Georges Houssney grew up in Lebanon deeply hating Muslims. Then he met Christ. That began a redemptive process where the hate he felt toward followers of Islam turned to love. Now that love drives Georges to spend his days evangelizing Muslims on university campuses, planting churches in closed nations, and translating the bible into two Middle Eastern languages.
Georges joins us to talk about his new book Engaging Islam and to provide a firsthand report on God at work in the hearts of Muslims longing for the truth.
“As Christians, Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecuted us.”
It’s key to grasp that the concept of salvation itself means very different things to Muslims and Christians. Yet there are concepts where we can find common points to start from. Georges explains how he employs the term “Allah”.
Georges explains how we often have misconceptions about Muslims. For instance:
• Some people believe that most Muslims are terrorists. In reality, many are nominal and secular. In order to start a dialogue, we need to understand who we’re dealing with.
• All Muslims are not Arabs, and not all Arabs are Muslims. Alongside that, many Christians have fled the Middle East, but many remain.
• There are more Muslims killings Muslims than there are Muslims killing people of other groups.
Georges explains the difference between Sunni and Shia Islam and how many followers there are of each sect in the Muslim world.
One instance of our reaching out to a Muslim can make an eternal difference!
“Boldness produces much more fruit for the Kingdom than being wise.”
What is it about our faith that gives us the depth of meaning and belief we would die for? We need to hold onto that and develop a boldness that drives us not to hide who we are but to share it with the world.
