A collection of resources on sharing Christmas with your Muslim friends.
Nativity videos in English or Arabic
Open Word
Jesus in India?
One of the most striking features of the Ahmadiyya message is the idea that Jesus survived the cross, travelled to India and was buried in Kashmir. This is, of course, a contradiction of both Christian and Islamic teaching. It is not an obscure detail among other beliefs; it is woven into the heart of their message, especially as they engage with Christians.
A couple of years ago, I had an Ahmadi friend who has since moved away. He gave me a copy of the Ghulam Mirza Ahmad al-Qadiani’s book Jesus in India It was written in 1908 in Urdu and later translated into English and other languages. It is still used today essentially unchanged. I welcomed the opportunity to find out for myself how they supported their version of history and to give it a fair examination.
I started to write down my comments and questions and my friend passed them to a senior leader, an English convert, who I then corresponded with. It became clear that over the years an impressive and integrated set of arguments have been built up to support al-Qadiani’s contention. They are coherent from an Ahmadi point of view. A naïve opponent would have their initial objections dealt with easily with reference to scripture. These arguments are well rehearsed and delivered with great confidence.
To start with, the book claims to be based on evidence not on some kind of special revelation. It therefore invites rational discussion. The case rests on three foundations.
1. That Jesus was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.
2. That Jesus survived the cross as he said he would and as the Bible teaches.
3. That the lost tribes of Israel were to be found in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
We shall treat them in turn before discussing how to respond to them.
1. The Mission of Jesus
Jesus himself used the expression ‘lost sheep of Israel’ on two occasions. In Matthew 10:6 he sends the disciples out saying that they should go only to the lost sheep of Israel. Then in Matthew 15:24, in the context of the encounter with the Canaanite woman, Jesus states that he was sent only the lost sheep of Israel. Other passages are used to build on this picture. Jesus made a remark about not giving ‘to dogs’ in Matthew 15 and the book links this to Matthew 7:6, applying it to all Gentiles. John 10:16 ‘not of this sheepfold’ is interpreted to mean that Jesus must go and find other Jews outside beyond the borders of historic Israel.
Another aspect that the unwary might be caught off guard by is that the expression lost sheep of Israel is conflated with the ‘Lost Tribes of Israel’. This was something of a fad in the 19th century. As British explorers, traders and colonial officials spread through Asia, the idea of discovering ‘the lost tribes’ was a fascination for some of them. It was, however, a fantasy. In NT times, there were no lost tribes. Acts 2 refers to Jewish pilgrims from several regions plainly still in touch with their fellow Jews in Palestine. In Acts 26:7, Paul speaks of the twelve tribes as current reality. Al-Qadiani took the word ‘lost’ as used by Jesus to mean ‘location unknown’ which did not apply. Jesus used the term ‘lost’ several times with reference to those who were far from God but located in their own land as can be easily established by reading the gospel texts rather than selecting individual sentences.
Their view of the true mission of Jesus is far reaching; if you go deeper, they tell you that the whole Gentile mission was a historical accident, the result of the actions of Paul, the enemy of Jesus. Citing Galatians 2:7, they argue that the true followers sent him off to the Gentiles to get rid of him. The church, most of the New Testament, the creeds and just about everything else they disagree with is blamed on Paul.
2. Jesus and the Cross
It is the contention of the Ahmadis that Jesus was crucified but survived as he said he would. They build their case from Bible texts. Chapter one of Al-Qadiani’s book goes straight to Matthew 12:38-40 where Jesus speaks of the ‘Sign of Jonah’ and in my experience so do Ahmadis today. Jesus himself gives this statement prominence. Al-Qadiani points out that Jonah did not die but survived the experience and claims that Jesus was saying he would appear to die but re-emerge not having died.
He goes on to explain that ‘risen’ does not need to mean risen from death for a man can rise from his bed. This puts a new meaning into the words of the angel, he is not here he is risen (Matthew 28:5-6). He also cites the way the words ‘asleep’ and ‘dead’ are interchanged at various times (e.g. Matthew 9:24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13) though in these cases people are genuinely dead but because they will rise again are referred to as asleep. This is the reverse of the way the Ahmadis use it. The fact is that many of the NT texts use words such as ‘crucifixion’ and ‘suffering’ without making explicit that death is intended. Once you start interpreting these words in this way, another story emerges.
