Truth For Muslims
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My general position is that I do not use the Quran in my evangelistic efforts for a number of reasons, one of these reasons is that I want to avoid giving any authority to the Quran.
On the other hand I do know some Christians advocate the use of the Quran in witness to Muslims. I have found that those who are effective with this approach are those who know the original language, the Quranic Arabic, very well. They are mostly Arabs either from a Christian background or former Muslims.
I advise Christians to not to use the Quran in their witness to Muslims. But if one knows the language well and has experience and wisdom to selectively use it from time to time in certain witnessing situations, it might be appropriate and useful. This is my general perspective on the issue.
I also believe it is a mistake that there are books aimed at the average English speaking American Christian advocating the use of the Quran in witness to Muslims. I don't think most Christians can learn an effective use of the Quran in this manner when witnessing to the average Muslim.
Having said that, I have quoted from the Quran in English a few times with Muslims and then when they respond that such a statement is not in the Quran I then have challenged them to bring me their Quran and I will show it to them. No Muslim has ever produced a Quran to let me show them (as I expected). I think with the few Muslims I have tried this out on it has left a lasting impact that I either know what I'm talking about when it comes to religious issues or that they are afraid to see that I'm right and thus the seeds of doubt about their beliefs are planted. I rarely have done this, but on the few occasions it has shut up some loud mouths who were telling me that I don't know what I'm talking about (so it helped as a backup in these tense situations). I haven't done this in such a long time that I would actually have to refresh myself on the passages/references before I would ever do it again.
One last note, I have read several testimonies of Muslims who are amazed at the Quranic description of Jesus when they decide to really think about what the Quran is saying about him. This starts their journey to seek more about who Jesus is and thus brings them to the Bible. I have one booklet that we printed several years ago of a testimony of an Afghan Christian who was led to the Bible by the amazing but incomplete things stated in the Quran about Jesus.
In short, the thinking Muslim who reads the Quran with a view to gain understanding of the meaning can actually have many questions raised in his mind about his beliefs. But Muslims are not encouraged to think critically about their faith and so very few Muslims read the Quran with a view to gain understanding. They instead emphasize reading the text out loud with proper accent and intonation rather than seeking to understand the meaning of the words.
Published April 2005
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Truth For Muslims
Truth For Muslims is bringing a comprehensive, biblical response to Islam in America