Book: Connecting With Muslims: A Guide to
Communicating Effectively
Author: Fouad
Masri
Publisher:
InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL., 2014
Pages: 194
About the Author:
Fouad Masri is the founder and president of the CrescentProject, which nurtures transformational relationships between Christians and
Muslim and overcomes misconceptions about Islam and Christianity. He was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon,
and received an MA in Islamic studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. His previous works include the Bridges: Christians Connecting with Muslims DVD
curriculum and the books Is the Injeel
Corrupted? and Ambassadors to
Muslims.
Introduction:
How many Christians can honestly say that they understand
Islam? Are their views of Islam being driven by a stereotype that has instilled a reluctance, or even fear in
befriending their Muslim neighbors, coworkers, classmates, shop owners, or
those that they may see in the local grocery store? In his very practical and easy to read book Connecting With Muslims: A Guide to
Communicating Effectively, Fouad Masri provides the reader with helpful
tools in order that they may be able to initiate conversations with Muslims. Further, he addresses seven critical questions that Muslims have concerning
Christianity. It is the author’s hope
that Christians would see themselves as ambassadors for Jesus Christ to the
Muslim people so that the gospel may be shared effectively and without fear.
The book is broken into two main parts. Part one covers Practical Ways to Connect with Muslims, and Part two, Always be Prepared to Give an Answer, which provides the reader with the tools to
be able to respond to seven common questions that Muslims may ask concerning
Christianity.
Part One: Practical
Ways to Connect with Muslims
In chapter one of the book, titled Our Role in the Great Commission, the author describes how he came
to faith in Christ as a Muslim, living in the midst of a war torn Beirut, Lebanon.
Having read the Bible and studied
Christianity, he found himself humbled by the love of Jesus Christ and believed
that the only way that he could personally make a difference in the midst of
the chaos of war was to surrender his life to Christ. Masri writes, “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” [pp. 23,24]. This would include
those Muslims who have just moved into our neighborhoods, and those we see in
the local coffee shops. He goes on to
explain that in sharing the gospel with Muslims, the Christian does not need to
be fearful, because we are doing so under the power and authority that is given
by Christ.
In chapter two, titled Compelling
Evangelism: Witnessing Like Jesus, the author gives examples from the life
of Jesus Christ as to how to effectively share the gospel by focusing on Jesus’
encounter with the woman at the well in John 4, and how it provides the
believer with some invaluable tools in reaching Muslims. He points out the importance of meeting
Muslims where they are at, and opening conversations with them by asking them
their opinions of Christians or what their feelings are concerning religion,
rather than asking questions that may be theologically deep and
intimidating. In doing this, the author
believes that the conversation may lead into deeper ideas such as what they
believe about God and Jesus. In
continuing to use the example of Jesus in John 4, he points out how the woman
at the well took the things that Jesus told her and shared with others. Of this, Masri writes, “Be intentional about
sharing the gospel message with Muslims.
You never know how your message to one Muslim could impact an entire
community or network of Muslims” [51].
Masri goes on in chapter three, titled Compelling Evangelism: Practical Approaches, to provide the reader
with some “biblical approaches that show respect to Muslims and create
compelling conversations that lead to Savior Jesus” [p. 55]. This includes samples of simple and
clarifying questions to ask, how to integrate scripture into the conversation,
the importance of sharing personal testimonies of how God has worked in your
life and answered prayer, as well as other stories or examples of the faith,
the cultural importance of giving gifts, praying with and for Muslims, and showing
hospitality.
In chapter four of the book, titled Bridge-Building Approaches, the author examines the religious and
cultural divides that exist between Christians and Muslims, as he provides the
reader with some practical suggestions on how they might be able to close this
gap in order to cultivate meaningful relationships. He reiterates the fact that the believer is
to be an ambassador of Christ, and as an ambassador, does not have the task of
making people citizens of God’s kingdom, but rather, they are to represent
Christ in such a way that they show His love toward them. One important aspect of this, Masri points
out, is gaining a better understanding about “their current worldview and
assumptions about God and themselves, and you and your culture” [p. 71]. Masri describes the importance of reading up
on the culture of the Muslim people, and learning about things that are
important to them, such as their traditional meals, clothing, customs, and
beliefs. Masri’s main point in this
chapter is that an ambassador of Christ can better reach Muslims by showing an
interest in learning and knowing more about them as a people, and showing them
love and friendship. In this chapter, the
author goes on to provide a valuable list of eight important how-tos in
building bridges with Muslims.
