I’m going to go ahead and tell you the main point of writing this blog right off the bat. This is so as you read these words, you’ll know where I’m coming from as I’m writing this.
For one, this is to kind of let you know a little bit of what I’m experiencing here in Malaysia. It’s also to inform you, to what extent I can, on the reality of the Muslim world, and how different it is to be in a world ruled by Islam and not of what Americans are used to. And lastly, the main point of this blog is so you may be compelled by Christ’s love to do something about the reality of what you’re about to read.
I am in Malaysia, and I’ve been here for several weeks. Malaysia is an Islamic country with right around 65ish percent of the population being Muslim. You look left, you’ll see a Muslim. You look right, you’ll see a Muslim. You look in front of you, you’ll see a Muslim. And if you look behind you, well, you’ll probably see a Muslim. Now, of course not everyone is Muslim. You’ll be seeing Hindu, Buddhist, and even Christian people here as well. However, in Malaysia, Islam is definitely the biggest influence in how people walk and talk. And this is something you need to know: If you’ve never been to an Islamic nation, your perception of what’s written in this blog probably won’t be fully accurate of the reality I’m talking about.
Malaysia’s not even all that bad in their persecution of other people of other beliefs, I mean, compared to other Islamic nations. However, for other religions, especially Christian, your life can and probably will be affected in a negative way.
I’m going to go into a little bit of Islamic beliefs (I’m not an expert, so I don’t really qualify myself to say much), but I’ll give you truth of what I know. And a big part of understanding Islam and people in Islamic nations is to take your mindset out of an American mindset. And this is what I mean when I say if you’ve never been out of America and into an Islamic nation. There’s a big difference of understanding Muslims from what you hear on the news and read about in books, and actually being apart of their culture. And no, the “Muslim culture” in America is not the same as Muslim culture in Muslim nations. And this is mainly because of Islamic law in the Islamic countries… I’ll get to that in a lil bit.
You see, Americans have this mindset of equality, freedom, justice, liberty, dreaming dreams, and fighting for whats right. I mean, after all, a lot of what America has in the constitution is based on biblical beliefs…. For us Americans, men and women have been created equally, and deserve equal rights. We are entitled to freedom and a fair justice system. We are told to shoot for the stars because, well, we can. You want something, why not get it? What’s truly in your way?
That’s the mindset we’ve had our whole lives. That’s what’s wired in our brains… However, you can’t have that mindset in and of itself when trying to understand Islamic nations. And only when you’re actually sitting next to Muslims in an actual Muslim nation will you truly start to get it. I’ve been interested in Islam for a long time, but by having the wired mindset of an American that’s never been out of America, I just didn’t get it… Well, now I’m starting to… to an extent at least (again, it’s not like I’ve lived here for 10 years and have walked life with Muslims the whole time, so I’m not someone that is trying to explain and interpret Muslim life to the fullest of all knowledge. But I have lived here for several weeks and have been informed/educated by reliable sources).
Now, I’m going to introduce some basics in Islamic beliefs. You may have heard of some of these, but again… Pull your American mindset out of the way. Try to put your shoes in ones that have never tasted American rights or entitlements. This really will better help you understand where Muslims are coming from.
Islam. Well, Islam actually means peace. And for Muslims, a part of wiring in their mindset is this: A world of Islam is a world of peace, yet a world of anything Non Islam is a world of war… Let that soak in real quick. Seriously. Think about it…. I’ll wait…….
Muhammad is their main man. He was born around 570 AD and had a pretty interesting life… You should check it out sometime (Again, I’m not here to write a history lesson). Much of Islam spread throughout the land by force. Ever heard of the Crusades. You can thank a big part of some of that to Islam. And a big reason of Christian involvement was to defend themselves… from Muslims. Again, this is a piece of the crusades puzzle, not the whole thing. And does that peace and war thing make a little more sense now?.. Ok good. I’ll keep going.