The resurrection appearances are repurposed, especially those that describe Jesus as eating. This is taken as proof that he had returned as the same flesh and blood person he was before. References to him gong ahead of the disciples and being seen on the road are taken as indications that he set off to leave that area and to continue his ministry elsewhere having been rejected.
The spear in the side (John 19:34), such a profound proof of death, is reinterpreted as a flesh wound which demonstrated that Jesus bled and that his heart was still beating. He contends that Pilate responded to his wife’s dream (Matthew 27:19) and conspired with the centurion not to break Jesus’ legs and with Joseph of Arimathea to get him to safe place quickly so that he could be treated with aloes with its well-known healing properties. I could go on; needless to say this is not a flimsy swoon theory.
3. The Lost Tribes in India
My correspondent quoted a commentary on James 1:1 by someone called Benson which mentions India and cross-references it with Esther 1:1. The book makes much of the writings of British explorers and adventurers who wrote about the Afghans as the descendants of Israel. At the same time, British explorers were finding supposed descendants in many other places including Africa, but the book only uses what fits the argument. Evidence for a journey across Iraq and Iran is scanty including some sentences from a Persian book which he admits is full of absurd claims. Evidence that Jesus lived and died in Kashmir is not really offered. On page 23 of the book, he mentioned that the tomb had recently been ‘re-discovered’. I have talked to the Kashmiris I know to find out if there were any traditional legends about Jesus in Kashmir, but I haven’t found one that has heard of any.
Responding to the challenge
I believe it is important in any area of apologetics to recognise that two different types of response are needed. The first is the response needed by Christians for Christians. This means using reasons that make sense to Christians and show that the Bible really does say what we affirm it does. Such reasoning carries little weight with Ahmadis because their belief in their account does not really depend on the Bible. As my correspondent eventually admitted “As Christians will not accept what is written in the Holy Qur’an, therefore he had to quote from the New Testament, whether he believed it or not.”
The Ahmadi version of the story is told with great assurance online in literature and by ordinary Ahmadi activists. It is supported with Bible verses familiar to someone who has had a Christian upbringing. The objections and questions that the first-time hearer comes up with have all been heard before and the responses to them anticipated.
I looked up every reference I was given and often found that a verse was used in a way that the verses before it and after it contradicted. A careful reading of the Gospel accounts answers every contention.
To address the main points: Was Jesus only sent to the lost sheep of Israel? The same Jesus who sent his disciples out in Matthew 10 to the lost sheep of Israel also sent the same disciples out into the world in Matthew 28:18-20. If there was any doubt what was meant by ‘disciples of every nation,’ Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-47 may help to clarify.
Did Jesus predict his surviving the cross? When Jesus spoke plainly rather than with illustrations, he could not have been clearer that he would be killed (Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:21).
Was it only Paul who said he died and rose again? No. Peter in 1 Peter 1:3 leaves no room for doubt. The angel in Matthew 28:7 also affirms that he rose from the dead not just from sleep.
Did Jesus travel on to India? No, he was seen by eye-witnesses to be taken up into heaven (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11).
Whatever might be helpful for an individual troubled by Ahmadi claims, it would be a good thing for any church or youth group to revisit the important matter of the historical truth of the gospel narrative and not take it for granted.
Responding to Ahmadis
Perhaps an inexperienced Ahmadi activist might agree to sit and carefully read what the Gospels actually say, in which case that would be a good approach. In so doing, we would be advised to keep drawing attention to the fact that Jesus was fulfilling the plan of God as foretold by the prophets and that the purpose of this plan was the salvation of people such as ourselves.
However, an experienced Ahmadi would probably not be susceptible. As I mentioned earlier, although Ahmadis may make use of scriptures, they do not trust them. In my experience, when you get down to the details, they resort to the line so often encountered in conversations with Muslims that Christian scriptures have been corrupted and are not reliable. The usual apologetic approaches may be useful, but more important than simply being correct, we need to be confident, warm, respectful and friendly. Personal testimony and a willingness to pray for them are more likely to cut through than methodical reasoning.
