A blog post about how Christians could respond to Islamophobia and engage with Muslims in a positive way.
Holy Injil, Luke - Christmas gift idea
Lovefast -1: Introducing Lovefast
Image Unsplash
Day -1 of 30
By Phil Simpson from Mahabba’s Network Circle team
Introducing Lovefast, based on the 30 Days of Prayer booklet, but with a UK twist!
If you’ve not signed up to receive the daily prompts to your inbox - see here →
Daily verse
“So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”
Thought for the day
Introducing Lovefast
Lovefast 2020 starts on 24 April 2020, again alongside the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World initiative.
Every year, following the lunar calendar, Muslims around the world fast and pray, earnestly seeking revelation from God and to become closer to him - this is the holy month of Ramadan.
Since 2014, Mahabba has run a prayer initiative to help Christians engage with Ramadan positively in prayer and action.
The aim of Lovefast is to couple prayer with action; that Jesus be unveiled to Muslims through practical acts of kindness by Christians in their communities.
The campaign is designed to complement and run alongside the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World booklet. It was inspired by Stewardship’s 40Acts challenge during Lent.
Join us again for prayer, action and encouragement in 2020 from 24 April to 23 May.
Prayer for the day
Make a list of your Muslim contacts(Taxi-driver, doctor, local mum etc) and friends to pray for over the next 30 days Join in praying for them during LoveFast and share your story like this previous participant:
Lovefast has helped me to notice more Muslims in the crowd each day and I have felt prompted to pray for them during Ramadan. It’s great to be part of a community of people who are reaching out with God’s love and praying together. The daily email helped me not to forget! I have learned a lot more about Islam, and think more people should know about Lovefast!
Daily action
If you’ve not done so already, order your booklet from 30 Days of Prayer and sign up to Mahabba’s Lovefast, so we can pray and act together as a Network for our Muslim friends.
Each day of Ramadan you will receive a short ‘thought for the day’ directly in your inbox. This will also contain ways to pray for Muslims and engage practically.
Once you’re done, share your interactions on social media!
Your turn
Let us know how it went! Leave a comment below, or tag us on social media with the #lovefast hashtag on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!
Resources
Do you want to involve your church in blessing Muslim people through prayer and friendship?
There are new 30 Days of Prayer church resources available for you:
Pray Together as a Congregation
Small Group Session
Night of Power Prayer Meeting
Prayer Walk Guide
What’s your next step after 30 Days? There are loads of resources to help you on your journey.
Partners of 30 Days of Prayer
Eid 3: Love
Day 33 of 30
By Chas from Mahabba’s Network Team
Daily verse
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”
Thought for the day
Love
Do you remember how you first began to love Muslims? There are many ways we may have begun. How can this love be sustained in the coming year? Firstly, love comes not from ourselves rather ‘love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God’. (1 John 4:7-12) So we need to remain very close to the source of love - ‘Abide in my love.’ (John 15:9) Secondly, we need to live from His love in all our relationships -‘They will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ (John 13:35) Then we can carry this love out into the world by sharing our faith verbally or by giving a Gospel to read; through our practical action and by inviting them into loving relationships; and through prayer leading to signs and wonders.
Let our love be genuine.
Prayer for the day
What has God been saying to you during Lovefast? Note two action points (in your prayer journal) for your future involvement with Muslims and resolve to keep on praying for them.
Daily action
Watch this video of UK Christian leaders addressing our Muslim friends. Consider joining the Mahabba Network as a way of keeping connected with your Muslim neighbours… Maybe you can become a Friend of Mahabba and support the ministry.
Eid 2: Pray
Day 32 of 30
By Phil S from Mahabba’s Network Team
Daily verse
“Pray without ceasing.”
Thought for the day
Pray
We have now been praying for 30 days during the Ramadan fast.
This has focused on both the global through the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World guide (promoted in UK by Interserve) and also our own Mahabba Lovefast prayer and action campaign, which has had more of a local focus.
Muslims have ben fervently praying during this period.
They generally follow a pattern of five daily prayers (one of the five pillars of Islam), similar way to the Christian monastic tradition.
The Muslim call to prayer is called the adhan.
I have experienced it as incredibly beautiful when sung acapella in the mountains of Pakistan but also as a cacophony when played through loudspeakers in a mega-city.
But this Lovefast has also been a call to prayer. And we want to continue. To ‘pray without ceasing’.
