This book is a personal reflection on connecting with Muslim friends in a variety of contexts. Goldsmith looks at this through his own personal journey to meet, teach and share his Christianity with his students, friends and leaders of Muslim communities in Muslim countries.
Goldsmith begins with a retelling of a brief meeting with Haji Ahmed (lecturer on Islamic Study) who came to the All Nation Christian College in Britain, on the invitation of the college, to discuss the concept of God in Islam. This quickly turned to the subject of Oneness of God (Tawhid of Allah) in Islam and the Trinity in Christianity. This is not an easy topic, compounded by the misconception held by some Christians that Muslims accept Muhammad as God. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was in any way an equal with God and he is not a god (p. 21). Therefore to compare Muhammad with Jesus is a totally wrong approach. In Chapter 7 when the issue of multi faith is discussed, Goldsmith spells out more clearly that Christians may discuss who Jesus is in comparison with the Quran in the Muslim faith. The difference is that in Islam the Word became book: the Quran. In the Christian faith God's Word became a human being in Jesus Christ (p. 98).
One of the best contributions of this book is that it touches on the relationship between culture and belief for first, second and third generations (chapter 4: on the waiting list for Jesus, when cultures merge). It told the story of the Iranian Church in Scotland. The church formed around an existing cultural group and has a mission to assist Muslims from Iran who have suffered and fled the oppressive Islamic revolution (p. 55). Goldsmith suggests that the first generation church is normally very exclusive. It serves as a social network for its own members. It is suggested that the question to ask is 'what will this church contribute to the life and witness of the wider church in Britain? (p. 56). Perhaps the best solution would be to have ethnic churches that relate closely to other churches in their neighbourhood (p. 57). It also mentions very briefly the situation within a Muslim community for first, second and third generations in relation to their belief within wider community. The concepts of identity, belonging and isolation contribute to form a more radical view of cultural identity for third generation migrants than was held by the first generation (p. 63).
In general this book is also very helpful for those who have a little knowledge about Islam but it does not give lot of detail about Islam, because the primary purpose is to explore how Christians connect with Muslims.
Apwee Ting