What are the best websites for Muslims seeking Jesus?

Image: Chen Yichun, Unsplash

What are the best websites for Muslims seeking Jesus?

Chris approached us, wanting to know about the best websites for Muslims who are seeking Jesus.

“What are the best websites for Muslims seeking Jesus?”

Dear Mahabba,

The internet is a great place to share faith with Muslims, wherever they are and with anonymity, which some may need.

Can you suggest where to direct Muslim friends so that they can explore the Christian faith further, view a testimony or an FAQ to address their burning question?

I would be interested in finding the best sites that offer any or all of the following:

• Testimonies
• Most ‘frequently asked questions’ addressed
• A presentation of the Christian faith in a Muslim friendly style
• Resources in different languages such as an online Bible
• Ideally, it would be great to find this all on one site!

Thanks!

Chris

Our response

Hi Chris,

We asked our online community on The City, and had a good response with suggestions for you. Here we go!

Websites

www.bible.com

• A simple, versatile online and smartphone Bible (also known as YouVersion)
• Features more translations – including ones that are easier for Muslims to understand like the Urdu Geo Version and Sharif Arabic Bible
• Worth using its tools to hyperlink every Bible verse you quote in an e-mail, post on social media or a website

www.al-kitab.org

• An online Muslim-friendly English Bible

www.biblegateway.com - CAUTION. SEE NOTE BELOW

• Although Bible Gateway has a wide selection of translations, it is probably best for Christian use alone
• Some of its adverts, which are pro-Israel or Zionist, could be viewed negatively by Muslims and be a distraction
• Use with plenty of caution, or else we recommend other Bible sites
• Thank you to Duncan for the cautionary note in the comments

Presentation of Christian faith to Muslims

info.al-kitab.org

• Al-Kitab Scripture Research Institute offers Muslim-friendly English Bible correspondence studies

www.word.org.uk

• A basic correspondence course for Muslims
• One former Muslims commented on the word.org resource:

“I found it helpful to send to a Muslim friend who quoted from the Qur’an 19:36-37 that refers to God not needing a son. Rather than argue the point it was great to lovingly direct her to a resource where she can find out for herself”

Frequently asked questions

www.answering-islam.org

• 'My favourite site', according to Sam!

www.unchangingword.com

• A very good website with many articles and video clips giving apologetic lectures on the key subjects that Muslims often discuss
• The website has most articles and some of the video clips in English, Bengali, Urdu, Indonesian and Mandarin Chinese

Testimonies

www.muslimjourneytohope.com

• For testimonies this is hard to beat!

haveyouseenthemaninwhite.com

• An interesting approach - 'the man in white'

Other

A comment from Fred (a former Muslim) on the online approach:

A very good approach

How to answer key questions from Muslims

Image: Emily Morter, Unsplash

How to answer key questions from Muslims

Denise has been building relationships with Muslims, and sent in the following question, wanting to know how she can bring her faith into conversations with grace and truth.

“How can I get equipped to ask - and answer - the right questions when talking to Muslims?”

Dear Mahabba,

I have a good Muslim friend, and we have been talking about faith and building friendship for several years. I was recently invited to the mosque open day, and spoke to the imam and my friends for two hours.

However, although I came away feeling much more informed, I felt ill-equipped to ask the right questions - especially to do with the fundamental differences between Islam and Christianity.

These included, the sonship and divinity of Jesus;  the Trinity; reliability of the Qur'an and Bible; and more besides!

Can you help or point me in the right direction? I would really appreciate it!

Many thanks,

Denise

Our response

Hi Denise,

Thanks again for your message, and great to hear that you are building relationships and have been able to visit your local mosque successfully.

In terms of your questions, there are a handful of suggestions:

1. Connect with someone at your local Mahabba group
    
2. Browse the helpful articles on Christianity Explained website
    
3. Join The City and enquire of others there
    
4. Connect with Applied Biblical Christianity (ABC)

Local Mahabba group

There are individuals in local Mahabba groups who are doing exactly the same things as you and working through the same challenges. A local group is an excellent place to get support from others with more experience.

Christianity Explained website

There are many websites available with articles and resources on how to answer common questions and points raised by Muslims. Check out the articles on explaining Christianity to Muslims and various hot topics.

Join The City

You can also apply to join The City, the Mahabba online community area, where you can pick the brains of lots of other Christians who are engaged in the same issues as you. This is good if there is no local group near you, and there is a wider pool of people to ask.

Connect with ABC

Acts of kindness definitely help to build new relationships, but what do you do when the Qur'an says:

Jesus did not die on the cross, neither was he the Son of God, the third person of the Trinity, or God

'How to share the Gospel with Muslims' is a useful document from ABC which can help lead to opportunities to share the Gospel, as well as answering the usual questions.