Join in the Jumaa Prayer campaign every Friday at 12noon to continue praying for your Muslim friends and neighbours. We will be posting more look out for the hashtag #JumaaPrayer.
Prayer for the day
Join in the Jumaa prayer campaign every Friday at 12pm to continue praying for your Muslim friends and neighbours.
Daily action
Find out a good time to visit a Muslim friend and take them a gift, maybe some dates, or something halal. And don't forget to continue to pray. It makes all the difference. One way to continue is to join in with our Mahabba Jumaa prayer initiative.
Your turn
Let us know how it went! Leave a comment below, or tag us on social media with the #lovefast hashtag on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!
Resources
Do you want to involve your church in blessing Muslim people through prayer and friendship?
There are new 30 Days of Prayer church resources available for you:
Pray Together as a Congregation
Small Group Session
Night of Power Prayer Meeting
Prayer Walk Guide
What’s your next step after 30 Days? There are loads of resources to help you on your journey.
Partners of 30 Days of Prayer
Eid 1: Eat
Day 31 of 30
By Phil S from Mahabba’s Network Team
Daily verse
“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
Thought for the day
Eat
Muslims end Ramadan with the feast of Eid-al-Fitr, which is a time for Muslims at the end of the 30 days of fasting to dress up and celebrate with family. (Like Easter at the end of a long Lent or Christmas after the anticipation of advent.)
Maybe some of you were able to take part in an Iftar party at the time of breaking the fast. (We love to hear any stories from you.)
Why not take the opportunity to invite your Muslim friends (along with others) for a meal in your home, or in your community.
Eating together always builds community.
Lovefast, which has been running during the 30 days of Ramadan is now over.
The daily blogs will stop at the end of Eid. Now it’s party time and the opportunity for us to start wishing Happy Eid to all our Muslim friends – learn to say the appropriate Arabic greetings: 'Eid Mubarak and Khair Mubarak'.
Prayer/ACTION for the day
Send a text message to any Muslim friends you have wishing them ‘Eid Mubarak’ (blessed festival) and telling them you're praying for them, that God would bless them.
Daily action
Get hold of a copy of "Simply Eat: Everyday stories of friendship, food and faith” and think about inviting some friends to your home for a shared meal (you can try out one of the recipes in the book).
Your turn
Let us know how it went! Leave a comment below, or tag us on social media with the #lovefast hashtag on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!
Resources
Do you want to involve your church in blessing Muslim people through prayer and friendship?
There are new 30 Days of Prayer church resources available for you:
Pray Together as a Congregation
Small Group Session
Night of Power Prayer Meeting
Prayer Walk Guide
What’s your next step after 30 Days? There are loads of resources to help you on your journey.
Partners of 30 Days of Prayer
Lovefast 1: Getting together
Day 1 of 30
By Georgina from Mahabba's Network Team
Inspired by today's entry in 30 Days of Prayer, but with a UK twist!
If you’ve not signed up to receive the daily prompts to your inbox - see here →
Daily verse
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if anyone hears my voice, I will come in to him and eat with him and He with me.”
Thought for the day
Doing things so we can be together
For the past 4 years Christian and Muslim women have been getting together in our town to read their scriptures, to enjoy food and do crafts together.
We've built up relationships that carried on beyond these activities in each other's homes. While the meetings were informal and enjoyable, they do take planning and initiative. Someone needs to take responsibility for booking a venue and printing texts and sourcing crafts.
As (western) Christian women we don't have a particular code of hospitality like the Fulani 'koddirgal.' We sometimes felt burdened by strategic planning for these meetings. However, this changed at one of our recent community events when one of the Muslim women gave us a new perspective.
We were drinking tea and reflecting on the way people seemed to connect in a natural way throughout the day. Her explanation was that 'We want to be together, so we do things.'
Her comment turned our expectations upside down: our aim is no longer the clever planning or the smooth running of events but the being together. My Muslim friend reminded me that Jesus wants to be with us, so he knocks on the door of our hearts to enter in (Rev. 3:20).
Prayer for the day
Lord Jesus, give me a heart of flesh that truly wants to be with people, so that our encounters may lead to them hearing you knocking at the door of their heart.
Daily action
Take time to really listen to someone over a cup of tea (or coffee). Simply find an excuse to 'be together'
Your turn
Let us know how it went! Leave a comment below, or tag us on social media with the #lovefast hashtag on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!
