Stop Fearing Islam

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Time to stop fearing an Islamic invasion

"They are positive towards New Zealand. It's when people don't befriend them, or avoid them, that they draw back into their ethnic community.

Mr Fawcett said it was significant that God was bringing all these people here for us to love and share Jesus with, which we would not be able to do in Saudi Arabia. "They may have their purposes, but God has his purpose. If we embrace his purpose rather than the Devil's purpose, we will be in a better frame of mind to respond.

"I met a guy from Tauranga, where over the road from his church the Lord has arranged for an Islamic training centre to be established. "We agreed it was a wonderful place to put it because believers can reach out and love them and communicate Jesus to them.

Internationals generally are crying out for us to show
a bit of interest, to invite them into their homes

"But some Christians would be jumping up and down and thinking about a demonic conspiracy. Of all the places to put it, why not put it where Christians can pray for them and love them and storm heaven for them. "It doesn't mean the enemy does not have a plan, but I think we focus too much on what the enemy's little plan is and miss what God's plan is.

"I mean, how easily can you go to Saudi Arabia and share the Gospel with Saudis? It's impossible, yet God is bringing them here and they go down to [Cathedral] Square to hang out, where Christians can share with them.

"I don't think the best way to reach Muslims is to argue with them on the street, but it's an opportunity to befriend people who are looking for friendship."

Looking for opportunities to befriend Muslims is a way of life for Mr Fawcett. He left New Zealand in the late 1970s, working first for five and a-half years in Malaysia before spending 17 years church planting in Japan. From there he and his Chinese-born wife, Lucy, moved to Mozambique to work among the Muslim Koti people.

Although they have been back in New Zealand three years, they plan to return to central Asia in February, where they expect to spend the next 20 to 30 years.

Mr Fawcett said that around the world many Muslims were turning to Christ. "Islam was not the fastest-growing religion. The world's population was increasing at 1.6 per cent a year, Islam at about 2.7 per cent a year - almost entirely by biological growth - and the number of Bible-believing Christians was growing at 6.9 per cent a year.

More Muslims had come to Christ in the past 10 years than in the previous 1200 years. Hundreds of thousands had been saved in Bangladesh alone.

In the 1970s, Idi Amin had dedicated Uganda to Islam but today Uganda was about 80 per cent Christian. In Kampala, 80 to 90 per cent of people were evangelical Christians.

In Iran, the Government acknowledged 250,000 Christians but Christians say there are far more than that.

Radio and the internet were having a big impact. Mr Fawcett quotes the example of a radio programme in North Africa which talked about Muslims having dreams and which received thousands of letters in response. "There is an Arabic internet chat room which has 20,000 hits a day from people enquiring about Christianity."

Mr Fawcett said Muslims were drawn to Christ because they were so God-conscious.

"They may not be attracted to Christianity as a religion, but they are attracted to Jesus. Because of their background they have a soft heart towards God and it's very easy to engage them in a conversation about faith.

"If you are open and looking for opportunities to reach out, you'll find they are more open than anybody else on the planet."

However, he pointed out that while they were attracted to Jesus, they were not attracted to the Western Church. That required a different approach from normal evangelism.

"Our approach is to say fairly quickly, 'This is not about becoming a Christian, but about becoming a follower of Jesus. You can become a follower of Jesus without leaving your community, without identifying with a church'.

"I tell Christians reaching out not to try to take them to church.

"If they become a Christian, they can become an outcast or killed so evangelism ends with that one person. It's better if they can stay within the community - although in some cases that may be impossible.

Mr Fawcett quoted Building Bridges, by Fouad Elias Accad, which says there are Muslims trusting Christ in Muslim lands who do not consider they have become Christians, a word which has negative political connotations. Instead they see themselves as having become truly Muslim (the word Muslim means "surrendered to God").

Mr Fawcett said he was not ignoring the political side of Islam or the problems that uncontrolled immigration could bring. "Reckless embracing of people from a totally different heritage without requiring them to make any attempt at adapting to our way of life is as dumb as you can get.

"If they come here they should take off their burqas, they should adapt to New Zealand society. Those things should be addressed to them before they come.

"But I need to put that aside when I meet an Iranian with a burqa or scarf or whatever. They may be here through Government policies that I think are daft, but God has brought them and I need to reach out to them in love and not allow my political take to cloud things.

"Internationals generally are crying out for Kiwis to show a bit of interest, to invite them into their homes. We have to separate the political from our call as believers to love and reach people."

John McNeil, a veteran of 40 years of newspaper and radio journalism, is South Island editor for Challenge Weekly, New Zealand's non-denominational, independent national Christian newspaper.