5 Things Every Christian Must Know about Muslims from the Middle East
- Posted by Editorial Staff
By John Bitar
In the first half of the twentieth century, it would have been difficult to prompt a lengthy discussion about Islam, but in the years that follow, Muslims gained an increasingly visible profile due to the rise of fundamental Islam. Today, the global Muslim population is growing at a staggering rate with 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide, and there is no sign of this growth slowing down in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, few know that only 20 percent of all Muslims are Arabs living in the Middle East. Understanding some basic traits of Middle Eastern Muslims may help us in our efforts of reaching them with the Gospel message.
1. Religion and Identity. In the Middle East, religion is at the heart of everything a Muslim thinks or does. Since Muslims do not separate their religion from their culture, they usually retain collective identity rather than individual one. There is an old Arab proverb that states, “I against my cousin, my cousin and I against the world.” Muslims who convert and cross these boundaries to another faith may feel that they have not only betrayed their religion, but ultimately also their identities.
2. Muslims and Islamists. The media has succeeded in exaggerating the views of a small percentage of violent Middle Eastern extremists as the legitimate understanding of Islam as a world-wide community seeking global domination by force.To counter this view, we have to make a distinction between a Muslim and an Islamist. A Muslim is one who adheres to the religion of Islam in a contemplative way (attend mosque, pray, observe Islamic feasts) while an Islamist interprets Islam from a political point of view rather than principles based on the religious faith. An Islamist, therefore, is one who adheres to and works toward enforcing political Islam. By far, Islamists numbers are less than those of average Muslims in the Middle East or worldwide.
3. Honor and Shame. The Muslims of the Middle East are fascinated with being honorable people while they shun shame at all cost. This is because they operate within the cultural dynamics of honor/shame sensibilities. Some significant virtues and norms Muslims esteem and extremely valueare: Marriage, raising and loving children, producing respectable males and modest females, honoring parents, respecting the elderly, showing hospitality, being generous, caring for the stranger and poor, working for justice, resolving conflict through mediation. On the other hand, the greatest tragedy in a Muslim’s life has nothing to do with any horrendous evil that he may commit even to the point of killing, but is actually whenever shame is brought upon the family’s name through means of betrayal to what his clan stands for.
4. Similar Worldviews. The Hebrew and Arab Worldviews have many similarities between them. Glorying in the past, the strong bond of the family and community, and the high regard for honor are all characteristics of the Old and New Testament world, as well as the Middle East culture today. Christ lived in the confinements of such a worldview. He looked culturally more like today’s Arab or a Muslim of that region than like a Western Christian.
5. Formal and Folk Islam. What distinguishes the Muslims of the Middle East from the rest of the Muslim world is their adherence to the classical form of Islam. Muslims of that region often preoccupy themselves with legalistic code of rituals and rules, founded on revelation (Koran), and approach God with an attitude of total submission. Popular or folk Islam by contrast, takes a mere spiritualistic orientation to life. Spirits and demons, blessing and curses, healing and sorcery are its domain. Folk Muslims confronts the spirit world with an attitude of manipulating unseen powers in order to fulfill or meet their needs. Moreover, its concerns are primarily heart-felt, not cognitive, and focused on the here and now.
In closing, the Muslims of the Middle East and the growth and expansion of Islam worldwide, places a challenge before the Church and its mission endeavor. For this reason, all strongly held theological, methodological, and ecclesiological allegiances must be laid down for the sake of God’s kingdom. In relation to this notion, Paul, who said, “I became all things to all men so that by all means he may save some” (I Cor. 9:22), serves as a great example. Thus, there is no greater need than to utilize the best of our efforts to present the gospel in methods that Muslims can understand, respect, and accept.
John Bitar, born in Lebanon, serves as the Director of Good News for the Crescent World. The ministry is focused on equipping the Body of Christ to share Jesus with Muslims locally and abroad. He graduated recently from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Ph.D. in Missions with focus on Islamic Studies. He, and his wife Dia and son John Mark, reside in Dallas, Texas.