Partners of 30 Days of Prayer
Lovefast 0: Fasting and prayer
Day 0 of 30
By Phil S from Mahabba's Network Team
Inspired by today's entry in 30 Days of Prayer, but with a UK twist!
If you’ve not signed up to receive the daily prompts to your inbox - see here →
Daily verse
“Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning….”
Thought for the day
Fasting and prayer
The overall theme for this years 30 days of prayer is 'hospitality'.
30 Days of Prayer represents an opportunity to pray for unreached people around the world.
And there seems to be a direct link between this global prayer movement and the rise in interest of followers of Jesus within the house of Islam.
Lovefast is about rooting this to our experience in UK. We will be looking at the same themes, but applied to Muslims in Britain.
The 30 days of Ramadan are a great opportunity to meet Muslims friends as they are desperately seeking Allah, as they fast and pray to draw nearer to God.
You can sympathise as they take ‘nil by mouth’ - no food or drink from sunrise to sunset, and then the joy of breaking their fast with dates and an Iftar meal.
You may be invited to an Iftar meal yourself at a local mosque, or an event run as part of the #BigIftar But use this opportunity to reach out to your muslim friends
Prayer for the day
Pray with Paul from Romans 10:1:
Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved
Why not write down the names of five Muslim friends you know and pray for them throughout Ramadan?
Daily action
Ensure you’ve got a 30 Days of Prayer booklet during Ramadan and sign up to Mahabba’s #lovefast so we can pray and act together as a Network for our Muslim friends
Your turn
Let us know how it went! Leave a comment below, or tag us on social media with the #lovefast hashtag on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!
Partners of 30 Days of Prayer
Lovefast -1: Hospitality
Day -1 of 30
By Phil S from Mahabba's Network Team
Inspired by today's entry in 30 Days of Prayer, but with a UK twist!
If you’ve not signed up to receive the daily prompts to your inbox - see here →
Daily verse
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
Thought for the day
Hospitality in the Muslim World
Hospitality is an important, almost a central, part of Islamic culture. Offering kindness and generosity to guests is considered a duty which one owes to God. Therefore, many Muslims believe that to honour and welcome a guest is to honour and welcome God.
Hospitality is expressed in different ways in different cultures, but throughout the Islamic world it is characterised by generosity and self-sacrifice. No matter how little one might have, it is a point of honour to share it with guests.
In the prayer 30 day guide contributors to tell us about what hospitality looks like in the Muslim people groups they live among. And in Love Fast we reflect on these themes and apply them to our UK context
Food, of course, plays a significant part and you are warned that some of these articles may make you feel very hungry! Even during the month of Ramadan when fasting is the focus, the feasting that happens after sunset each day is sumptuous and shared freely.
Hospitality brings people together. It invites us to talk with one another and grow in spiritual understanding both as an individual and as a group. We hope you will enjoy these descriptions of hospitality in different Muslim cultures and be inspired to pray in a way that reflects that spirit of generous welcome.
Prayer for the day
Lord we pray that as we identify with our Muslim brothers and sisters during this month of Ramadan. You would help us to pray for them to discover more of You. And help us to find ways to act and get involved with their lives so that together we can discover more of Your Loving Heart.
Daily action
Make sure you have a copy of the 30 Days of Prayer booklet during Ramadan. Check on the website, and sign up with Mahabba for the daily feed of #lovefast prayer and action campaign.
Your turn
Let us know how it went! Leave a comment below, or tag us on social media with the #lovefast hashtag on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter!
Partners of 30 Days of Prayer
Borrow a pastor
Borrow a pastor
This is a blog from a friend of Mahabba Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!
Can we borrow another pastor?
“What will we do now that the pastor has moved on?”
…they asked.
This was not a worried congregation but rather some church members who had boarded the roller coaster of befriending Iranian asylum seekers.
The pastor had pitched in by leading a private Bible study for them, but he was moving away.
“Can we borrow another pastor?”
…was one question that was asked.
We found another solution.
With a little coaching, the ladies started using Come Follow Me.
The participants work through the lesson on their own in English, Farsi or Arabic and then once a week they all come together to discuss, share and pray for each other.
The material does not take them off into theological puzzles or doctrinal disputes but focusses on living as followers of Christ.
