Download Ask them - Fremont Asian Christian Church

Slides for this presentation have been taken from various sources
Countries with Most Muslims… Asian ones
Indonesia- 186 million Muslims (86% of pop)!
India- 3rd but that’s with only 13% of its pop
being Muslims, but these 172 million Muslims
account for more Muslims than the middle
eastern countries of: Yemen, Iraq, Jordan,
Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman,
Kuwait & Egypt added together!
Turkey- 7th with 73 million (99% of pop)
Afganhistan- 29million (99% of pop)
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U.S.A.- has 2-6 million Muslims (1-2% of pop).6
Modesty: Veils and Dress for women
• Muslim women have many different standards of
modesty with clothes due primarily to their
cultural influences that affect their understanding
of the Quran. (Very few cultures require women to
cover their faces, though many require womens
head’s to be covered)
• The freedom & treatment of women varies from
country to country and family to family. Some
Muslim countries, like Pakistan, have had female
prime ministers. The U.S. has never had a female
president.
[Islam allows up to 4 wives if the husband can take
care of them all equally, but most only have one.]
Basic Islam Background:
•Religion: Islam; In Arabic the word “Islam”
means submission to the will of God
•Key Figure: Muhammad (AD 570-632)
•Meeting Place: Mosque, or Islamic Center
•Date of Establishment: AD 622 [500yrs after
the last letters of the Bible were finished!]
•Followers are called: Muslims
•2 billion Muslims in world; only 20% are
Arabs, the majority are Asian who don’t
understand Arabic or what it means though
they might be able to read the alphabet.
Similarities we have with Muslims- Values
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Against pornography, homosexuality & fornication
Against stealing, and drug use
Against cussing & speaking disrespectfully
Want children to follow their parent’s faith
Want children to be good citizens in our society
They love their children and family members
They usually make good friends; they love to talk
and have family and friends over their houses to
visit and share food with each other.
[Do you have this much in common with your Atheist friends or neighbors?]
Similarities we have with Muslims- Beliefs
• We both believe in one God- ‘Allah’ = ‘God’ in Arabic
• We both believe the Bible was inspired by God &
that Jesus was miraclousily virgin born & not the
sexual union of God & Mary {like Muslims think we
believe & this is why we say Jesus is the Son of God}
• We both believe that Abraham, Moses, & Jesus were
prophets sent from God to show confused people
the right way to God.
• We both believe that Jesus did miracles, is the
Messiah, sinless, the Word of God, the final judge, is
alive now, and will on the Day of Judgment return to
earth and kill the Anti-Christ and then rule.
[Do you have this much in common with your Atheist friends or neighbors?]
5 PILLARS of the Islamic Faith:
1. Confession of their Faith (Shahada):
“…there is no God but Allah & Mohamad is
his prophet.”
2. Prayer (Salat): Ritually pray 5 times per day
usually in a mosque with their bodies facing
towards Mecca. Beforehand they must
ceremonially wash their arms & feet.
[In Turkey, I’d guess 20% of the pop does
the prayers 5x/day, but 50% of other
Muslims only do them 20x/year.]
5 PILLARS of the Islamic Faith (cont.):
4. Almsgiving/Tithe (Zakat): They must give
2.5% of their income to the poor.
5. Fast (Sawn): they abstain from food,
water, and sex from sunrise to sunset
during the 30days of Ramadan each year
(during the dark they usually meet to eat
& drink, as well as attend mosque more).
6. Pilgrimage (Hajj): they must go at least
one time to Mecca, if they can afford it
Doctrines of Islam:
•Final Judgment: world will be judged by
god and balance of good and bad will
determine destiny. Mohammad was not
sure of his destiny! “…what will happen to
me and to my followers, I do not know…”
Surah 46:9 (also in Hadith- Bukhari 5:266).
If you have done well enough, Allah “may”
have mercy and let you into paradise!
•Salvation: determined by faith and good
deeds in conformity to the Five Pillars.
