”

The mother continued, “We’ve lived in this house for six years. You are the first American to visit us.” In six years, she was the first American to visit!

Who will welcome Muslims? Who will invite them into their homes for coffee or a meal? Will it take all of us six years or more before we have a strong enough relationship with Muslims to be invited into their homes? Why don’t we invite them to our house? Let them see our religion. Let them see our faith. Romans 12:13 exhorts us, “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” What greater need do Muslims have than to know who the Savior is? Learning to practice hospitality—a practice that is so natural and has such deep roots in the

Middle East—can be our “in” to minister to Muslims from the comfort of our own homes. It isn’t necessary to cross an ocean. You can simply cross the street.

Intentional Engagement: Your Role in the Great Commission

Two thousand years ago, Christ asked us to engage with others and to be intentional about witnessing to others. But now an incredibly apparent gap exists between Christians and Muslims. Christians are still called kafirs (“unbelievers”) by many Muslims today. Conflict, wars and misunderstanding prevail where connection, rapport and a free exchange of ideas are needed.

Many Christians still subscribe to several myths about Muslims. First is the sentiment among many Western Christians that Muslims hate us. But so many amazing opportunities await us when we commit to meeting Muslims and talking to them about Jesus. Too often, fear prevents believers from taking the initiative to get to know Muslims, or even engaging in light conversation with them. I have to ask: what’s so frightening about talking to Muslims?

A second myth is that Muslims are not interested in Jesus or Christianity. A third and even more upsetting myth is that God himself doesn’t care about Muslims and Islam. But it is clear that from the beginning God cared for all races and all religions. It is time to bridge the gap that we have created between us.

In the Middle East, I saw the casualties of raw hatred. I watched Christians build walls of fear so high they forgot the key word of the Great Commission in Matthew 28: “Go.” Regrettably, this same tragedy occurs today among Christians who, overcome with fear, view Muslims as the enemy.

Are Muslims not worthy of the gospel message? Can everyday Christians begin seeing Muslims through Jesus’ eyes? Are there ways to bridge the gospel to the Muslim mind and heart? Walls can fall down when even one Christian infused with the love of Christ becomes an active ambassador to Muslims.

The journey starts when one Christian decides to meet Muslims where they are: across the street, next door, in the supermarket checkout line, at the mall, on the running trail, at the gas station. Where you are, Muslims are there too. Right now is the time to start capitalizing on the smallest of opportunities to intentionally engage with Muslims, to begin conversations with them as you would conversations with anyone else. It happens over a cup of coffee, or with an invitation to a meal, or with a smile and a compliment at the cash register. Now is the time to begin inviting Muslims into our homes and lives so that they, too, may have the same hope and assurance that we Christians have.

The Purpose of This Book: How to Communicate Effectively

We can’t ignore Muslims anymore. While millions of followers of Islam are becoming our neighbors in North America and Europe, Christians feel confused and helpless about Islam and about how to effectively communicate with Muslims. A telling survey conducted in 2002 by the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Beliefnet discovered that 77 percent of evangelicals have an unfavorable view of Islam, and yet 97 percent deem it “very important” or “somewhat important” to evangelize US Muslims!2 With this conflicting attitude, what will serve as the catalyst for evangelization? A fresh perspective is needed in order to see Muslims through the eyes of Jesus instead of the eyes of CNN.

Many books published since 9/11 tend to fall into two extremes: they either trash Islam or sugarcoat it. Some books help Christians grasp the basics of Islam but lack action steps to impact the Muslim community in culturally appropriate, Christ-centered ways. Such texts leave the reader with head knowledge about Islam but without insight into Muslims or practical ways to reach them.

It takes more than a guilt-laden sermon to come to the realization, “Perhaps I could share the gospel with a Muslim.” It takes seeing Muslims as Jesus sees them. We know not all Muslims are terrorists, but we question, aren’t they just as diametrically opposed to Jesus? We must start thinking about how a Christian would seek to befriend anyone so seemingly hostile to the basic tenets of Christianity. We must start thinking about how God could use us to impart the gospel to someone so set in his ways.

I am sure you agree on the need to go, but some important questions to ask may include the following: How can I communicate in a way that Muslims understand? How can I begin a conversation? How do I end the conversation? How do I build a relationship of trust with Muslims I meet? Are there words or ideas that can help me be effective in my communication? Do I have to be an expert in theology and debating strategies in order to befriend a Muslim?

Feelings of fear toward Muslims must be replaced with compassion and love based on Christ’s command. Feelings of in­adequacy must be replaced with courage based on the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Feelings of hesitancy must be replaced with initiative and action as we use effective communication tools.