Also available from ABC as a PowerPoint for teaching in small groups or churches. [N.B. scroll to bottom of downloads page.]

I hope that helps!

Let me know if you need any further help,

Simon

New Testaments & Gospels in other languages suitable for refugees and asylum seekers

Image: Raul Petri, Unsplash

Info on new testaments & gospels in other languages suitable for refugees and asylum seekers

“Do you have any info on New Testaments & Gospels in other languages suitable for refugees and asylum seekers?”

Mahabba Gloucester has created a helpful sheet!

N.B. prices are subject to change and are correct as of the time of publication of this blog.

1. Amazon www.amazon.co.uk

• Arabic/English New Testament, £2.80 (£3.27 plus postage)

• Biblica are holders of the NIV copyright

• NIV Luke’s Gospel £0.50 (and free shipping for orders of over £10.00)

2. Operation Mobilisation (OM) www.uk.om.org

• Store in Halesowen

• Telephone 0121-5855662 - Cecil Benjamin knows about Asian languages best

• Large stock with English/Urdu Luke's Gospels in packs of 100

3. The Bible Society biblesociety.org.uk

• Based in Swindon, telephone 01793 418100

• Urdu New Testament £1.25

• Bengali New Testament £8.40

• Punjabi New Testament £8.05

• English/Russian £19.00

• English/Arabic £5.00

• English/Chinese £5.00

• English/Spanish £7.00

4. Kitab www.kitab.org.uk

• Andrew Howell, telephone 01908 552714

• New Testaments or Gospels in other languages

• Luke in Arabic £0.85

• Diglot New Testament in Arabic £6.50

• Luke in Gujarati

5. The Bible Society www.bsni.co.uk

• Northern Ireland, 028 9032 6577

• Bi-lingual New Testaments: English/Arabic, English /Chinese, English/Hungarian, English/Polish and English/Spanish

6. Gospel Publishing Mission www.gospelpublishingmission.org

• Is God really my Father? English/Arabic and pictures for use in teaching, £4.50

• N.B. check pictures for suitability

7. Bible websites with foreign languages

• Biblegateway www.biblegateway.com/app/

• YouVersion Bible app

Bibles for refugees

Image: Colin Carey, Unsplash

“Hi Mahabba,

A quick question - do you have any good contacts from which we could obtain Amharic and Tigrinya bibles for refugees we are working with?

Have a Great Day,

Andy”

The Bible Society stocks common language Bibles in Amharic and Tigrinya, as a first start.

Amharic is the main language of Ethiopia and Tigrinya (ትግርኛ) is spoken in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia.

The Amharic common language edition was published by the Bible Society of Ethiopia in 1980. The Tigrinya Bible is published in a Common Language edition.

Can you recommend a good book to understand the Qur'an?

Image: Ersan Urganci, Flickr

CAN YOU RECOMMEND A GOOD BOOK TO UNDERSTAND THE QUR'AN?

“A friend of mine is trying to read the Qur’an and has asked for a good and short book to help her understand what the Qur’an is saying; does anyone have any good recommendations for this?”

This is a common question, and do see the existing entry below: ‘Recommended English translation of the Qur’an and introduction’.

Find a translation first 

We suggest that you first start with a translation and then move onto commentaries and secondary books.

• Find a translation of the Qur’an first (see below), which allows it speak for itself and its nature to become apparent
• Read from back to front (surah 114 back to surah 2) is helpful for giving a sense of how ideas develop. The ‘back section’ is mostly older ‘revelations’ from Mecca while the front section is mostly newer ‘revelation.’ (The heading of each chapter should tell you whether it’s a Meccan or Medinan surah.)

Use a commentary to help you understand

Once you have had a chance to engage with the text itself through a translation (if you need it), have a look at the following:

• Neal Robinson’s Discovering the Qur’an (see below), although it is quite academic
• James White’s What Every Christian Needs To Know About The Qur’an (2013)
• An archived online course by the Qur’an scholar (non-Muslim), Gabriel Said Reynolds of Notre Dame in the USA, which discusses themes of the Qur’an, its role within Islam, meaning to Muslims, and relationship with the Bible
• Chapter two in Malise Ruthven ‘Islam: A very short introduction’ gives a good an readable overview. It’s an excellent small book, that is readily available, accurate content, and a good starting place
• A six-page chapter from John Azumah’s book ‘My Neighbour’s Faith’ which is on the qur’an and hadith

Other resources

Qur'an course by Jeremy Hinds from Word of Life

• Excellent introduction for the Christian who wants to seriously study the Qur'an itself
• A little archaic now, but still an accurate self-study course
• Designed for use with 'Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an' by M Pickthall, but can be used with any English translation of the Qur'an

Was this helpful?

Leave your name, if you would like us to get back to you with further improvements or updates to the FAQ area