If we go back to the Great Commission we find that Jesus himself put the emphasis on teaching people to obey all that he had commanded – most of which was the stuff of living.
So they started.
A retired office worker and a lady who irons clothes for a living were engaged in cross cultural discipleship.
We are all familiar with the cry that the labourers are few (Matthew 9:36-38).
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.””
Oh, how we would love to see an army of multi-lingual, highly trained, specialist workers of proven experience turning up on our doorsteps asking what we have for them to do.
The people Jesus called that day to pray for labourers became the labourers.
The truth is that for the most part we do not need more bodies, but we need the bodies we already have to be equipped and to discover that they can do the work.
Come Follow Me is a wonderful piece of kit which enables non-experts to engage with confidence in helping new believers grow in Christ.
The next training day is in Wakefield, Yorkshire, 27 October. Maybe request one near you?
Upcoming events
Come Follow Me training day
Saturday 27 October
Wakefield
For full details, contact Flora
Regional gathering
Monday 1 December
For full details, contact Gillie
Joining the dots
Joining the dots
This is a blog from a friend of Mahabba Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!
Reflecting on the dots
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
In the 1880s French artist Georges Seurat introduced an art form known as pointillism. As the name suggests, Seurat used small dots, or points, of colour to create an artistic image.
Up close, his work looks like groupings of individual dots. Yet as the observer steps back, the human eye blends the dots into brightly coloured portraits or landscapes.
We can think of September as a month when we start filling the picture of our year with dots. Each day fills with greys, reds, ambers and greens, that may fill us with trepidation or excitement, and leave us feeling anywhere between exhausted or invigorated at the end of the day.
It’s only when we step back and reflect that we start to see patterns and shapes.
The picture that emerges may square up to the one we had in mind at the start. But more often, it has unexpected shades of light and dark that present us with a different image to the one we planned.
In the same way, the two on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13) were reflecting on the ‘dots’ of events that had happened over the Passover weekend in Jerusalem.
They saw only dark and sombre tones of violence and death. The picture of Jesus, as they left Jerusalem, did not square up to the picture they had planned for Jesus, the prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and the people (v. 19).
Then Jesus joins up the dots for them, bringing the light and shade of Moses and the prophets, and all the things the scriptures had been saying about the Messiah (v. 27).
As Jesus breaks the bread at home in Emmaus, they are given a moment to stand back and see the full, beautiful picture.
In the same way, our ministries may push us right up against the canvas with busy schedules, scarce resources and a lack of workers for the harvest.
We might have only our own dot and a couple surrounding in sight (and their colours might even be on the opposite side of the colour spectrum to ours). But are we perhaps forming a beautiful image together?
On 13 October, Birmingham wants to have such a day of standing back and joining the dots of those working to engage with Muslims in our city.
A place of peas
A place of peas
This is a real-life story of recent events from friends of Mahabba Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!
Vandalism to Vegetables
About 5 years ago one of our regulars got involved in a sort of city farm project.
It is in an area of stark terraces almost entirely occupied by Bangladeshis.
The project was secular but with several white Christians heavily involved.
When we met to pray, we heard tales of plastic tunnels being vandalised and project personnel being threatened.
All we could do was pray.
The other evening, I went to the site for a prayer meeting.
The gate was open. There were no high fences, no barbed wire, no security measures of any kind.
Some Asian teenagers sitting on the benches greeted us politely.
The project is highly valued by the community. Members of many families use the project. They grow vegetables. Children come to learn about nature.
It is a place of peace and harmony. God has answered prayer.
Your turn
Have you been touched by this story? If so, you can play your part.
Share the amazing news of God moving among Muslim with your friends via e-mail or social media, using the links below
Support Mahabba in its work to equip everyday Christians to build relationships and share Jesus with Muslims
Lost, asleep & on the wrong path
God is moving among Muslims
This is a real-life story of recent events from friends of Mahabba Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!
Lost, asleep & on the wrong path
Hello everyone, I was born in Iran. I thank God that he hasn’t left me lost and asleep on the wrong path. From childhood I was brought up as a strict Shia Muslim however I always felt weak. I used to pray and worship but I wasn’t able to reach God in the way I wanted to.
I was always looking for a God of love and friendship and so finally I decided to look for God in another way. For this reason I started looking into Sufi Islam. I felt I was lost and I was looking to find the right way. Many times I went to Sufi meetings however I was still not satisfied.