I wrote this book to equip you with the tools to understand and respond to Muslim neighbors, coworkers or acquaintances in a way that is biblical and Christ-centered. This book seeks to share testimonies and methods that will take the pressure off and instead fill you with hope and expectation for your next encounter with a Muslim.

You do not need a PhD in Islam to share your faith with a Muslim. Instead, you need to know Christ, have a heart of an ambassador and an array of effective communication tools. This book focuses on practical ways to initiate conversations with Muslims (part 1) and addresses seven critical questions that Muslims ask about Jesus and the Christian faith (part 2). This book provides readers with insights into Muslim culture so that believers can remain sensitive to how Muslims might react to certain ideas and approaches. After learning the “bridges” between Islam and Christianity and growing confident from reading the real-life stories of those who have engaged with Muslims, readers will be better equipped to winsomely initiate conversations that guide Muslims to Jesus, without arguing or awkward debating! My hope is to help you move beyond fear and skepticism and jump into action. I pray that this book will help you connect with Muslims and share the gospel with them effectively.

Part One

Practical Ways to Connect with Muslims

Chapter 1

Our Role in the Great Commission

Urged to Love, Urged to Pray

Where I grew up, a civil war gripped the country. I was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, which is a small country in the Middle East about the size of Connecticut. While the country is beautiful, the lengthy civil war was completely ugly. It created in me a hatred for foreigners and fellow countrymen. In my mind, I placed them in either a religious or political box. To me, individuals were no longer just individuals—they were defined as either friends or foes.

During the war, I routinely witnessed Israeli jets flying over Beirut on reconnaissance missions. The planes roaring overhead would break the sound barrier and bomb both the capital city and the mountainous areas. These ringing sounds in my ears only reminded me of the Arab-Israeli war and of family members on my mom’s side who fought in the Golan Heights. Seeing and hearing the Israeli jets and bombs fostered in me a deep-seated hatred of the Jewish people.

Not only was I nursing my loathing of the Israelis, but I was also harboring acute disgust of the Palestinians because a friend from high school was killed by them. Waleed, my close friend and soccer teammate, was taking a walk on a Saturday morning at 9 o’clock, smoking a cigarette. Shelling from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) militia killed him. I hated the Palestinians for killing my friend.

I grew up with this abhorrence during the Lebanese War, hating Jewish people and hating Palestinians. I believed both people groups ought to go away. I knew my hatred didn’t reflect the heart of Jesus, but I just wanted the war to be finished.

Amazingly, it was the war that prompted me to start studying different religions and prompted me to look more closely at the teachings of Jesus. The Christian faith had come to my family when my grandfather was saved in Toledo, Ohio, in 1914. He returned to Lebanon and brought the gospel back to his family. As I, years later after my grandfather was saved, revisited the teachings of Christ, I discovered that weapons don’t kill people; people kill people. Even a cursory review of history shows that humans have filled their hearts with hate. Humans have filled their hearts with anger and sin. It is the hardness of humans’ hearts that results in humans’ killing one another. The atomic bomb, the hydrogen bomb, the neutron bomb: we are ever more creative in how we utterly destroy human life. Still, the root problem remains: sin.

As I continued to study the teachings of Jesus, I was especially struck by the story of how Christ washed the feet of his disciples. I was really shocked that Jesus would even wash the feet of Judas Iscariot, fully knowing Judas would betray him. It was a humbling moment for me as I read, and I knew that Jesus was the Messiah. I knew that Jesus was the Savior. I knew that Jesus’ teachings were correct, but at the time, for me, it was all head knowledge. I wrestled with how I could submit my will and my life to Jesus, especially in the middle of my country’s chaos. A terrible tragedy spurred me to action.

A family friend was eating dinner with his wife and four children. His youngest child was two years old and had spilled his milk at dinner. This friend picked up his son to take him to the bathroom to wash up, and a mortar shell blasted through the balcony door and exploded in the middle of the table. Our friend made his way back to the kitchen and found his wife and three other children in pieces. With a plastic bag and a heavy heart, he picked up the remnants of his family and buried them.

That was my trigger to move my head knowledge of the unique love of Jesus to my heart. I was finally ready to fully commit my life to Christ. I went to my room, closed the door behind me and knelt by my bed. I prayed to the Lord, “Lord Jesus, when you came to earth, you healed the sick. You raised the dead. You washed the feet of your disciples. The more hate there is in Lebanon, the more I want to be a soldier of love. The more war there is in Lebanon, the more I want to be a soldier of peace. Forgive me for my sin. Forgive me for hating Palestinians and Israelis. Change my heart and make me a new person. I want to follow you as my Savior and Lord.”

