Religions and mission in the Arab world
SEPTEMBER 2008: Vivienne Stacey

This issue of our magazine is fully focused on Ms Vivienne Stacey, a lifelong missionary in the Muslim World. You will find her major writings in this issue on our frontpage. If you click the button Vivienne Stacey you find many other articles by her hand; we will continue to upload new articles there, so keep coming back!

This week we received the news that our sister Shirley Madany has passed away; her husband, Rev. Bassam Madany, regularly contributes to our magazine. We wish him comfort of God in the certainty that his beloved wife is now with our Lord. Let us pray for Bassam.

We have also made dozens of articles by Bassam and Shirley Madany available in the past weeks. Under the button Madany's you find them.

Please let us know how we can improve St Francis Magazine so that it serves your needs in mission in the Arab World!

Rev Dr John Stringer
 

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Allah? The God of Islam and the God of Christianity?
Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?  Or – as it is frequently but incorrectly phrased – is Allah the same as God?  Recently Durie wrote a little book to answer that question and emphasizes that what the Qur’an reveals about God is so opposite to what the Bible teaches about God, that Muslims and Christians are really not worshipping the same God.  When it is formulated in this way, however, we are left with many questions.  Like, which other God are Muslims worshipping then, since there is only one God?  I would like to take up this theological challenge from my experienceof having lived in the Middle East for almost eight years.

First of all I will make a few more general comments concerning the identity of the God of Islam and the God ofChristianity.  Secondly, I will focus on an issue that is not only important for ourunderstanding of God, but very sensitive in the Islamic world as well, i.e. the meaningof the Jewishness of Jesus; what does it mean that Jesus, who truly and fully revealed God, was a Jew?  Finally I will try to make some concluding remarks.

ALLAH OR GOD?
An abstract question.  First of all the question whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God does not seem to be very relevant.  The question is hardly an issue in the Middle East and in my relationship with Muslims it never played a role.  Everyone in the Middle East simply assumes you believe in God; the opposite is absurd and inconceivable, even if ‘faith in God’ is experienced and expressed in many different ways.

Sometimes non-Christians have asked me as a Christianto pray for a relative, because I believed in God and as ‘rajul ad-din’ (religious man) might have more direct access to Him.  Also, when people exchange greetings, both Christians and Muslims call upon the name of God to wish you good.  So in general this question about God in daily life is not an issue.

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