Who are Reverts?
Reverts is the Muslim term for people who have converted to Islam from other beliefs and world views. This stems from a Muslim belief that at birth everyone is born a Muslim and it is a person’s upbringing or environment that moves them away from Islam to follow some other faith system. So, when a person turns from another faith to follow Islam they have ‘reverted’ to the faith they were born with and what God intended them to be.
Who Are the Ahmadiyya
“Love for All, Hatred for None.” Who could take exception to such a noble sentiment? This is the slogan of the Ahmadiyya movement. Who and what are the Ahmadis? This is not so simple a question as it sounds! Even the name is an issue. While "the Ahmadiyya” is the name they give themselves, the Muslim population as whole calls them “the Qadianis.”
Their movement was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian who lived in British India 1835-1908. He claimed to be “The Mahdi, The Messiah, the Purifier of Islam.” Their literature and website boldly proclaim that the second coming of Christ has happened through this man. Both Muslims and Christians are taught to expect the return of Christ and this man called both Christians and Muslims to follow him as the fulfilment of their scriptures. Although Ahmadis confess Muhammad, observe the five prayers, keep Ramadan, believe the Qur’an and maintain all the other standard Islamic beliefs and practices, most Muslims simply refuse to accept them as Muslims in any sense. Websites advertising where to find a mosque simply exclude them. And that is something they feel deeply.
The Ahmadiyya is a highly missional organisation. In the parts of the UK where they have a strong presence, South London, parts of Birmingham, and Glasgow for instance we may encounter them manning bookstalls, running poster campaigns and initiating ‘interfaith’ events. They have online outreaches in the form of webinars and courses where they present themselves as the true representatives of Islam. Overseas, they run mission hospitals. Here is an example of one of their promotional videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc1s_o3GBJc&t=86s
The Ahmadis make up only about 1% of the British Muslim population, but because they are so outgoing, where they have a significant presence, they get noticed. They are usually come across as warm, courteous, inviting and easy to engage with. They are ready to use verses from the Bible to support their contention that Jesus was originally only sent to the ‘Lost Sheep of Israel’, that he was crucified but did not die; that he recovered and travelled to Kashmir where he lived to a ripe old age. Jesus, they say, returned ‘spiritually’ to launch his global mission through the Ahmadiyya. The texts they use to support these points are easily accessed on their phones.
It is as well to find out about their beliefs and approaches before engaging with them so as not to be blind-sided. Christian books about Islam often give a few paragraphs to this movement. The best way to find out more about the Ahmadiyya is simply to access their booklets and online messages. Steven Masood and Nabeel Qureshi were both formerly Ahmadis.
Love for all and hatred for none is a great slogan and should be observed by Christians who engage with them.
See also:
Meeting with Ahmadiyya Muslims
‘Meetings for Better Understanding’ promote a mutual understanding of what Christians and Muslims believe. They allow a public forum for discussion and a space for Muslims to hear what the Bible has to say. For more on MBUs click here.
MBU with Ahmadiyya Muslims
I have had the privilege of being involved in MBU between Christians and Ahmadiyya Muslims for a number of years. It has been a truly enlightening and eye-opening experience. These gatherings have the potential to provide a platform for dialogue, respect, and fostering greater understanding between the two religious communities. Here, I would like to share my personal experiences and the profound impact these events have had on me. Furthermore, I aim to give advice based on those insights.
The process of planning an MBU has involved careful coordination and collaboration with representatives from both the Ahmadi Muslim and Christian communities. Ahmadiyyas are arguably the most organised Muslims I have met so far. The leaders seem to be empowered with remarkable control over their followers. At times they like to extend it to those outside of their communities too. For example, when Ahmadis host the MBU they like to shorten the 45 minutes question and answer time because it is difficult to control. I sometimes find that I have to give a gentle but insistent reminder that the hosts keep to the agreed timings.
