G

WhatChristiansNeed

to Know

About Muslims

by David K. Irwin
What Christians Need to Know About Muslim s
1987 by CMM

Printed in the United States of America.

First Printing, May 1987 - 100M Subsequent

Printings, 1988-1995 - 154M Reprinted,
November 1996 - 50M

All biblical references are from the Holy Bible: New International
Version  1984, International Bible Society. All Qur’anic references are
from The Holy Qur’an: Translation and Commentary by A. Yusuf Ali 
1977, Amana Corporation.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro-

duced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or oth- erwise,
without the written permission of CMM.

This booklet, written by the late David Irwin, has been revised to
update the statistics he originally used. Though Dr. Irwin was killed in an
automobile accident in 1984, his God-given burden for reaching out
in love to Muslims with the gospel has been carried on through the
Center for Ministry to Muslims.

Our prayer is that those reading this booklet will begin to under-
stand the vastness of the harvest field of Muslims, and that God will
open their spiritual eyes to the great needs of these 1 billion souls.
May many become burdened and reach out to Muslims who live in
their communities and around the world.

Additional information can be obtained by writing to:

Center for Ministry to Muslims
2032 E. Kearney, Suite 205
Springfield, MO 65803
U.S.A.
F
our thousand years ago Abraham cried out to God,
“If only Ishmael might live under your
blessing!” This
heart-rending plea of a father for his son touched God’s
heart, and He replied, “And as for Ishmael, I have
heard you: I will surely bless him.... I will make him
into a great nation” (Genesis 17:20,21).

Today the spiritual sons of Ishmael are called

Muslims—the people of Islam. Over 1 billion Muslims
are scattered around the world, and they are still
outside the Covenant. They have been blessed in a
material sense, but they have not been saved. They
have submitted to God, but not to His Son, our Lord
Jesus Christ.

Muslim s accept the Lord Jesus as a prophet

only.

In l959, the Lord sent me to Egypt to work with

Lillian Trasher in the orphanage she had founded in
Assiout. In that city I met Muslims, lived among them,
and was exposed to their culture. Since that time, I
have carefully nurtured a spiritual burden for the
people of Islam, wherever they live, work, suffer, and
pray.

My heart became increasingly burdened not only

by the enormous spiritual need of the 1 billion
Muslims, but also by the apathy of the missionary
movement toward them. Little more than 4 percent
of the missionary force is endeavoring to reach this
vast multitude which comprises 35 percent of all
unevangelized peoples of the world. Unplanted fields
bear no harvest. Islam is an unplanted field!

Instead of being evangelized, Muslims are

evangelizing. They are sending out thousands of
missionaries to preach the message of their prophet,
Muhammad. Saudi Arabia has given millions of dollars
to promote Islam in America. Mosques, such as the one
in Chicago which cost $15 million, are being built in
many major cities.

New Mexico is the site of America’s first all-

Muslim com- munity, called Dar al Islam. Situated on
1,280 acres, the ortho- dox Sunni Muslims intend to
evangelize America from this center.
 The soaring growth rate of Islam has been
highlighted by Al-lslam, the “magazine of Muslims in
Germany.” It reported that Muslims are counting on
Europe, the birthplace of the Reformation and the
modern missionary movement, to become
completely Islamic within the next few decades.

In England more than 300 closed churches have been con- verted into mosques. Muslims expect
their religion to have the highest number of adherents worldwide because, they say, Islam is
“best suited to solve the problems of all areas...if human civilization is to be preserved from
destruction, then Islam is the only religion for the world tomorrow...Islam is the universal message
of peace in this world and the next.”

The number of Muslims has passed the 50 million

mark in each of these six countries: Bangladesh,
Turkey, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and China. Muslims
are now in a majority in 44 countries of the world. We
must ask ourselves: Why has the church of Jesus
Christ not gone into this neglected field?

How Islam Began

M uhammad, the originator of Islam, was born

into the pagan Quraish tribe about 570 A.D. in
the city of Mecca,
in what is now Saudi Arabia. The Quraish claimed
direct descent from Abraham through Ishmael. Many
of them were traders whose caravans made journeys
to Syria and Palestine.

