Showing Muslims and Christians: A History of Conflict and Conversion by Gregory Miller

The daily news reminds us of the ongoing conflict between Muslims and Christians across the world, especially in places like Indonesia and Sudan. Even in America, where freedom of religion is a cardinal virtue, many Christians are increasingly anxious about a growing Muslim presence. But this is not a new tension; it stretches back to the seventh century. This eBook is an attempt to give a highlight reel of that history to help us gain perspective on the conflict today.

Given the amount of hostility and misinformation in this discussion, it is vital to get the history and facts straight. There are conflicts that will never go away, of course; there are irreconcilable theological differences between Christianity and Islam. But conflicts based on poor historical understanding—well, the world is too dangerous a place to keep fostering those. And we will only be successful at reaching out to our Muslim neighbors with the love of Christ when we come in both grace and truth.

Table of Contents:

Introduction – Mark Galli

Chapter 1: A Confused and Violent Beginning – James A. Beverley
Islam 101

Chapter 2: How Early Muslims Treated Their Christian Subjects – Christopher Armstrong
The Pact of Umar

Chapter 3: The Crusades: A Deadly Give and Take– Paul Crawford
The Battle of Tours, 732: Two Divergent Views

Chapter 4: How Martin Luther Shaped Our View of Islam– Gregory Miller
Four Medieval Missionaries to Islam

Chapter 5: Jihad: Is Islam a Religion of Violence? – Mateen A. Elass

Chapter 6: How to Do Muslim Apologetics: Two Classic Christian Models– Samuel Hugh Moffett

Chapter 7: How Muslims View Us– A conversation with J. Dudley Woodberry