Every man or woman working among Muslim people faces at one time or another the inevitable question: What does it take to bring a Muslim to repentance and a personal relationship with the living God? We will attempt to answer this question by examining the spiritual status of Muslims with respect to their beliefs and their religious mindset. Much of the literature on Islam deals with the similarities between Christianity and Islam and how these can be used as bridges for communicating the gospel to Muslims.

Perhaps we also need to look at the distinctions in order to be clear about where Muslims are misguided and need to be brought to the truth. When examining differences, human nature tends to become judgmental and overly impatient with the wrongs of others. Moses, Jonah, and even the disciples demonstrated this human tendency. Love and kindness are extremely important in dealing with Muslims. My prayer is that you would use discernment in the use of the information presented here. This is not meant to fuel prejudice but rather to clarify prevalent misconceptions about Islam.

THROUGH THE EYES OF JESUS

The New Testament has no direct reference to Islam or Muslims since Islam did not come into existence until the 7th century A.D. Is it therefore possible for us to know what Jesus would say about Muslims today? Can we draw conclusions based on His words describing the Jewish people? The Jews were the people of God. They had the scriptures and a great history of God’s dealings with them. God had favored them above all nations and appointed prophets, judges, and kings for them. Yet Jesus saw them as lost, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). Can we not conclude, therefore, that Christ sees Muslims in the same way He saw the religious Jews of His time?

The gospels are full of warnings against the man-made teachings of the Jews. If their spiritual devotion was not acceptable to God, should we think that the religious devotion of Muslims is any more pleasing to Him? Should we be more tolerant toward Islam than we are toward Mormonism or any cult which denies the power of the cross? Have we forgotten the warnings of Jesus and the apostles that there will be false prophets who will try to deceive even the believers and confuse them with false teachings? (see Matthew 24:4-11; Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Peter 2:1-3.)

TELLING THE TRUTH IN LOVE

Despite the harsh warnings of Jesus in dealing with the Jews, we see Him approaching them with love, kindness, and compassion. Our recognition of the lostness of Islam should not be an excuse for us to be hostile toward Muslims. In his book, Christianity Confronts Culture, Dr. Marvin Mayers points out that we can indeed accept and respect a person without having to accept his beliefs. The distinction between the Muslim and his belief system must be recognized by every Christian worker. The core of the gospel is love, the nature of God is love, and we must employ love in our relationships with our Muslim neighbors. Once we have established a trust relationship based on our love for them, Muslims become more willing to listen to us. Love earns us the right to be heard. At the same time, our love for our Muslim neighbors should motivate us to share with them the good news of salvation. This may appear to be a conflict of two loves. The first kind of love is sensitive and does not want to offend or hurt the feelings of others. The second kind of love wants to “snatch them from the fire” by telling them the truth, a process that may be offensive. Ultimately, as the Apostle Paul expressed it, our “heart’s desire and prayer to God is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1). Wisdom must be sought from the Holy Spirit, who will help us tell the truth in love. (James 1:5)

BRIDGES ALREADY EXIST

The word “bridge” has often been used in reference to Muslim evangelization. Generally, it refers to our attempts to communicate with Muslims from a common perspective. It also refers to the many Quranic references to biblical data. It is an indisputable fact that, unlike atheists and people of other world religions, Muslims do believe in God the Creator; they acknowledge many facts about Christ, revelation, Jewish prophets, heaven, hell, and much more. Hypothetically, these are bridges we can and should build on. Yet, why is it that in spite of all these “bridges,” Muslims are still the most difficult to reach? Why is it that even though the bridge-building approach has been used for many decades, relatively few Muslims have responded by coming to Christ?

“Islam is the most Christian-like 

yet most anti-Christian 

of all religions”

                           — Samuel Zwemer

THE GREAT GAP

A close look at the whole religious system of Islam confirms that Muslims are lost and need to be brought to the Truth. In spite of the many bridges, the gap is great. A Muslim’s concept of God, man, heaven, hell, day of judgement, Jesus, and salvation are similar to Christianity in certain elements. However, underneath the surface lie differences which are so intrinsic as to require a complete restructuring of the mindset of our Muslim friends and total redemption of their belief system.

SIGNS OF THE LOSTNESS OF ISLAM

Let us now consider the question posed earlier: Why is it that in spite of all bridges, Muslim evangelization is still the most difficult? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that these bridges are not reliable. As we examine some major issues between Christianity and Islam, we shall see how these “bridges” may prove to be roadblocks which hinder the Muslim from a clear understanding of the gospel.