Muhammad’s father Abdullah died before

Muhammad was born. His mother Amina died when he
was 6. His grandfather, who was the chief of Mecca
and the keeper of a pagan shrine, cared for him.

During his early teens, Muhammad accompanied

relatives on trading journeys to Syria. He may have
also gone to Palestine.

When Muhammad was 25 years old, he married a

wealthy widow named Khadija. He worked for
Khadija as a caravan manager. When Muhammad
began receiving “revelations,” Khadija used her
wealth to help him spread his doctrines.

Through contacts with Christians and Jews in his

 native area and on trading journeys, Muhammad
learned about the Jewish and Christian faiths. It
seems that the paganism of his tribe and the many
deities they worshipped increasingly repulsed him.
Perhaps he was seeking for something to satisfy his
heart’s desire and was trying to understand the Jewish
and Christian doctrines. He incorporated some J
ewish and Christian practices, such as fasting and
regular hours for prayer, into his version of Islam.

At about the age of 40, while meditating in a

cave, Muhammad received his first revelation. A
spiritual being (some say the angel Gabriel) came to
him and commanded him to “recite.” Almost all
scholars believe that this first revela- tion is chapter
96 of the Qur’an, the sacred scriptures of the
Muslims. It says, “Proclaim! (or Read!) in the
name of thy Lord and Cherisher, who created—
created man, out of a ( mere) clot of congealed
blood: Proclaim! and thy Lord is Most Bountiful—
He who taught (the use of) the Pen—taught man
that which he knew not.” At later dates other
revelations provided the material for the rest of the
Qur’an. Today, Islamic teachers in mosques and
schools all over the world read and recite the Qur’an.

What Muslims Believe

T he Muslim creed has six articles. They are about (1)

God, (2) the angels of God, (3) the books of God, (4)
the prophets of

God, (5) the day of resurrection and judgment, and (6)

the pre- destination to do good and evil. We will
explain each of these briefly.

1. What Muslims Believe About God

There are several parts to the Muslim belief about

God. The first involves His name. The name Allah refers
to God’s essen- tial being and is known as the great
name of God. All of His other names are qualities of
His divine being.

Muslims assign seven principle attributes to God. They are:

a. Life. His existence has neither beginning nor ending.

b. Knowledge. He knows all things, visible or
invisible, past or future. He never forgets, is
never negligent, and never makes an error.
 c. Power. Allah is almighty. If He wills, He can
make stones and trees talk.
d. Will . He is able to do what He wills. Good and
evil exist by His will. If a man is pious, it is because of
the will of Allah. If a man is an unbeliever, it is due
to the will of Allah.
e. Hearing. He can hear every sound, whether
high or low. He hears without ears.
f. Seeing . He sees all things, even the steps of a
black cat on a black stone at midnight. He is able to
see without eyes.
g. Speech . He speaks, but without a tongue.

The second belief about God that Muslims

emphasize is His unity. The Qur’an 112:1-4 says,
“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the
Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He
begotten; and there is none like Him.” Muslims
often quote these verses to Christians. The
Muslim creed, “There is no god but God,” expresses
their belief in God’s unity.

To a Muslim, the association of other gods with Allah

is the greatest sin possible.

The third aspect of the Muslim belief in God is

His great- ness. The Arabic expression Allahu akbar,
which means “God is greatest,” is recited almost
constantly. To the Muslim it means that no matter
what a man can think of, God is greater than that.

The fourth part of the Muslim belief about God is

His reve- lation of His divine will or law. It is important for
those who want to witness to Muslims to understand
this. Muslims use the expression tanzil (sending
down) to mean the revelation or sending down of
God’s message in the Qur’an. Christians say that Christ
is the greatest of God’s revelations, but Muslims say the
greatest revelation is His message or the Qur’an.

The last Muslim belief about God is His

transcendence. Muslims believe that God is
unknowable. He holds himself aloof from man, and
His real self can never be known by man.

2. What Muslims Believe About Angels

According to the Qur’an, the devil was created

from fire, men from clay, and angels from light. Angels
have life, speech, and reason. They have no carnal
desire or anger. It is said that their food is celebrating
God’s glory; their drink is proclaiming God’s holiness;
their conversation is commemorating God; their
pleasure is worshipping God.

