Shane Bennett

What if you’re eating potato chips three meals a day? What if you’re only offered potato chips for snacks at school or work and when you relax in the evening? And what if all the cool, beautiful and powerful people are eating potato chips? Even if you occasionally snuck a piece of broccoli (a step in the right direction), you’re still going to be sick and oily.

Something has been bothering me for a bit: How does US military action against Muslims affect my psyche, my kids, maybe even the broad sweep of American culture?

The question right now isn’t the degree to which military actions are justified or moral, although such ideas merit consideration. Rather, how do those actions affect us?

Here are some gut-churning realities:

1. The US has been at war with Muslim countries for most of my adult life. If we pin Operation Desert Storm in 1990 as the starting point, around half of the US population has known hardly a day in which we were not fighting Muslims.
2. If you’re going to keep fighting Muslims and keep getting elected (Both sides have done this!), you must portray Muslims as evil, enemies and wholly “other.”
3. The “potato chips everywhere” metaphor is this: We used to take action against Communism (We still do a little.). We used to engage in war on drugs (We still do some.). But for over half my life it’s been Muslims! They’ve been enemies on the battlefield. They’ve been villains in movies and books. They’ve been the boogie man, the dirty, sneaky savages in countless efforts to gain or retain political positions. A piece of broccoli here and there will not do the trick.

Shame on us and God have mercy. 

Is this because of Israel and our desire to protect that country? It is the oil? Is it because they’re are easy to identify and caricaturize? Probably all that and more. 

What are we to do?

For starters: Be the broccoli. Read and share the counter-narrative, starting with Jesus and going on from there. And ask God for a new day, not a new villain. We’ve had so many over our short history. But a fresh light inside and going forth from our country so that the glow from the “city on a hill” is the love of Christ, not the flash of a muzzle or the launch of a missile. 

Three more Bennetts now grace the face of the planet! If you prayed for our adoption hearing last week, thank you very much. God heard and answered your prayers. After a clerical error threatened to scuttle the entire affair, and slash 18 months off Anna’s and my life expectancy, the adoption proceeded without a further hitch. Praise God. We are deeply grateful. 

That’s the beginning. Here’s the ending: My good friend, missions colleague and Jesus-following hero Mike Latsko is retiring. Mike has invested half a century in ministry, inviting his parishioners to follow Jesus, challenging Perspectives students to take the Good News to the most challenging places and lately calling leaders around the globe to pay proper attention to the people groups still waiting for the first witness to move in among them. 

Mike has been the sort of mobilizer the world could use more of. 

Laser focused
If you’ve spoken with Mike in the past few years, even fixing his car or giving him a colonoscopy, you’ve heard about the unengaged!

Humble, but gutsy 
Mike cries over the reality of the unengaged. His heart breaks when relationships go sideways. And in my experience, when he gets cynical, and this work often threatens to make us so, he’s apologetic in the next breath or two. 

But I’ve also seen him ask a foundation for hundreds of thousands of dollars and challenge mission agency CEOs to radically redirect their efforts! 

Organizationally wise
Concurrent with his retirement, Mike negotiated the transition of The Engage Network and those working with it. The ministry lives on in symbiotic collaboration with Joshua Project and even after the debits, credits and commitments were all tallied up, a few dollars remained in the coffers.

Persistently encouraging
I honestly believe Mike is the best encourager I have ever known. My soul has benefited from his words and presence. 

The hole Mike leaves is huge. No ten of us together could fill it. Rather, may God raise up 400 like him; intrepid women and men who will call the attention of Christ’s body to the “sheep of another flock,” even to the one that still must be found. 

Pray for Mike and Sally as they navigate this transition. Wish them well here. And let’s keep praying for the remaining unengaged Muslim groups. The number is falling, but at 350, still much too high. 

If you’re reading this when it drops (roughly 7-ish am Eastern time) and can spare 15 seconds to breathe a prayer to our Father, please do. This morning, in a small hearing room in an imposing judicial building in southern Colorado, I’ll petition the court to allow me to adopt the three little munchkins I’ve been step-dadding the past six years. 

You might wonder if three more Bennetts in the land is a good thing. Fair question. 

You might ask, “Don’t you already have five kids?” Indeed, five amazing, brilliant, well-adjusted and both physically and socially attractive adult children. 

But this is the step before us: To legally ordain what has become true these past years. And I am thrilled. (Mom, too!)

The concept of adoption flows through scripture and history. We’re told in Ephesians 1.5 that, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

“Great pleasure” indeed. I can relate to God!

I share this with you because good news should go forth. Also to remind us Gentiles that we’ve been grafted into the things of God. And further, to fan the flames of your desire to see our Muslim cousins adopted as full-fledged, daughters and sons of the king. 

Surely they were designed for this and will find fresh joy and fulfillment in such status. Just as will our three in a nondescript, but consecrated courtroom this morning. 

PS. If you’re within range of southern Colorado, join us to celebrate Saturday noon at 6154 Boulder Ave. Rye, CO. 

If there’s one thing Muslim Connect readers are big on it’s soccer (Football for the cultural semantics snobs. You know who you are!). Personally, I’m a soccer fanatic. Well, at least once every four years for five weeks! And this summer it’s time to go crazy again. It’s the World Cup! And get this: The tournament is in North America. 

Through some dark witchery, games were parceled out to various Canadian, American and Mexican cities. Denver (the closest possibility to me) was egregiously over looked. Kansas City has six matches and we have none! No offense to readers who love Arrowhead Stadium, but some money changed hands somewhere, probably over a big plate of saucy, KC smoked brisket.

