How can we reach out to Muslims?

This article first appeared in the Summer 2026 edition of InTouch, which you can download here.

I’m often asked, ‘How do you reach out to Muslims?’ There is no simple answer but, in addition to prayer, there are three broad areas worth considering in answer. For the purposes of this article, I am assuming that we are discussing reaching Muslims in the UK as there can be specific issues to consider in other countries.

First, we must dispose of the idea that there is something unique about Muslims and Islam from an evangelistic perspective. Otherwise, fear or misunderstandings may paralyse us. Muslims are people who need the gospel – just like everyone else. Almost all the Muslims that we are likely to meet in the UK are ordinary people worrying about their family or their health or the cost of living, just like us. God is sovereign and he has brought Muslims to us who can be so hard to reach in their home countries. This is a God-given opportunity that we should seize.

Second, we should have some understanding of the context that’s shared by the majority of the Muslims in the UK. Most Muslims in the UK are from the Indian subcontinent, especially Pakistan and Bangladesh. They are often in well-established communities and are frequently second or third generation, which means they were born and educated in the UK.

Having seen a ‘Christian’ country firsthand, they are often genuinely sceptical about Christianity. We therefore need to clear away various misconceptions such as Christians believing in three gods or Christians supporting immorality. The latter is because they rarely meet a believing Christian. They despise the immoral behaviours that they see from many white British people, who they assume are Christians, and they are unimpressed by the lax teachings on morality from some churches. Often they have been trained to use provocative questions and comments such as ‘the Bible has been corrupted’ or ‘Jesus didn’t say that he was god’. So, a knowledge of apologetics is essential and there are many books that give helpful tips. I recommend How Shall They Hear by EM Hicham or his shorter book Letter to a Muslim Friend. The course ‘Friendship First’ is also helpful. It is important to establish whether the person really wants to know the answer or is simply playing with you – so make sure you pray for discernment!

Often the people we meet are colleagues and neighbours. If this is the case, it can be very helpful to try and foster long-term friendships. Simple gifts – such as a tin of chocolates at Christmas, Easter and at their two Eids – can be helpful. We want to build trust that leads to serious questions. However, we do need to ensure that we are genuine in our friendship and we must be prepared for the long haul. People from places like Iran have experienced brutal Islamic governments and they are often much more open. We can usually share the gospel without having to clear the baggage that UK-born Muslims often have. A helpful idea can be to consider Abraham. Most Muslims believe that Muhammad was a descendant of Abraham via Ishmael and Kedar (see Genesis 25:13). We can ask them to travel back down the ancestral line (without agreeing that Muhammad was in that line) to Abraham and point out that the line of covenant promise is through Isaac, not Ishmael (Genesis 17:19-21). The line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob leads to the Old Testament prophets, who are respected by Islam and, most importantly of all, to Jesus. We then have a wonderful opportunity to tell a story infinitely better than that of Islam and Muhammad.

With all this said, it is important to remember that Muslims are individuals. Even if, in public, they can appear indistinguishable from others because of their clothing, there is wide diversity. Some are liberal or even atheists while others are stronger in faith. Generally, they are just trying to take their faith seriously and that gives us something in common! Yet others can be mystical and it can be hard to pin them down to their actual beliefs. We need to prayerfully try to understand each one we are talking to.

Third, we need to consider our own personal evangelism style. Think of Muslim evangelism as a spectrum with, at one end, a gentle, bridge-building, friendly approach and, at the other, an assertive polemical method. The first is ideally suited to Muslim neighbours and the second to debates. Where we sit on the spectrum depends on our own personality (e.g. some people recoil from vigorous debate and others relish it) and the circumstances of our encounter. Whatever our personality, a debate at Speakers’ Corner requires different tactics to a garden fence chat with a neighbour. Just two pieces of advice – even the gentlest relationship may sometimes need a firmer intervention to avoid misunderstandings and even the most assertive debate must be done with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15b). If we can’t follow Peter’s instruction, it is best not to engage in debate – after all, our primary aim must be to honour Jesus.

Three final thoughts. While the emphasis here is on personal evangelism, we must not neglect the opportunities of projects. For example, church buildings in or near Muslim communities can make good contacts through toddler groups, English classes, women’s drop-in centres and so on. Also, tables with books to give away and door-to-door visits – things that might not work in some areas – can work well in Muslim areas. Second, while there isn’t space here to consider interesting lines of approach (such as the historical holes in the standard Islamic narrative), I recommend further study for those interested. Lastly, do not neglect discipleship. A Muslim who is saved may well lose family and friends and will need a lot of support from the church. The course ‘Joining the Family’ has helpful advice on this subject.