Angels are thought to be inferior to human

prophets because they were commanded to prostrate
themselves before Adam. “And behold, We said to
the angels: ‘Bow dow n to

Adam,’ and they bowed down. Not so Iblis. He

refused and was haughty” (Qur’an 2:34).

Muslims believe that angels intercede for man and

act as his guardians. Each Muslim assumes that two
recording angels tend him, one to record his good
actions and the other his evil actions. “They know
(and understand) all that ye do” (Qur’an
82:12).

Four archangels are part of the Muslim belief:

Gabriel, the angel of revelation; Michael, the patron of
the Israelites; Israfil, who must sound the trumpet at
the last day; and Azra’il, the angel of death. The chief
angel in charge of hell is Malik (king), and he has 19
sub-angels or guards.

The Muslim concept of sin and salvation is radically different

from that of the New Testament
3. What Muslims Believe About the Books of God

Muslims believe that God gave 104 sacred

books to mankind. He gave 100 of these to Adam,
Seth, Enoch, and Abraham, but they have been lost.
The four remaining books are the books of Moses,
the Psalms of David, the Gospels of Christ, and the
Qur’an which Allah gave to Muhammad. It is critical for
Christians to realize that Muslims claim that we have
altered the books in the Bible. By this, they are
attempting to justify the statements in the Qur’an that
differ from the Bible. They say the Qur’an corrects
previous mistakes in revelation because it was
revealed last! “ We (also) sent (Our prophets) to
peoples before thee...and We sent down the Book
to thee for the express purpose, that thou
shouldst make clear to them those things in
which they differ” (Qur’an 16:63,64).
 4. What Muslims Believe About the Prophets of God

Muslims generally speak of two classes of prophets

of God. Nabi is any prophet who God inspires, and
Rasul is a prophet to whom God has entrusted a
special message. Muslims accept the Lord Jesus as a
prophet only.

Tradition states that Muhammad claimed there

were 124,000 prophets and 315 apostles or
messengers. It is said that nine of these are
“possessors of power or constancy.” They are Noah,
Abraham, David, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Jesus, and
Muhammad. Six of these have special titles. Christ’s
title is Ruh Allah which means the Spirit of God.

5. What Muslims Believe

About the Day of
Judgment and
Resurrection

The last day has several names in the Qur’an.

Among them are the day of uprising, the day of
separation, the day of reck- oning, the day of
awakening and sending forth, the day of judg- ment,
the last day, the encompassing day, and the hour.

Muslim teaching about the last day states that it will

be pre- ceded by three blasts of a trumpet. The first
blast will terrify all creatures in heaven and earth. At
the second blast, all crea- tures in heaven and earth
will die. And at the last blast, 40 years later, all the dead
will be raised again for the judgment. It will be a
general resurrection of men, angels, jinn (spirits),
and animals.

The length of the day of judgment will be 1,000

years. Some Islamic scholars say it will be 50,000
years. To support their point they cite “A day the
measure whereof is as 50,000 years ” (Qur’an 70:4).

When all the people have been assembled for

judgment, the angels will keep them waiting for 40
years (or 50,000 years depending on the
commentator). After this, God will appear to judge
them, and Muhammad will intercede on their behalf.
Muhammad will be the one to intercede because Adam,
Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus will decline as they
 feel unworthy to do it.

Each person will be examined from his own book of

deeds in which all his words and actions are recorded.
God will weigh all his deeds and words on a balance
scale. “We shall set up scales of justice for the day
of Judgment so that not a soul will be dealt with
unjustly in the least. And if there be (no more
than) the weight of a mustard seed, we will bring
it (to account), and enough are We to take account”
(Qur’an 21:47).

6. What Muslims Believe About Predestination

Muslims believe that God is absolute in His decrees

of good and evil. According to what God had engraved
on a preserved tablet by His pen of fate, nothing comes
to pass, whether good or bad, except by the divine will.
A Muslim believes that God is not limited by any
consideration whatsoever, moral or other- wise. He
chooses whether He will forgive or damn a person.

