There are over a billion Muslims in the world. Dialoguing with them is getting more and more important since many of them live in the West. At Speakers Corner in London, many debates take place. Recently a young American lady went to Speakers Corner and debated some Muslim apologists. She probably didn’t know that these were heavyweight apologists who have been doing this for years. Leaving that aside, the way she debated was a perfect example what not to do when debating Muslims.
First of all, it is obvious that this young lady really cares about her faith. She really wants to convince these young Muslim men to reject their faith and embrace Christ. To debate the character of Muhammad will get you absolutely nowhere when debating a Muslim. It’s useless to tell a Muslim:
Hey, you should ditch Islam because Muhammad was a bad bad boy!
Even if she could cite her sources, which she couldn’t, this approach was terrible. These Muslims tore her to shreds. It was painful. She was just exposed as an ignorant Westerner.
Her biggest mistake was bringing up Nabeel Qureshi. This carries about as much weight as when a Muslim brings up Bart Ehrman to a Christian. People aren’t very impressed when an apostate from their faith is quoted as an authority. Again, this will get you absolutely nowhere.
I was recently doing some pro-life work and one of the volunteers was a missionary to Muslims and had been to the Islamic world. We discussed tactics and the most effective ways of communicating. This tactic never came up and for good reason. It’s absolutely worthless. This young lady looks like she’s about 20 and it sounds like she’s just recently come to faith in Jesus. I didn’t expect her to do great, but if you’re a new convert, you need to do research before you go and preach.
If one is debating a Muslim, it’s best not to bring up Muhammad at all. Stick with Jesus Christ and His central place in the Abraham tradition. Keep focusing on Jesus Christ as it is our best weapon against Islam. Use quotes found in the four Gospels. Eventually the Muslims will make the statement and assert that the Bible has been corrupted and at this point, you shift the burden of proof back to them and they’re in trouble. If you know all of the ways they try to maneuver, it is good because they will certainly try.
I could go into more depth but this post is about what not to do. Don’t focus on Muhammad and how bad he was but on the greatness of Jesus Christ. Jesus beats Muhammad any day. We need to use Him!
Definitely true. I really enjoy your posts on dialoguing with Muslims.
Hi Kent,
Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll answer to the best of my ability.
That was so difficult to watch that I had to keep skipping through it.
Poor girl! She is up against a pro, and because of that he manages to dominate her, patronise her and overwhelm her because of her inexperience. She is also at a disadvantage because she is actually interested in discussion rather than spouting ready-made stuff. This is not the right venue for someone in her situation; I certainly wouldn’t attempt to “debate” anyone in Hyde Park because it is uncontrolled and a well-rehearsed opponent, speaking with self-assurance, can gain the upper hand even though his arguments may be relatively weak.
Spot the usual distraction and waffle from this well-prepared Muslim, i.e. (paraphrasing) “where did you read this can you name the primary sources and the response of Muslim scholars to it?”
I think you are correct about focusing on Jesus Christ, and it isn’t just a tactic, it is what Christians should be about. Thank you for pointing that out Allan.
Hi Patrick,
I think Hyde Park would be a good discussion place if you could isolate an apologist and do 1 on 1. They are certainly top notch though. There is a huge Muslim population in my city but the Dawah scene is pretty lax. I think Western Secularism has reduced them to cultural Muslims. Regarless, it’s best to field test arguments, and of course, focus on Jesus Christ.