March 15, 2008, I was privileged to occupy a seat at the 25th anniversary banquet for Frontiers. Frontiers mission is to invite Muslim peoples to follow Jesus by loving them and respecting them. The banquet consisted of Frontiers missionaries, staff and donors.

During the banquet, Frontiers staff introduced a Muslim couple from Pakistan who they had brought along for the anniversary events.  As the couple stepped up the microphone, the packed banquet hall silenced, all eyes glued on the couple who bore their traditional dress. The man spoke first. Speaking from the heart he spoke to the kindness he and his wife had received from the Frontiers missionaries in Pakistan. He also spoke about how he could never follow their Jesus. He spoke to the many contradiction’s he saw weaved in and out of the West and the Christians of the West. The room was sober and the guest speaker was honest and convicting.

After 10-15 minutes of observation of the West and its wicked ways, which had a stinger full of truth, the wife of the man approached the microphone. She spoke out against the promiscuity of Western women. She spoke as to how she could never embrace Christianity when the values of relationships and character were so flippant. As they closed their speech and thanked us Christians for listening to them, Muslims, the room was so silent I was afraid to swallow for fear those sitting across the room would hear.

After a period of silence, the Pakistan Muslim man stood to the microphone again and took off his turban. He then introduced himself as an American Christian missionary serving the Pakistani Muslim peoples. His wife followed suit as she removed her burka. You could feel the weight of the room lift as he began to share with us how he and his wife have served with Frontiers for many years. He shared with us that what he and his wife had said when they were posing as Muslims was exactly what they deal with in Pakistan daily in the Muslim community.

Christianity Today recently released one of the better articles on Islam and Christianity I’ve read. The Clash of Stereotypes states

Surveys of the world's Muslims find that most Muslims support democracy and freedom.

I can attest that this is true based on friends of mine who are Muslim and based on conversations I’ve had with Muslims in the past. Not all Muslims are the Jihad type and the West would do best to stop stereotyping all Muslim as part of Al-Qaeda.

The article goes on to describe two types of liberalism.

To understand these seemingly contradictory currents, it's helpful to distinguish between two types of liberalism. One is the classical liberalism of the American founding. Call this Liberalism 1, which is reflected in such principles as the right to vote, to assemble freely, to trade with others and keep the fruits of one's labor, to practice one's religion, to tolerate different political and religious views, and so on.

Then there is the modern liberalism that developed in the West after World War II. Call this Liberalism 2, which is characterized by the right to blaspheme, pornography as a protected form of free expression, the exclusion of religious symbols from the public square, the right of teenagers to receive sex education and contraceptives, the right to abortion, prostitution as a worker's right, and so on.

I don’t know about you, but from where I’m sitting in the grand stand of America, I see us, Americans, generally moving more and more closer to liberalism 2. That is Islam’s biggest beef with Westerners.

I’ve read the Qu'ran and I’ve had real, honest, conversations with practicing Muslims who fall in the Liberalism 1 camp. Their issue is not with Christians in the Liberalism 1 camp. Their beef is with a nation who proclaims to be “one nation under God” (although as we know, things are quickly shifting away from this practice) and then behaves in the way of Liberalism 2.

The article also states that that

Muslims fear that "Islam is under attack" and that the West is leading that attack.

Do you want to share Jesus with a Muslim in the west? Live out your Christian beliefs.

I once heard a story of a Christian man who lived next door to a Muslim man. These men never talked. Their relationship was no more than a friendly wave and smile now and then. The Christian man went to work on time every day, his car pulling in and out of the driveway at the same time as his Muslim neighbor. The Christian man also went to church every Sunday with his family. The Muslim man observed this behavior weekly. The Christian man also held a weekly Bible Study in his home, which the Muslim man also noticed. The attendees also waved hello to him, they were respectful to him by keeping their volume down and leaving at a decent hour. After roughly a year of this, the Muslim man made his way over to finally talk to the Christian man. He thanked the Christian man for the friendly waves, the smiles, and began to share with him how he appreciated that he was a hard worker, obviously cared for his family and was dedicated to the God he served. The Muslim man then asked the Christian man about his God and about his values. That night the Muslim man became a Christian neighbor. (True story).

The article wraps up by giving 3 examples of loving Muslims with Christ’s transforming and liberating love. It says this,

First, we can better understand how radical Islam has widened its following. By portraying the West as atheistic and morally decadent, Islamic radicals can effectively recruit followers by appealing to a shared Muslim antipathy for permissive values. Moreover, the survey data show that nothing antagonizes Muslims, and presumably makes them vulnerable to radical recruitment, more than Western attacks on Islam as a religion of violence.

Second, the West would do well to show Muslims its more traditional face. Currently Muslims see America mostly through the lens of popular culture. But the values of Hollywood are not typical of the way most U.S. citizens live. If Muslims could see more Americans who go to church, raise intact families, and espouse traditional moral values, they would be less vulnerable to the propaganda of radical Islam.

Finally, mainstream Christians are well situated not only to understand Muslim sensibilities, but also to work with the followers of Islam in combating the excesses of Liberalism 2. After all, Muslims' concerns about some of the excesses of American culture are widely shared among Christians.

Today, in the Middle East, groves of Muslims are coming to Christ. These new believers need our prayer and support. Frontiers is a good place to start. Unfortunately, the number of Muslim converts is on the rise in the West. Great Britain recently passed a law that Muslim citizens will now be tried in a court of Shariah law.

Muslims and Christians agree when it comes to many values. How can we establish loving and respectful relationships with our Muslim neighbors in the West? Do you think America is attacking terrorism or Islam? Are we in a “holy war” or in a liberation war? Is there a difference between the two? I’d love to hear your thoughts.