Muslim convert Mohammed Fyaz, who has been supported by our Safe Haven initiative, has written of Christian Concern’s ‘courage and compassion’ in a letter to the Church Times this week. He writes about how Christian Concern supported him when he feared for his life after having converted to Christianity from Islam. Mr Fyaz has written a book about his experience "Letting Love Win: How I Left Islam and Found God" to be published later this year. Mr Fyaz’s letter was responding to a letter published in last week’s Church Times which criticised our article about Sadiq Khan. Mr Fyaz writes:
"The letter does not engage with the substance of the Christian Concern article, and instead merely asserts that their views are wrong. The issues raised about Sadiq Khan were also raised by many others in the mayoral debate, and raise legitimate concerns about his track record of relationships with Islamic extremists. It is entirely reasonable to look at someone’s past behaviour when trying to assess how he or she might behave in the future.
"Sometimes, engaging with Muslims and Islam will involve asking some hard questions and saying some difficult things. This should not be avoided or shunned by those seeking to win Muslims to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We all long to see Muslims coming to faith in Jesus, but this will not happen without some exposition of the truth about Islam and Muhammad. Radicalisation and segregation of Muslims in London, and beyond, is a significant problem, and I hope and pray that with Sadiq Khan the direction will change."
Our original article made the point that the influence of radical Islam in London has increased over the ten years since Melanie Phillips wrote her bestselling book "Londonistan". Much of this has been under Boris Johnson’s mayoralty. The article speculated that this trend will only continue under Mr Khan’s mayoralty. This is hardly a very remarkable or profound conclusion, but it is not pleasant or encouraging. Sometimes gospel ministry involves pointing out things that people will not like to hear.
There will be repercussions from the election of Mr Khan in terms of how people perceive Islam. Many non-Muslims view Mr Khan’s election as proof that Islamic values are compatible with western liberal values. Whilst it may be the case that Mr Khan’s personal values do not clash with western values, the values exhibited in the Qur’an and Muhammad’s life do. Mr Khan’s success in rising to such a prominent position should not lure us into a false sense of security about this. Islam is an intolerant and discriminatory religion which is oppressing many people in this country today. Mr Fyaz has also written to Mr Khan to seek a meeting with him about how he can help people who are in hiding in London today because of the Islamic death penalty for apostasy. We hope that Mr Khan will agree to talk about this.
Christian Concern is committed to praying for London and Mr Khan. We very much hope that Mr Khan will rise to the challenge and take decisive action to promote the integration of Muslims. We also pray for the Muslims in London, many of whom are questioning their faith, and there are signs of increasing numbers converting to Christianity. The Church needs to boldly proclaim the truth of the gospel and the falsity of Islam in order to see many more won for Christ.
Related Links:
Courage and compassion of Christian Concern (Church Times)
Londonistan with Khan?
Read Fyaz's story on the Safe Haven website
Safe Haven