When I had a problem with my job, I decided to go into a church and light a candle. After a few days, the problem was solved. A short time later, when a different problem arose, I had to leave my country.
When I arrived in England, I got to know some new Iranian Christian friends and I got a lot of information from them. Little by little, I began to feel that following Jesus was a better way and understand that Christianity is a complete way to reach God, until God accepted me and I came to faith in Jesus.
I understood that all my life I had been following the wrong way and that there was no other way than following Jesus to reach the God of love because all the other ways put distance between me and God. However, following Jesus enabled me to become a friend of God. Now I am a son of God and he has become my Father – I’m not a slave of God.
The teachings of Jesus have taught me about life and how to live in love. He taught me how to relate to people around me, who I used to think were my enemies, and be at peace with them; how to live in freedom and help others to live freely too; how to find when Satan was working against me; how to put to death my selfish pride; that God is a God of love we can relate to, not a God of fear.
He answered my childlike questions and gave me a new outlook. Through my words, those who oppose the Gospel can understand and get to know God, whether they’ve had information before or not. The Lord’s return is near and he has given us a great responsibility to go and make disciples of all the nations, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Lord Jesus, I confess that I’m a sinner. I know I cannot attain salvation and become righteous through my own power or good works. I believe you were killed on the cross for my sins, were buried in the grave and after three days you rose again from the dead.
I believe that you’re alive and have the authority to forgive my sins and count me righteous before you. I surrender my whole heart and life to you. Thank you for hearing my prayer, Amen.
Your turn
Have you been touched by this story? If so, you can play your part.
- Share the amazing news of God moving among Muslim with your friends via e-mail or social media, using the links below
- Support Mahabba in its work to equip everyday Christians to build relationships and share Jesus with Muslims
Hope & healing
God is moving among Muslims
This is a real-life story of recent events from one of the local Mahabba groups in the Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!
Our contact in a church in London, tells us what happened...
Hope & healing
About 75 people came to our church event for people of other faith backgrounds. It was lovely to see about fifteen Muslim women there in their hijabs. Other less religious Muslims were also there and many Hindus. All invited by Christian friends.
The whole evening was very enjoyable and peaceful. People stayed for a long time even though we were very challenging in plainly sharing the Gospel with them, but in a gracious way.
We began with refreshments, and a fun quiz. This was followed by a free halal and vegetarian meal. After this we gave the quiz results and prizes.
We then gave a fifty minute presentation on the theme of hope. People listened attentively to someone from a Muslim background sharing his testimony of coming to faith, boldly and lovingly.
There was a short talk on the reasons for our Christian hope. This was followed by an invitation for prayer for healing. Two healing testimonies were shared, one of a healing from a cyst. Later a lady came for prayer with the same condition.
About 25 to 30 people came forward for prayer for healing. There was a queue!
One person said their post cancer operation pain had left. Another who had pain in their foot said it was gone.
All the guests stayed well past the finish time as we ended the evening with coffee and cake.
Lots of people came at the end and said how much they had enjoyed the programme. We are now planning our next event!
You can see all upcoming events in the Mahabba Network here →
Your turn
Have you been touched by this story? If so, you can play your part.
- Share the amazing news of God moving among Muslim with your friends via e-mail or social media, using the links below
- Support Mahabba in its work to equip everyday Christians to build relationships and share Jesus with Muslims
Surprising connections
God is moving among Muslims
This is a real-life story of recent events from one of the local Mahabba groups in the Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!
John, the coordinator, tells us what happened...
Surprising connections
The Mahabba Basingstoke group ran a very successful Easter Party for Muslims in the town recently.
It was at the request of a local Muslim association.
Others invited did not accept or were unable to come, but we did generate some interest and enabled other Christians to do something more to engage with Muslim colleagues or neighbours.
We explained Easter using language that would resonate and help generate discussion.
As we led a tour around a local church as part of the event, there were lots of questions about the furniture, stained glass windows (popular) and especially about the display of the Lord’s Prayer, Ten Commandments and Creed.
We discovered unrecognised links – children knew each other from school and an older Muslim mum had come to the church carer & toddler group, so was able to recommend it to others.
Some discovered shared sporting interests, so we were able to develop friendships and opportunities to meet more often.
