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Sometimes Christians do this with sharia, or Islamic law. We think of the worst possible behavior, eg. stoning a woman for adultery, forget it’s also in the Bible, pay no heed to the reality that most Muslims disagree with it, then think, “Whoa, Muslims really are weird!”

To be clear, I’m not advocating for life under sharia, for me or anyone else. Its implementation on a state level has been difficult to devastating for many. Not only have our Christian sisters and brothers suffered, but also untold millions of Muslims whose faith didn’t measure up in the eyes of the judges.

Sharia, what my witty friend Bruce calls, “Moses for Muslims,” is rooted in the teaching of Muhammad and is based on the Quran, the Hadith, reasoning and judicial consensus. It does include hudud crimes which are punishable by lashing, amputation and death. But “For the most part, Sharia is concerned with personal religious observances such as prayer and fasting.” (Please take a look at this page where a Muslim explains sharia. It helps to also hear from insiders. Of course, the description is sympathetic. They’re describing something they love.)

Here’s what I like about sharia: At least in an idealized sense, it’s asking WWMD? What would Muhammad do? “Based on what he said, how should we as Muslims act?”

This idea has been haunting me of late: To what degree do my thoughts and actions emerge from the Bible and to what degree from my culture? I deeply want to think and act in line with Jesus. I want to be able to examine a particular aspect of myself and say, “Yes, that has roots in scripture. Increase it.” Or, “Nope, that’s only American, not biblical. Time to change it.”

Will you join me in this? Maybe correct me? Reach out here.

Since you’ve been willing to read my brief squawks for awhile, maybe you’ll indulge me a few thoughts on how people of Jesus might respond to the situation in the U.S. right now. (If you’re not American, please pray for us. I’d also invite you to share with me how you see things from your vantage point.)

1. If your life is so arranged that everyone you know basically agrees with you on stuff, enjoy it. It’s nice to be agreed with. Just don’t be like me and continually chorus, “Those other people are silly dopes!”
2. If you find yourself exposed to, attending church with or going home to folks who see things that matter differently than you do, well, that can be a challenge, no? I love what my friend, Brian Newman, shares in this brief video about the Beatitudes and the radical way following Jesus’s teaching might shape our behavior in these days.
3. Often, but not often enough, I remind myself when people do things I think are crazy: I have no idea the anger and pain they’re dealing with. I haven’t walked their road. If you’re convinced the rug is being pulled out from under your world, that hurts. It’s scary. It can be infuriating.
4. Being a peacemaker means choosing to not win for a long time. Peacemakers will win, to be sure, but that victory may be way out on the horizon. Your peace making efforts won’t change everyone’s mind in a single Wednesday night Bible study, no matter how smugly that would make me feel!
5. Listening is undervalued. It’s tough to listen when “those other people are silly dopes,” but worth the effort. As David Ausberger says, “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.”

This should go without saying, except that I need to hear it: If you’re frustrated, stressed, angry, scared or just done with it, don’t take it out on the kids. They didn’t vote for either candidate! 

Nicholas, long before he was sainted and much longer before he morphed and devolved into Santa Claus, spent time in the Holy Land, walking (you’ve seen the brochures) where Jesus walked. This happened 250 years before and 800 miles north of where Muhammad shuttled between Mecca and Medina.

What if time and geography had been ever so slightly shifted and they had met? Two young, ambitious orphans. One disposing of a fortune, the other dreaming of getting his. Both with hearts for God. Would they have discussed theology? Debated the nature of Jesus? Would the argument have gotten heated under the Middle Eastern sun?

We’ve been told St. Nicholas didn’t shrink back from defending the biblical, orthodox understanding of the Trinity. At Nicea in 325 A.D., smarty pants from all over gathered to hammer things out through much discussion, debate, and presumably prayer! At a particularly tense point in the process, Nicholas punctuated his point with a potent, though possibly apocryphal, smack to his opponent’s face.

Arius, the accosted one, believed Jesus had been created by God and was subservient to him. Nick would have nothing of it and his views prevailed. You’ve likely read the results: We believe in, “one Lord Jesus Christ. . .begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.” Thereby affirming the monotheism of Christianity.

What if Nicholas and Muhammad had met? What if Santa, sans slap, had convinced the young reformer that Jesus was more than a prophet, and God was so much bigger and better than he’d imagined? What might the world look like today?

