Three Tips for Dialoguing With Muslims

My free Quran from the Local Mosque

Almost every Western country has a significant Muslim population. According to a survey conducted in 2011, the city in which I live is over 5% Muslim. The city in which I was born has the third oldest mosque on the continent. There is also a mosque about a two minute walk from where I live. Needless to say, Islam is in the West.

Defending the Christian faith against Muslims is important. I have stressed several times on this blog that knowing Church history is absolutely vital. After the Scriptures themselves, Church history is the greatest weapon we have against the Islamic religion because Islam is not rooted in history. It essentially rewrites the history of the Abrahamic tradition.

Here are the three steps that every Christian should take to prepare for Christian-Islamic dialogue.

• Know the Christian faith

Christians should know their faith for their own spiritual benefit. If you don’t know your faith, you shouldn’t be engaging other non-Christians, especially Muslims. The books that I’ve listed in Recommended Reading are excellent sources for the Christian faith. It might help to study the classical Christian apologists against Islam such as St. John of Damascus, St. Francis of Assisi, Peter the Venerable and St. Thomas Aquinas. It is important to study their writings and their dialogues. Also, read a few books on Church history, which focus on the first thousand years since this is the most important time period to know in this case.

• Know the Islamic faith

The primary book of the Islamic faith is the Quran. According to Islamic tradition, these are the words of Allah himself. The Quran can be found online or for free at most Mosques(See picture above). Most Western Muslims who speak English as a first language will use the Yusuf Ali or Pickthall translation. These are the ones that the Mosques will typically give out for free. Other Islamic documents are the Hadith and the Sira. The Hadiths are the sayings and deeds of Muhammad. Some collections are more authoritative than others. It is a huge body of literature. Siras are biographies of Muhammad. The most famous Sira is Ibn Ishaq but many have been written over the years. It it also important to not learn Islam from modern Muslim liberals who live it the West. They don’t teach Islam but liberalism.

• Know how to debate

If you don’t know how to debate, it doesn’t matter how much you know the two respective faiths. Islam has weak spots and if you’ve studied Islam, you’ll know where they are. The most important thing is to ask questions. Don’t let the Muslim get away with stuff that he hasn’t proven. For example, Muslims like to say the Bible cannot be trusted since it’s been changed. At this point simply ask them two questions: When and Where? This applies to anything. Let them tackle the burden of proof because it’s ultimately on them. They won’t be able to answer many questions.

I’ve had several good dialogues with Muslims in my lifetime. I will firmly say that I’ve never lost a dialogue with a Muslim when we’ve debated religion. However, the truth is, that it takes a lot of study and hard work.

It’s worth pointing out that modern secularism has taken its toll on Western Muslims as well. Many Western Muslims are almost agnostic in belief. Just like when debating secular Jews, you might have to convince many of them that God exists.

Last of all, it’s important to be respectful. Don’t mention Islamic terrorism, historic Islamic persecution of Christians, or the odd sayings and evil deeds of Muhammad. Islam is not false because of ISIS or the fact that Muhammad married a nine-year-old girl. Islam is false because it teaches incorrect information about God and Jesus Christ. A lot of people will disagree with this method but I think it’s best to focus on theological issues instead of red herrings. This will show the Muslim that you are a genuine seeker of truth and not just an angry and ignorant Westerner.