Qur'an = Quran = Koran
•Qur'an: sacred book of Islam; dictated
by the angel Gabriel to Mohamad
•Qur'an has 114 chapters or surahs (shorter than NT)
•They believe Muhammad is the greatest and last
prophet [like all cults they claim to be followers of
the same Bible & faith of Abraham, Moses & Jesus]
•Islam shows some respect of the Bible- both OT &
NT (Torah- To’rat, Psalms- Za’bur, and GospelsIn’jil). However, they are told the Bible has been
corrupted by the Jews & Christians over time.
Sharing Strategy: Ask ___ & then explain
to them about Bible’s accuracy
Ask: when was the Bible that our all powerful God made corrupted? Before or
after the Quran was written?
• If before, then say… why did the Qur'an speak so
highly of the Bible? [Surah 21:7, 10:94, 4:47, 2:41]
• If after, then say… that we actually have
numerous copies of the Bible in different
languages in existence before Mohammed was
even born in which we get our modern Bibles
translated from to keep them accurate.
• Another argument to say is… I believe God is
powerful & loving enough to guard the Bible from
being corrupted, or else people would be without
God’s word & hopeless which isn’t like the
character of God
“Christians can respect the
sincerity Muslims hold their
beliefs, but we cannot respect
their beliefs themselves…”
(Al Mohler.com from May 14, 2009 blog)
The Difference between Christianity & all Religions & Cults:
I can explain it to you in two words: Do versus Done
Muslims believe that man’s good deeds have
to outweigh his bad works. (Do)
Hinduism teaches that if one does enough
good he can pay off his karmic debt and
escape the cycle of reincarnation. (Do)
Buddhism teaches that salvation comes about
when one desires to stop desiring. (Do)
Jesus says accept the gift I offer. It has already
been “Done” for you (you can do nothing to
earn God’s gift) Invite me to come into your life
and change you from the inside out (Phil. 2:13)
Some Differences Christianity has with Islam: God
o Christians believe Jesus was
 Muslims believe Jesus was a
more than just a prophet, the
prophet & the Messiah (Sura
only one who could & did die
2.136; 3.45). He was not
on the cross for our sin; is God
crucified (Sura 4:57). He did
in human form; the only way
miracles but is not God’s son
to be saved; and as the
(Sura 5:110; 4.171).
Messiah & final Judge he is the  Muslims consider Prophets
one who we must follow to be
‘sinless’ (isma) or only having
allowed to enter heaven (Mk.
mistakes. From this view they
6:4; 2Cor. 5:21; Phil. 2:6-8).
changed the Biblical stories
o {Muhammad was told to ask
of all the sins of our prophets
for forgiveness for his sin- Sura
& biblical heroes to in the
47:19, 48:2, 40:55}
Quran being non-existant.
 Muslims reject the Trinity;
and calling Jesus “God” or
“Allah” is blasphemous
(Surah 5:72-73)
Mistakes those sharing with Muslims often make:
•Wasting time talking about things not important in the
beginning- politics; violence in Qur’an or in Islam;
Mohamed’s shady past; polygamy, and even the Trinity
•Being too impatient & forgetting it’s a slow process in
them changing their views- little by little… Don’t make them
a prize to be won! Make a friend & love them even if they
reject the gospel!! [gradually get to Jesus being God]
•Not being bold enough to declare that all people will be
judged by Jesus’ standards and that he is the only way to
receive forgiveness, cleansing and to take away our shame
& adopt us as God’s special loved children.
•Not thinking Islam is evil (like the rest of the cults), but
also not remembering that Muslims aren’t evil.
Why Do Muslims start Following “Isa”?
God draws them particularly through the
Sermon on the Mount.
They understand Christ in the Bible offers an
Assurance of their Salvation that they don’t
have (1Jn 5:11-13).
The Character of Christ attracts Muslims.
The Bible provides satisfying Answers.
Dudley Woodberry & Russell Shubin, in their article
“Why I Chose Jesus,” document these reasons:
See Mission Frontiers, March 2001, www.missionfrontiers.org/pdf/2001/01/200101.htm
Other Factors Leading to Muslims to Jesus
• The “power of love” was named by 50% of a survey
of 120 Muslim Background Believers (MBB) as the
greatest reason for becoming a follower of Christ.