It was a life-changing moment for me. I started to pray for the Jewish people. I started to pray for the Palestinians. When you are a follower of Jesus, when you are committed to the teachings of Christ, when you have received Jesus as your Savior, you don’t see people by their religion, race or background. You don’t see people by their level of education. You see them as God’s creation. You see they need a Savior. Like you and I need a Savior, they also need a Savior.

Commanded by Jesus

Just as I needed Jesus, millions of others are in need of Jesus, including millions of Muslims. As followers of Christ, we enjoy forgiveness, the community of God’s family and hope of eternal joy. On the other side, in a place of mis­understanding and misinformation, our Muslim friends are walking in a spiritual Sahara, plagued by guilt, uncertainty and fear.

As ambassadors for Jesus, our goal is to construct a bridge by which our friends can cross over from misunderstanding to truth, from fear to faith. However, paralyzed with fear, many Christians hesitate to reach out to Muslims to offer them the same hope and security Jesus offered to them. But let us consider the question, “Is engaging with Muslims really that scary?”

In Matthew 28:18, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Who has all the authority? Jesus does. Having just defeated death itself, he prepared to ascend to his rightful throne, and he claimed to hold all power in heaven and on earth.

Jesus continues, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). What does Jesus say to do? “Go.” Reach out. Take the initiative. Share the good news of the gospel with those who are in need.

Action Point

Pray for Muslims regularly. Pray that God would open up constructive conversations with them about Jesus.

Ignoring the command of Jesus to “go and make disciples of all nations” is not an option. Who will welcome the Muslim family who just moved into the area? Who will befriend the Muslim neighbor down the street? Who will reach out to the Muslims sitting at the coffee shop? As the hands and feet of Jesus, we must welcome them. We must take care of them, regardless if they become Christians or not.

We need not fear Muslims or reaching out to Muslims because Jesus’ mandate to us is fully funded. When you are sent out by Jesus, you are not going in your own name. You are going in the name above all names. Under his authority, in his power, you must take initiative—you must go.

I have been serving at Crescent Project since its founding in 1993. Crescent Project is a Christian organization that exists to share the hope of Christ with Muslims. At Crescent Project, we long to see a day when fear is replaced with love and millions of Christians are actively sharing the truth of Christ with millions of Muslims for the glory of God.

A friend of mine once told me, “Fouad, you need to close Crescent Project.”

I asked, “Why?”

He claimed, “God can save Muslims without your help.”

Of course he can. But two thousand years ago, Jesus commanded his disciples to go, and as disciples of Christ, we, too, are called to go. God has chosen that the gospel message will go out through his people.

Jesus’ disciples were not the most powerful or influential people. Many had weaknesses and challenges that could hinder them from impacting their generation. However, Christ commanded them and used them to proclaim his teachings across the known world. Likewise, our challenges and weaknesses do not negate the need to implement the Lord’s command in our own lives. When we are weak, God is strong. When we depend on God, he will transform our weaknesses and make us strong.

Jesus still commands us to get involved and share the good news. Jesus expects us to take the initiative, but we do it in his power, not our own. “Going” has nothing to do with my own ability. Going is not an act to be feared. When I go, I am under the name and authority and ability of Christ. My only role is to go and invite people into relationship, into friendship, and to share the gospel with them.

Bridging the gap with Muslims is part of our role on earth. John was sent to testify to, and witness, the coming of Jesus (John 1:8). We know it is impossible to form deep friendships with every Muslim on earth, and so we must focus on testifying and witnessing to those we do encounter. Being a witness is about proclaiming the good news to others. To witness is to give an account of the story of the Messiah. It is to share your story of how you became a follower of Jesus. When we witness to Muslims, we give an account of the salvation that Jesus offers them and an account of our faith and our hope. Jesus didn’t just walk on earth. He intentionally witnessed to others. This book will prepare you with the tools to bridge the gap in communication with Muslims so that your witness to them will become even more effective.

Make an Offer

I was driving from Columbus, Ohio, to Indianapolis, Indiana, one evening. It was raining cats and dogs, so I stopped at a gas station for a few minutes to take a break. Another car pulled up, and three young men exited. The first man, a Palestinian, had on a white cap (taqiyah) and had a beard without a mustache, a sign that he was with the Muslim Brotherhood, a rather conservative Islamic organization. The second man was a tall Yemeni. The third man was Eritrean, and he began to pump gas in their car.

I made a beeline for the first man, since he was acting as the leader of the group. I greeted him, “As-salaamu alaikum,” a welcoming phrase typically used to greet Muslims, meaning “peace be upon you.” He responded in kind, “Wa alaikum asalaam