From this teaching, we see that man is a mere

puppet without free will, a mechanical being. This
means that no person is responsible for what he does.
All responsibility for his actions is laid on God. It
follows then that God is unjust to judge a man by his
deeds for which he is not responsible! This is utterly
foreign to the teaching of both the Old and New
Testaments.

What Muslims Should Practice

A ll Muslims are required to perform certain

religious prac- tices. They are listed as the five
pillars of Islam.

1. The first pillar is the witness (shahadah),

the shortest creed in the world. Muslims repeat this
creed more than any other. It consists of eight Arabic
words which translate as “There is no god but God
and Muhammad is the apostle of God.”

Muslims repeat this creed in their ritual prayers

and many
other times during the day. They use it as a cry in battle,
in cel- ebrating the birth of a baby, and as a chant or
dirge at a funeral.

2. The second Muslim pillar is ritual prayer

(salat) five times a day: at dawn, soon after midday,
two hours before sunset, just after sunset, and two
hours after sunset. Before praying a Muslim must
remove his shoes, wash his feet, hands, and part of his
face, and turn toward Mecca. When he cannot go to a
mosque, he can pray wherever he happens to be.

3. The third pillar is almsgiving (zakat). Each free

and sane Muslim adult must give alms if he possesses
property. He is taxed at the rate of 2 1/2 percent of
his gross income. These taxes are given to help the
poor. Each person can distribute his own alms if he is
considered trustworthy. Many Muslims now consider
zakat a ritual devoid of spiritual meaning. They often
bestow it without compassion and the poor receive it
without gratitude.
The Muslim feels that Christians have been deceived, and that
he has an obligation to lead them into the truth of Islam.

4. The fourth pillar is fasting (saum). Of several

Muslim fasts, the most important is the month of
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar.
This fast is a requirement for Muslims, “Oh ye who
believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was
prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn)
self-restraint” (Qur’an 2:183). Based on a reported
saying of Muhammad, Muslims believe that the
gates of paradise are opened and the gates of hell
closed during Ramadan. All people who keep the fast
will be pardoned for their excusable sins.

5. The fifth pillar is the pilgrimage (hadj).

Every Muslim adult should make a pilgrimage to Mecca
once during his life- time if he is free, sane, healthy,
and has sufficient money to provide for his journey
and support his families while he is away.

6. Many Muslims add a sixth pillar, the holy war (jihad). All male, free, adult Muslims who
are sane in mind and well in body, and who have means enough to reach the Muslim army,
must become involved in holy war. They regard holy war as a divine institution, and use it
to advance Islam and repel evil from Muslims. (Jihad can also mean “holy exertion on
behalf of Islam.”)

People against whom the jihad is directed are invited to accept Islam. Those who accept
Islam will be given the full cit- izenship rights of the Muslim country. Those who refuse will
have to pay additional taxes. If they do not embrace Islam or pay the tax, they may have all
their wealth and property taken from them, and they and their families will become slaves.
Muslims who die fighting in a holy war are assured of a place in paradise and special
privileges there.
 Muslim Beliefs About Christ and Christianity

S everal basic issues dominate a Muslim’s

attitude about Christianity. First, he believes that
Jews and Christians have deliberately distorted the
Old and New Testaments to hide
the predictions of the coming of Muhammad.

Second, the Muslim assumes that the Christian

believes in three gods. The Qur’an teaches that the
Christian Trinity is composed of God, Mary, and
Jesus. Also, it rejects Jesus as the Son of God.

Third, the Muslim believes that Jesus did not die

on the cross, but another, such as Judas Iscariot or
Simon of Cyrene, was crucified in His place. The
Qur’an says, “That they rejected Faith; that they
uttered against Mary a grave false charge; that
they said (in boast), ‘We killed Christ Jesus the son
of Mary, the Messenger of Allah’—but they killed
him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made
to appear to them, and those who differ therein
are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge,
but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they
killed him not—nay, Allah raised him up unto
Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise” (Qur’an
4:156- 158).

The Muslim believes that God saved Jesus from

the cross in order to spare God’s honor. In other
words, it would have greatly shamed the name of God
if He had allowed Jesus to die on the cross. Therefore,
God took Jesus from the cross and made it appear that
He died, but someone else took His place. Obviously, if
the Muslim believes this, he can have no true sal-
vation because he has no Savior.

