A word that many of us don't know is xenophobia. It is the fear of strangers or foreigners, in fact, anything that is strange or foreign. For most of us, Muslims and the religion of Islam are strange or viewed as foreign. After September 11 and the ensuing media hype, we are filled with fear and wanting to do something about these attacks.

The Bible tells us to care for the foreigner and strangers in our midst (Ex. 23:9). If we talk to Muslims, we would find that many Muslims are fearful of what Americans are thinking and how they will react towards them. The Bible commands us to love all people. Christians are to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:43-48).

How then can we love our Muslim neighbors and reach out to them with the love of Christ? Here are some tips on witnessing to Muslims that would be important to keep in mind.

1. Avoid stereotyping Muslims.
Not all Muslims are the same. There are the conservative Muslims who read the Qur'an (their holy book about the size of the New Testament), go to the mosque on Friday at 1:30 p.m. for the collective prayer and keep the 5 daily prayer times, keep Ramadan (a month of fasting during the daylight hours), give money in keeping with Islamic law, and at one point in their life time will go on a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Most are moderate Muslims, who say prayers, (mostly on special and high occasions) and only occasionally go to the Mosque. They aren't fanatical about their religion like most Americans aren't fanatical about their religion. Lastly there are cultural Muslims, who are Muslim in name but don't practice any religion.

2. Place ourselves in places to meet Muslims.
Muslims have preconceived ideas about Christians and Christianity. Meeting a Christian is the best way to dispel preconceived ideas Muslims have about Christians. Probably the greatest reason Muslims have not come to Christ is they have never met a true Christian. They haven't seen up close how a true Christian live's their lives. They will rarely ever go to churches to meet Christians, so putting yourself in a situation to meet Muslims and openly living your Christian life before people is the first place to begin. This can mean learning the name of the gas station attendant and developing a relationship more than just paying for the gas. My Muslim neighbor lived in the U.S. for 25 years before an American befriended him. That should never be!

3. Topics you will encounter.
As you meet Muslims, you will discover that there are cultural norms for conversation that are different than those we are used to working with. There are two subjects Americans seem to avoid, politics and religion. However, politics and religion are the topics of choice for many Muslims. Politics will center around American foreign policies and the Palestinian plight in the Middle East. As Christians we must not let our patriotism get mixed with the Kingdom of God. Don't feel compelled to defend American policies as Christian policies. Grieve as God grieves over human tragedies. Let our human solutions show their inadequacies and share that God wants all men to seek him.

4. Establish the spiritual dimension in your friendship.
In any relationship, it is very important to establish the spiritual dimension from the beginning in the relationship. As a Christian seeking to be salt and light in this world (Matt. 5:13-16), it should be our desire to minister God's grace with each person we meet. The Christian should develop the skills of taking a conversation and look for ways to share some aspect of Christ. We should seek to share a spiritual truth that gives God's perspective of the conversation. Muslims have rarely met Christians who live their Christian faith openly before them. Muslims would not be offended as most Americans about the spiritual dimension in your life but would welcome it as a breath of fresh air.

5. Questions to use.
When I meet people for the first time, I will use questions to establish the relationship. The purpose of the questions is to establish a spiritual relationship with the individual from the beginning and create opportunities to share our faith. I am looking for an opportunity to bless them in Jesus' name and pray for them. Once this spiritual dimension is established, you have identified yourself as a spiritual person. When trouble enters their life, they may seek you out for prayer or counsel. This provides opportunity to talk about your faith rather then trying to find someone to witness to.

The questions I use are the following:

a. Where are you from? People love to share about where they are from. This interest in their country of origin shows you care. If you know your geography, often this question will help you know whether they are Muslim or Hindu, Buddhist. Should you have visited their country or have friends from there or living there, it gives you a point of commonality.

b. How long have you been here? This question helps you to learn some of the issues they might be facing. For instance, if they have arrived within the year, they will be facing legal and cultural adjustments. If they have been here for years, they may feel alienated or isolated from the host culture. We were told as missionaries that individuals who move to another culture usually experience a depression between the third and ninth month as they make adjustments to the new culture. They might be going through this period.

c. Find a need-based issue and ask if you can pray for them on the spot in Jesus' name. I have found that 99% of the people will not object to prayer. For most, the prayer you offer in their presence may be the first time anyone ever prayed for them and their needs. We must realize that prayer is a tremendous privilege of ushering that individual into the very presence of God. Prayer is respected and more can be said in prayer than in a lecture or debate. I give good theology in prayer, talking about our relationship we have through Christ and as children of God we can lift up the needs of others. I boldly pray in Jesus' name, not being ashamed of Christ.

d. Give literature. After you have prayer, be prepared to give some literature if appropriate. People are always more open to receiving literature after you have impacted them in a positive way.

6. Use your gift of hospitality.
I have met Muslims who were afraid to be identified as Muslim. The media portrayed such a negative image that they prefer not to talk about Islam. But when I sat down and asked about his family and I talked about my family, he relaxed. I then said it was impolite of me not to offer tea for that is the way people should talk, but the circumstances here prohibited it. He opened up to me because I used familiar cultural way of talking and he gave me an invitation to his home for tea.

