One year after arriving on the field my wife gave birth to our third child. Neighbours visited and cooed over the baby, but at the same time we could hear them telling him how ugly he was! We were confused. Why were they saying that about our gorgeous new-born baby? (1). And what were we to do about the blue charms they were pinning on him to protect him from the evil eye? Will rejection of the charms cause irreparable damage to our friendship? Should we say something? 

Around the same time one of my Muslim students was telling me how he had been attacked by a jinn (evil spirit) in his bedroom. “What did you do?” I asked. “Someone gave me a special prayer to read every night and after a month the jinn left,” was his reply. 

A whole new world 

When we think of the spiritual and religious life of a Muslim what classically comes to mind is five-times-a-day prayer, doing the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca or fasting during Ramadan. However, it doesn’t take long living among Muslims to notice how much fear and superstition affect their everyday lives. We soon realised we had entered a whole new world of Folk Islam (2) practices that deal with fortune-telling, protection against bad luck, manipulating spirits, understanding dreams, seeking blessings and casting curses.

I personally visited villages where locals would take me to see sacred trees with prayers and charms tied to the branches. I saw groups of women praying around tombs of saints, seeking good luck for their loved ones. Neighbours returning from the hajj in Saudi Arabia talked about throwing stones at a pillar that symbolises demonic power and would bring back ‘special’ water with healing properties. Even now, living in leafy Buckinghamshire, a Muslim man visited our church to ask for help to cast out ‘Christian demons’ from his son. He showed me the text message curse which he claimed had made his son unwell. 

While some folk religion practices are no more than superstitions, it’s important to realise that others are clearly tied in with satanic power and the occult, holding people in a grip of fear and bondage. When modern medicine fails to provide cures, a Muslim family will often look to powers elsewhere. Natural desires for happiness, health and success drive many in Muslim communities to look for solutions in the spiritual realm, and they will all have practitioners who can service them – usually for a fee.   

THE GOOD NEWS THEN AND NOW 

The good news for Muslims, and for us, is that the ‘gospel of the kingdom’ speaks directly into our fears, bondages and hunger for spiritual protection from evil. The Bible tells us that the reason Jesus came was ‘to destroy the works of the devil’ (1 John 3:8) and ‘set the oppressed free’ (Luke 4:18 ). He demonstrated this by healing diseases, casting

out demons, calming storms, raising the dead and demonstrating God’s love to those around him. Then Jesus sent out his disciples with his authority to do the same. Paul reminds the church in Thessalonica, “our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power…” (1 Thessalonians 1:5)

Two thousand years later we continue to go with Jesus’ authority, demonstrating his kingdom by bringing healing, deliverance from bondage, blessing over curse, and sharing the gospel to meet the deepest cries in people’s hearts. On pages 7 and 13 you can read stories about how some of our workers are doing this today.  

Jesus told us to pray, “Your kingdom come,” so let’s pray for those in pioneering settings to have an awareness of the practices around them, a solid biblical foundation in spiritual warfare, and faith in the authority they have in Christ to demonstrate both the love of God and the power of God.  

Mike Jones – Director

 

(1)  They believe calling a baby cute or beautiful may draw unwanted attention from evil spirits so they’ll say out loud that the baby is ugly! 
(2)  ‘Folk religion’ is religious practice that falls outside the doctrine of organised religion.