The Muslim’s concept of sin and salvation is

radically dif- ferent from that of the New Testament.
In fact, a great deal of confusion exists in Islam about
what constitutes sin, and the Qur’an is alternately
severe and lenient in its attitude toward the
punishment of sin. The only exception is the sin of
associating another god with Allah (shirk). This sin
cannot be forgiven.

To the average Muslim, sin is failure to live up to

the Islamic moral code and failure to perform the
requirements of the five pillars of Islam. He feels that
 he is not a sinner if he abides by these ritual
standards. He merits salvation if his good works
outweigh his failures.

However, fear permeates Islam. The Muslim

mystic fears hell fire, or purgatory. He knows that he
has not lived up to all the requirements of his faith. He
believes that no man can pay for another’s sins.
Therefore, he must suffer for his own sins, but he
will eventually be rescued from purgatory because
Muhammad intercedes for him. However, the
unbeliever who has associated any other god with God
will suffer eternal pun- ishment.

The biblical concept of sin and salvation is contrary

to that of Islam. The New Testament clearly teaches
that all men are sinners and that Jesus Christ alone has
the power to intercede on the behalf of sinners. He
has this power because of His death on the cross and
His resurrection from the dead. Salvation is by faith in
Christ, a gift of God’s love and grace, and is not merited
by any work that man can do.

The Muslim’s attitude toward the Christian’s

belief about Christ is deeply ingrained in his
subconscious and precondi- tions his attitude toward
Christians and what they share with

him. He feels that Christians have been deceived, and

that he has an obligation to lead them into the truth
of Islam.

How to Witness to Muslims

T hose who anticipate dialogue with Muslims must

consider a method of approach. No other faith,
not even Judaism,
is so resistant to the “soul winning” or “plan of
salvation” approach to witnessing. Even if the
Muslim agrees to listen to this approach, which is
highly unlikely, his “confession of faith” may only be a
polite way to please. The motivation of his con-
fession is very difficult to determine. Is he sincere? Or,
does he expect to receive financial gain or possibly a
new wife as a result of his conversion? Either of these
would be considered as legitimate reasons to convert
by some insincere Christians and Muslims in the
Middle East.

However, the real disadvantage of the “plan of

salvation” approach is that the terminology which
the Christian uses creates confusion in the mind of
the Muslim. Terms such as sin, salvation, cross, and
Son of God have an entirely differ- ent meaning for
the Muslim. The Muslim cannot understand the
meaning of our salvation terminology as long as he
denies that Jesus died on the cross.

When you are discussing the Bible with a

Muslim, it is important that you read the Bible verses
in context. The Muslim has developed an intricate
system of “abrogation” or substitu- tion of one verse for
another, due to the random way the Qur’an is written.
He will have a tendency to try to find verses in the
Bible that “contradict” each other. Anyone
witnessing to a Muslim must know the Scriptures
thoroughly and be able to

lead the Muslim to understand the meaning of passages

in rela- tion to the setting in which they are found.

The Muslim will be impressed with a Christian’s

words only if he experiences genuine friendship from
the Christian and sees him living a consistent moral
life. A Christian’s lifestyle must match his testimony.
The Muslim will be sensitive to the love and quality of
life that Christ gives to Christians. He will respect a
Christian who gives God glory by his lifestyle because
the Muslim sees a life that has been dedicated to God as
a sign of piety.

It is better to win the Muslim as a friend than to win

an argu- ment and lose his friendship. The history of
Christian-Muslim encounter is full of argument, anger,
and bloodshed. It is pos- sible for the Christian to
prove his case so well that he humili- ates and
inflames the Muslim. He can break down
communication and defeat the purpose of dialogue
by his behavior. Therefore, avoid critical remarks about
Muhammad, the Qur’an, and Islam, even if the Muslim
attacks your faith. Allow your patience and
friendship to cause him to draw his own conclusions
about the Bible and the Christian faith.

