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Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Two
Responding With Outreach
While the power
and necessity of prayer is indisputable, there is also another dimension to our
response that is also absolutely necessary. We must also reach out to Muslims
with the consummate Christian message of good news. It is a message of freedom
to those who have been held captive by the false Islamic gospel of fear. It is
a message of love and acceptance to those who have never really known what it
feels like to be accepted and fully loved by God. It is the message that says,
God loves you this much. And here’s how He proved it forever… We must never
take the gospel message for granted. We must never underestimate its power.
Indeed, “It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”
(Romans 1:16)
Reaching Out
How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they
hear without someone preaching to them? Romans 10:14
The purpose of this chapter is
not to discuss methods of outreach to Muslims, but rather the spirit in which
God desires us to reach out to Muslims in order that not only they, but also we,
might be transformed. Nevertheless, I want make just a few comments regarding
outreach to Muslims. There are of course two primary ways that Christians can
reach out to Muslims; at home or abroad. While most Christians might assume
that there are already plenty of missionaries who are laboring away among Muslim
peoples, consider this statistic: Only two percent of the Protestant Missionary
force is reaching out to the Muslims of the world who make up practically half
of the non-Christian world population. 1 That’s astounding, and much
could be said about this. But while the majority of those who read this book
may never actually move themselves and their families overseas to become
missionaries to Muslims in foreign lands, that does not mean however, that
outreach to Muslims is not possible. Today, with several million
Muslims living in America, America is part of the Islamic world. The same can
be said of any number of western countries. Most Muslims have moved to America
from countries where you or I could be imprisoned or even killed for sharing the
Gospel message with them. But here they are in America – the land of the free –
and most Christians ignore their presence. Has there ever been a time when
Jesus’ words rang more true?
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Luke 10:3
If you are a follower of Jesus
then I encourage you to meditate on Jesus’ words when he told us all to “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.” To what degree are you personally being obedient to this
commandment?
Perhaps you are thinking that
outreach to Muslims is impossible. Perhaps after reading this book you are even
more afraid of Muslims than you previously were. Let’s talk about those
feelings.
A Muslim Just
Like Me
After reading this book, you
may be surprised to find out that I actually love Muslims. And if you
are someone who has been embraced by the love of God in Christ, then you should
too. One of my biggest fears in writing this book was that it would foster a
negative reaction in people toward Muslims. Of course the natural reaction
after reading so much negative information is probably to shrink back from
Muslims in fear. But when faced with such fear, the Lord does not want us to
retreat, but rather to boldly shine forth His love to those in the darkness,
despite our fears. Let me declare very loudly: “Our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12) In other words, Muslims are not
the enemy! This book is not about Muslims - It is about Islam. It’s about
the spiritual forces and deceptive doctrines that hold people captive. Despite
the fact that I’ve argued that Muslims are essentially following an “antichrist”
religion, I want to make it clear that as followers of Christ we need to see in
every Muslim, never an enemy, but rather always someone who is created in the
image of God – just like us.
As a matter of fact, this is
perhaps one of the issues that takes many westerners by surprise when they begin
to get to know real Muslims. Instead of discovering small-minded, angry people,
many are taken aback to discover that most Muslims are indeed just like anybody
else. I have met many very warm, very kind and very intelligent Muslims. And
the reason that they seem just like us is because they are just like us. The
majority of Muslims that you meet are people who sincerely desire to live a good
life before God and do what pleases Him. So this is how we should view most
Muslims: As genuine God seekers.
Finding The
Ocean In Every Drop
Jalal al Din al Rumi was one of
Islam’s greatest mystics. He practiced a mystical form of Islam known as
Sufiism. Rumi often spoke of God as “the Beloved” or “the Friend.” Sufis’ such
as Rumi also placed far more emphasis on Jesus as their model for life than
other Muslims. One cannot read many of Rumi’s writings without feeling as
though he was very close to being a Christian. There is at least one quote of
Rumi’s that I have truly come to appreciate. Rumi said, “One day I was going
along looking to see in people the shining of the Friend, so I would recognize
the Ocean in a drop.” Rumi attempted to see God in all of His creation, and
particularly in every one of His creatures. Maybe you say that we cannot find
any goodness and light in the religion of the Antichrist. But believe it or
not, you can. And here’s the reason: Islam is made of Muslims. And Muslims are
people who are created in the image of God. And many of them are genuine God
seekers. As such, even in Islam there are things that Christians can learn
from. And if this is so of a dead end, antichrist religious system, then how
much more in its followers who are each one God’s creatures! While the natural
tendency of our hearts might be to shrink back from fear, instead the Lord
desires us to approach Muslims with an attitude of confidence and humility that
sees not an “other,” but rather another of God’s creatures. This attitude of
humility, of boldness and of confidence is what God desires for His people
throughout time but particularly in the last-days. He desires us to be
overcomers.
Overcomers
An overcomer is someone who
does not allow fear to overcome him or her but rather overcomes fear with love.
An overcomer does not allow hatred to overcome him or her but rather overcomes
hatred with reconciliation. There was one man who reached out in just such a
spirit to Muslims. He did so in the midst of one of the darkest periods of
Christian history. The relationship between Islam and Christianity was at this
time perhaps comparable to the atmosphere today. It was during the third Great
crusade that Francis of Assisi decided to go and preach the Gospel to the
Muslims. It is the spirit that Francis walked in that is a powerful model for
Christ-likeness in Christian outreach to Muslims today.