Hospitality in American culture is inviting someone to your home for dinner. You never drop in unannounced. But for most first generation Muslims, the greatest sign of friendship is stopping by unannounced. Be prepared to drink tea or "chai" as it is called and eat a light snack. There is a proverb that says you haven't talked until you have eaten together. Remember there is a polite exchange that means so much in their cultures. When asked if you want tea, refuse saying you don't want to put them out. When they offer it again, gently refuse saying you don't want to trouble them. When they say it's no trouble, accept if they are having some. This polite exchange allows the host to show their hospitality and their friendship. This goes a long way in establishing a friendship. They may rarely visit you but desire you to visit them.

7. Use your holidays as a teaching tool.
Invite your Muslim friend to your home for the various American holidays, explaining the history behind the symbols and the event. Remember that Muslims consider pork and pork produces unclean, so don't serve pork. Give a Jesus video in their mother language as a gift of your friendship at Christmas or at the end of Ramadan. Then sit down and watch it with them. Explain the significance of what Jesus taught and his death and resurrection.

8. Get the scripture into their hands.
The Bible is a great way of dispelling secondary understanding of the Christian faith. Muslims are told to read the Bible in the Qur'an. But Muslims are told that the Bible of today is not the original, besides the last revelation has come in the Qur'an, their holy book. When Muslims read the Bible, God speaks to them. Suggest getting together to read together the New Testament. When they have questions, you can answer them. Don't get sucked into debating the Bible, read it together.

If they say the Bible is changed, ask the following questions: Who changed it? What was changed? When was it changed? Where was it changed? Why was it changed?

There are some things we should avoid in witnessing being:

1. Too Focused on Friendship:
There are times that I was so focused on establishing a friendship or meeting someone that what I thought was offensive such as the spiritual dimension was left out. A lesson I learned is that if we establish a relationship with a person with no spiritual dimension to it, it becomes awkward and difficult to add it to an already established relationship. When we try to introduce the subject, we and the person with whom we have established a relationship, may feel betrayed. What becomes obvious to all is that there was another agenda for the relationship other than a genuine friendship or a chanced meeting. In addition when the new friend refuses to talk about spiritual issues, the relationship becomes awkward and begins to flounder for we often don't have a context for spiritual issues. Therefore, it is important to establish the spiritual side of your life from the very beginning.

2. Too Focused on Witnessing:
I have been with some eager persons who were out "to win people for Jesus." In their zeal for God they went at the task like a hunter after its prey. This approach is often forced and may appear like a memorized presentation. It may even be taken as an aggressive attitude for some. To avoid this perception, I prefer to invite the person into my walk with God. Live your life openly and try to be salt and light to the person with whom you talk. This means your conversation encourages the person to live righteously so they can see that your walk with God is integrated into every aspect of your life. When confronted with a need, do as you do in a church setting, pray with the person about the need. When a person shares an injustice, express how this breaks God's heart and brings the injustice to God's attention.

3. Too Focused on Religion:
At times Westerners are so ignorant about other religious beliefs that they feel compelled to ask the other person about their faith. I have been with people whose approach to witnessing is measured by whether they got a chance to talk about religion. Since the Muslim before them doesn't initiate a spiritual topic, they get the conversation started by asking the Muslim to tell them about Islam.

I was at a restaurant when this approach was used. We asked our Muslim friend to tell us about his faith. The Muslim half-heartedly answered the one-sided questions. When we were alone for a moment, I shared with our guest that there are three types of Muslims, the conservative, the moderate, and the cultural Muslim. He shared that he was the second type and was tired of people asking him about Islam. It may have been more worth our while to ask him if he understood the form of Christianity that he sees here in the West and to ask if we could explain true Christianity to him.

Sometimes our shy attempts at sharing Christ with others don't address the need the person has, or information they want to share. We Christians have a great opportunity to reach out in love to our Muslims neighbors as never before. God has given us an opportunity to show the difference Christ has made in our lives through reaching out in friendship. May we take the time to develop these friendships while the nation is hurting.

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An excellent new book edited by this author is "The Gospel for Islam", pub. by EMIS, Wheaton, IL in 2001, Oksnevad, Roy and Dotsey Welliver, editors. These are the the papers and sessions of the first Consultation on Muslim Ministries in America which took place in October 1999.

You can order this book by contacting:
Evangelical Missions Information Service (EMIS)
Wheaton College
Wheaton IL 60187-5593.
Phone: 630-752-7158
Email: EMIS@wheaton.edu
Website: http://www.billygrahamcenter.org

If you have questions or need other literature, you can contact: South Asian Friendship Center & Bookstore, 6346 N. Talman Ave., Suite 101 Chicago, IL 60659. Office: 773-764-6846. Fax: 773-764-9945. Website: http://www.safcbookstore.com