Shane Bennett

With all the crazy, terrible stuff going on in the Middle East right now, it’s hard to remember, Muslims around the world are celebrating Ramadan. In fact, they’re coming up to the end. One of the most significant times in the month, Laylat al-Qadr, or Night of Power will take place on Sunday, March 15th. (That’s the best guess. It’s unknown when the night actually happens.) 

Laylat al-Qadr commemorates when Muhammad first began to receive the Quran. Surah Al-Qadr in the Quran quotes Allah describing it, “The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.” (Qur’an 97:3) Muslims believe all the good things they do on the Night of Power are multiplied many times over. One writer says a, “night of sincere prayer, charity, and remembrance can bring rewards greater than a lifetime of worship.”

Wow, that’s putting a lot on one night! 

A Muslim legal scholar says this about the importance and breadth of prayer during Laylat al-Qadr:

“Remember this is the night in which Allah decrees your rizq (provisions) for the coming year, so implore Allah; cry your heart out as they say so that He may give you what you desire. Don’t think what you’re asking for is too much for Allah, nothing you ask will decrease His dominion. You want money, ask Him, you want a wife/husband, ask Him, you want a job, ask Him, you want children, ask Him, you want peace of heart, ask Him, anything you desire ask.”

In 1 Kings 8.43, when Solomon is dedicating the Temple, he asks God to hear and answer the prayers of the outsiders. Based on that, I think we’re wise to ask God to answer Muslims prayers during Laylat al-Qadr in such a way as to bring them life and him glory. 

PS: Bonus points if you snag an opportunity to lead your whole church (or a subset) in prayer this Sunday!

“Truth is the first casualty of war,” goes the old saying. Close on its heels is a burgeoning population of refugees. I can’t imagine what it’s like to face the decision of fleeing my home, but many Iranians are facing that today. 

And here’s the crazy part: Iran hosts more displaced people right now than any country in the world! Most of these are Afghans who fled the multiple messes in their country. 

With the now two week old war already displacing people, where will they go?

The U.S. is an unlikely option. President Trump set the refugee limit for 2026 at 7500, the lowest level since the program began in 1980. The majority of those visas are slated to go to white Afrikaners from South Africa. 

With most of Europe in the process of locking down and preventing undesired immigration, it’s unlikely Iranian refugees will be welcomed there with open arms. 

Since all commercial and civilian flights in and out of Iran are stopped, no one is hopping a plane to a safe country. This leaves buses, cars and feet taking refugees to adjacent countries. 

In case your Middle East geography is not up to Jeopardy standards (mine wasn’t), here are the states that border Iran (Clockwise from the west): Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Forbes says, “If displacement from Iran accelerates, Turkey and Iraq are the most likely immediate destinations due to geography and existing migration routes. But both countries are already under significant pressure from earlier refugee waves.” Turkey already hosts 3-4 million Syrians and has seen an uptick in Iranians since the brief military action in June of 2025.

As is usually the case with displaced peoples, there are no solutions that are not brutal and gut-wrenching. Let’s pray the war will be brief with minimal civilian impact.

I don’t know how full and rough your life is right now, but I bet it’s not as bad as a Ramadan Mom. Consider this:

1. Everyone’s getting up early for breakfast. She’s getting up earlier to make breakfast. 
2. Once she gets breakfast going, she’s got to wake up grumpy kids and hubby. Many of you wake family up for school, but imagine for a month, they’re getting up an hour earlier!
3. After breakfast, she gets sluggish school kids and grumpy husband (No cigarettes now the sun’s up!) out the door and cleans up breakfast.
4. She maybe catches a break by not having to make lunch? Not so fast, the kids still at home aren’t fasting. And since breakfast was early, they want to eat again at 10.30am, noon and 2pm!
5. She then decides what to make for iftar (the fast breaking meal) this evening while stressing over how to afford the extra food for the extended family hubby invited over!
6. She cleans up after iftar, probably while everyone else drifts off to sleep.
7. Dropping into bed, she worries about her own lack of prayer during the day. She hopes God honors her fast, even though she didn’t make it to the mosque and she snuck a little baklava late in the afternoon.

