Many books have been written by Christian authors over the years exposing the dangers of Islam and errors within the Koran. This book takes a somewhat different tack, having the aim of equipping believers to be effective witnesses when conversing with Muslims.

Beth Peltola is an established authority on Islam, which religion she has studied for 25 years, being also Chief Executive of a project that runs training courses for the Church on responding to Islam. Co-author Tim Dieppe is Head of Public Policy at Christian Concern and has written regularly on Islamic affairs.

“We do this because we love Muslims, but we also love truth”, the authors make clear. “The Bible calls us to refute ideologies such as Islam, but we are also called to love all people – including Muslims. The aim is to … challenge and stimulate our Muslim friends to think critically about their religion … we care about our Muslim friends’ salvation, which cannot be found in Islam” (p.21).

Asking questions

Readers are reminded that they don’t need to be experts in either biblical or Koranic doctrine to discuss faith issues with Muslims – a basic knowledge, along with confidence in the life-changing power of the gospel, is all that’s required.

The use of questions to prompt others to think was, of course, a method employed by Jesus – remarkably, no fewer than 200 times in the Gospels.

The use of questions to prompt others to think was, of course, a method employed by Jesus – remarkably, no fewer than 200 times in the Gospels. It’s a powerful tool, and so Peltola and Dieppe use it as the framework of their study, splitting their study into eight chapters, each comprising a specific topic. Each chapter contains a number of pertinent questions to potentially pose when conversing with Muslims, each followed by thoughtful guidelines and observations. Chapter headings include:

Questions about Faith. E.g., ‘How did you become a Muslim?’ A discussion around this question helps show the essential distinction between Islam and Christianity. Muslims often reply that they were born into a Muslim family, or an Islamic nation. Conversion to Christ is marked by repentance, a conviction of the truth through reading the Bible and an encounter with Jesus Christ. Similarly, asking, ‘What do you think God is like?’ will reveal the character of Allah to be very different from that of God – not least because God is relational.

Asking, ‘What do you think God is like?’ will reveal the character of Allah to be very different from that of God – not least because God is relational.

Questions comparing Jesus and Mohammed. The book makes a very helpful list of contrasts between the two men (p.44). It suggests numerous significant questions to consider posing, such as:

• Why, according to the Quran, was Isa sinless, while Mohammed was not?
• Why do Muslims call themselves slaves of Allah, whereas Jesus sets us free from slavery?
• Why was Isa taken up to heaven, but Mohammed wasn’t?
• Why is Mohammed not prophesied in the Bible?

Questions about Mohammed; notably: 'If Mohammed is just a man, why is it blasphemy to speak against him?'; ‘Why did Mohammed have so many wives?' and 'Why did Mohammed marry a 6-year-old girl and consummate the marriage when she was 9?'

Over 150 Quranic verses prescribe violence for the sake of Islamic rule and belief.

Questions about Quran; noting, for example, that the Quran actually testifies to the Bible, and that many Quranic stories from the Bible come from Christian or Jewish traditions outside the Bible, or from literature traditionally regarded as heretical.

Some of the toughest questions are contained in Questions on Women in Islam (where a plethora of Quranic texts are used to show that women are regarded as of lesser worth than men, and that the Quran allows women to be abused), and Questions on Violence, where over 150 Quranic verses prescribe violence for the sake of Islamic rule and belief. The authors show that Islam certainly isn’t, and was never traditionally regarded as a ‘religion of peace’.

Further topics

A further chapter discusses the Islamic concept of abrogation (later Quranic verses superseding earlier verses), and ‘Satanic verses’ (the Islamic tradition that some verses of the Quran were inspired by Satan). This is followed by a series of questions pointing out the many historical inaccuracies in the Quran.

The authors show that Islam certainly isn’t, and was never traditionally regarded as a ‘religion of peace’.

A final, lengthy chapter offers thoughts and responses to questions commonly asked by Muslims of Christians; questions such as ‘How can God have a son?', 'Did God have sex with Mary?', 'What about the Crusades', and 'Why are Christian countries so corrupt?'. These issues are of genuine concern to Muslims and believers should be thoughtful and honest in their responses to them. The book contains 200 endnotes, and a suggested Further Reading list.

For its factual information on Islam and the Quran, this book is very helpful in its own right. Given that around four million Muslims live in the UK, it’s a truly valuable aid in personal outreach.

Questions to Ask your Muslim Friends (148pp) is published by Wilberforce Publications and is available from Amazon for £10.00 (inc p&p).