In my last post I shared about how to carry on a deeper, less confrontational discussion with your Muslim friend by asking a questions about the topic of hypocrisy. Click HERE for my earlier post. In this post I will suggest a different question to ask your friend that might allow you to enter into yet another non-confrontational conversation with the goal of introducing your Muslim friend to Jesus Christ.

This is not a question to ask to a stranger, or even to a Muslim whom you know only casually. This is a question to ask someone with whom you have built a bit of rapport; it is a question that you would ask after you have first developed a basic level of friendship. The goal of this question (as with the question I gave you in the first post) is to have a meaningful discussion with your Muslim friend without the conversation immediately degenerating into: “My religion is better than yours,” or “I’m right and you’re wrong.” This is one of those questions that might allow you to avoid that difficulty and allow you to point your friend toward Christ.

Question #2: Have you ever encountered an evil spirit (or a Jinn)?

Most Muslims come from countries that share a worldview that allows them to think and talk more about the spiritual world than people from western societies (North America and Western Europe). When you ask this question, there is a very good likelihood that the answer to your question will be “Yes.” Then ask your friend to tell you about it. But hold onto your seat because you are probably about to hear a hair-raising story! After you have carefully listened to the story, ask your friend whether he or she was afraid. Almost certainly the answer will be yes. Now, very directly ask: “How do you protect yourself from evil spirits?”

The answer you receive will probably either be: “I go to such-and-such a religious teacher who gives me such-and-such advice,” or “I don’t know how to protect myself.” Either way, you are now in a position to talk about why you are not afraid of evil spirits (hopefully you aren’t!) because of what Jesus has done by defeating the powers of evil on the cross and indwelling you by his Spirit. (Of course, this is the point at which you are going to need to know your theology well enough to be able to articulate clearly and accurately what Christians believe about this! Many people don’t know what they believe about the power of Christ over the evil powers. For more, read the first chapter in Clinton Arnold’s book, 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare.)

This is the second question that I would suggest that you use after you have built at least a bit of a relationship with a Muslim and want to have a deeper spiritual conversation with him or her.

Are there other ways you have discovered by which you can have meaningful conversations with Muslims that avoid the confrontational “My religion is better than yours” approach?