Pouting aside, the World Cup is a big deal for those of us who care about Muslims. Fourteen of the 48 countries who’ve qualified are Muslim-majority nations. Some marketing experts say, “The 2026 tournament is expected to reach around 5.8 billion viewers worldwide, meaning most of the planet will watch at least part of the competition.” 

Of course relatively few will see matches in person! That means we’ve got multiple opportunities to host watch parties and invite Muslim neighbors, friends and co-workers. (More on this to come.)

We can also join up with an outreach effort at a match venue. If you’re in Kansas City (and still reading this!) check out Chapel Oaks Church’s water evangelism effort. Click here for a collecting spot for outreach efforts across all World Cup cities. 

Finally, here’s something I just recently learned, but should have expected: Muslims are gearing up to reach out as well. The AI in this video is goofy, but the spirit of the invitation shines through. May the young evangelists who respond to this call find Jesus, even in the midst of their outreach for Islam. 

I sometimes think the differences between Muslims and Christians are not too many, but are very significant. It’s like a chasm you think you could jump across, although wide enough to be a little scary. But if you don’t make it to the other side, the fall down the crevasse is way farther than you’d like. 

On this Good Friday, I suppose most Muslim Connect readers are thinking of the crucifixion. And that’s where we find the chasm-deep division between us and our Abrahamic cousins. The Quran portrays Jesus as a prophet and a good guy, but someone who probably didn’t die. 

Divine? Nope. 

Crucified? Close, but not quite.

Resurrection? Not needed. Didn’t die.

You might be surprised to learn the beginning of Muslims’ “Jesus-didn’t-die-on-the-cross” conviction rests unsteadily on just one verse of the Quran. Here’s the verse, “That they said (in boast), ‘We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah’; – but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.” Q4:157

As Gregory Lanier brilliantly unfolds, that verse is probably talking more about the Jews looking bad than about Jesus dying or not. At the very least, the exegesis is tricky, the idea is mentioned only once in the Quran and it only shows up lightly in the Shia (not Sunni) Hadith. 

The alternative idea that Jesus was swept up to Heaven supports both Shia and Sunni eschatology. Denying the crucifixion makes the Resurrection a moot point, which serves your case when you want to view Jesus as just a guy, a really good guy. 

But if he was crucified. . . and he did rise from that death. Well now, that changes everything, doesn’t it?

You’d be forgiven if you find yourself tracking bad news into your house these days. Seems like it’s everywhere. The country’s at war. Gas prices are through the roof. Airport security lines are out the door! 

Could you use a little good news? Me, too. 

Muslims coming to Jesus
Ted Essler, president of Missio Nexus, said in a recent article, “Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have made decisions to become Christians in the past twenty years. One can visit any one of a number of countries and find not just Muslim converts to Christ, but entire ministry teams made up of former Muslims, reaching their neighbors.”

As an example he told of meeting an African man who’d memorized the entire Quran and had qualified to teach in mosques. After encountering Jesus, a “completely different theological framework fill[s] his teaching, mind and heart.”

Holy Land-ish Tours
As much as I hate this war in the Middle East, here’s a possible, very slight, silver lining: If your church has had to cancel a Holy Land tour, perhaps you could encourage a visit that would involve more interaction with Muslims. Say a visit to Istanbul and retracing Paul’s journeys. If you’re feeling adventurous, head east to see a softer side of Islam in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. If low risk is now at the top of the list, four long days in London would allow you to introduce your friends to representatives from most of the Muslim world.

Dennis is Out!
After over a year in custody in Afghanistan, linguistic academic and friend of Muslims, Dennis Coyle is home. This video of him hugging his mom is worth wading through the ads! I imagine “home” is hard for Dennis to get a handle on. He spent most of the past 20 years in Afghanistan. Please join me in thanking God for his release and praying for his present transition. 

If you’ve got some good news to share, I’m big time happy to hear it. 

If you’re reading this Muslim Connect when it drops, Eid al-Fitr, the celebration at the end of Ramadan, begins tonight and hits full stride tomorrow. Feel free to screenshot the image above and use it on your socials. 

While Muslims all over celebrate Eid with new clothes, celebratory prayers, visits to family and gifts for kids, here are some regional highlights I find fascinating:

Syria
In Damascus, community ovens draw together celebrants and huge trays of desserts. At home, “Eid scrubbing” is an intense cleaning effort in which families ensure every corner of the house, including walls, is cleaned to make it “brighter than bright” for the holiday.

Nigeria
In northern cities like Kano and Katsina, local leaders dress themselves and their horses and camels in their “Sunday best” and parade through the streets, accompanied by horsemen, guards, and musicians.

Malaysia
Malay families “visit the graves of their loved ones who have passed away. At the graveside, visitors offer prayers for the deceased.” In some parts of Malaysia an Eid tradition continues that involves the firing of ceremonial cannons. As you might imagine, this is an Eid highlight for teenage boys!

Bali
In nearby Hindu-majority Bali, officials estimate 1.7 million of the 4.4 million people on the island will travel home for the holiday. Adding to the challenge, Eid al-Fitr coincides with a Hindu ceremony that consists of island-wide 24-hour period of silence! No one is supposed to leave their homes except for medical treatment. 

Iran
Muslims in Iran celebrate both the end of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr) and the beginning of spring (Nowruz) on the same day this year! Writer Niloufar Haidari poignantly shares, “. . . families are making their Nowruz and Eid preparations under military bombardment, not knowing whether they will have a home or even be alive to see in the new year. The bazaars, traditionally bustling this time of year, are quieter than usual. Shops are closed, work has stopped. Nevertheless, life persists. Jasmine flowers bloom, their petals covered in ash.”

May peace, hope and the abundant life of Jesus spring forth in the coming year. 

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.