Waging Peace on Islam [Paperback]

Christine Mallouhi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2002

How can caring Christians approach Islam? As relations between Islam and the West grow more polarized, many Christians are nervous about meeting Muslims. How can we possibly overcome years, if not centuries, of mistrust? Christine Mallouhi, who married into a Muslim family and has lived much of her life in the Middle East, suggests we should emulate St. Francis, who during the Crusades went to be with the Muslims and even shared the gospel with the Sultan. We should start by seeing Muslims as people, she suggests. "When Muslims are skeptical of our creed, confused by our message and wounded by our warfare, the most credible witness left is our lives. Muslims need to see Jesus, and the only way most of them will see him is in us." Here is a book that gives history, insight and much of the author's own story in offering the Prince of Peace to Muslims.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mallouhi is an Australian author, speaker and a Christian member of a Muslim family. She has lived in five countries in North Africa and the Middle East, and spent time with Muslims in Asia, Southeast Asia and the Arabian Gulf. Along with her husband, an Arab author, she directs an association that publishes Arabic books. The Mallouhis currently live in Tunisia and in Melbourne, Australia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: IVP Books (February 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830823042
• ISBN-13: 978-0830823048
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #966,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye opener for an Evangelical!, July 3, 2006

By 

F. J. Patt (Exton, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Waging Peace on Islam (Paperback)

Christine spends a great deal of time passionately and methodically explaining why our stereotypes of the situations and problems in the Middle-east are wrong. She very clearly articulates that the issues in Palestine are not simply Jew versus Muslim, but also include the dwindling population of Christians, who are also Palestinian! This book is a must read if you want to see behind the cleverly managed and manipulated media presentations of current events so that you can formulate viewpoints and positions based on reality. If you care more about being a follower of Jesus than merely a creature of culture called a "christian", read this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hard Read, March 16, 2008

By 

mjmcc61 "mjmcc61" (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Waging Peace on Islam (Paperback)

As a sympathetic insider to the plight of oppressed peoples in the Middle East, the author shares tragic tales of victimization, war and poverty. As ardent and devoted followers of Christ in the Arab world, she and her husband have loved their Muslim neighbors and family members sacrificially.

Christine Mallouhi writes from her heart, and she doesn't try to present a balanced viewpoint. As a relatively inexperienced author, she meanders, repeats herself and dwells on discomforting details. So, this book is difficult to read from many perspectives. But in the end, its main thrust for Christians to seek to understand Muslims by interacting together on a personal level is noble and Christ-like.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Perspective!, October 1, 2006

By 

C. G. Adams "C. Geoffrey Adams, Ph.D." (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Waging Peace on Islam (Paperback)

Amidst escalating tensions between Christians and Muslims, this book presents a refreshing perspective. Fanaticism and stereotyping abound on both sides, yet Christine Mallouhi urges her readers to see people as people, complete with names, parents, kids, siblings, extended families and life stories. And, she supplies plenty of examples taken from her own life story as an Australian evangelical Protestant who has spent the majority of her life in North Africa and the Middle East married to a Muslim disciple of Jesus Christ. If you think that last statement is an Oxymoron, read the book.

As the title indicates, Mallouhi's book targets Christians and proposes peace, love and grace as infinitely preferable to fear, hatred and bigotry when dealing with Muslims. Especially poignant is the insight Mallouhi gives into the plight of the Palestinians, one of the least understood groups of people on earth.

Mallouhi is no Pollyanna and freely acknowledges the existence of Islamic terrorists, though she contends they are a small minority. Her point is that beneath the cultural and religious differences most Muslims are just people like you and me. She also informs us that many Muslims have the same difficulty of seeing Christians beyond their own stereotypes, including several centuries of Christian terrorists who ravished the Middle East during the Crusades. Sadly, even today there are right-wing fundamentalist Christians who probably would love to establish a "Christian Taliban."

The thread that ties the book together is the example of St. Francis of Assisi. The chapter title "The Mad Monk" informs the reader that Mallouhi is well aware of Francis' numerous and well-documented eccentricities and excesses. You may wonder what St. Francis is doing in a Protestant book on the need for an attitude adjustment toward Muslims, but the ploy works well and adds an interesting historical dimension to the book.

The strength of the book is Mallouhi's lifetime of personal experience. Some of her experiences and commentaries will challenge many evangelical readers and stretch them far beyond their personal comfort zones. You do not have to agree with all of her viewpoints to benefit greatly from reading Waging Peace on Islam. I have already recommended it to several people and will continue to do so.