A number of times we noticed that even after the MBU had already started with not many Ahmadis present, immediate phone calls by their leaders ensured that suddenly more members “turned up”. This apparently forced attendance can lead to a lack of authentic engagement. Insufficient representation of both, young and old Ahmadis can be another problem. Especially so, when those present understand little English. Unfortunately, Christians are frequently in the minority at such meetings.
Ahmadis interpret the Quran often in a spiritual rather than literal sense. This approach appeals to the numerous intelligent and wealthy members of the community. On the other hand, they are also encouraged to actively seek experiences and revelations from the unseen realm. As a result, a number of them have involvements with the spirit-world which leads to an even greater hardening of hearts than found in other Muslim communities.
All this urgently demands that Christians put prayer as an absolute priority on the “to do list” for organising an MBU.
In light of this it is vital that continued follow up is taking place. This can be arranged through personal meetings, WhatsApp groups or other social media platforms. MOT (Muslim Outreach Training) to prepare Christians and to pray together before each encounter is also an urgent necessity.
Experiences with the Ahmadiyya
It takes time but it’s worth it!
Mingling with Ahmadiyyas, attending their community outreach events, taking literature from their book tables in town, writing to the local imams asking to explain the ‘true’ teachings of Islam - all lead them to ask for your phone number and an opportunity to get to know them better.
Make the most of it! It has led me to give short talks in an Ahmadiyya mosque, give Bibles away as gifts to congregation members, and have one-to-one conversations in homes.
Last Ramadan, on the final day of fasting, I was invited to have iftaar with a family who had got to know me well over several years. Their 25-year-old daughter had been brought to tears when I had spoken in the mosque on ‘Hearing the Voice of God’ years previously. It was something she had so desired. Over the meal table with the rest of the family present, she told me that her aunt had converted to Christianity. She also told me that she was having a crisis of faith - and didn’t believe in Islam anymore. She wanted to know my story - how I came to know Jesus, and why I converted. And what were the real teachings of Christianity? As the rest of the family drifted away from the meal table, she continued to ask questions. A real truth seeker.
Another experience I had was being invited to the house of an Ahmadiyya imam who I had been getting to know well. His wife said to me that she no longer wished to convert Christians. She had seen God alive in my life in my attitudes, actions, and answers to my prayers. Why did I need converting? She went on to say that she had watched a documentary on the lives of monks and their prayer lives and depth of spiritual discipline - and was totally blown away. They made her feel she had nothing to offer them.
An Ahmadiyya doctor friend regularly invited me to his home with the extended family. After being served excellent food, he would bombard me with wonderful questions about Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity. He was never interested in the answers, but he introduced me to his brother who was! We are now meeting up for meals and discussion.
But an interesting thing happened to my doctor friend. He moved abroad, and his life fell apart. But instead of contacting anyone of the 10-20 million Ahmadiyya community of which he was part, he came to me asking for help and prayer. He knew he could trust me.
One more story. I was sat on a bus when the face of an Ahmadiyya friend came into my mind. I texted my friend (who was over 200 miles away) straightaway and said I was praying for him ‘right now’, and what I was praying. He texted back, saying “How can you possibly know what I am going through? The content and timing of your prayer is perfect.”
Before I could answer, he sent another text. “Yes, I do know how you know. You have a real connection with God. You have the Holy Spirit.”
He is the father of the daughter who later opened up to me about having a crisis of faith.
Christians from a Muslim Background. Exploring Pastoral Provision and Discipleship for CMBs
A book review of ‘Christians from a Muslim Background’ by Hasna Khatun
‘Christians from a Muslim Background. Exploring Pastoral Provision and Discipleship for CMBs’ by Hasna Khatun
‘The discipleship of CMBs (Christians of Muslim Background)’ writes Hasna Khatun, ‘Is a specialist task; therefore it is not everyone’s calling.’
Be that as it may, the fact is that many of us in British churches find ourselves befriending and supporting former Muslims.
This concise booklet may be of service to us as we reflect on what is involved.
Hasna Khatun writes as one raised in a South Asian Muslim family.
