The Myth of a Muslim Country

David James

Equipping Pastors International 

I keep hearing pundits use the phrase Muslim countries when talking about the nations in North Africa and the Middle East. It makes me wonder about the criteria used to arrive at such a designation. Do they ever speak of Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, or Christian countries? I think not. 

It bothers me that most of these so called Muslim countries have significant minority populations of Christians that are almost completely ignored. But what really bothers me is the subtle prejudice that is betrayed by the designation. To call a nation a Muslim countryis to imply that Islam is the true heritage of that particular nation. Yet, in order to arrive at this conclusion one has to over look nearly a thousand years of history--Christian history.

The conventional history goes something like this: these countries were traditionally Islamic, Christianity came with colonialism in the 19thcentury, both Christianity and colonialism were rejected by these respective Muslim nations at various times in the 20th century. 

Of course, what makes maters worse, many Christians have perpetuated the same line of reasoning tracing Christian involvement in these countries to the modern missions movement in the 19th and 20thcenturies. In this view, Christianity is primarily a European and North American phenomenon that moves from north to south into North Africa and the Middle East. 

The reality, though, is quite different. 

Historically, these so called Muslim nations were actually Christian nations from the first to the seventh century. Even more, this region was the theological and  intellectual  capital of the Christian world. It was from North Africa and the Middle East that Christianity spread into Europe and North America, and not the other way around. These nations were some of the first to follow Jesus and the apostles, and they spread their teachings throughout the whole world.

I find it ironic that Christianity became the dominant religion of the world through the efforts of those who live in what some insist areMuslim countries. How long does a a nation have to be Christian before it can be considered a Christian country, or before it's history can be considered Christian. Is a thousand years enough?

What's interesting, however, is how all this happened. The Christians in North Africa and the Middle East, like Jesus and the apostles before them, used preaching and persuasion to spread their teachings throughout this region and the world. Islam, on the other hand, used the sword to conquer these Christian nations. 

The realist in me knows that those who propagate the idea of Muslim countries are not going to be persuaded, but I hope that those who engage in Christian missions in this region will be convinced. The true history and heritage of this region ought to inform our practice. 

First, we should stop talking about unreached people in this region. They are not unreached, they are forgotten, and the Christian history in that region has been erased. Therefore, we should talk about resurrecting and recovering Christianity there. To do that we must use the literature and liturgy from their true Christian heritage to remind them of their true Christian identity. I believe that all but a minority of people in these nations know that something is missing from their history, that something has been systematically erased and revised from their heritage. Deep inside they know that part of their identity has been stolen from them, and their is a longing to return to what they were, and what they really are. 

Second, we need to stop thinking of Christianity in the region as if it started in the 19th century. That only feeds the notion that these areMuslim countries rather than Christian countries. Remember, that while Christians are minorities they still number in the millions and they are not without their influence. However, they need to be reconnected to their Christian roots. So many only know their Christian history from around the 1860's to the present. We need to take them back to their roots.

Third, we need to put our resources (time, energy, money, literature) into this effort. Too little is being done in this part of the world. It is shocking to discover how few of our great Christian books have been translated into Arabic. It is equally surprising how little our Bible colleges and seminaries are focusing on preparing our future pastors and missionaries to focus in this part of the world from a more historical perspective. Too often they have bought into the myth of theMuslim country. 

Fourth, the Christian future is very bright in this region. As I said in my last post, Islam is not growing and flourishing as much as you might think. Rather, it is collapsing and dying. The time is right to labor in these fields. 

At Equipping Pastors International we are doing just that--we are focusing significant resources to this region. Please join me in this effort for the glory of our King and the good of his Kingdom. These countries belong to him, not Islam. In that way, they are Christian countries. Christianity is not only their true past, it is their future as well.