Violence, conflict in recent years prompts many Muslims to question faith, turn to Christ

Violence, conflict in recent years prompts many Muslims to question faith, turn to Christ

The image lingers vividly in David Garrison’s mind just like it does for much of the Christian world — 21 orange-clad “people of the cross” kneeling on a Libyan beach just moments before Islamic State (ISIS) fighters beheaded them.

Images like that make Garrison angry. Sad. Full of deep grief.

But they also stir something else in his heart — earnest, hopeful prayers that beauty will rise from the ashes just like he’s seen happen again and again in the past in the Muslim world.

“When I hear these stories of violence, my heart goes out and I pray that God will take what Satan intended for evil and turn it for good,” said Garrison, global missions strategist for the International Mission Board. “We are in the midst of the greatest movement of Muslims turning to Christ in history.”

‘Direct correlation’

And there is a “direct correlation” between times of horrific bloodshed and the spread of the gospel among Muslims, he said. Muslim on Muslim atrocities such as those that ISIS fighters are committing in Iraq and Syria “reveal the worst in that religion and often wake Muslims up to say ‘this is not my religion; this cannot be God’s perfect will.’”

In this crisis of faith, many are finding hope in Christ, Garrison said.

It happened when a violent coup in Indonesia paved the way for at least 2 million Muslims to be baptized as new believers in Jesus between 1967 and 1971, he said.

It happened again in the 1990s when 10,000 Muslim Berbers in Algeria turned to Christ after watching fellow Muslims slaughter each other in a Civil War that claimed 100,000 civilian lives.

The trend spread across the Muslim world, and it’s still spreading today, Garrison said. In Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and all across the globe, Muslims are coming to faith in Jesus in the midst of violence and persecution.

“We went 1,000 years without a recorded movement among Muslims to Christ (until 1870), and now in just the first 14 years of this century we’ve seen 69 movements,” he said. “The violence in Islam creates tremendous internal turmoil for Muslims. I could tell story after story of how this has happened. We’re seeing things today that we’ve never seen before. There’s never been a time like this.”

Garrison, author of “A Wind in the House of Islam,” has traveled a quarter-million miles in recent years gathering the stories of Muslims who have come to faith in Jesus Christ and become a part of big movements of the gospel.

Wide range of believers

Worldwide, these Christ followers range from Indonesian to west African to Iranian, and they range from orthodox church members to underground secret believers who came to faith through satellite TV or radio.

“What’s different today is that the Word of God is being translated into their heart languages and they are reading it and discovering that they have an alternative, that there is another way,” he said.

The interconnectedness of the world has brought unprecedented gospel access to people in hard to reach areas, Garrison said. “They are opening their computers, going to websites, watching the ‘JESUS film’ and downloading Scripture portions.”

And new believers in Christ are growing in ways ranging from studying the Bible online themselves to gathering in secret church groups to attending online seminary.

Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) in Beirut, Lebanon, is one group reaching out to those potential movement leaders in closed countries via the Internet.

A need exists for Christian leaders in the midst of vast uncertainty in the Muslim world, said Elias Ghazal, ABTS online coordinator. 

“A lot of people are coming to faith. Still, there is a lot more that the Church can and should do,” Ghazal said. “The number of people who are searching is growing, but the Church has to be intentional about taking those opportunities to share.”

The classes train Arab believers in how to spread small groups in a place where opening a church and inviting people to come is likely not an option.

“It’s a tool that can empower people to replicate Bible teaching in different contexts,” Ghazal said. “And that’s what we want to do — we want to train up workers for the Kingdom.”

Alex Awad, dean of students at Bethlehem Bible College, a Christian school located in the conflict-riddled Palestinian West Bank, said he and other Arab Christians continue to pray fervently that the violent crisis will spread the Kingdom throughout the Muslim world.

“We continue to think that maybe the blood of the martyrs throughout the Middle East and northern Africa will generate a new spirit,” he said.

Jesus Himself said that unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it will not bring fruit, Awad noted.

“We continue to hope for a sweep of the Holy Spirit, a revival within the Church,” he said. “We as God’s people can never give up on faith and hope. Even though the Christians are a weak minority here, we can be a blessing to the majority people who are around us.”

And that often starts with looking the enemy in the face and offering love and forgiveness, according to the family members of those Christians beheaded by ISIS in early February. 

“The Bible tells us to love our enemies and to bless those who curse us,” said Beshir Kamel, whose brothers Samuel and Bishoy were among those beheaded.

Praying for ISIS

“Today I was having a chat with my mother … I asked her what will you do if you see those ISIS members passing on the street and I told you, ‘that’s the man who slayed your son,’” Kamel told SAT-7, an Arabic TV station. “She said, ‘I will ask for God to open His eyes and ask Him into our house.’”

On the air, Kamel told the world that his family wanted no retaliation, just that the killers would find Christ. He prayed for ISIS — “Dear God, please open their eyes to be saved.”

For resources on how to pray for the Middle East and northern Africa, visit namepeoples.imb.org. To read more of Garrison’s studies on the movement of the gospel among Muslims, check out his book, “A Wind in the House of Islam,” available at windinthehouse.org.

(TAB)