She surveys resources available and comments on some that are likely to be familiar to those in or aware of the Mahabba Network such as Joining the Family and Come Follow Me.
Whether we agree with everything she says or not, this is surely someone to we should listen to carefully.
The book is published by Grove Books Limited.
Buy now from:
Concise Guide to the Life of Muhammad: Answering Thirty Key Questions (Introducing Islam)
A book review of ‘Concise Guide to the Life of Muhammad’ by By Ayman S Ibrahim
Concise Guide to the Life of Muhammad: Answering Thirty Key Questions (Introducing Islam) is By Ayman S Ibrahim - Professor of Islamic studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Professor Ibrahim’s book is a very handy resource for anyone interested in what can be known about Muhammad.
Each question is dealt with clearly and in a matter-of-fact manner and backed up with sources.
The questions range from the very basic such as whether we can be sure Muhammad is a genuine historical figure through to quite specialist subjects such as whether he made treaties with the Jews.
He makes clear what the average Muslim believes, what their scholars know and the extent to which Islamic sources support or contradict these views.
Where Shi’ite Muslims take a different view to that of the majority Sunnis, he spells that out too.
This is a book for someone who wants to know about Islam as a religion rather than about their Muslim neighbours.
For the non-Muslim reader, it helpfully deconstructs some of the apparently unquestionable “facts” ordinary Muslims are taught and which they confidently assert.
Ibrahim does not intend his work to be used as a source of ammunition to be used against Muslims and I don’t think anyone should it use it that way; it is however a mine of information for those who want to understand more about Muhammed.
The book is written at an academic level but is presented accessibly and engagingly for those who have a keen interest.
Available as paperback or as e-book from popular book sellers.
Conversion and Identity. The Pastoral Care and Discipleship of Converts from Islam in the Context of the UK.
A book review of Conversion and Identity by Saira Malik
‘Conversion and Identity. The Pastoral Care and Discipleship of Converts from Islam in the Context of the UK’ by Saira Mailk.
One thing we can look forward to more of is publications written by former Muslims reflecting on their experience in the UK and the is much we can learn from them. This 40-page booklet is one such.
Saira Malik set out to understand what the level of awareness was among converts and those that care for them. Drawing on her MA research interviews and her personal experience, she explores issues of conversion and identity in the lives of former Muslims here in the UK. She also draws on the writings of others, both of theorists and of quite well-known non-academic publications.
The booklet is published by Regnum books is available as paperback and e-book.
What is Iftar in Ramadan?
Storytellers: Bringing Muslims Home - Bernie Power
Storytellers: Bringing Muslims Home - Bernie Power
The idea of using stories as a key to sharing the truth of the Gospel is cleverly presented in this book. It is a collection of stories and ways of presenting Christian truth entwined within its own story.
The book recounts the journey of a young couple as they go out into a Muslim country to live for Christ. At every opportunity they use stories to present truth and make their listeners and friends think about what God did through Jesus and how the work of Jesus contrasts with the teaching of the majority community around them. They often seem to get into situations where a story calms the atmosphere and presents truth in a less threatening way.
The stories they use are very useful and could be used in your own conversations with your Muslim friends. I have often been told that it is best to tell a story and let it hang and allow the truth to do its work in prepared hearts. This couple, however, seem to like asking questions and explaining the underlying truth after they have told the story, that also seems to work for them
As well as stories the book contains some answers to the challenges that Christians face from Muslims about the Bible and the Qur’an, Jesus and Muhammed, and mercy and forgiveness. Again, these presentations are helpful and you could easily use them in your own conversations. My overall impression is that this couple were a bit more polemic and confrontational than I would be comfortable with, but that leads to a good story!
The stories and presentations can be adapted to your own sharing style and will definitely add tools to your belt as you meet Muslim people.
Available from Amazon and other bookshops
Why do our Muslim friends go to Mecca?
My Muslim friends on the Hajj
Does the Bible say whether Christians can accept an invitation to eat Iftar in a mosque?
