A Personal Reflection on Muslims Turning to Christ in the UK
When I look at the way the Spirit of God is working amongst those from a Muslim background in the UK, I am both very excited and hugely disappointed at the same time. It is a strange experience to have – praising and crying, rejoicing and pleading, very encouraging and sadly frustrating. If you want it in a biblical expression try ‘perplexed, but not in despair’ (2 Corinthians 4:8).
Most of the positive responses to the gospel come from the Iranian population. I have no statistics, but stories abound of churches, which are overflowing with Iranians. A Mahabba colleague of mine visited the evening service of a small church last year. The church only had about 40-50 members, who were mainly elderly and they had been in survival mode for some time. But on the occasion of my friend’s visit, the church baptised 15 Iranians. The church was totally amazed and reacted with, ‘We don’t understand, this doesn’t happen to us!’
I was talking to a vicar living near me recently. He told me that one Sunday in November 2017 four Iranians turned up in his church. A couple of weeks later there were seven Iranians and a few weeks after that there were nine. I told him that, if the experiences of other churches were anything to go by, then he would have 30 Iranians by the summer. Hopefully, my vicar friend will get hold of ‘Joining the Family’ or some other resource to help him prepare to minister to these Iranians.
I have no figures to back this up, but someone who probably knows and whose opinion I respect, suggested that hundreds of Iranians were coming to faith in Christ each month in the UK. Large numbers of UK churches have Farsi language groups and are taking on Farsi-speaking staff to disciple new believers. In addition, there are smaller but significant numbers of Afghans, Syrians, Somalis and others coming to faith.
Mirpuris from Pakistan
In total contrast, the largest group of Muslims in the UK, over 1 million, are the Mirpuris who come from a valley in North Pakistan. Large Mirpuri communities can be found in Birmingham, Bradford, Oldham and the surrounding towns. Luton and Slough have the largest Mirpuri communities in southern England. Mirpur was considered a rural and conservative area of Pakistan and Mirpuris came to the UK soon after the Second World War. They were pushed out of their area because a dam was being built and were welcomed into in the UK because at that time we needed workers in factories and transportation.
Over the last 40-50 years, many individuals and Christian groups have tried to evangelise the Mirpuri. Every effort has been made and several people have resolutely committed themselves to the task. However, despite all this effort and prayer it has been suggested that less than 100 Mirpuris have admitted coming to Christ in the UK, although there may be more secret believers.
Sylhetis from Bangladesh
A similar statistic would be true of the Sylhetis from Bangladesh. There are about half as many Sylhetis as Mirpuris and they started coming to the UK after Bangladesh got its independence in 1971. The most notable borough in Greater London where Sylhetis live is Tower Hamlets. Many of the curry shops in the iconic Brick Lane are owned by Sylhetis. Many Sylhetis also live in the West and East Midlands in places like Birmingham, Loughborough and Solihull. Sylhetis are concentrated in these areas, and in general make up 95% of the British Bangladeshi population, making them one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in England.
One church I know which has been intentionally reaching out to Sylhetis in the East Midlands for several years admits that they have seen no converts yet and the same could be said for outreaches in other areas.
Why? Why? Why?
So why this huge disparity? Why have many godly people struggled for years amongst the Mirpuris and Sylhetis and seen very little fruit, while Iranians are walking into churches, which are often not prepared to receive them? The reasons are multiple and complicated.
Iranian history means that Iranians see themselves as Persian first and Muslim second. Both Mirpuris and Sylhetis come from very conservative, rural backgrounds where English is still rarely spoken by the older people and young women are brought from Pakistan or Bangladesh to marry young men here. Many suggest that society and the UK church missed an opportunity to welcome new arrivals in the 1950s and 1960s and the result has been social and cultural isolation.
These, and a host of other factors, are relevant, but ultimately it is because the Spirit of God is working in remarkable ways among some groups and not amongst others. We are curious and would love to know why, but the Lord hasn’t chosen to tell us.
We rejoice in what is happening and the numbers coming to faith, but those working amongst Muslims in the UK have been praying for many years for a Mirpuri/Sylheti breakthrough. We need many more people to join us in prayer and when God answers our prayers and the Spirit of God begins to work in the hearts and minds of Mirpuris and Sylhetis, we are expecting a great harvest. Please may it be soon, Lord.
Bryan Knell
Bryan worked for AWM for 16 years and hosted the Islamics Course at All Nations Christian College, UK for 17 years. He was the founding coordinator of CRIB (Christian Responses to Muslims in Britain) and is now a trustee of Mahabba.