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ISBN: 978-0-9932090-6-2
299 pages Paperback RRP £8.95 / $14.00 |
My Muslim Neighbour: Communicating well with your Muslim friend by Stafford Allen
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“I see Shabana most days after school. We have a great time in the park and our kids get on really well, but I want to get to know her better...”
“Magid and I have worked together for years and we get on brilliantly; a few days ago we started to talk about God. He started to go on at me about Islam and I really didn’t know what to say...it didn’t seem like him at all and it was all rather unsettling...what got into him? Many of us have Muslim friends, neighbours and work colleagues whom we would like to get to know better. Sometimes it seems a bit scary to share our Good News with them, and we don't want to upset people. If you feel like this, then maybe this book is for you! Stafford Allen explores ways of building relationships with our Muslim friends and communicating the Good News in a way that avoids conflict and gets to the heart. |
Foreword by Martin Goldsmith:
Islam and Muslims hit the headlines these days. Church seminars about Islam attract many more attendants than parallel meetings on other topics. Christians are perplexed about what to believe about Islam. They are caught between the politically correct teaching that violent Islamists are not truly Muslim and are a small minority, and that true Islam is a religion of peace which also has love of neighbour as its goal; and on the other hand the prevalence of terrorist violence within Muslim communities around the world and horrendous persecution of Christians and other non-Muslims by those who call themselves Muslims. When we read the Qur'an, we find verses which advocate a friendly relationship with Jews and Christians, who are commended as People of the Book. These are generally early revelations, from the period when Mohammed was still in Mecca. We also discover less attractive verses, which recommend unloving violence towards Christians and Jews. The Muslim doctrine of abrogation means that the later revelations supersede the earlier ones - a major issue for more moderate Muslims. Stafford Allen’s book helps us not only with the issue of Muslim violence, but also opens up to us the attitudes and understandings of the ordinary Muslims we may meet in everyday life at work, college or on the street. He is looking at what they feel and believe at ‘gut’ level. Inevitably the Muslims we meet will tend to be largely more moderate, for the Islamists are often unwilling to relate to other people. Stafford Allen has a rich background experience, having lived for many years in various Muslim countries and working as a doctor in a largely Pakistani Muslim city community in Britain. This book is delightfully written, very informative and very helpful for Christians with the opportunity of sharing their faith with Muslims around them. When you have read it, pass it on! Martin Goldsmith, All Nations Christian College, Ware, England |