Resources for using English teaching in outreach
Resources > Engaging Muslims > Engaging as groups > Resources for using English teaching in outreach
Information for those involved in ESOL (teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
Teach to Reach - Two Nineteen http://www.twonineteen.org.uk/
3 ways a TEFL course can help you spread the Gospel https://www.christiantefl.org/blog/3-ways-a-tefl-course-can-help-you-spread-the-gospel/
See also our recent blog about English reaching in the church context https://mahabbanetwork.com/blog/english-classes-at-our-church
Read some encouraging stories from ESOL classes https://www.mahabbanetwork.com/resource/god-at-work-in-the-world-lks8s
OPEN WORD - A Bible Based English Teaching Programme using material from John’s Gospel - the 7 “I Am…” statements of Jesus.
Journey to Truth Videos
Resources >Engaging Muslims> Engaging as individuals > Journey to Truth Videos
Journey to Truth Video in English and other languages
A few years ago some believers in the Middle East put together 8 excellent animated short videos about the story of 4 young Muslim friends on a journey to discover the truth about Jesus. The videos are not only funny and easy to relate to for Muslims, but they also present the big story of the Bible from Creation to Christ and counter many of the typical objections that Muslims make when discussing faith with their Christian friends. As the series progresses we see how one of the guys (who is actually a Christ-follower) encourages his friends to study God's word with him - but in a very gentle and wise way. As time goes on, some of the group choose to follow Jesus and get baptised - and a movement begins!
The video series has been so well received in the Middle East and by workers in other Muslim countries that it has now been dubbed or subtitled in many other languages, like Farsi, Turkish, Urdu etc. But this summer it was dubbed by professional actors into British English to make it more accessible for English speaking Muslims around the world.
Do please watch the videos and share them with as many of your Muslim friends as possible and try to get their feedback! You can find them here on the website (British English only) and also here on othe Youtube Channel (British English only). If you want to see the series in 12 different languages (including Arabic, Urdu, Bengali & Turkish) they can be found here.
NB. ***Business cards are also available with all this information on them, so that you can give them out in your own towns and cities on the streets, through letterboxes, or to friends/neighbours/colleagues in person, rather than digitally. Please contact HWmahabba@gmail.com if you would like to be posted a package of these promotional business cards.***
Plans are being considered as to how this excellent resource can be used effectively in a Western context with Muslims and your help would really be appreciated. If you have any anecdotes/ideas/feedback as you start using it, please email HWmahabba@gmail.com
Learning from Muslim People: Helpful Books
Resources > Enabling all Christians > Going further > Learning from Muslim People: Helpful Books
Read Miriam’s blog here about the importance of hearing the authentic voice of Muslim people.
Zia Chaudhry Just Your Average Muslim
Zia Chaudhry is one of many British born Muslims who just wants to be recognised as an ordinary human being just like everyone else. Being educated and articulate (he is a solicitor), he has written a book with the title “Just Your Average Muslim.” He shares what it is like growing up as the son of immigrant parents and finding his way in the world. Too easily, we get used to viewing people through the lens of religious affiliation rather than as our neighbours and this book helps to correct that. Also of interest, he takes time to say what he thinks of Christianity, as he understands it.
Shelina Janmohamed Love in a Headscarf: Muslim Woman seeks the One
Everyone seems to have an opinion backed by things they have heard about what it is like for women in Islam. In her highly readable book, Shelina Janmohamed tells us of her own struggles with life in the UK as young professional Muslim from a traditional family. She is expected to get married and she dreams of being married and yet nothing goes according to anyone’s plan. She is clearly writing for outsiders and she wants us to think well of Islam, but this is not some idealised presentation. If we want to understand what life may be like for our Muslim neighbours, this book gives some insights.
Shelina Janmohamed Generation M
This book introduces us to the lifestyle, mindset and worldview of young Muslim people in today’s rapidly changing world. Through snap shots, (or should I say video clips?) Shelina Janmohamed gives insights into how young Muslim people aged between 15 and 30, not just in the UK but around the world, are engaging with the challenges of living in a world influenced by today’s Western materialistic technological culture.
