From these perspectives, and so much more, Muslims here have just as much to overcome in respecting us as we do them. Mind you, I’m speaking of mainstream Muslims here and not the extremists. I think it would be fair to say that neither Muslims nor Christians would be happy to have their extremists representing them around the world.

One other thing that your readers might find interesting is that Muslims in London absolutely have as many false notions about Christians as Christians do about Muslims.  For instance, when one of my Muslim girls caught me typing out a few paragraphs for a Christian article, she looked at me puzzled and said, “Sir, you’re not a Christian.” To which I replied, “I’m not?” To which she responded, “No. You’re a Protestant!”

Many of our other Muslim young people have cornered me on issues such as our “worship of Mary.” Something else American Christians might be interested to know is that up to 25 percent of the Kurds living throughout the Middle East are Christian. Many estimates suggest that there are just as many Christians living in Palestine as well.

As for “no-go zones,” again, that would be a matter of perspective. Many people would probably consider our neighborhood a “no-go zone.” We do not.

CW: What do you think are the most specific issues and challenges to religion/Christianity/the gospel in the UK?

Miller: In addition to the obvious issues facing the spread of the gospel among the Islamic population of Great Britain, the following are some of the issues we face in sharing the gospel with the indigenous peoples of Great Britian:

Somewhere along the way - I'm not sure when - Brits became quite wary of mixing religion and politics. However, I do know that most Brits point to America as the reason why they are wary.

Both British believers and non-believers cannot reconcile the idea of Christians believing in the death penalty, the right to carry firearms, a pro-war stance, or opposing healthcare for the poor. For them these ideas are completely opposed to the teachings of Christ.  They have watched U.S. President after U.S. President claim to be a Christian while standing up against all of the values which they associate with the message of Christianity. Because of this, they are extremely wary of politicians who claim to be Christian, so they would rather keep religion and politics separate. And they would point to the hypocrisy of religion in American politics as the reason why.

It’s a bit of a dichotomy really because, on one hand, Brits would like to keep religion and politics separate, yet they’re also very critical of the fact that so many American Christians seem to be so hypocritical when it comes to their religion and politics. There seems to be this overriding belief in the UK that Americans have sold out religiously. And that’s just among the British believers. As for the unbelievers, they look at the above concerns and see nothing about Christianity that’s admirable. One of the toughest battles I fight with liberals is that many of them are doing more “good work” than many Christians I know. Between that and the traditional stances on the death penalty, war, equal rights, and gun control, sadly they see nothing morally redeemable about our faith at all.

Bibliography

Far-Right UK Leader Arrested after Calling Islam 'Wicked'  
The Archbishop & Sharia: What Empty Churches Are Made Of  
Anglican Church Aims to Spread Gospel to UK Muslims, Others  
Islam Filling England's Vacuum  
British Bishop Says Islam is Filling "Moral Vacuum"  
Church of England Advised Against Withholding Christ from Muslims   
Some British Christians Praying for Collapse of European Union  
Study: Muslims to Outnumber Catholics in Britian within 10 Years