LESSON 45
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

To live in peace with Muslims, safeguarding their liberty and ours, to cooperate with them for the betterment of society, to share in friendship our spiritual experience and faith, to be occasions of God's grace enlightening their hearts and leading them to full faith in Jesus and communion with him in his Church: all these are aims of these lessons.

To achieve them we need to be informed about Islam, its history, teachings, how it is lived, what we find acceptable in it and what we find unacceptable. We need some guidelines of approach. Yet ultimately the outcome depends on God's hidden plan and the operation of his Spirit. It is pointless to say that Muslims are not open to conversion or that Islam is too solidly established and tradition-bound to ever expect any change. Times do change, and God is the master of history. Even when his plan seems to move slowly, we should be eager to be part of it, in whatever role he enables us to play.

Maybe we cannot expect the Muslim community to be converted in our lifetime, but neither can we suppose that it will be left outside the Church till the end of time. We should be aware of the signs of the times: World-wide social transformation is taking place and opening up traditional Muslim societies. Closed societies like Saudi Arabia are now exposed to lay Christian workers from Nigeria and elsewhere; their quiet and tactful but bold witness of Christian life is having an impact. Christian converts in such places may be few for now and have to live without the communion of the Church. In West Africa too there are places where it is difficult for a Muslim to become a Christian; nevertheless some do. Where Islam does not stifle freedom, conversions are more numerous, although it would be a mistake to talk of a flood.

Just as we welcome Muslims into the Church when they take that step with a sincere conscience, so we extend the hand of friendship to other Muslims who have no intention of becoming Christians, and in no way do we pressurize them to do so.

Where it will all lead is not for us to know. "So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour" (Mt 25:13). In the meantime we work like bees building up honey drop by drop until it is ready to harvest.

QUESTIONS

  1. What happenings in recent history can you point to that give ground for hope of positive evolution within the Muslim community?
  2. What should our attitude be when we see negative signs around us in our relations with Muslims?
  3. What grounds does our Christian faith give us for hope of change in the Muslim community and their eventual conversion.
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