We find out how these young people combine Islam with modernity by expressing themselves through Islamic appropriate fashion, glossy magazines with Muslim appropriate content, financial dealings in line with Muslim principles, and the challenges of halal food and labelling.
The challenges of expressing your faith or being a fulfilled Muslim woman are discussed with frankness and illumination. Insights are offered, through personal testimony, into life as a minority and expressing faith through a spectrum from art to community action.
The book is full of names, places and items which can be found on the internet, opening up an ever-widening horizon of Generation M’s engagement with modernity. Do you want to know more about a dimension of Islam which is often ignored or overlooked because we discuss what Muslim people are ‘supposed’ to believe and do? This book will open a whole new perspective on the young 2nd or 3rd generation Muslim person in your street, workplace or health centre helping your engagement be more relevant and impactful.
Sarfraz Manzoor They
Sarfraz Manzoor is best known for his first autobiographical book, ‘Greetings from Bury Park’ which was the basis for the film ‘Blinded by the Light’. He is a respected journalist who writes for the Guardian. Sarfraz Manzoor was born in Pakistan but grew up in Luton from the age of 4. His wife is white and from Scotland. They have 2 children and now live in London.
‘They’ is an ambitious attempt to address the complexity of the myths held by British Muslims about non-Muslims and those held by non-Muslims about Muslims. Manzoor focusses his research on the Muslim community who originated in the Indian subcontinent, (60% of Muslims in Britain). The book explores the complexity of identity through this lens.
In each chapter Manzoor explores a myth, presents research through interviews with people and their stories. He seeks to find hope and ‘build a bridge of understanding’. His style is personal, and the book tells his own story as he explores the layers of his identity and that of others who identify as Muslim in Britain.
Issues covered are: Segregated Communities, Marriage, Gender Equality, Radical and Violent Islam, Anti-Semitism, Sexuality, Multi-culturalism Values and Patriotism. He does not shy away from sensitive issues and confronts the uncomfortable facts around such issues of grooming of girls, drugs and radicalisation.
I would recommend reading They to those Mahabba members wanting to understand more about what may influence the thinking of the communities they work with and the complexity of the myths that often divide rather than build bridges. It illuminates the diversity of expression of faith and practice within the Muslim community and this is helpful in understanding modern Britain.
It is an easy read in style. However, it is sometimes uncomfortable to face the contribution racism and islamophobia has made to mutual suspicion that fuels the myths.
Ed Husain Among the Mosques: A journey Across Muslim Britain.
This is an unusual book! Ed Husain, journalist and author of the biographical The Islamist describes his visits to mosques across the UK. He goes to visit expressions of Islam which he knows well from his past and also from his present alignments. He also visits expressions that were unfamiliar to him. Along the way, he discreetly gives advice to the uninitiated on how to visit Muslim homes using himself as an example.
He writes as a devout but modern Muslim for a liberal secular audience, particularly highlighting things that are worrying him at the present time. In an interview about the book here, he answered some of the questions that arose in my mind about why he was covering what he was covering.
Husain expresses his alarm at the presence of Saudi-inspired literalism and the overflow of strife from Pakistan into the UK; some have suggested this was irresponsible. He also describes some more hopeful features that he encounters. This is not a book I would recommend to everyone. It needs to be set aside other experiences and accounts to set it in context but all the situations he describes are authentic and that makes it an interesting read.
This book answers the question: What does it really mean to be a Muslim in the West today? The catalyst for this book came when Mariam Khan read that David Cameron had linked the radicalization of Muslim men to the ‘traditional submissiveness’ of Muslim women (2016). She wondered why she was hearing about Muslim women from people who were neither Muslim, nor female – especially since she didn’t know a single Muslim woman who would describe herself that way
Many writers speak robustly and are not afraid to call out the hypocrisy and duplicity in the structures and systems in both western and Islamic cultures. Neither do the writers shy away from critiquing Muslim women themselves who have not used the opportunities to effect change as a result of the representation which success in the fashion industry or in business has made possible to them. There is a warning to South Asian women of the continuation of the “toxic masculinity” behaviour prevalent in their community and an urge to do better : “until we stop mollycoddling Muslim men there won’t be any substantial change”.