Concerning Muhammad, it’s important to know that in his early years of his “ministry” he was simple and peaceful. However, later on he became more violent and resilient on what he wanted to be done. Muhammad believed he was sent by God as the final prophet of the Jews and Christians. Shoot, he even chose Jerusalem to be the direction for where Muslims pray (It didn’t end up happening). It’s also important to note that Muhammad believed in and taught on Jewish, Christian, and pagan beliefs. And because of that fact, yes, Islam has been influenced by Christian, Jewish, and Pagan beliefs/rituals/tradition.
The Quran is their book. Their most sacred book. They DO NOT treat their Quran’s like we treat our Bibles. They do not write in them or mistreat them at all. Muslims won’t even carry them below waste line. Disrespecting the Quran is an absolute no-no. Because to them, the actual book (and only in Arabic) has power in itself. Even right now currently in heaven, there’s this really cool book called the Quran that’s written in Arabic, word for word. Well, that’s what they believe… And speaking of heaven, just a little side note. During part of a Muslims prayer that they pray everyday, is a prayer for Muhammad’s salvation… If they’re praying for Muhammad’s salvation, you think they think they have guaranteed salvation?
And so with that, it’s also important to know about the five pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars: Declaring Faith, Prayer, Fasting, Giving, and Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca). I’m only going to touch a little bit on each one.
Declaring Faith: This is called shahada. This is them testifying their belief. To be a Muslim, you must repeat a certain saying three times in front of two witnesses.
Prayer: God is not a personal God, and so during prayer, they’re not even sure if God is going to acknowledge or pay attention to their prayers. Muslims have to pray 5 times a day at certain times.
Fasting: Ramadan. This is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. No eating, drinking, smoking, or sex from sunrise to sunset. Not following Ramadan in certain places have severe life threatening consequences.
Giving: By giving money to support Islam and helping poor Muslims, they believe that this will help their chances in going to heaven.
Pilgrimage to Mecca: Instead of Jerusalem, it turned into Mecca. Mecca is considered the Muslim Holy City, and every Muslim must go there at least once in their life time if they can afford it.
That’s a small dose of the Five Pillars of Islam. Know that Islam isn’t just their religion, it’s their way of life. To Muslims, honor is huge. It’s for the most part, the most important thing in life. And so for a family member to convert out of Islam (which is not allowed anyways), that can very likely bring shame on that family and especially that person. Family members are even killed by their own to restore their honor and for going against their beliefs.
Speaking of not allowed… Once you go Muslim, you never go back. If you live in an Islamic nation and you convert to Islam, you cannot get out. Once you’re in, you’re in. It’s illegal to convert back out of Islamic faith. Consequences? Well, they differ from place to place. But, execution is still a very real thing in some countries that have Islamic law. If you’re in America, I mean it doesn’t really matter. Muslim on Monday, Hindu on Tuesday, Buddhist on Wednesday, atheist Thursday through Saturday, Christian on Sunday, it doesn’t really matter. You do you. Right?
Not the case in Islamic nations that are highly influenced by or totally controlled by Islamic law. Also, know that Islamic law is actually called, Sharia. Islam is just as much a religion as a legal system. This tells Muslims what they can and cannot do.
And just to emphasize the biggest and most important difference between Christianity and Islam, we gotta talk about Jesus.
To Muslims, they do believe that Jesus was a prophet, was born of a virgin, performed miracles, and was sinless. However, Jesus did not die on a cross, Jesus is not the Father’s Son, and Jesus was not fully man and fully God.
Now, it is vital to remember that not every Muslim is the same. Do not stereotype Muslims as they’re all the same, because they’re not. And not all places in the world do the same thing under Islamic ruling. Some can be more lenient than others, others are as strict as you can get. Not every country that’s Islamic will chop your head off if you convert out of Islam. And not every Muslim is out to convert people or kill people.
