Recently, my good friend Randy Ongie of MAG Bookkeeping interviewed Naeem on The Fully Engaged Church Podcast about the release of his new book Ex-Muslim. Their conversation was fascinating and will help Christians better understand how to build bridges with their Muslim friends. Check out a portion of their interview below:
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You don’t hear about many former Muslims in the media, and you especially don’t hear about former Muslims who are lead pastors of churches in the South. But those two things are true for Naeem Fazal, our most recent podcast guest.
Naeem talks with MAG Bookkeeping president Randy Ongie about how he came to faith, why he documented the journey in his book, Ex-Muslim, and what pastors should know when talking to and working with Muslims.
As a Pakistani who grew up in Kuwait, Naeem lived a conservative Muslim lifestyle with his family as a child. In 1992, after the Gulf War, he had the chance to come to the United States, and he says his life and the lives of several family members were radically changed. Naeem had an experience with Jesus that rocked his world and led him into ministry, and eventually to planting Mosaic Church in Charlotte, N.C., nine years ago.
This history is just part of what the book is all about. There are stories about immigrants and religious refugees in a new country, assimilation, and relearning what it means to engage with God.
“My purpose in writing was to remind myself and others that God continually pursues humanity in supernatural ways. There are people who are far away from God, but there are no God-forsaken people,” he says. “He moves in the midst of people, tribes and cultures.”
Although the book is a great read and very enlightening for Christians, it isn’t really written with a Christian audience in mind. Other Muslims or non-believers are the real focus, and they are invited to ask Jesus to reveal himself to them.
Naeem says the response so far has been awesome. He has heard many stories from people who were expecting the book to be about the differences between Islam and Christianity. They were surprised though, because the book isn’t about that as much as it’s filled with real-life scenarios that build a bridge between the Christian world and everyone else.
Naeem says there is a gap there and things pastors and church leaders should know about Muslims, including these two things:
- Muslims are insecure. In the U.S., Muslims are a minority, which Naeem says they are very aware of all the time. Pastors often think they need to know how to debate with a Muslim on religious topics, but it’s important to understand that a Muslim counterpart may feel just as insecure debating a pastor. Muslims can be very sensitive about this, and their insecurities may come out in a very passionate or standoffish way.
- No Muslim is the same. Naeem is Pakistani, but he was born and raised in Kuwait.Those countries are extremely different, which means that his experiences as a Muslim are very different than those who live or have lived in other countries, like Syria, Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia. The way they practice their religion and how sensitive they are to it differs. So when talking with Muslims, there’s no one right answer to give them.
As he has continued through his faith journey, he says he’s learned so much about how to worship, interpretations of the Scriptures, and the different kinds of churches. He has a very unique perspective, which is part of what makes his book so interesting.
For more about Naeem, listen to the full podcast and check out Ex-Muslim.
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