I found most moving the contribution by broadcaster, Saima Mir, telling the story of her experience of arranged marriage(s). In this very honest and personal account one gains greater insight into the impact on decision making and life choices which are made as a result of the interwoven-ness and complexities of the differing and sometimes conflicting strands which make up the life of a young, well-educated, British Asian, Muslim woman.
I found most challenging the repeated assertion by contributors that their faith has sustained them despite the cultural patriarchy which blights their lives. These women retain their love for Islam as their way of worship, practice and prayer. Their hope and their fight is for a feminine critique of their religion. They resist by refusing to conform to either the culture of the west or those cultures of heritage and would see no contradiction in declaring themselves as emancipated. It left me wondering how I would share the good news of Jesus with them when they, themselves, are “working out their own salvation” and in many ways, apparently succeeding.
It’s Not About the Burqa is at times funny, sometimes sad, often angry and always passionate. I found it so engaging and so pertinent to current conversations around identity, belonging, misogyny and lazy stereotyping that I devoured it in a day. I would highly recommend this book to any who are engaging with Muslim women in diaspora communities. Let’s read and listen well to what they really have to say.
This page contains descriptions of books which people in the Network have found helpful and which relate to loving all Muslims. This is by no means exhaustive. The inclusion of a book does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within it.
My Muslim friends at the Prophet's Birthday (Mawlid)
Resources >Engaging Muslims> Engaging as individuals > My Muslim friends at Mawlid
My Muslim Friends at the Prophet’s Birthday (Mawlid)
Maulid (or Mawlid) al-Nabi means 'birth of the prophet'. The exact date of Muhammad's birth is not known but is often regarded as the 12th day of the month by Sunni Muslims, although Shia Muslims believe the prophet's birthday was on the 17th day. This date is observed by praise, fasting, public processions, poetry, family gatherings and the decoration of streets and homes. It is on 19th October 2021.
The Contested Eid
A column of 5000 men processing up the narrow streets was hard to miss. And in case we weren’t looking, there was sound of chanting blaring through loud speakers mounted on top of a car, not to mention a plane flying overhead trailing a banner reading ‘Muhammad a mercy to mankind.’ This was not happening in Pakistan, but on the terraced streets of a former industrial town in Lancashire.
This was my first experience of the Muslim Eid of Mawlid, the celebration of the birth of Muhammad. It comes around once a year, much as you might expect, but since the Islamic calendar is eleven days shorter than ours, the date is different each time. In 2021, it falls on 19th October. The processions are generally held on the closest convenient Sunday, Covid permitting, of course. This particular activity is the most visible part of the celebration, but special events are also held inside the mosques.
Some months later, I got to know the imam who leads this particular event and we became friends. He invited me to join him on the next Mawlid procession. I had been to events such as Iftar (the break of the fast during Ramadan) and I had attended community events in the mosque as a guest and observer. Joining in the celebration of Muhammad’s birth was a step I could not take, so I declined as politely I could. Now, one could argue that it is only a cultural event, a joyful celebration of Muslim community life and freedom of expression in this country; our MP may have seen it that way when he walked with the leaders of the procession one year, but, in all conscience, I did not feel I could.
There is another aspect to this particular Eid. It is bitterly contested within the Muslim community. It is openly denounced by the growing Salafi movement as a monstrous corruption of true Islam. Where different traditions are found side by side in the same locality, Muslims may be sharply divided over it. For some, it is a glorious expression of love for the prophet as required in the accepted saying “None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind.” For other Muslims, it is a manifestation of wicked idolatry.
For many of our Muslim friends this is a live issue. They will have an opinion about it. How should we Christians interact with them about it? If they commend it, what might we say? If they condemn it, where do we go with that? If they say it is merely culture (“you know, like Christmas”), how do we answer? Mawlid is an opportunity to talk about faith and worship; can we use it to speak of our love for and faith in Jesus, before whom God said every knee will bow?
Ted Collins
See also The Other Islam, Ted Collins, p93.