One of my first days at the university, I was peering down the hall of the religion center. Many of the mainline denominations had neatly displayed their group’s purpose, activities and meeting times. Near the end of the hall I noticed a group that I knew very little about and I was curious. What was this group doing here? Did they have many members? I was intrigued by the presence of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and decided to find out more.

As I began to see Muslims walking down the hall of the religion center, I was a little scared, too. Most of the women covered their heads (a few wore veils) and the men just ignored me. How could I get to know them? I thought I would learn what I could by asking questions. My goal was to wait until the women were in the office and ask one question each day. Little did I know that my awkward questions would send me, and our fellowship, into an amazing journey to reach out to Muslim students.

Over the next few months, I made myself a student of my new friends. I learned about their beliefs, their practices and their lives. What amazed me was their openness to my faith as well. They began to ask me questions. “If Jesus died for your sins and you are going to heaven, why be good?” Others questioned me about our religious holidays.

Right after Easter, my Muslim friend, Fatima (not her real name), came up to me in the hallway and asked, “Where were you on Friday? I was looking for you.” I replied, “We had a Christian holiday, and I took the day off.” She said that her friends (all Muslims) were sitting around and trying to figure out what Good Friday was about. Someone had mentioned that it was supposed to be Jesus’ death. Then she looked at me and asked, “If Jesus died on this holiday, why would you call it good?” With great joy, I had the honor of being the first person ever to share the gospel with Fatima.

Fatima wasn’t the only person who heard the good news of Jesus. Over time, I shared the gospel with most of the women leaders in the MSA. My close friendship with the leaders enabled me to take a new risk and ask them if the MSA and InterVarsity could plan an event together. Although a little nervous, they agreed. We decided that each group would share for fifteen minutes about their religion and then split up into discussion groups for a question and answer time.

As we planned this event, it became apparent that we, InterVarsity, needed to make some cultural adjustments as well. We made small changes like making the discussion groups gender specific and bringing vegetarian foods. These acts did not go unnoticed by our Muslim friends. They were impressed by the ways that we had chosen to care for them. Our steps toward them broke some of the original tension they felt by holding an event with a Christian group.

The first dialog was an amazing success. We presented the gospel during our fifteen minutes and over fifty Muslim students listened intently. During our discussion time, they asked thoughtful and, at times, difficult questions about our faith. Both sides felt as though they were respected and heard, and wanted to do it again. We have had similar dialogs on four separate occasions.

On scores of campuses, the population of Muslims is growing immensely. Many are American-born, wearing Nikes and T-shirts. They may attend your classes, live in your dorms, and eat in your cafeteria. Although they seem a lot like you, they feel very different. Often they are marginalized, overlooked and even feared. You may think that they have heard of Jesus since they grew up here in the U.S., but the reality is that few of them have ever heard much about him and rarely know the whole story.

On September 11th, the world was shocked by the attacks on the U.S. Most Muslims in the United States sat and waited to see the aftershock. What would people think of them? Would there be retaliation similar to what happened to the Japanese after Pearl Harbor? On our campus, our Muslims friends did not sit around and wait, but came to us, the Christian fellowship. They asked for our help. They asked if we would help them speak out against racism on campus. How could we say no? They are our friends.

Three Tips for Building Bridges with Muslims

1. Ask good questions and learn their beliefs first! The Muslim community feels attacked by Christians and they are initially cautious. They will open up if they know that you are sincere and interested in them.

2. Serving speaks volumes. Many Muslims I know are surprised by acts of kindness that are not motivated by heavenly rewards. They were amazed when our fellowship thought through cultural and religious implications to serve them. A little thought goes a long way!

3. Remember that Muslims are college students just like you. They are real people with real needs. Take a risk and make a friend!