A Christian must also use discretion when having

a dia- logue with a Muslim of the opposite sex. In most
Muslim coun- tries, physical contact with persons of
the opposite sex is forbidden until after engagement
and marriage. Even engaged couples are chaperoned by
family members. A strict, orthodox Muslim man will not
shake hands with a woman or look her in the eyes for
fear that he might be tempted. Therefore, it is
preferable that Christians relate to Muslims of their
own sex unless other persons are present.
 If you sincerely desire to witness to Muslims, you
should make a point of learning the acceptable social
norms of the Muslim lest he or she misunderstand
your intentions. Pray for discernment, love, and
patience when you try to understand a Muslim friend
and his culture. Your willingness to learn about his
customs and to discuss his faith openly with him will
offer him an incentive to expose himself to your
beliefs and to the Bible. Christians who witness to
Muslims have discovered that friendship, accompanied
by a study of the Gospels, constitutes the most
powerful witness.

Today, Muslims are traveling to the West for

work and study. They are curious about the prosperity
and the influence of the many churches they see.
Americans are finding that the “mission field” has
been brought to their neighborhood. For example,
there are more than twice as many Muslims in the

Muslim s are now a majority in 44 countries of the world.

United States as there are Assemblies of God church

members and adherents! Many of these Muslims will
return to their coun- tries at some point. If they have
come to know and accept Jesus as their personal
Savior, they can witness in lands that forbid
missionaries and the preaching of the gospel.

Opportunities for faithful witnessing to Muslims now

exist in many of our own hometowns. Christians can
trust God to make them “ministers of reconciliation.” The
Holy Spirit will empower us, and through our lives, the
Muslim can be drawn to Jesus Christ who “enlightens
every man” ( John 1:9).

When a Muslim Decides to Follow Jesus Christ

A
growing number of Muslims, after exposure to
the Bible and Christian witnesses, are indicating a
desire to become
followers of Christ. They are discovering that Christ
alone fills the void in their hearts and brings them into
relationship with God as a loving heavenly Father.

Unfortunately, the Church is not always ready to

receive and nurture them. The fear of false motives
and the open hos- tility and persecution of the
Muslim community are two reasons Christian
churches have not welcomed Muslim con- verts.
However, in many areas the Holy Spirit is renewing
the Church and causing many congregations to
become vital fel- lowships of believers. The Muslim is
easily attracted to this spir- itual vitality.

When a Muslim begins to seriously consider

following Christ, a period of testing motives is usual.
If he finds that the Christian will yield to using money
or any other enticement to

get him to convert, the Muslim will lose respect for him.
If the Muslim finds the Christian to be sincere in his
trust in Christ, he will have more confidence in trusting
the Christian with his spir- itual nurture.

Suspicion is an integral part of the fear motive that

governs Islamic society, and the Muslim will need to be
sure he can trust Christians. Information he shares in
private should not be repeated unless he gives
permission to do so. Let him be the one to
voluntarily give his testimony of faith in Christ.

Conversion to Christianity has very grave

consequences for most Muslims. In an Islamic society,
there is no separation of church and state. In other
words, the law of the Qur’an is the rule of all citizens;
to convert is an act of treason. Therefore, for a Muslim
to become a Christian may cause a life-threatening
situation. Christians must be aware of the price many
Muslims pay to identify with Jesus Christ and find
their place in His church.

The Muslim who accepts Christ will have a need

for per- sonal Bible study. A Bible in his own
language often helps. Contact the nearest Bible
society office for information con- cerning Bible
translations.

As he begins his study, he will need a resource

person to help him find scriptural answers for his
many questions. Christians should share their
personal religious experiences with him as they
study meaningful chapters together. The Sermon on
the Mount (Matthew 5-7), the Gospel of John, the
Gospel of Luke, and the Epistle to the Hebrews are all
excellent books to study together. The Muslim will also
be impressed by the apocalyptic literature in Ezekiel,
Daniel, Matthew 24, and

the Book of Revelation. These are similar in content

and style to the Qur’an. The Epistle of James will
attract him by its admonitions. The Parables of the
Kingdom found in the Gospels, will impress him by
their Middle Eastern motif.

The empowering of the Church for witness in the

Acts of the Apostles will give him encouragement as he
begins to experi- ence the work of the Holy Spirit in his
own life. He will identify with the Psalms as he
endures persecution and hostility.

