One out of every five individuals on the planet is a Muslim, and 70 percent of the world’s unreached peoples are Muslims. If the Great Commission is truly about making “disciples of all nations,” then making disciples of Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) is an integral part of the charge. Considering the vast differences between Muslims and Christians, one soon realizes the challenge. Islam has zero tolerance for any other religion, and seeks to isolate those who have converted to Christianity, silence their witness, and pressure them into reverting to Islam.

Militant Islam has been increasingly on the march for several decades. Their strange sounding names have become commonplace: ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Hamas, al-Shabaab, Ansar al-Sharia, Jihad al-Islamiyya, Hizbollah and the Taliban. By listening to and watching Western media, one is left confused and unable to explain these current events: Are these terrorists lone wolves? Are they just plain crazy? Do they represent Muslims at large? Do they follow the teachings of Muhammad? Are they fighting because of economic or political injustice? Where will all of this lead? In this article, I seek to tackle some of these questions by looking into the roots of militant Islam.

June 29, 2014 marked a significant day in Islamic history –and indeed in human history. On that day, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of ISIS announced something that even Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda were unable to achieve. Al-Baghdadi announced that the Islamic Caliphate had been re-established with himself as its head, the Caliph. Indeed, the Caliphate had been abandoned since the Ottoman Empire collapsed nearly a century ago.

This article examines the relationship of human rights and Islamic Sharia law in light of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) agreed upon by 48 nations in December 1948, after the Second World War, when the international community vowed never to let such atrocities happen again. To date there are 193 nations who have agreed to adopt this Declaration.

Why do so many “moderate” Muslims trade civility for the savagery of extremist forms of Islamic fundamentalism? Are the allurements of sensual delights in paradise, bloodlust, and the spoils of war truly compelling reasons why otherwise “normal” Muslims engage in jihad, or “Islamic holy war”? To simply answer this question in the affirmative is not an adequate explanation.

Say Hello: Serving Muslim Women invites Christian women into Christ-like friendship with Muslim women, and helps to equip them for God-willed relationships (Mt. 28:19-20). We address women specifically because of Islam’s gender-related modesty beliefs and practices that segregate women from men. Although we recognize that cross-culturally these modesty practices vary, the most honorable relationships outside of marriage contexts will respect Islam’s woman-to-woman, man-to-man friendship boundaries.