– This was both the love of Believers & from God
• Over 25% indicated that a dream or vision were key
in drawing them to Christ & sustaining them through
difficult times.[see morethandreams.org]
• 10% said the ability to have a personal relationship
with God as their Father was the main reason (Rom.
8:15, Gal. 4:6)
Natural Relationship starter ideas with Muslims
• Possibly tell a neighbor sorry for not coming over earlier to say
hi to them since they are your neighbor, but that you just
wanted to let them know you’d love to get to know them better.
• Tell them you’ve heard many people who are immigrants here
have never been invited over for a meal at an American’s house.
Then ask them if they’d have some time to have tea and talk
(possibly about how their kids & them are culturally adjusting)
• Tell them that you’d really be curious if they would share with
you their experiences of life in America.
• Tell them you follow Jesus as your Messiah, but you are curious
if what you hear about Muslims in the media is true of Muslims.
• Ask them if they’d be interested in trading off & you guys
showing each other (every other week) how to cook a different
recipes from each other’s home countries.
Natural Spiritual Conversation starter ideas
• Start the conversation about some sad moral situation in
the world (ask them if this is the same thing happening in
their birth country). This is a lead-in to we all need a
personal relationship with Jesus, not just a moral system,
but a heart ‘operation’ comment.
• Ask them if they have ever had a friend that really tried to
follow the teachings of Jesus in the Bible before
• Ask them if they have even had a chance to read the New
Testament (Injil) before. If not, mention that you have an
extra one that you’d be honored to give them if they’d be
interested in looking at it’s stories.
• Invite them to come to a holiday meal or event at church or
your house (birthday party).
• You can take a neighbor food or a dessert to their home
You may memorize or read some of Jesus’ (Isa)
parables from the gospels (Injil) with them as a way to
gain opportunities to talk about God. You can simply
print these parables or other verses to share with
them & take them with you when you are going
shopping. Then when you see a Muslim woman in a
store you can ask them if they can give you their
feedback on the verses from their perspective.
For instance:
1.Matthew 7:24-29
2.Matthew 13:44-46
3.Mark 7:1-9
4.Luke 7:36-50
5.Luke 19:1-10
Usually the best way is to say:
Could you, please help me?
I am interested in knowing your opinion.
I have one story and it is from Injil
(you may want to explain what Injil is).
After reading you can ask more
questions like: Do you like this story?
What do you think about this story?
A Biblical Perspective
The Apostle Paul said,
“I have become all things to
all men so that by all means,
I may save some.” - I Cor. 9:22
Some things to avoid doing or saying
• Don’t offend a Muslim by eating pork or alcohol
[pepperoni pizza, mystery meat hot dogs].
• Don’t make much eye contact with a person of the
opposite sex when talking. Generally men speak to men
and women to women. Also women who want to be
viewed as godly when visiting with Muslims should
dress without cleavage showing, should have their legs
mostly covered, & have arms to elbows covered.
• Don’t refer to Jesus as the “Son of God” as they think
you mean it in literal terms (sexual son of God & Mary)
• Slowly get around to your belief in Jesus as God and wait super long for the Trinity.
• DO NOT LET THEM DISTRACT YOU FROM THE MESSAGE & Person OF THE GOSPEL!
Don’t waste your time talking about Mohamed as it will not
help them to be open to hear the gospel.
Focus on Jesus: as the Final Judge Strategy
• Start where they are! They basicly like all other religions
believe they need to have more good deeds than bad
deeds when they die in order to enter heaven.
• Ask them “How good of a Muslim do you have to be to go
to Paradise?” [It’s a great conversation starter!]
• Tell them, I’ve heard the Qur’an says Mohamad didn’t know
where he is going when he dies [Surah 46:9]
• Ask them if they know much from the Quran about Isa. Tell
them you have heard the Qur’an says some of the same
things as the Bible about Jesus. That Jesus is holy (Surah
3:42-48), has the power over death & life (Surah 3:49-54),
& knows the way to heaven (Surah 3:55).]
• Ask,“Would you be interested to hear what Jesus said about
how we can know we’ll be able to enter God’s heaven?”
“I urge then, first of all, that request, prayers,
intercession…be made for everyone…This is
good and pleases God our Savior who wants all
men to be saved.” 1 Timothy 2:1 & 3