BELIEF IN GOD

No Muslim denies that God exists and that He is the Creator. In fact, the 99 names and hundreds of Qur’anic verses exalt God and praise Him with beautiful superlatives. However, the God of Islam is far removed. He is separate, aloof, and impersonal. By the dictates of Islam, man cannot maintain a personal, father-child relationship with the Almighty. Someone has said, “No religion is greater than its concept of God.” Islam’s concept of God permeates every element of the Muslim’s life. Many books written by Western Christians portray Islam as being submission to God. According to Islamic doctrine and the mindset of the ordinary Muslim, submission to Allah implies a blind surrender of a helpless slave to the tyranny of a ruthless despot. This concept of God is reflected in Islamic cultures in the way authority is practiced on many levels. Whether a political leader, boss, husband, or father, all men of authority are totalitarian. There is a great gap between Islam’s unpredictable, arbitrary God who has the freedom to break His own rules, and the dependable, faithful God of Christianity whose “promises never fail to the end.” What use is the Muslim’s belief in the oneness of God if there is a fundamental rejection of Him as the personal Father? Before regeneration can take place in the lives of Muslims, a transformation of their concept of God is needed. Muslims deserve to hear that God loves them, that He seeks them through Jesus the Savior, that He wants to adopt them as His children and take them to be with Him forever. This is the good news.

NATURE OF MAN

No point of difference between Christianity and Islam is greater than the issue of the nature of man. Muslims are taught that even though man is weak, he is intrinsically good. What Christians call sins, Muslims call mistakes. The good and bad that occur to man are not products of his personal choice. Rather, they are determined by a combination of factors, including “al Maktub” (what God has prewritten), upbringing, environment, and the struggle between good and evil in the world. Bridging the gap is impossible unless our Muslim friend realizes that he possesses a sinful nature and that he can choose to be liberated from his slavery to sin as he accepts Jesus’ victory on the cross. 

ATONEMENT AND SALVATION

Since in Islamic belief, man is intrinsically good, not evil, it follows that man does not need a saviour. Therefore, the redemption of Jesus is not only misunderstood but rejected on doctrinal grounds. The death of Jesus is looked upon as unnecessary. It depicts the almighty Allah as weak and incapable of protecting His “prophet.”

Many Christians, in witnessing to Muslims, try to prove the concept of atonement and the death of Christ based on alternate interpretations of Qur’anic verses. Which Muslim has been able to convince committed Christians that the verse in Deuteronomy 18:18 refers to the coming of Muhammad? Similarly, we get nowhere trying to manipulate the Qur’an in a way that would override mainstream Muslim interpretation. Muslims can be brought to God only after they realize their need for atonement based on their inability to save themselves and the conviction that Jesus is the only redeemer.

JESUS A PROPHET?

All Muslims believe that Jesus is a prophet of God sent from heaven. The Qur’an speaks of Jesus as “word of God and spirit from Him” (literal translation from Arabic). Muslims believe in the virgin birth, the miracles, and other facts about Jesus. This may appear to be a good starting point.

However, the danger comes when too much is read into these Quranic references. For the sake of integrity, we must not interpret the Qur’an from the Christian perspective. No Islamic scholar or ordinary Muslim will accept our interpretation. If we do not accept the Islamic interpretation of our Bible, we must not expect Muslims to accept our interpretation of their book. Islamic acceptance of Jesus may appear to be a bridge, when in reality it may be the greatest hindrance to the understanding of the gospel. What use is Islam’s acceptance of Jesus as a prophet if He is rejected as the Saviour of the world? A Muslim is not likely to give his life to Jesus based on his erroneous concepts. His convictions regarding Jesus need transformation before he is able to consider the claims of Christ for his life.

ACCEPTANCE OF THE INJIL

The Qur’an makes numerous references to both Old and New Testaments. The Injil (NT), the Zabur (Psalms) and the Tawrat (OT), are considered divine revelations. Nevertheless, Islamic teaching rejects the Bible on two grounds: a) that the original manuscripts are missing, and that Christians and Jews rewrote their own corrupt version. b) that the Qur’an is the final, complete, and perfect revelation which abrogates all its predecessors and outshines them. In the Qur’an, the angel Gabriel tells Muhammad that the revelation in his hands confirms what has already been revealed (the Bible). The Muslim interpretation of this is that Muhammad’s message confirms the belief in the oneness of God. Specific teachings were given to different ethnic groups in their own languages and relevant to their time, Muhammad’s revelation came in Arabic, God’s tongue, for all people. This belief along with the belief in the gospel of Barnabas as the true gospel, have created a major obstacle in communicating the gospel to Muslims. No Muslim can see the truth until he accepts the Bible as God’s true Word.

