Zwemer Center

Uighur Genocide: Standing up for Persecuted Muslims

Some have questioned whether or not what is going on is physical genocide of Uighurs, however, forced sterilization, involuntary contraception, and systematic suppression of birth rate certainly sound like it. Genocide is defined as killing a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group. In Xinjiang, there is a deliberate attempt to diminish them, and estimates are that the growth rate among the Uighurs decreased 60 percent from 2015-2018. This paper suggests…

Muslim Evangelism in Terms of Purity from Defilement

The gospel is God’s good news for human beings mired in sin and its consequences. Often, this good news is presented as Jesus’ sacrificial payment of the just penalty for sin. This message is thoroughly biblical, and for many, it is good news indeed. However, for many Muslims, it is an answer to a legal question they are not asking. Rather, Muslims often demonstrate a felt need for cleansing. Jesus’ provision of complete cleansing from sin and a new spiritual nature can speak directly to these felt needs for purity, which are repeatedly affirmed in the biblical record.

Islam: Inherently Violent?

The jihadist attacks in Paris have grieved and frightened the world again with the reality of Muslims committing violence in the name of Islam. Again we face the question – is Islam inherently violent? Are Muslims required to commit violence as a religious obligation?

There is no doubt that unsettling numbers of Muslims would not only answer ‘yes,’ but follow through on the jihadist, terroristic mandate. Islam has a unique problem with terrorism and violence, among all the world’s religions.

Still, there is some reason to hope that many of the world’s billion Muslims do not agree with, and many even vocally oppose, the call to violent jihad. Here’s a post I wrote on Indonesia before the Paris attacks – the topic now seems more pressing than ever.

Sharing Jesus with Muslims

Many years ago, a young college student in Pakistan confided to me that he was intrigued by stories of Jesus in the Qur’an. He said his mother prayed seven times a day and read the Qur’an to him. What impressed him most were the miracles of Jesus–healing the sick, cleansing the lepers and raising the dead. “Who is this Jesus?” he asked. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to study Scripture together.

Ramon Lull: Apologist to Muslims

Ramon Lull (d. 1316) is one of the most creative, if not one of the most enigmatic, medieval theologians and apologists. A son of the island of Majorca, due east of Valencia, Spain, Lull grew up in an area of the medieval world dominated by both Christians and Muslims. By the later thirteenth century the Muslim dominance in Visigoth Spain came to an end, creating an opportunity for Christian apologists to evangelize their Muslim neighbors.

“Only the Father Knows the Day and the Hour”

If “the Roll were called up yonder” today would our work on earth be done? COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. Lockdowns, failed businesses, crashing stock markets, soaring unemployment, and church closures have some Christians in these parts wondering if we are already in the End Times. There is a lot to lament these days, but we must also ask what God wants to accomplish in the midst of such tough times…

New Book: The History of Apologetics

I had the privilege of co-authoring (with Ed Smither) the chapter on Timothy of Baghdad (727-823) in the recently released book The History of Apologetics. In the chapter, we discuss the context of the Eastern Church under Muslim rule and the missiological strategy of the Eastern Patriarch as a potential model for 21st Century Muslim-Christian dialogue. Given the fact that Muslims and Christians make up more than half the world’s population, it is imperative to have peaceful dialogue without compromising the essentials of the Christian faith. This is something that Timothy of Baghdad did quite well in a two-day dialogue with the then leader of the Muslim world. Below are a few excerpts from the chapter.

Are Evangelicals Stuck in the Political Swamp?

The sordid histories of both institutional Christianity and Islam are replete with political and military enmeshment. Our Christian forbears left us the legacy of the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition and the Wars of Religion—sterling examples of what happens when sincere obedience to Jesus is subverted by a political/military/economic agenda, endorsed by clergy…

What Happened to ‘Evangelicals’?

Many Americans today associate the word “evangelical” with white Republicans, especially the large number who voted for Trump in the 2016 election. How did the word “evangelical” become disconnected from vibrant Christian faith and connected, instead, in popular usage at least, to politics and ethnicity? In part, through the movement’s increasing politicization, ethnic misunderstandings between black and white evangelicals, and the rise of polling data tracking religious demographics. The term’s evolution presents a fresh challenge to American Christians, who cannot afford to mistake this-worldly political affiliations with our heavenly citizenship…

An Analysis of Trump’s So Called “Deal of the Century”

In June of 2019, Arab Baptist Theological Seminary Professor of Islamic Studies Dr. Martin Accad wrote an article titled “The Long-Awaited US Peace Plan, the So-Called “Deal of the Century,” Would Need a Whole Greater Deal of Justice to Succeed.” Given the Trump administration’s release of the deal earlier this week, Dr. Accad’s June analysis provides important insight for consideration…

Martin Luther on Islam and “the Turks”

In the 16th Century, Martin Luther came across a short book detailing the religious rituals and customs of the Ottoman Turks. He was so impressed with the tract that he decided to reprint it with a new preface that he authored himself. This is not surprising as, given the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, Luther had much to say regarding the Turks, Muhammad, and the Qur’an. While the majority of Luther’s works on Islam and Muslims are polemical in tone, this particular writing takes a different approach…

Remembering Rick Love

Rick Love’s life and legacy resonate deeply with the Zwemer Center of Muslim-Christian Relations at Columbia International University. As Ed Smither, Dean of Intercultural Studies at CIU, put it: “Rick loved Muslims and they loved him.” Yet, beyond his work with Muslims, Rick was known for conflict resolution among families, in the workplace, and in cross-cultural relationships all over the world. Below is mostly personal reflection but also how colleagues and friends remember him.