A New Witness to Islam
by Dr. Andrew Bush
The rising presence and influence of Islam in the United States is seen by many as a serious threat to the well-being of the country. The response of the Christian community to this phenomenon often adopts the vocabulary of warfare and utter refutation that has characterized the Church’s response to Islam from its rise in the 7th century.
Popular Christian leaders have said: “We are at war with Islam,” “Islam is an exceedingly wicked religion,” and “Muhammad was a terrorist.” It should come as no surprise that the witness of the Church to Islam that has proceeded from this conflictive perspective has not been persuasive. Such witness has obscured Jesus and distorted the gospel of grace.
Today the Christian community has an historic opportunity to take a new path in its witness to the Muslim community. We would do well to learn from Arab Christians who have lived for centuries as minorities in Muslim majority countries. While working for the last eight years with Living Stones Student Center near Ramallah on the West Bank (a ministry of the Palestinian Bible Society to university students) I have been encouraged by the faith and humility of Palestinian Christian students. Often they experience pressure to defend their faith to their Muslim classmates. But in spite of this pressure they keep building positive relationships and extending the love of Jesus.
Yasmeen, an engineering student at Bir Zeit University, emphasized the need to affirm our shared humanity.
“Muslims are real people,” he said. “They are not all violent. My Muslim classmates at university also want to have a good life and a family. When we spend time with each other we learn not to hate each other.”
Fadi, also a Palestinian Christian, has decided to love in spite of painful differences.
“When I first arrived on the campus the Muslims would look at me as if I had a tail! They had never met a Christian,” he explained. “But now with my friend Mahmoud we share everything together. He truly is my best friend. I try to tell him about Jesus, but it is hard because of our differences. So we just continue to be best friends and listen with care to each other.”
One Palestinian Christian, Rami Ayyad, paid the ultimate price for his commitment to walk in love. Rami was the director of the Bible Society’s office in Gaza. He was known for his warm welcome to everyone who visited the Teachers Place. On Saturday October 6 Rami closed the office to return home at the end of the day. He was then abducted.
The next morning his body was found. He had been brutally murdered. Although the identity of those who committed this act is not yet known, it is clear that Rami had been martyred. He had received severe threats previous to his death, but had decided to stand fast in his witness for Christ. Rami indeed loved to the end.
Affirming our shared humanity, learning to listen, caring for one another: good advice to us as we try to find our way in bringing the love of Jesus to our Muslim neighbors. The way forward in the global encounter with Islam is not destined to be a clash of civilizations. Rather it can be an opportunity for the Christian community to explore the depths of the love of Christ as it engages Islam in humility and servanthood.
Dr. Andrew F. Bush has served with the Palestinian Bible Society since 1998. He also teaches missiology at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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