Ramadan Mom is strong, tired, faithful and sometimes invisible. But not to God. As Hagar, her great foremother first declared, “You are the God who sees me.” At the angel’s direction, she named her boy Ishmael to commemorate the profoundly good news that God hears. 

May God hear her prayers, wedged among the extra work, this Ramadan. And may he hear ours for Ramadan Moms throughout the Muslim world.

PS: Click here to download a one page weekly guide to praying for Muslims during Ramadan. 

Holy holiday hat trick, Batman! The Lunar New Year was yesterday. Today marks the beginning of both Lent and Ramadan! Given the number of people who celebrate the Lunar New Year and the number of Muslims and Christians who could keep Ramadan and Lent, upwards of 6 billion people have a religious, or semi-religious, observation going on right now! That’s nearly three-quarters of the planet! 

Does Lent carry special significance for you? Muslim Connect readers come from a variety of backgrounds and likely have a variety of involvement with Lent. If your forehead is ashed as you read this, good on you. May God meet you in a special way. Maybe you’re giving up something for Lent? I’m planning to stay off Facebook. That will be of some value. If I can take some portion of my “redeemed” Facebook time and use it to pray for Muslims during Ramadan, that would be of more value! 

I wonder what Christians get from Lent. I also wonder what Muslims get from Ramadan. Maybe there is some overlap. Here’s my quick take on how Muslims benefit, or hope to, from dedicated practice of the fast. 

1. Obedience
   God said to fast, so we’re going to do it. When I do it successfully, I honor God and I show myself that I’m an obedient follower.
2. Community
   We do this thing together. We’re committed to each other, or at least we engage in this common-across-the-religion practice together.
3. Family
   As you probably know, Ramadan is a season of increased family activity. It may be rigorous during the day, but it’s warm and wonderful when the sun goes down.
4. Forgiveness
   “The word ‘Ramadan’ is derived from ramad, which refers to the intense burning heat of the sun. Thus, ‘Ramadan’ is the month in which the sins of the believer are burned by their righteous deeds.” It is a time of repentance and seeking forgiveness.
5. Show off Islam
   This one is a hunch: I suspect there is sometimes a sense of pride in actually practicing a challenging part of the faith. Here’s how the convo plays in my head, “You’re giving up Facebook for Lent? Wow. For thirty days, while the sun is up, I will not eat, drink, smoke or get frisky with my spouse. Pretty much same same!”

   PS: Click here to download a one page weekly guide to praying for Muslims during Ramadan. 

Our church’s bookkeeper also helps lead our prayer efforts. I asked him to give an announcement promoting the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World booklets that we’ll pray through during Ramadan. He did well with the announcement, but upgraded it with an amazing story:

He and his friend were on a prayer journey in the Middle East. They were feeling a little feisty one day at lunch and asked their waiter if they could pray for him. “After all,” he said, “That’s what we were there for!”

The waiter agreed, then recounted how he’d had a dream the last two nights about Jesus. In the dream Jesus was calling the waiter to follow him! 

My bookkeeper/prayer warrior friend said, “We can pray with you right now to accept Jesus and begin to follow him. Would you like to do that?” 

The man said yes. They all prayed and he began his walk with Christ that day. 

If you read Muslim Connect, you’ve most likely heard about Jesus showing up in Muslims’ dreams. I love it that such things happen and I love hearing a first-hand example from someone I know! Add to that the reliability of a story told by a bookkeeper, because, as you know, they mind the details and don’t exaggerate! 

Thanks to God that he continues to pursue Muslims, showing up in all kinds of ways, including both mundane and miraculous. 

Should God bless you with a conversation with a Muslim this week, can I encourage you to follow my friend’s example and ask if you can pray for them? It’s been my experience that they’ll usually, sincerely say yes. 

Who knows what God may then do! 

P.S. Let’s pray for more stories just like the waiter’s. Grab your prayer guide, so we can all be on the same page (literally!) as we pray through Ramadan together.

I got a call today asking me to consider not showing the halftime show during our church’s Super Bowl party this Sunday. Apparently Bad Bunny really is!