But they didn’t meet and we’re left to wait for the full resolution of God’s purposes for Muslims. We wait for, and somehow even join in, the fulfilling of Simeon’s prophecy that this wee child would be, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.”

Wait with hope, my friend. Join with great vigor and all the wisdom, courage and energy with which God graces you. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

I’d like to wave a flag for a couple of Muslims who did something extraordinary, something that will directly and positively affect our lives, and do so in the next weeks and months.

Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci have been married since 2002. They are both children of Turkish immigrants to Germany. Together they built and sold a billion dollar medical research company. Their latest accomplishment is to be the first to develop an FDA-approved vaccine for COVID 19.

They’re the brains behind the Pfizer vaccine now being rolled out across the US and elsewhere.

When the intrepid health care worker swabs your arm in the coming days, as she raises then plunges the needle, will you join me in thanking our Father for this Muslim couple and their contribution to the purposes of God?

To be honest, I could not document with certainty that Sahin and Tuereci are Muslim. Several articles said so, sans sources. However, since over 95% of Turks practice some form of Islam, it’s a pretty safe bet.

Because I’m feeling an extra measure of Christmas feistiness right now, let me pose this question: Will some people avoid the vaccine because it was developed by Muslims? I don’t know, but I’m tempted to toss that little factoid into conversation just to see what happens! Of course, you’re more spiritual than me and would never do that! 

Even the most cursory list of human rights struggles around the globe crushes like a load of sand. I’d like to briefly highlight just five of the more significant crisis situations various Muslims face. (You could name more.)

Uyghurs: China continues its multi-year effort to subdue and eventually eliminate this Muslim minority group. Pray that a Biden administration will continue the pressure for change initiated by the Trump White House.

Yemen: A half decade long civil war has resulted in nearly 4 million people driven from their homes and 24 million desperately in need of aid.

Rohingya: Three quarters of a million Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar since the summer of 2017. Pray that a more generous refugee policy in the U.S. will allow many to find new life here.

Kashmir: Following a change to the Indian Constitution initiated by Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Modi in the summer of 2019, the entire state of Kashmir was locked down. Internet and cell phone service was cut and thousands were arrested.

African victims of Boko Haram and Al Shabaab: The Islamic forces of Boko Haram in the west and Al Sabaab in the east have continued to reek devastation on both Muslims and Christians.

Respond to these situations if and as God leads you. I ask only that you breathe a quick prayer for justice to flow like a river over those who suffer so that this time next year we rejoice at the deliverance he’s brought for many.

If you’re feeling feisty, share this brief blurb on Facebook. You could also join me in making this image, the logo for Human Rights Day, your profile pic for the day: 

Nigeria
Armed bandits, likely a Boko Haram derivative, massacred 76 farmers in the rural northeast. Reports haven’t indicated if the victims are Muslims or Christian, but did say “the massacre set a new benchmark of brutality.”

Indonesia
Four Christians were killed, including one who was beheaded, probably by an Islamic State group in rural Sulawesi. The terrorists also burned homes and a church.

As someone who advocates for Christians to love and reach out to Muslims, I mourn these events, but also worry about the ammo they provide for those who oppose Muslims.  And I sense resentment, even hatred, growing in my heart toward the perpetrators and those who encourage them. If you share these feelings, what can we do?

At a minimum, I think we should ask, for ourselves and others, these three questions:

What are the nuances?
It’s tough for me to imagine a scenario in which it’s ok to cut off someone’s head. I believe it’s always (or nearly so) wrong to kill another person. That said, there’s always (or nearly so) nuance, back story and motivation I don’t totally understand. The real reasons, though not justified, are more sophisticated than, “Muslims are backward, evil and violent.”

Are Muslims inherently like this?
If someone argues convincingly that the Quran advocates such activity and therefore non-violent Muslims are bad Muslims, I might concede the point. But then I’ll go on to say, “How about we start with inviting those billion and a half ‘bad Muslims’ to follow Jesus?”

If these people are enemies of my sisters and brothers, how do I love them?
For starters, we pray for them. As we intercede for victims and families of terrorist attacks, let’s pray for Muslims who’ve bought the lies and those headed down that path. Then, as God directs and gives grace, we go to Muslims: Down the block, in a nearby city, via Facebook or by moving to the other side of the planet.

I’m thankful, nonetheless, as Americans celebrate Thanksgiving today. I’m grateful to God for food and Muslims and particularly for when the two have overlapped in my life.