ETERNAL INSECURITY

The concept of salvation is non-existent in Islam. The closest to it would be “going to heaven.” Going to heaven is based on the doctrine of balancing good deeds against bad deeds. Nevertheless, the Muslim has no clear guidelines for balancing his own “books.” This is done after death by the angels who hold a scale in which to weigh each man’s deeds. Ultimately, however, God has “veto” power in the decision as to where an individual should spend eternity. According to the Hadith, Muhammad said, “A man can be as close to heaven as an arm’s length and God might decide to put him in hell.” A devout Muslim is one who practices all that is required of him, and then must depend on the mercy of an arbitrary God. The well-known expression, “Inshallah,” meaning “if Allah desires,” is used repeatedly and in all situations. If we go beyond the etymological and denotative sense of the phrase, we discover that it comes out of an extreme eternal insecurity. It signifies that whatever we do, good or bad, we cannot be sure of the outcome. If God desires, we may go to heaven, but if He does not, none of our religious devotion will get us anywhere. We have absolutely no choice in the matter. A Middle Eastern lady expressed it very well when she told me, “I hope that when I die, I’ll catch God in a good mood.” Could this insecurity be the royal path to the Muslim’s heart? Muslims need to hear that in Christ they can obtain new and everlasting life. This “life” is not based on good works or religious practices; it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8,9)

We must  call Muslims to come to Jesus, 

the only bridge between God and man.

BRIDGING THE GAP

We can see that bridges that seemingly span the gap oftentimes actually widen it. No matter how similar to Christianity Islamic teaching may appear to be on the surface, the distinctives must be seriously addressed. It is a temptation to remain in the comfort zone, but our ultimate purpose must be to go beyond that gray area to communicate the gospel of love, hope, and salvation. We must call Muslims to come to Jesus, the only bridge between God and man. The gap is only bridgeable as Muslims begin to understand that they are sinners and need the Saviour. Before a Muslim can grasp the implications of the death of Jesus and His victory over darkness and sin, he must realize his lostness and catch a glimpse of the hope of eternal life.

Muslim evangelization involves announcing the good news that God loves Muslims, that they can have a personal relationship with Him, that their sins can be forgiven, that they can have eternal life through Jesus, and that they can become children of God and join His international family of believers. As new believers, they need to know that the Truth will set them free from their insecurities and fears and that Jesus will give them all He promised, including joy, peace, and eternal life.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of this article is to show that the great gap is not between Islam and Christianity but rather between God and man. Islamic beliefs, which seem to be similar to those of Christianity, are far from being reliable bridges in communicating the gospel to Muslims. In fact, embedded in these beliefs are deceptions which hinder Muslims from seeing the truth. In emphasizing this point, however, it would not be fair to stop here. I must point out that although I would not recommend it as a general practice, it is possible to use common beliefs as starting points. We cannot and should not ignore the Muslims’ recognition of God’s existence, and his acknowledgement of Jesus and many other biblical facts. At the same time, we must avoid indulging in arguments and debates which may polarize between us and our Muslim friends.

A better approach would be to share the good news simply as news of God’s love and His plan for the salvation of the world. Our message needs to be fresh and attractive.

Most Muslims are not Muslims by choice. Many of them are seeking answers to their deep insecurity about God and eternal life. If I had just one hour with a Muslim, I would explain how he can obtain eternal life through trusting in Jesus. He may or may not accept, but at least he would have heard.

It is not conversion to the Christian religion that we are seeking, but regeneration, i.e., the rebirth of a Muslim’s heart and mind – the transformation of his entire belief system. The great gap is only bridgeable by the work of the Holy Spirit, who convicts of sin. It is “not by might nor by power but by my Spirit,” says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6).

Muslims who respond do not respond to our message but to the voice of God beckoning them to His fold. The Holy Spirit, in turn, responds by giving new life to those who respond to Him. Our goal is to see God transform the hearts of Muslims until the lost image of God in them is restored, and they are brought back to God.

We are Christ’s ambassadors, 

as though God were making 

His appeal through us. 

We implore you on Christ’s behalf 

Be reconciled to God. 

II Corinthians 5:20

References:

Abdalati, Hammudah. Islam In Focus. Riyadh. International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations. 1986.

Deedat, Ahmed. What the Bible Says about Muhammed. Riyadh. Obekan Printing. Undated.

Deedat, Ahmed. Is the Bible God’s Word? Kuwait, Committee of African Muslims. Undated.

Mayers, Marvin K. Christianity Confronts Culture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 1974

Mawdudi, Abdul Ala’. Towards Understanding Islam. Riyadin: International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations. 1986.

Miller, Willlam. A Christian’s Response to Islam. Phillisburg. Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing. 1980