by Greg Baxter
Pastor of Faith Journey Church, Lawton, OK
Engaging Islam, by Georges Houssney
Treeline Publishing (2010). 208 pages.
Engaging Islam is, in my view, a wonderful book by Georges Houssney providing an extensive knowledge of Islam, the Muslim world, and Arab culture as well as a practical firsthand experience on how to win Muslims and plant New Testament churches in Islamic countries around the world. Georges couples his expertise in Muslim theology and culture with over 40 years of experience in winning Muslims to Christ. This book is a must-read for Christians who want to understand who Muslims are and how to share the Gospel with them.
Georges was born into a Christian home in Lebanon, and his family was attacked by Muslim militants and forced to flee their home after civil war broke out in 1958. He was nine years old when he began training with a militia to fight the Muslim opposition. Because he hated Muslims, after the war he joined a gang, got into fights with them, and dreamed of avenging his family and his ancestors. At age 12 he was led to the Lord by a Lebanese seminary student in the Baptist mission center that opened in his neighborhood. God changed his heart toward Muslims and he has now been involved in Muslim evangelism for over four decades. Dwight and Jeanne Billinglsey, former BBFI missionaries to Lebanon, discipled and mentored Georges for several years before they were forced to leave the country as a result of the civil war in 1975. The Billingleys are now in Detroit, MI, working to evangelize the largest Muslim population in America.
The book has 208 pages divided into two sections of eight and seven chapters respectively. The first section describes the theology and practices of Muslims and how they practice their faith. Chapter two, “Who Muslims Are, and Who They Are Not” was very helpful. Houssney declares that most Christians have no meaningful contact with Muslims and proceeds to describe the “top ten misconceptions about Muslims” he encountered. They are: a) Islam is a monotheistic religion, b) All Muslims are Arabs, c) All Arabs are Muslims, d) All people in Arab countries are Arabs, e) Muslims are descendants of Abraham through Ishmael, f) Muslims are impossible to reach, g) When Muslims become Christians they always face persecution, h) Muslims hate America, i) Muslims have a negative view of Christianity, and j) We need to be secretive about our work in the Muslim world (pages 23-33).
The second half of the book explains in detail how to witness to a Muslim and achieve results. The method is simple, love Muslims the way Jesus loved them. When meeting a Muslim (Chapter 9) Georges offers these tips: remember that the battle is in the heart, offer hospitality and friendship, use the Bible, tell the gospel story, deal with one person at a time to avoid peer pressure of groups, do not argue, give out literature, pray, work as a team, and use home study groups until the person is ready to attend your church (pages 117-129). Another very important principle to remember is to take a genuine interest in your Muslim friends and ask them personal questions (Chapter 10). Georges also provides practical principles on how to share the love of Christ, and the book ends with the challenge to open our eyes and see the opportunities to reach Muslims for Christ (Chapter 15). For more information, see the author’s website, www.engagingislam.org.
Greg Baxter recently received the Doctor of Ministry degree from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, VA.