A problem or an opportunity?

Jesus said “Go and make disciples of all nations.” Matthew 28:19

Did you hear about the first ever Islamic mosque to be built on the Isle of Lewis?

In case you don’t know, Lewis is about as northerly as you can get in the British Isles - keep going for an hour or two and you hit the north pole (all right, just a touch of exaggeration there). It belongs to islands called the Outer Hebrides, and its capital has the wonderful-sounding name of Stornoway which, to me, perfectly conjures up images of grey seas, big skies, of wildness and remoteness. 

I’ve never been there, though I have a friend who was brought up there (Hi, Sam!), and he has given me an impression of the kind of place it is - very different from the cities I am familiar with!

The population is less than 20,000. And among those 20,000 there are some 60 Muslims. Apparently a Muslim community has been there for about 60 years, and most of them feel they are real Hebrideans.

But they have never - until last week - had their own place of worship. So the opening of this quite modest building (a renovated cottage) is a significant event.

As I read this news item my immediate thought was, “But places like Lewis are Christian through and through! How will the bulk of the local people react to this?” 

Well, most of them, it seems, have been supportive and welcoming. But the type of Christianity represented by the island is of a staunchly conservative kind. So it was no surprise to read that not everyone is happy...

A local minister was quoted in the paper as fearing that the mosque would represent a threat to Lewis’s Christian way of life. He feared that it would “lead people astray” and “endanger their never-dying souls.” Mmm.

I do have some understanding of how he feels. In my London days I used to preach occasionally at a church whose building was completely dwarfed by a massive, ornate Hindu temple directly opposite, and it was difficult to be there without thinking, rather frowningly, “Yes, things have certainly changed in recent years...!” 

I remember too the opening of the Regent’s Park mosque in London in 1978 and finding it difficult to restrain the instinctive, knee-jerk reaction, “What’s that doing here!”

So I certainly have no right to be critical of that minister - I don’t stand in his shoes. No doubt, also, he said far more than was quoted in the paper, and perhaps some of it was of a more positive kind (and yes, perhaps there will be some who are “led astray”). But whatever, his comments certainly came across as essentially negative.

But wait a minute... if we really believe that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and if we believe that one day “every knee will bow” to him (Philippians 2:10), is there any true reason to be fearful? Even if we are convinced that Islam is indeed a false teaching, is it not a more positive - not to say a more biblical - approach to say “Here are people with whom I can share the good news of Jesus!” rather than “Here are people who might adversely affect our way of life”?

The fact is that nothing in our world ever stays the same, and we have to get used to that idea and adjust to it. But shouldn’t we, by faith, see “problems” as opportunities? 

Jesus told the apostles to “Go and make disciples” (emphasis on the “go”). But I’m sure he could also have said “Make disciples of those who have come” (emphasis on the “come”).

The Christian faith was born into a melting-pot of religious faiths and traditions. The Roman emperor himself was virtually an object of worship, and there were gods and goddesses aplenty wherever you went, as Paul’s visit to Athens (Acts 20) makes very plain. The first believers had to fight in order for their faith in Jesus to find a foothold; and the fact is that, by God’s grace, their fight met with remarkable success. Where are all those gods and idols now?

And that’s exactly how it is for us today, whether we live on a remote island or in a teeming city. God calls us to have faith that the truth as it is in Jesus will ultimately conquer - and, until that “ultimately” arrives, to busy ourselves with the task of making Christ known at every opportunity.

This cannot be done, at first, simply through words. Truly Christlike living - honest, kind, loving, humble, generous, hospitable, sacrificial - is a beautiful and attractive thing (perhaps it is what drew you to Christ in the first place?) and it is what earns us the right to speak of our faith.

So I would like to think that the large Christian majority on the Isle of Lewis, far from being disheartened, will pray to live such Christ-centred, Spirit-filled lives that their Muslim neighbours will be drawn irresistibly to Jesus - mosque or no mosque.

Father, we pray for our Muslim friends and neighbours. In this season of Ramadan, as many devote themselves to special fasting and prayer, we ask that some, even perhaps to their own amazement, will find that the answer to those prayers is Jesus, crucified, risen and one day returning. Amen.