Local Ownership of the Core Missionary Task in Every South Asian Muslim People and Place
This blog post is the eleventh in a series on South Asian folk Islam and its rituals. Click here to go to the first of these articles. Understanding the rituals of Folk Islam provides insight into the beliefs and practices of folk Muslims. This understanding helps us to make disciples of folk Muslims. In eachContinue reading “Folk Islamic Ritual #11: The Hand of Fatima”
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This blog post is the tenth in a series on South Asian folk Islam and its rituals. Click here to go to the first of these articles. Understanding the rituals of Folk Islam provides insight into the beliefs and practices of folk Muslims. This understanding helps us to make disciples of folk Muslims. Abjad isContinue reading “Folk Islamic Ritual #10: 786 and Bismallah”
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By Peter Schumacher (pseudonym), November 2022 Note from David Paul. Peter Schumacher (pseudonym) is a friend and colleague who serves among the Muslims of South Asia. He and I have been discussing the importance of the doctrine of the Person of Christ for discipling Muslim-background believers (MBBs). So, Peter took some time and wrote thisContinue reading “The Person of Christ”
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In our ministry, we rarely open the Qur’an. In our context, most Muslims do not know the Qur’an. Therefore, there is little reason to open the Qur’an and discuss their book with them. As a result, I have not often taught nor written about the Qur’an. However, in recent months, we have realized a needContinue reading “Reflections on Surah 33 and Muhammad’s Many Marriages”
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These posts seek to describe the worldview of folk Muslims by describing their worldview and rituals. These folk rituals describe South Asian folk Islam. Each of these readings gives hints in how to best engage South Asian folk Muslims with the gospel of Jesus. Ritual #1 – Na’at, devotional singing to Sufi saints. https://nocousinsleft.com/2020/09/17/rituals-of-folk-muslims-in-south-asia-naat/ Ritual #2 –Continue reading “Folk Islamic Rituals”
The purpose of this timeline is to provide information to students of the Bible about when certain events in the Bible occurred. Please note that I have designated this as “a chronology” rather than “the chronology.” Some uncertainty exists in extrapolating these dates. Moreover, this timeline is a work in progress and will be updated.Continue reading “A CHRONOLOGY OF EARLY CHRISTIAN HISTORY (October 13, 2020)”
When Muslims come to Christ, their relationship to their former religion and culture is a crucial question. In many areas, there are no mature Muslim-Background Believers (MBBs) for new MBBs to learn from regarding what it means to follow Jesus. Therefore, they are left to their own devices to determine their relationship with Islam andContinue reading “How Should MBBs Relate to Islam and Culture?”
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Muslims tend to be obsessed with ritual purity. Islam demands this obsession for the person who wants God to hear their prayers. This blog post aims to explain this obsession and discuss the implications of this obsession for sharing the gospel with Muslims. I believe that understanding and framing Scripture in terms of purity issuesContinue reading “Blessed are the Pure in Heart: Muslims, Ritual Purity, and the Gospel”
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This blog post is the ninth in a series on South Asian folk Islam and its rituals. Click here to go to the first of these articles. Understanding the rituals of Folk Islam provides insight into the beliefs and practices of folk Muslims. This understanding helps us to make disciples of folk Muslims. I hadContinue reading “Folk Islamic Rituals #9: Devotional Images”
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The folk Islamic worldview focuses on spiritual powers that are always present around us. In the view of folk Muslims, some of the most common opposing spiritual forces are jinn, demons, and the evil eye. Jinn and demons are similar but distinct. Demons (usually called Shaytan or Iblis in Urdu) are evil and more powerful than jinn. In contrast, jinn function as troublemakers who cause misfortune and trouble. The English word “genie” derives from the Arabic root jinn. Muslims often attribute tripping or other accidents to jinn. Another spiritual force is the evil eye.
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