I’m not sure what’s right or wrong on this, but I’m confident the safer route for me as a pastor is to not show it. But then I also think, it’s safer to not even have a Super Bowl Party. And honestly, it’s probably safer not to have a youth group. No kids get hurt, messed up or misled on my watch if I have no watch! 

This ends up landing me here: It’s always safer on the couch. 

Not sure if you should show the HT show? Don’t have the party and avoid the decision.

Nervous about a new relationship? Don’t engage. Stay on the couch. 

Didn’t finish your “Read Through the Bible in a Year” program last year? Stay on the couch and keep your Bible on the night stand this year. Much safer to not start than to fail again.

The maxim is also a good antidote to involvement with Muslims. 

If you’re considering a new effort to connect with or bless Muslims, let me be clear: It’s safer to stay on the couch than it is to introduce yourself to someone, to advocate for Muslims’ welfare within your church, to visit a Muslim city, and the couch is certainly safer than relocating yourself and your family to a distant Muslim neighborhood. (And asking people to give you money to do so!)

So why do we do it? Why do we care about Muslims? Why do we, at least slightly and temporarily, set safety aside and get off the couch?

Paul captures the why in Romans 15.16 “God gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God. . . .” 

Like Paul, we’re given grace so we can offer the living God to Muslims. And then, grace upon grace, we offer Muslims to the living God! Muslims get the life they need. God gets the worship he wants and deserves.

Join me in resisting the safety of the couch?

PS: If you want to tell me what to do about the halftime show, I’m listening!

Ramadan, the annual month of fasting for Muslims, begins on (or around!) February 18th. 

You could recognize this time in any number of ways:

1. Move to a Muslim country for the rest of your life. No time like Ramadan to start that!
2. Take a group of friends to pray on site in a Muslim city! Choosing to go pray among the Muslims of Norilsk, Russia would be advantageous if you plan to fast with them. Since the sun rises at 9:18 AM and sets at 5:25 PM there this February and Muslims only fast during daylight hours, your task would be less arduous than for most.
3. Fast for a day or two or 28! You probably know more than me about fasting, but I know this much: A grumbly tummy serves as a good reminder to pray!
4. Speaking of prayer: Praying for Muslims, and inviting others to join you, are two of the best things you can do to mark Ramadan. Check out #5 on the list, then I’ll share some ways to pray.
5. If it’s possible, hang out with Muslims! Invite other non-Muslims to do so with you. Ramadan is a time of great hospitality and unusual spiritual openness. Ask God to connect you to Muslims with whom you can walk through Ramadan.

Prayer Ideas
Grab a pdf version of the excellent, perennial 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World or get one (hundred!) in print from faithful Muslim Connect reader John at Bibles for the World. 

I’m planning to make these available at my church and around. This might create a bit of a ruckus there and at your church. Maybe you could ask for some space in the bulletin or on the website to put a weekly prayer request. This could be low key provocative, but I think it’s a righteous ruckus! 

Finally, give a listen to Jeannie Marie’s just uploaded podcast about Ramadan. She’s way smarter than me! Great info, winsomely presented. 

Now go make a righteous ruckus! 

I felt some regret Monday when my current favorite devotional, Lectio 365, featured a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. This reminded me I’d said nothing to acknowledge the holiday at church on Sunday. It doesn’t help that Lectio 365 is from Britain! (Well, it does help me be humble!)

The devotional quoted a speech King gave in Memphis the night before he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Have you heard of it? It’s come to be known as “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” and it rocks. I’m aware that MLK’s record is not roundly viewed as without blemish. I’m no expert on that. As an aging career mobilizer however, I feel a little expertise in the realm of mobilization: This speech is fantastic. 

Moving toward his conclusion, King referenced Jesus’s parable of the Good Samaritan, “And so the first question that the priest asked — the first question that the Levite asked was, ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’”

As you may have experienced, there’s real, though for most of us mild, risk in advocating for Muslims. What will happen if we do? People may squawk, misunderstand and disparage.

King goes on, “But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’”

Paraphrasing King’s call for fair pay for Black sanitation workers in Memphis, I would ask, “If we don’t stop to help Muslims learn of the love of God in Christ, what will become of them?” 