Part Two: Always Be
Prepared to Give an Answer: Responding to Seven Common Questions That Muslims
Ask
In the second part of the book, Masri focuses on the beliefs
and misconceptions that Muslims may have concerning some of the teachings of
the Bible, and how to answer their questions confidently and respectfully. He points out that the questions that most
Muslims ask are not for the purpose of argument, but rather because they are
genuinely curious, as he writes, “These questions alone demonstrate to us that
they have been wrestling with their questions, maybe for years – and asking
you, a follower of Jesus, to answer their questions takes an enormous amount of
courage on their behalf” [p. 87]. The common
questions that Muslims may have that are covered in this section of the book
are, What Do You Think of Muhammad? (chapter
5), Hasn’t the Injeel Been Corrupted? (chapter
6), Who is Jesus, the Son of Mary? (chapter
7), Who Actually Died on the Cross? (chapter
8), Don’t Christians Worship Three Gods? (chapter
9), Why Did Jesus Have to Be Sacrificed?”
(chapter 10), and Is the Gospel of
Barnabas True?” (chapter 11). Each
of these chapters provide the reader some very useful insights into what
Muslims believe on these subjects and how the Christian can provide them with
answers in a very respectful and non-argumentative way.
In the final chapter of the book (chapter 12), titled Use Your Tools, Masri encourages the
reader to put the things they have learned in his book into practice, with an
urgency in mind, stating that, “In the time it took to read this book, about
6,316 Muslims died without knowing Jesus.
And about 15,000 were born into homes in which the family doesn’t know
Jesus” [p. 168]. He closes the book with
the challenge, “Meet Muslims. Talk to
Muslims. Get into spiritual conversations
with Muslims. Welcome Muslims. Be hospitable to Muslims in your home. Visit Muslims. It’s time to reap the harvest God puts in
your path. Use your tools. Go” [p. 170).
The book also contains eight appendixes which provide the
reader with some additional information on The
Parables of Jesus, Jesus in the Bible and the Qur’an, The Miracles of Jesus, List
of Terms, Translations of the Bible, Five Basic Beliefs of All Christians, and
Five Practices of Christians Who Are
Following Jesus.
Assessment of the
Book:
Connecting WithMuslims: A Guide to Communicating Effectively is a must read for those who
are seeking to build relationships with those Muslims that they may come into
contact with in their daily lives. It is
a very concise and well written book, making it difficult to put down. Masri’s use of personal stories in building
relationships and sharing the gospel with Muslims are riveting and help the
reader to better understand how to put that which is discussed in this book
into practice. Another aspect of this
book, is the author’s use of “Action Points” throughout each chapter, which
provide the reader with short insights and advice. While the first part of the book really
focuses on the necessity of Christians in being ambassadors for Christ to the
Muslim people, I personally found part two to be extremely helpful as it
focused on some of the beliefs and misconceptions that Muslims have concerning
Christianity and provided some great tools in effectively answering them. I can see this book as being a continued
resource for the reader to refer back to in helping them best communicate the
gospel to Muslims.
One reoccurring thought that this book has left me with is
that Islam is not just the religion of those living in the Middle East or other
countries throughout the world. It is
the religion of those who live, work, shop, and go to school in our own
communities. While the majority of
Christians may not have the opportunity to go to another country on a mission
trip, God has brought the mission field to them. We have been given Christ’s command to “Go,”
and this book provides us with some invaluable tools to carry this mission out
to the Muslim people. Therefore, we have
no excuse.
May the God of all truth be with you,
Rob Welty
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