Malaysia is a place to where there’s decent freedom to be what you choose, to an extent. And there’s little persecution, to an extent. Malaysia still has Islamic law, however, they’re more peaceful and lenient compared to other places in the world. But, again, this is an Islamic nation, so they have Islamic law. If you’re a Muslim, you are under the Islamic law. If you’re not, then it really doesn’t apply to you. However, let’s say there are some Christians here in Malaysia. Its illegal to openly talk about your faith to Muslims in a converting kind of conversation. Evangelism is illegal here, and you can and most likely will be arrested. And there are many obstacles as Christians that live here must still have to face. It’s not totally freedom, but it’s not as bad as other countries. Whether you’re a Muslim or not, Islam does affect your life and how you live here.
Muslims view the world very differently than we do. We don’t see eye to eye on most things. And Islam is not slowing down. Actually, it’s picking up even more momentum. And part of that is because by living in an Islamic nation, once you’re Muslim, you’re Muslim. And when they’re knocking on your door saying they’ll give you governmental benefits that other non Muslims don’t get, it’s a little more convincing.
There’s much much more about the fullness of what’s to know about Islam, however, like I said, I’m not an expert, and my goal wasn’t to teach the religion of Islam.
A major reasoning in writing this blog was for you to be better equipped and more informed on the truth and reality behind Islam and many countries that are under Islamic law. Plus for you to seek the Lord in what you should do about this reality. Yes, be in prayer for Muslims everywhere as well as Christians that are being persecuted and executed in these parts of the world. However, maybe God is calling you to do a little more than that. Whether it’s sponsoring native or foreign missionaries, or calling your own church to rise up and seek the Lord together in praying for Muslims everywhere, or even you yourself ordering up some airline tickets to fly over here yourself to serve the Lord of Truth in the real places of the world that’s under Islamic law.
I understand it’s harder to grasp these realities when you’ve never even seen them first hand. But as I walk down the sidewalk hearing their prayers from the nearest mosque five times a day, and looking beside me at a local small store and seeing the worker down on his knees praying to a false god, it changes how I see the world around me as I stand there knowing the truth that God has revealed to me. These people that God has created fearfully and wonderfully are blind to the reality of the True God that’s very personal and desires a real and intimate relationship. A God that knows them, but is wanting them to know Him. A God that’s saying, “Cmon, come to me. Come to me and I will set you free. Come to me and I will heal you. Come to me and I will comfort you. Come to me and I will give you peace. Come to me and be loved! Come to me and receive truth! Come to me and be reconciled! Come to me, and you shall have eternal life guaranteed! Because… I love you. And I’m calling you home.”
That’s what’s true. And as I look out and see people who aren’t hearing that, it breaks my heart… Because… Well…. It’s breaking His.
So I pray that this will break your heart as it breaks His. I pray your eyes may be opened to the reality of billions of people believing in false gods and beliefs. If you know God, and He’s living inside of you, don’t just say this is horrible or you can’t believe this is happening. Or even that you wish this or that. No. I encourage you to stand up, cry out to the Lord, and seek him with everything you got to see where He’s calling you to go and what He’s calling you to do.
There are many issues I’m passionate about, but right now, this is the one that’s right in front of my face. And I’m telling you, these people and these places need the Church to be mobile, not stationary. God is definitely moving here in Malaysia, but let me just encourage you to be in continual prayer for the people of Malaysia, as well as every other Islamic country.
So let me just make this one thing very clear…
There’s a war. Not a war of Muslims vs Christians, or Muslims vs the world, but a spiritual warfare that is way more detrimental than anything we could imagine. And as Christ followers, we’re called to be on the front lines, not to cower back because of unfamiliarity, suffering, or inconvenience. Just imagine if the Church walked together side by side with the armor of God and actually started to fight in the fullness of this war. I mean, cmon. We’re already guaranteed victory! Part of this war is fighting for the souls of this world that are blind… And yeah, Muslims fall under that category. I pray that our hearts will be compelled to fight in this war, and bring people home.