As a friend, you will want to know the convert’s

family situ- ation. Encourage him to witness
discreetly to his family by sharing his new discoveries
in the Bible. If he feels it would be wise, visit in his
home and make friends with his family. He will need to
be united with his family in newfound faith so isolation
can be avoided.

At every opportunity, pray with and for the new

convert. Teach him to pray, using the Lord’s prayer as a
model. Be sen- sitive to his moods. Muslims often
receive insights through dreams and visions. You
will need to help him understand these. Use
Scripture as the basis for your interpretation.

Islam has incorporated elements of the occult

from pre- Islamic paganism in Arabia. You will learn
to take seriously what the Bible says about the spirit
world as you share the thoughts of the Muslim.
Encourage him to accept the victory of Christ over the
demonic forces that oppress his life. This can be
accomplished through prayer, confession, and the
fellowship of understanding Christians.

Encourage the new convert to become part of a

fellowship that will nurture his spiritual growth. You
may have to encour-

age fellow Christians to receive the Muslim. He will be

sensitive to their acceptance or their suspicions. It
may be better to begin with a small prayer or Bible
study group where he can find acceptance. If there are
 other Muslims nearby who desire to follow Christ,
they can be encouraged to band together for study
and prayer.

Finally, let the convert make his own decision

about believer’s baptism. He will discover Christ’s
teaching about baptism as he studies the Scriptures.
Because of the threat- ened loss of family, job, and
even his life, he may request private baptism. This
usually means that only those he trusts, those who
have had an influence on his spiritual pilgrimage,
would be present.

Over 1 billion Muslim s

are scattered
around the world, and they are still
outside the Covenant.
If the Muslim has a genuine experience of trust in
Christ and his life gives evidence of the change that
Christ brings, his request for baptism should be
honored. The Ethiopian eunuch was baptized in a foreign
country with Philip as the only witness so far as we
know (Acts 8:26-40).

Baptism is only the first decisive step in Christian

growth. The Muslim needs Christian fellowship even more
after baptism as he adjusts to the changes in his
lifestyle. He also needs con- tinued instruction in the
Scriptures. Equally important, he needs the daily
presence of the Holy Spirit operating in his life— teaching
him the meaning of the Scriptures, making Christ real in
his daily walk, and enabling him to live a victorious
life of witness to his friends.

It is of utmost importance that the new believer

sense the unity of the Holy Spirit between various
churches. Denominationalism is not our message.
Whatever our differ- ences, they should never be
presented in our witness to an inquiring Muslim. The
fellowship that issues from Christian unity will
provide an atmosphere for continuing spiritual growth in
his life.

The Challenge Before Us

F ollowing Muhammad’s death, Islam became an

evangel- istic movement. It quickly conquered
 North Africa, the
Middle East, and Central Asia. Islam is the only world
religion that has ever taken large populations and
territories from the church of Jesus Christ. Several
areas where the apostle Paul preached and planted
churches are under the crescent of Islam today.

The Muslim world has been difficult to penetrate

with the gospel, but it can be done by witnesses who
have four impor- tant qualifications. The first of these
is love, one test of which is intercessory prayer. The
apostle Paul had this divine love (Romans 9:1-3;
10:1-3). The primary emphasis of the Assemblies of
God Division of Foreign Missions in starting the Center
for Ministry to Muslims was to generate intercessory
prayer for the Muslim world. We are asking Christians
to pledge to pray on Fridays (the Islamic holy day)
for Muslims to be saved. While more than 1 billion
Muslims are facing Mecca and calling out to Allah,
thousands of Spirit-filled, Pentecostal believers are
interceding before the throne of grace, asking that the
Holy Spirit will reach deep into the hearts of Muslims
and reveal Christ to them.

The second requirement for an effective witness to

Muslims is knowledge. This includes a personal
knowledge of God through Jesus Christ, biblical
knowledge, and some familiarity with church history.
An acquaintance with the Qur’an and Islamic beliefs
and practices is also required.

In addition, some knowledge of extra-Islamic

influences on local culture and beliefs is needed. For
example, workers among students and other
educated people in North Africa need to be familiar
with European secular philosophy.

The third requirement for an effective witness is an

ability to communicate. This involves knowing people’s
cultural settings and what questions they are asking.
In this we can follow Christ’s example in His
discussion with the woman at the well in Sychar ( John
4:7-26), and Paul’s dialogue with the Greek
philosophers (Acts 17:22-43).