• . . .for the Palestinian couple in Jordan who served my friends and me watermelon before the sun had risen.
• . . .for Mrs. Memon who warmed my heart, but burned my tongue with her spicy treats.
• . . .for the Turkish family in Konya who served fried eggs and warm baklava to AnnMarie and me.
• . . .for the Kurdish family who called our little band up from the street in Istanbul as we wandered during an airline layover to feed our bodies and souls.
• . . .for the Muslim missionaries-in-training in Malaysia who served a mountain of chicken and rice to my pastor, my friend, my dad and me.
• . . .for our dear neighbor lady in Bradford who welcomed us to the neighborhood with some of the kindest and tastiest curry of my life.
• . . .for the guys at the mosque in Frankfort who insisted I eat first after Ramadan even though I’d eaten and drank liberally all day.
• . . .for every Bengali entrepreneur who’s ever served my teams and me kebabs. You saved our tummies and our budgets.
• . . .for my dear Gambian friends in Catania who introduced me to domoda, the peanut, tomato and potato stew that sounds impossibly odd, but is certain to be a delicious staple of Heavenly cuisine.

Shukron, teshekur, grazie mille, thank you.

Congratulations to Leah from Oklahoma, the random winner of the $100 Amazon gift card celebrating the 200th edition of Muslim Connect. Leah’s been reading since nearly the beginning and she and her husband have eaten domoda, walked miles and prayed for God’s kingdom with me in Sicily. Thank you to the dozens who shared and wrote in response to the last issue. I appreciate you!

I’m trying to add this one to the canon: “Questions trump answers.” It’s a little dicey from a truth angle, plus the word “trump” can pull the mind away from the main point. We could go with “questions are better than answers,” but that immediately makes me sing “reindeers are better than people” in my head.

Some of this might be tied to personality and individual bent (Enneagram 9here!), but I’d prefer asking a Muslim four really good questions to sharing with him the four spiritual laws.

If you’re inclined that way as well, here’s a question you may want to try:

“Can you tell me about the God you believe in?” 

I read that question recently on a Facebook forum for people who connect with Muslims online. It resonates with me at a deep, deep level.

How would you respond if a non-belligerent atheist at work asked you that question? Or if your adult child did?

How do you suppose a Muslim friend might respond? I intend to find out! Of course, answers will vary considerably based on belief, depth of relationship and the winsome work of the Holy Spirit!

One thing is likely, the question will be reciprocated and you’ll have an opportunity to share about a God who the Bible reveals to be good beyond imagination, loving beyond reason, transcendent, yet closer than our breath.

This email marks the 200th edition of Muslim Connect. To celebrate my delirious happiness at reaching this unlikely milestone, I’m giving a $100 Amazon gift card to one person who reads this email. I’ll wait four days, then choose from the list of people Mailchimp says opened the email. You can double your chances in two ways: 1. Tell me you’ve read since the very first issue back in January of 2017. 2. Share this with a friend or two and let me know you have. 

If you’ve read Muslim Connect for a bit, you may be aware I’m not the most politically sophisticated egg in the tray! (I’m looking at you, Blake!)

That said, I’d like to offer this one glimmer of hope to look forward to with a Biden presidency:

President Biden “will set the annual global refugee admissions cap to 125,000, and seek to raise it over time commensurate with our responsibility, our values, and the unprecedented global need.”

This is not sweeping endorsement of Biden, nor a wholesale dismissal of Trump. It is a glimmer of hope for a hundred thousand people.

I think of the Syrian widow, sitting with her two little kids in a soon to be freezing tent on the fringes of a refugee camp in eastern Turkey. Maybe God is answering her prayers.

Increasing asylum intake often brings up these two questions. If you’re interested, you can dive in at the links.

1. Are refugees sufficiently vetted before the US gives them asylum? Check here for the official process detailed by the Department of Homeland Security. If you’re more visually oriented, this infographic tells a similar story.2. Won’t refugees place further stress on an already over-taxed public assistance system? Check the bullet points here for a quick overview of a White House requested study of refugee impact. Here’s the money quote, “The U.S. refugee and asylee population paid $63 billion more in taxes than they received in benefits to all levels of government from 2005 to 2014.”

It’s a glimmer of hope. For some, hope of safety and life. For us, hope for new friends, both for us and Jesus.