I have been reading a good book by Samuel Green called, Where to Start with Islam. Samuel Green has extensive missionary experience to Muslims in both the US and overseas. In addition, he is part of the team at answering-islam.org, a website that helps Muslim seekers learn about Christianity and the truth about Islam.
He starts out by suggesting that rather than picking up a book on the history of Muslims or a book on Islam, that instead the reader starts by learning what the Qur’an says about Christianity. While this may seem strange, it is quiet helpful as he walks through the core similarities and differences.
On the flip side, just imagine that someone from India did a web search for a book about Christians, bought it and read it prior to coming to America. He lands in America and meets his first Christian and jumps into a conversation, assuming he already has a good understanding of Christians. It probably would not take long before that person realized that they might need to start asking more questions to learn what this Christian believes. It can be similar for us too when trying to learn about others without also learning to ask good questions and learn about the specific people we meet and their specific views and beliefs.
The other benefit is that the information learned is easier to remember because it is familiar to us. For example, when they hear the word Trinity, they have been taught that we believe in and worship 3 gods – God, Jesus and Mary. Knowing this can help us avoid making assumptions and it can help us know that before we even try to explain the Trinity, we need to clarify WHO is part of the Trinity.
If you have not read this book and are interested in reaching out to Muslims, I highly encourage you to pick up this book and give it a read. I’m still working through it, but find it a helpful place to start.
Secondly, I encourage you start befriending the Muslims God puts around you. You just might be surprised to see the ways in which God works.
Turners at WFI 