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On 18 May 2024, I posted an article dealing with Missions to Muslims who have settled in Europe following WWII. It told the story of the German Parish Priest, Father Christoph-Sperling, bringing the Gospel to the Muslims living in Germany.

In this article, I switch from an anecdotal account to a methodological approach based on a web page at Jésus Le Messie - Méthode (jesus-messie.org). The following are selected excerpts translated from the web page:

How are Christians to proclaim the Good News to people raised in Islam?

Quite often, Christians find it very difficult to engage in this work.

Here are guidelines for this Christian enterprise.

State of mind:

An evangelist must exhibit both humility and self-assurance in his response. While the Christian is not greater than the Muslim, he has more than a Muslim: God coming to earth in Jesus the Messiah to save us from the power of sin.

The method:

• First, draw them to Jesus so that their detachment from Islam would take place. Quote from the Word of God and present Jesus Christ, omitting any mention of Islam, the Qur’an, or Muhammad (following a method used by Evangelical Protestants in Muslim countries).
• Then, try to create a distance from Islam to present Jesus afterward, as "one can only plant in good soil after uprooting the brambles of error".

Some rules to observe regardless of the method:

Finally,

• Always clearly distinguish Islam from Muslim: Islam can be criticized; Muslims must be loved unconditionally and must not be confused with the precepts of Islam at any time.
• Dialogue and arguments do not aim to "defeat" the Muslim, to "convert him with arguments": it is by the grace of God that a Muslim is converted to the Christian faith. He will convert freely with the grace of God.
• The importance of the milieu where the dialogue takes place: It must be a personal, one-on-one relationship, and never with a group of Muslims.

The web page’s author may have assumed the reader knows how a Muslim’s understanding of the Gospel, prayer, and God differs from a Christian’s perspective. For those who are unfamiliar, here is a brief description:

• First, try to convince a Muslim of the necessity of reading the Gospel (the New Testament) even though he objects by saying the true Gospel (the “Injeel”) has been corrupted. Tell him not to judge without testing.
• Second, invite him to pray about it. Prayer in Islam (Salaat) is specifically liturgical and recited five times daily. There is also an informal prayer (Du’at). Tell him to do that method of asking Allah for guidance.
• Third, it’s instructive to know that a Muslim cannot know God, only learn about God. Allah is the totally Other Being, remains incomprehensible.