We continue with Scriptural Reasoning, and have found the newly-published Grove booklet very helpful and thought provoking.
We hope to discuss this method of building friendships and sharing faith more at the Regional Gathering in Gloucester!
Your turn
Have you been touched by this story? If so, you can play your part.
- Share the amazing news of God moving among Muslim with your friends via e-mail or social media, using the links below
- Support Mahabba in its work to equip everyday Christians to build relationships and share Jesus with Muslims
Real value
God is moving among Muslims
This is a real-life story of recent events from one of the local Mahabba groups in the Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!
Real value
One of my friend’s moved recently so I went to visit him. He is originally from a Middle Eastern country. He was brought up as a Muslim.
After a while on Google Maps and a few calls on my mobile I found my friend. We walked to the new place. I took off my shoes as not to spoil the carpet.
My friend showed me around his new accommodation. The flat was pristine and still smelled of fresh paint.
A multitude of ornaments on the window sill sparkled in the morning sunshine. Everything was in its right place - including a meticulously arranged shoe cupboard.
I was offered a cup of tea, then I was shown the pictures of the flat before he moved in. It was unrecognisable from the place I was sitting in.
The carpets were dirty and walls were full of holes. My friend explained that he had scraped off all the old wallpaper, filled the holes in the walls, repainted and scrubbed the carpets.
The ornaments and the pictures had come from a charity shop and been brought to life with some vigorous polishing.
The sofas came from a friend who was storing some surplus furniture in his garage. The place looked very bright and inviting.
He then told me that people from his culture were very proud and looked down on having anything that wasn’t brand new. He gave me the following example.
If someone was cold and you lent them a jacket - you would never wear it again after it had been returned.
He informed me that it was only after he started to follow Jesus as part of a church community that he was able to get a handle on his pride, accept help from others, value things that were not brand new and not care so much about the negative comments of others.
Your turn
Have you been touched by this story? If so, you can play your part.
- Share the amazing news of God moving among Muslim with your friends via e-mail or social media, using the links below
- Support Mahabba in its work to equip everyday Christians to build relationships and share Jesus with Muslims
Quenching hunger
God is moving among Muslims
This is a real-life story of recent events from one of the local Mahabba groups in the Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!
Quenching hunger
We were inspired by another Mahabba group and are hoping to put on a discussion with some mosques inviting believers and Muslims.
At the event, the Qur’an is read then discussed, then the Bible is read and discussed.
We are hoping this will provide a chance for Muslims to ask questions and open up the word.
I have spoken to two mosque leaders about it: one was keen, one is speaking to their imam about it.
The one that is keen also seems very spiritually hungry and a couple of us have done some one-to-one Bible study with him and have given him scriptures.
We are praying that he will come to know Jesus and lead his congregation to follow him.
Please pray that the practical details all get sorted and that many come to know Jesus.
Your turn
Have you been touched by this story? If so, you can play your part.
- Share the amazing news of God moving among Muslim with your friends via e-mail or social media, using the links below
- Support Mahabba in its work to equip everyday Christians to build relationships and share Jesus with Muslims
Why I wept this Easter
Image: Aaron Burden, Unsplash
Why I wept this Easter (2017)
The message of Easter – crucifixion and resurrection - is so familiar to us. We know the story – and sometimes in our familiarity the power of its potent mixture of loss and joy is missed.
This year I wept at Easter. It was through a retelling of the Easter story in much of the pain and power that would have been the experience of the followers of Jesus.
We will all have heard of the attacks on the Coptic Churches in Tanta and Alexandria in Egypt this Palm Sunday. These attacks are not new at all but have become a depressingly regular experience for the Christians of Egypt.
For generations, they have endured the gauntlet of persecution ranging from unequal opportunity, ridicule, and shame to extreme violence – so in some ways, nothing is new. However, what has perhaps become more visible over the years has been the ‘What Would Jesus Do‘ response of Egypt’s Christians to those that hate and violate both them and their faith.
I watched the subtitled clip of a TV interview with the wife of the gatekeeper who died preventing the suicide bomber from entering the church – thus saving the lives of countless worshippers.
I have not witnessed on TV such a powerful message of forgiveness – offered, not under pressure, but as the natural overflow of an ordinary person trying to follow in the footsteps of her master.
What followed was just as powerful – the response of the Egyptian news anchor, who, faced with the power of such supernatural love, went off script as he reacted in incredulity and awe at these Christians who “are made of a different substance”.