Francis’
Story
In 1219 Francis of Assissi and twelve of his brothers
traveled with the crusader army to the front lines in the war between the
Crusaders and the Muslim Saracens of Sultan Al- Kaamil in Egypt.2
Francis and his friends set up camp within the crusader camp as the army
prepared to lay siege to the port city of Damietta. Francis preached the gospel
among the crusaders and many of those who were impacted by Francis’ message laid
down their arms and joined the Franciscan order. Francis’ approach was never to
discriminate when preaching the gospel. He preached to the “Christian”
Crusaders and the Muslim Saracens alike. Francis followed Jesus directly into
the camp of the Sultan, the leader of the Muslim armies. Among the Christians,
Sultan Al- Kaamil was viewed as a brute beast. But Francis found a man who was
kind, sincere, very open and a genuine God-seeker.
Francis and his close friend
Illuminato walked directly into the camp of the “enemy.” Francis was
immediately captured and initially abused by the Muslim soldiers. Francis
demanded that he be taken to the Sultan in order to preach the gospel to him.
Francis’ request was approved. Francis greeted the Sultan with a greeting of’
“God give you peace.” Ironically this greeting was one that Francis himself had
devised which also happened to correlate wonderfully with the standard greeting
used by Muslims: As-salamu Alaikum (peace be upon you).
Christine Mallouhi in her
wonderful book, Waging Peace on Islam, walks through the various stories
and legends that surround this meeting between Francis and Kaamil. While there
are differing accounts, there are some things that we can know for sure about
this meeting. We know that Francis was well received by the Sultan. Most
traditions support that Kaamil was so taken aback by Francis that he invited him
to stay for a prolonged period with the Muslims. The record also shows that
Francis accepted this invitation. We even know that the Sultan gave written
permission to Francis and his men to freely preach the Gospel in Muslim lands.
But what exactly happened to
the two men as a result of their meeting? Based on interviews with brother
Illuminato, the Sultan was quoted as saying to Francis, “I believe your faith is
good and true” and upon parting ways, he asked Francis to pray that he would be
able to find the correct path. Whether or not the Sultan was converted is in
question, but even the Muslim accounts mention that Kaamil was indeed a changed
man after his encounter with Francis. But here’s the interesting part and a
lesson for us as well. Francis was also changed. Francis was so impacted by
the Muslims, that upon returning home to Europe he adapted some elements of
Muslim practice into his religious life. For instance in accordance with the
Muslim call to prayer five times a day, Francis declared to the superiors of the
Franciscan Order that they were to, “Announce and preach to all the people… tell
them about the glory that is due to Him, so that at every hour when bells are
rung, praise and honor may be offered to Almighty God by everyone all over the
world.” It is also said that Francis began bowing down with his head to the
ground as the Muslims do when praying. He wrote to the general Chapter: “At the
sound of His name you should fall to the ground and adore Him with fear and
reverence. Give hearing with all your ears and obey the Son of God.
This is the very reason he has sent you all over the world, so that by word and deed
you might bear witness to His message and convince everyone that there is no
other Almighty God besides Him.” This last part of course, is very similar
to the Muslim credo, “There is no god but God (Allah).”
So in the final assessment,
we learn that both the Sultan and Francis were changed as a result of their
meeting. The reason for this is that in every encounter, Francis did not look
to merely convert “the other” but his own self as well. Francis did not see
the greatest enemy in others, but rather in his own “self.”
The purpose of pointing out
this story of Francis is that today, as then, we live in a time when
Christian/Muslim tensions, misunderstandings and fears are strong. How much
more will such feelings reach their full peak in the last-days? Francis is a
wonderful model for us as he reached out to Muslims. He came to Muslims in
confidence, without fear, yet humble, teachable and in an absolute spirit of
peace. Francis did not go to the antichrist/infidel enemy with a spirit of
prejudice, but rather simply to a people who needed Jesus. Likewise Francis did
not go to defend the Gospel, but to die for it. We will discuss this issue in
the next chapter.
Personal
Benefits
While the primary purpose of
outreach is of course to offer the message of salvation and life abundant to our
Muslim brothers and sisters, there are also some very powerful benefits that we
receive as well when reaching out to Muslims. Regardless of how mature of a
believer you are, anyone who enters into deep religious dialogue with Muslims
will be challenged. You see, most Muslims spend a lot of time training
themselves to argue with Christians. Eventually, you will find your core
beliefs being challenged. The good news however, is that through challenges
comes a strengthening. My personal encounters with Muslims have caused immense
growth in terms of my personal revelation and understanding of my own faith. I
have never meditated more on the wonders of the incarnation, the trinity or the
cross as I have during the periods that I am engaged with Muslims who vehemently
oppose all of these doctrines. Is it at all surprising then that many of those
who have reached out to Muslims have walked in a powerful revelation of the very
issues that Islam denies? A wonderful example is Samuel Zwemer. Zwemer was a
forerunner in ministry to Muslims, who lived through the turn of the last
century. One of Zwemer’s books, The Glory of the Cross is a classic that
should read by every Christian. Its title says it all – as a result of his
encounter with Muslims, Zwemer walked in a deeper revelation of the glory of the
cross. And thus it will be with us as well. As we approach Muslims, the
purpose is not only to introduce him or her to the real Jesus in order that he
or she can be “converted,” but equally in order that we ourselves might find
ourselves in an ongoing and continual state of “conversion” and transformation
as well.
Notes:
- Bruce A. Mcdowell & Anees Zaka, Muslims and
Christians at the Table, (P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg, New Jersey) p.26
- Christine A. Mallouhi, Waging Peace On Islam,
(Dowers Grove, Intervarsity, 2000), pp. 263-287. Note from the author: I
highly recommend this book!