Reaching Out to Muslims in a Post Boston-Bombing World

The cover of music and social commentary magazine Rolling Stone has been a coveted piece of real-estate for decades. Since the 1970’s, several groups have mentioned the magazine and its famed front cover in their songs. Many people today, however, are angry that the predictably left-leaning magazine pushed their anti-establishment envelope farther than ever before: Their cover story (along with a rock-star-styled cover photo) featured Muslim terrorist (and confessed participant in bombings that took place during the Boston marathon) Dzhokar Tsarnaev. That Rolling Stone would give prime exposure and a positive editorial slant to one who admitted to partying with college friends and nonchalantly Tweeting after carrying out an attack that killed 3 Americans (and severely injured over 200 others) was— for many— unthinkable.

As news of the Boston bombing flooded the airwaves in April, I thought back on the days immediately following 9-11. Watching coverage of the arrest of one of the bombing’s chief architects, I thought back on the mood of our country more than ten years ago. Many then were becoming familiar with Islam for the first time. A decade later, many Americans still struggle over how to appropriately engage their Muslim neighbor / co-worker / acquaintance. I thought back on a particular friendship that I developed with a Muslim not long after the September ’01 attacks.

His name was A.J. A friendly, twenty-something immigrant from a predominantly Muslim country, A.J. worked at a sandwich shop my wife and I frequented. He would sometimes sit and talk with us as we ate. He seemed intrigued, that not only was I a Christian, but a minister, no less. Awkwardly at first, and then very candidly, we discussed our faiths. As might be expected, acceptance of the Bible, Jesus’ deity, and the Trinity didn’t resonate with his Islamic beliefs.

We invited A.J. to attend a conference where I was scheduled to speak on, “A Christian Response to Islam.” Would he come? Let’s face it, in the years since 9/11, discourse on Islam has been rather emotionally charged. So when I saw A.J. enter the auditorium, I mouthed a silent prayer.

In the months that followed, A.J. and I continued talking. I’ll never forget the day A.J. called and said, “Alex, I’m ready.” A.J. and I met that afternoon, reviewed the Gospel message one more time and prayed together as he received Jesus as his Savior.

Witnessing A.J.’s journey to faith in Jesus Christ, I had seen the Lord use several key conversations to open his heart. These included discussions about:

1. Jesus’ claims about salvation, which were confirmed by an unparalleled degree of proof: Christ physically rose from death, thus confirming who He was and what He taught. I reminded A.J. that Muhammed’s teachings were not accompanied by any supernatural confirmation and, in fact, the Muslim prophet himself said he did no miracles.

2. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is not a belief in multiple gods (The shirk, or “the assigning of partners to God” is blasphemous to Muslims). Christians agree there is only one God (Deut. 6:3; Isa. 43:10-11) and not three.

3. There is compelling data affirming the trustworthiness of the Bible. Muslims have a level of respect for the Bible, though they believe what the New Testament says about Jesus is not trustworthy. I explained to A.J. that the New Testament is accurate and can be trusted- no one can point out what the alleged “changes” are or when they were supposedly introduced into the text- because the corruptions simply aren’t there.

4. Be prepared to patiently explain the subject of Christ’s incarnation. Regarding this topic, many Muslims struggle with the English wording of John 3:16. Whether a version reads that Jesus is God’s “only begotten Son,” or “One and only Son,” point out that John 3:16 does not imply that God had physical relations with Mary. The original language asserts that Jesus is, literally, “of the same nature” or “essence” as the Father.

5. Point out that the Prophet of Christianity is unique in that Jesus was a loving and sinless Savior (in suras 40:55 and 48:1-2, the Koran teaches that Muhammed was a sinner). Because He possessed both full divinity yet sinless humanity, Jesus was qualified to die sacrificially and capable of rising by His own power.

6. Emphasize that Christians have an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus, and have great joy in knowing that they are secure in Christ (John 10:28-29). Gently remind Muslims that where one stands with God is the most important issue of life—more important than culture, family background or social customs

Becoming friends with A.J. taught me several practical lessons about reaching out to Muslims here in America. I had prayed that God would help me “connect” with A.J., regardless of where our conversations about religion would end up. I wanted him to know that I cared about him as a person, and while I disagreed with his theology, I truly cared about him as an individual made in God’s image. The friendship required patience, and including my explaining certain things about my faith (and America) numerous times.

Apprehension of the Boston bomber is a reminder that no one is powerful enough nor clever enough to elude God’s hand of justice. But no living person is so far from God that they cannot experience His hand of redemption and forgiveness, either. Seeing A.J. come to Christ after 9-11 cultivated within me a deeper commitment to pray for Muslims living in the U.S. We should be grateful to God and to our military for bringing down Bin Laden. But it is my firmly held conviction that the world’s Muslims are in spiritual darkness, and to them we must reach out with compassion. God is able to supernaturally penetrate the human heart … even one brought up to resist the errors of “infidels” like us.