Watch the clip:
I wept this Easter – to see this re-enactment of the Easter story lived out in our day. After all, what is Easter but an offering, a sacrifice, an exchange – of good for evil, purity for putrescence, honour for shame, life for death.
As I did so, I thought of the long-held dream, borne in the hearts and prayers of many, of the Muslim world in large numbers embracing Jesus, the Son of God – their Sacrifice and Saviour. As I pondered this I sensed a whisper from heaven –“What is required for this to happen? Only a sacrifice – one willingly made.”
What is required? Is it more prayer conferences, clever strategies, media projects or new methodologies? No, while these can be good things; all that is required is a sacrifice – one willingly offered.
Ordinary Egyptian Christians are at the forefront of this sacrifice today, along with other unsung heroes from Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan, Iran, Indonesia and elsewhere. They are leading the way in sacrifice and forgiveness – and this seed will surely bear fruit.
Such sacrifices are opening up the closed hearts of Muslims around the world – as illustrated so visibly by the news anchor! It seems that there is no shortcut to spiritual breakthrough – only a sacrifice is required.
The power of forgiveness is illustrated so well in two places in the New Testament.
• Jesus speaks over those nailing him to the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
• The dying prayer of Stephen for those stoning him: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
Something shifts in heaven and on the earth when forgiveness is released. We see the Roman centurion reacting to the death of Jesus - “Surely he was the Son of God!” Later we see Paul, who was a witness and, some think, a party to Stephen’s death, encountering Jesus and turning from his murderous path.
Perhaps it is not a surprise to see that later on it is Paul who becomes perhaps the world’s most effective missionary – and the Roman world to become the cradle of the Christian faith.
We will see the fruit of forgiveness in the coming days in Egypt – of this we can be sure – but what wider significance will these seeds of sacrifice have for the future of the Arabic and Islamic World?
So my tears were not just of sadness and empathy, but of hope - and in the beginning of a prayer – “Lord help me follow more fully in your steps and in the example of these ordinary/extraordinary saints and witnesses.”
What English translation of the Qur'an and introduction do you recommend?
What English translation of the Qur'an and introduction do you recommend?
John asked about a good English translation of the Qur'an and a helpful introduction or commentary:
Can you recommend a good translation of the Qur'an and introduction?
Dear Mahabba,
“What English language translation of the Qur’an would Muslims considered the most reliable? Would that be the best version for a novice like me to read? What English language introduction to Islam and the Qur’an would you recommend? I would like to understand how to bridge from the Qur’an to the Bible. And an introduction that is not too simple.”
OUR RESPONSE
The easiest to come by is most probably Yusuf Ali which also contains the Arabic script but the translation is archaic.
AJ Arberry tries to give a sense of the rhyme and rhythm in English and is a sensitive translation (available on subscription to Oxford Islamic Studies online).
There is a Qur’an website on the Internet that contains several translations with which to compare whenever available quran.com.
Neal Robinson’s Discovering the Qur`an (2004) is a sympathetic introduction to the Qur’an by a non-Muslim while Muhammad Abdel Haleem’s Understanding the Qur`an: Themes and Style (2001) is a Muslim’s introduction to the Qur’an.
It will be difficult to find one source that both introduces Islam as well as bridging Qur’an to Bible.
I’ve always found P.K. Hitti’s History of the Arabs (10th repr. 1991) a comprehensive overview of Islamic history that has a scholarly take on Islam before relations were so extremely polarised as now.
Kenneth Cragg’s The Weight in the Word – Prophethood: Biblical and Quranic (1999) compares and contrasts Muhammad with biblical prophets and, broadly stated, shows how the Qur’an applies biblical ideas for its own purposes.
See how you get on with these for the moment – there is so much out there to choose from!
Do let me know how you get on and whether you can get hold of resources.
SINCE YOU'RE HERE...
... we have recently reached a total of 40 local Mahabba prayer groups in the UK - awesome news!
With your help, though, we would like to continue to sow, plant and support Mahabba groups.
Our work involves a small team of regional reps and central hub personnel investing in local coordinators and groups, as well as spreading the word.
To continue this vital mission to Muslims, we need to increase our regular monthly income.
Our initial target is to raise up 100 individual regular donors, giving an average of £10 to £15 per month.
Could you be one of the 100?