The fourth qualification for reaching Muslims is a

Pentecostal empowerment to demonstrate the
power gifts of healing, miracles, and signs and
wonders. The Muslim is recep- tive to the sovereign
power of God and this can be most effec- tive in
making the journey from Islam to Jesus easier.
 Because the Muslim believes in almighty God, he
can say nothing against the demonstration of God’s
power. Pentecost offers a viable, experiential
alternative not offered by intellectu- alism or ritual.

What We Are Doing to Reach Muslims

T he Center for Ministry to Muslims is an effort

by the Assemblies of God Division of Foreign
Missions to use
Pentecostal evangelism to touch Muslim people in a
confronta- tion that does not suggest a separation from
their culture. The Muslim has his religion, but he also
lives in a Muslim social structure with Muslim laws. We
have to recognize that culturally one can be a Muslim
and at the same time a true follower of Jesus Christ.

At the Center for Ministry to Muslims, we conduct

research to determine where we have missionaries,
churches, national evangelists, or Bible schools
located among Muslim people. Through these
contacts, we collect information about the
receptivity of Muslims and about efforts being made
to reach them. We also conduct seminars that aid
missionaries, national pastors, and teachers in our
overseas Bible schools and national churches in
understanding Islam so that they can effectively
reach Muslims with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Another priority is to find Assemblies of God

pastors and laypeople who will become friends of
Muslims living in the United States. Many of these
Muslims are business people or students from abroad
who will later return to their home coun- tries. While
they’re here, a ministry of love and friendship could
give them an opportunity to accept the gospel.

The Center for Ministry to Muslims encourages

Christians to reach out to their Muslim neighbors and
acquaintances. Churches are being challenged to
become aware of the open- ness of the Muslim
community and to support those who are
ministering to Muslims. One out of every five people
in the world is a Muslim, yet there are only two North
American mis- sionaries to approximately every
million Muslims! The Holy
 Saudi Arabia
has given millions
of dollars to promote Islam in America.
Spirit has created a readiness in the hearts of many
Muslims and they are not resistant to God’s love,
merely neglected and uninformed.

When I was teaching a seminar on Islam at the East

Africa School of Theology in Nairobi, Kenya, one of
my students, a lawyer, arranged for a meeting in his
home with several of his Muslim clients and friends.
After several hours of listening to a famous Muslim
practitioner explain the power of jinn (the Arabic
term for spirits, whether evil or good), my lawyer
friend and host asked me to close the evening’s talk
with prayer.

I had been praying all evening in my spirit that

the Holy Spirit would make Christ real to these
Muslims. My prayer was interpreted into their
language, and I mentioned everything I knew about
Christ. Then I asked the Holy Spirit to come down upon
us.

When I said that, the Holy Spirit suddenly filled the

house. I began groaning and praying in the Spirit. The
interpreter stepped back and stood silent. To my
amazement, several Muslims began to weep and one
Muslim evangelist began to groan and cry as if he
were in an agony of spirit.

When I stopped praying, a Muslim scholar and

teacher said, “Tonight we have felt the Spirit of God,
and it is like a cleansing to our souls.”

That little house meeting, so like those of the

first genera- tion church, is a microcosm of the
spiritual breakthroughs that are occurring throughout
the world of Islam.

Four thousand years after Abraham cried to God

for Ishmael’s blessing, the more than 1 billion Muslims in
our world today still wait for Abraham’s heir, Jesus
Christ. Ask the Lord of the harvest to thrust forth
laborers into this neglected field. Ask the Christ of
Gethsemane to give the ministry of interces- sion to the
burden bearers who will agonize for the lost souls of
Islam. Four thousand years of waiting is long
enough.
 Editor’s Note

T o those Muslims who have read this book, we thank

you for your interest in what Christians are
thinking and doing.

Our great desire is to bring all men of all faiths

into a true understanding of who God is, and to help
people be free from the guilt and penalty of sin.

God made this miraculous provision through Jesus

Christ, the Messiah.

If you would like more information or help, please

write us. We want to be your friend as we journey
together through life.
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