Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity

by Nabeel Qureshi

That implicitness is one reason why a child’s obedience is paramount in Muslim culture. In my teen years, Ammi would often reprimand my obstinacy by saying, “What good is it to tell me you love me when you don’t do what I say?” Later still, when I was considering following Jesus, I knew I was contemplating the one choice that would be far and away the greatest disobedience. Not only would my parents feel betrayed, they would be utterly heartbroken.

On the rare occasion that someone does invite a Muslim to his or her home, differences in culture and hospitality may make the Muslim feel uncomfortable, and the host must be willing to ask, learn, and adapt to overcome this. There are simply too many barriers for Muslim immigrants to understand Christians and the West by sheer circumstance. Only the exceptional blend of love, humility, hospitality, and persistence can overcome these barriers, and not enough people make the effort.

remember pointing out to Ammi and Abba that the people dressed provocatively on television might not be Christian, and their response was, “What do you mean? Don’t they call themselves ‘Christian’? Don’t you see them wearing crosses?” If I argued that some of them may be Christian in name only and might not even believe in God, they responded that this simply meant they were Christians who don’t believe in God. They did not categorize religion with belief but with cultural identity. The tragedy here is that no one has given them a reason to think otherwise. If they were to intimately know even one Christian who lived differently, their misconceptions might be corrected, and they might see Christianity in a virtuous light.

Effective evangelism requires relationships. There are very few exceptions.

With each point, I felt our position become more and more problematic, but Abba was not through. “Jesus prayed for the bitter cup to be taken away from him in the garden of Gethsemane. Clearly, he did not want to die! Would God not honor that?” Mike answered, “Yes, but he also said to God, ‘Let Your will be done, not mine.’ So, on the human level of experiencing pain, of course Jesus did not want to be crucified. But on a deeper level, Jesus wanted God’s will to be done, and so he was willing to be crucified. He made this clear when he turned back to Jerusalem much earlier in his ministry, prophesying his death and willingly walking toward it.”45

And that was the pattern that emerged. Whether proclaiming scientific miracles or defending scientific inaccuracies, the protocol always called for redefining the clear statements of the Quran to say something they did not say and then glossing over any strain.

“The Christian God demands that I proclaim a fact,” I continued. “He demands that I believe Jesus is Lord. But I wasn’t there, so I can’t know whether he claimed to be God. I’m Muslim; I’ve always seen the world as a Muslim. My perception is colored in such a way that, even if Jesus were God, I probably wouldn’t be able to know it. How can God hold me eternally accountable for not grasping a finite fact, one which I have no access to in the first place?” This was my last-ditch effort to maintain my Islamic faith: denying my ability to arrive at objective truth. David continued staring into the distance, considering my words carefully. When he finally spoke, his words cut to the quick. “Nabeel, you know that’s not true. Your parents see dreams, and God has directed you with supernatural signs in the sky. You know full well that if you ask Him to reveal the truth to you, He will.” As soon as David spoke, I knew he was right. It was as if his words resonated a raw nerve, one that had only just been aired. If I truly believed God existed, why did I not simply ask Him who He is? Could He not reveal that truth to me?

It was then that I realized the value of apologetics and what the arguments had done for me. All my life, barriers had been erected that kept me from humbly approaching God and asking Him to reveal Himself to me. The arguments and apologetics tore down those barriers, positioning me to make a decision to pursue God or not. The work of my intellect was done. It had opened the way to His altar, but I had to decide whether I would approach it. If I did, and if I really wanted to know God, I had to cast myself upon His mercy and love, relying completely upon Him and His willingness to reveal Himself to me.

Second, I have met a few people who, after reading this story, thought they needed to know all the answers about Islam before connecting with Muslims. That is certainly not the case. David barely knew anything about Islam when we started talking. What people need before befriending Muslims is not advanced knowledge of Islam but a willingness to discover what is important to their Muslim friends and the desire to invest the time to learn and discuss those matters as the relationship progresses. When it comes to a basic knowledge of Christianity, though, it is important for people to be able to articulately explain what they believe and why. That, at least, is what 1 Peter 3:15 tells Christians to do.