EMQ » January – April 2024 » Volume 60 Issue 1
Reaching Your Muslim Neighbor with the Gospel
By A. S. Ibrahim
Crossway, 2022
176 pages
US$12.98
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Reviewed by J. Rupert Morgan. ABWE International Resident Missiologist.
A.S. Ibrahim has two aims in this book. He seeks first to help his readers understand the Muslim mindset and second to challenge them to share the gospel with Muslims with confidence and boldness. The book is well organized. It is divided into two parts which address his two primary aims. He ends each chapter with a summary and introduction to the next topic. He accomplishes these two tasks admirably. His own passion to understand the worldview of Muslims and evangelize them is palpable throughout.
This work has an autobiographical flavor where the author describes experiences he has had with Muslims from childhood through his adult life. He demonstrates the principles he espouses in the narratives of his personal encounters with Muslims. One example is the interchanges he had with an imam he befriended (124–128). This helps the reader see the practical application of these principles.
Frequent use is made of enumeration which helps the reader to follow the logic of the argument. One example among many is his listing of seven elements of an Islamic worldview (62–72). Dr. Ibrahim does an excellent job of describing and addressing objections that Muslims have to Christianity. His comments on Muslim understandings and objections to the Bible and the Trinity are excellent.
He emphasizes using the Bible and not the Quran when engaging in conversation with Muslims. The only exception he makes is to use the Quran to demonstrate that the Quran supports the authority of the Bible and never states that it is corrupt. The author isn’t promoting a method of Muslim evangelism but an attitude of understanding and compassion. Although he refers to the “Jesus Method” in the section Raising Questions and Answering Them, this is more a model than a method for sharing the gospel of Christ and demonstrating His compassion. He states, “Our goal is to reflect and proclaim Christ, not to defeat competitors” (143). There are 167 pages in this text but no bibliography, only 14 footnotes, and perhaps one quotation from another source. It is a little surprising that a scholar who is so well-versed in Islamic history, life, and practice has very little to say about shame and honor. This book is rooted in the personal life of the author who grew up in a Christian home within a Muslim-majority country and his experience as a lifelong Muslim evangelist. Reaching your Muslim Neighbor with the Gospel serves as a primer for Muslim evangelism. It is full of valuable and insightful perspectives that will enrich both a debutant to Muslim ministries as well as a veteran.
For Further Reading:
Fruit to Harvest: Witness of God’s Great Work among Muslims edited by Gene Daniels, Pam Arlund, and Jim Haney (William Carey Publishing, 2019).
Chrislam: How missionaries are promoting an Islamized gospel edited by Joshua Lingel, Jeffery J. Morton, and Bill Nikides (I2 Ministries, 2012).
EMQ, Volume 60, Issue 1. Copyright © 2024 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.
