Recent Dicussions at UM Dearborn

*The following was written by Maria Gregg, an InterVarsity student at UM Dearborn. It's the account of a 3-hour discussion between us and a small group of other Christian students, and friend named Brian, in the University Center last week. (*Brian and I have been meeting weekly on campus to pray for Muslim students there.) It culminated with a fascinating 40-minute conversation with Mustafa, student President of the Thaqalayn Muslim Association (TMA), of whom I have written before. Following this is a shorter report from Brian about the same interaction.

"Our conversation started with Scott asking how concerned our InterVarsity (IV) chapter is about reaching out to Muslim students on campus. We discussed the levels of interest that various IV students have shown with this, and some of the reasons that they have or have not gotten involved. While doing so, we also began to share some of our respective experiences with Muslim students. A big question we discussed was one that came up in a previous conversation that Scott had with a Muslim student: "Is the God of Christianity the same as the God of Islam?" (something along those lines). That question involves asking what the true character of God is, and how it is the same and/or different in Islam. It is a little complicated when you find that there are some foundational similarities, but it is important to sort through the significant differences too. One big difference we discussed was the idea of justice. What does it mean, in either religion, for God to be just? Along with the idea of justice comes trust. In Christianity we can trust all of God's word because it is truth and unchanging, whereas in Islam God can change what he says because he is God [though they don't believe the Qur'an can be changed].

"The second big question was the question of evil and God's role in creating or allowing evil in the world. Islam says that God created evil, whereas Christians consider God to be incapable of creating evil (which leads to complications because God created the angel that fell and became Satan). How do we sort these things out to come to a deeper understanding of God? Then we all spent some time in prayer. The main concern of the collective prayer was our relationships with Muslims and the Muslim community on campus. We prayed specifically for a student named Mustafa. After we finished praying we saw Mustafa, who joined us after Scott invited him over. First we started with talking about the need to bring the Muslim and the Christian community together through events. The conversation transitioned to discussing God's nature in Islam. Mustafa used the word "just" or "justice" three times when he was talking about God, which lead Scott to go back to our previous topic, and he asked Mustafa what it meant for God to be just. Through that Mustafa went into the Creation and God's incomparable power, which humbles us. He talked about the need for morality and then repentance when you do something wrong. There were 4 Christians and one Muslim, so we mostly listened while Mustafa talked, and we asked questions. One of the important points that Brian brought up was about the consequences for our actions, and how we understand what it is we really deserve for what we do. Mustafa believed we deserve punishment, but also that God is merciful and forgiving if you believe in him and try to obey and follow him. Brian also brought up the idea of God's grace and how even though we deserve death, God sent Jesus to free us from the consequences of sin. Mustafa didn't feel that Jesus is necessary for forgiveness, but as a prophet he gave us a message from God. Our conversation didn't explicitly deal with what justice is in Islam and in Christianity, but all of it connected to that theme. We also talked about the possibility of hell and what that means for us, and Muslims, and atheists, although it didn't seem to be a comfortable topic for Mustafa.

"At the end we acknowledged the possibility of one religion being right and the other being wrong, though we didn't discuss the implications for that. Overall it seemed that Mustafa connected most with the idea of faith. He is interested in seeking true faith and letting his faith be tested, and because of that he is willing to learn about Christianity. Even so, he thinks Christians are misguided and found himself in a position of speaking truth to us rather than vise-versa. It ended with a shared interest in having some formal events involving scholars between our student organizations next semester, but Mustafa also suggested preparing the campus with some preliminary informal events.

"My after-thoughts: Maybe doing a panel discussion with students instead of inviting scholars would be better? We should consider monthly dialogue events that confront the similarities and differences between the two religions. Example: What is prayer?...exploring the meaning and practices of prayer in both religions. How can we bring people into a culture of respect and willingness to learn? What are the shared needs of both communities that can be fulfilled by bridging the two communities. Is it possible to do so without compromising? What are some things that we can compromise on, and things we cannot?"

-Maria

Brian's Account:
"Another colleague, Scott, who also has a heart for Muslims, and I have been meeting weekly at UM Dearborn to pray for God’s will regarding reaching Muslim students there. Last week several Intervarsity students interested in Muslim outreach also joined us to pray. Almost immediately after praying we saw a Muslim student we’d met before named Mustafa. Scott signaled him over to come and talk with us. We had a wonderful dialogue with Mustafa that was especially beneficial for the Intervarsity students wanting to share their faith with Muslims. Most exciting of all for me was that I was able to share the good news of the gospel with Mustafa! And Mustafa’s interested in *inviting other Muslim friends* to join such discussions in the future. Moreover, the Intervarsity President stopped by and all expressed their firm desire to hold a joint Intervarsity-TMA event to encourage such dialogue in the future.