King wrapped his sermon with this, “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. . . .I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”

We too have been to a mountaintop. It’s called Revelation 7.9 and we’ve seen some from every Muslim tribe, tongue, people and nation standing before the throne and before the Lamb. God will accomplish his purposes, and by some gorgeous grace, he’s invited us to join him. Praise God and thank you, Dr. King for the encouragement.

PS: Fun news: Get this, I had a chance this afternoon, at a memorial service, no less, to use the three words of Farsi that you and I learned last week in Muslim Connect. (Check it out, if you’ve not seen it yet!) It was super fun and kind of silly, but an elderly Bahai Persian dude asked me to pray for him afterward, so I’m saying a win. If you want, join me in asking Jesus to meet him before his journey on earth comes to an end.

The list of things I cannot control is long, diverse and seemingly multiplying! And now, outside of the mysterious and powerful tool of prayer and the part of my taxes that go to pay for the US military machine, I am powerless to control the outcome of the current street strife in Iran. You, too, I’m guessing.

But here is what we can do: We can say hi. While this admittedly solves nothing, it is, and I have absolutely no doubt about this, a step in the right direction. Connecting with an Iranian is good for the souls of both the connector and the connected. 

My off and on efforts to grab hold of a tiny bit of Farsi haven’t been successful. On the off chance you’ve shared that experience, here are the first three phrases we need to say “hi” to the next Persian person God causes to cross our path. (And I’m praying right now that happens soon for many of us!)

1. Salaam (sah-LAHM) is your go-to Persian greeting that works everywhere! Dorood (doh-ROOD) adds a touch of elegance to your greeting. This more poetic alternative to salaam carries a hint of traditional Persian charm. (Short video on salaam, dorood and chetori here.)
2. Chetori (che-TO-ri) is a short, sweet “how are you” question that works perfectly in relaxed settings. Stretch-out chetoori (che-TOO-ri) to sound extra friendly to Persian ears. Reply with “Khoobam, merci, to chetori?” (I’m good, thank you, and how are you?)
3. Khodahafez (kho-da-HA-fez) is your everyday “goodbye” superstar! This friendly phrase literally means “may God be your guardian” and fits perfectly in any situation. (Pronunciation)

I borrowed the words and most of the descriptions for those three words from a helpful page on the Preply site. 

It feels weird to me to be an American these days and it must be at least a little angsty to be a Persian American (or a Persian in America), as well. May God open some kingdom doors for us this week. If he does, let me know how it goes! 

You’d be forgiven if you missed what’s unfolding in Iran over the past twelve days. Goodness knows there’ve been some other headlines. This unfolding wave of protests may hold more potential for lasting change than any in the past. 

Since Iran is home to more than 90 million Muslims, here are five things I think you should know.

1. Protests are growing.
   They started off in response to an economy in free fall, but now have expanded into the political realm with calls for regime change. The Iranian currency has lost 60% of its value since mid-2025!

   Between my writing this email and your reading it, protests will have likely expanded to new cities and the rial dropped to new lows. 

2. Leaders are trying to respond.
   The Iranian government is dangling a carrot while wielding a stick: Several dozen protesters have been killed, even though the policy is to not harm peaceful marchers, but resist those deemed violent. At the same time, an cash-equivalent payment of $7/month is being given to almost all Iranians. This will be helpful to the poorest, but seems unlikely to buy peace. 
3. Iranian leaders are facing a two-front war.
   In a change from previous times of vast protest, the Ayatollahs are currently facing trial both internal and external. In addition to economic woes and spreading protests, Israel continues to threaten further attacks and President Trump is on record saying he’s ready to come to the aid of the protesters. His colleague and supporter, Senator Lindsey Graham said on Jan. 6th, “And to the Ayatollah: You need to understand, if you keep killing your people who are demanding a better life, Donald J. Trump is gonna kill you.”
4. Christians are being scapegoated.
   As often happens to minorities, Christians in Iran find themselves the focal point for police response.
5. The Iranian Church has grown like crazy.
   While I long for times of peace for all Iranians, and particularly those following Jesus, praise to God and kudos to Iranian Christians who have valiantly endured and grown through struggles I cannot even imagine. 

May a fresh time of peace in Persia result in Kingdom advance such that all that has gone before seems small.