Soccer, Kebabs, and Injil, 02: Folk Islam

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Soccer, Kebabs, and Injil, 02: Folk Islam

Posted by Justin Long ⋅ June 27, 2008 ⋅

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This series has been generously contributed from a booklet by Stephen Jordan (pseudonym) entitled “Soccer, Kebabs, and the Injil.” Jordan spent a year in ministry among Muslims in a Central Asian country, and jotted down his experiences and interactions in these brief chapters. The lessons learned demonstrate that, given an open heart, a humble spirit, and adequate preparation, short-term missions among Muslims can still have a fruitful impact on listeners and evangelist alike. We are happy to make this little volume available to you in the hopes that it will 1) show what daily life is like for many Muslims, 2) encourage prayer for unreached people groups, and 3) perhaps even motivate many to go and be a part of what God is doing in what are usually referred to as “creative-access” situations. If you would like a copy of the printed version of the booklet, or you would like to be placed on the mailing list of ReachAcross (formerly Red Sea Team International), please contact info.us…@reachacross.net.

The big beautiful shrine, built as a tomb for an important historical figure, serves as the center around which the whole city has been built. People do come to do their prayers, but more importantly they come to get receive blessing from God. Students come to ensure success on their exams, young men and women come to make sure they get the spouse of their dreams. Young wives come to pray against infertility, and the sick and crippled come to get healed. The power of the buried saint, not unlike the bones of Elisha, is thought to be capable of doing all of these things.

But how does this practice of saint veneration fit in with official, orthodox Islam? Doesn’t the Qur’an clearly state that there is no intercession between God and man? City dwellers pay their respect to it, saying a little prayer, when coming in sight of the shrine. If you asked them, they would see no discrepancy. They do carry out their official religious duties, more or less. They practice their unofficial traditional customs zealously, however. Their eternal fate is in the hands of God, so they seek to carry out His will, as far as they know it, yes. But for life here and now, they need immediate remedies, and they need a more tangible way of connecting with the divine.

One missionary suggested that where the shrine now stands previously had been the site of worship to a river goddess. When Islam became established, pious Muslims found a way to channel this place of power into the mainstream beliefs – not entirely unlike the way Christianity was spread in pagan Europe. We had reason to believe that a spiritual power was resident in this location for a long time, maybe thousands of years, keeping the people in bondage, one way or another. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flock to the site annually to celebrate the New Year. Perhaps people were being kept from choosing the path of freedom because of this dark force?

Our team decided to Jericho-walk around the shrine area (a good half a mile in circumference) the last week of Ramadan. Every morning, we got up before the break of dawn, praying as we walked around, with some local brothers in tow. On the last day, we walked around it seven times! We even had a little cow’s horn with us to blow at the end! I’m not sure what we were expecting – we certainly weren’t hoping that the buildings would collapse. We could be in big trouble! We were definitely looking for a breakdown of spiritual walls. We got quite a bit of attention on that last day. Some of the soldiers standing on guard really started wondering what these foreigners were up to by the fourth time around! I suppose not unlike the inhabitants of Jericho staring down at the people of Israel!

The spiritual impact of this walk still seems a little unclear. But walls certainly came down, and it took us by surprise! Some of the fledgling group of local believers had taken part in the walk. It was a great source of encouragement for them, especially as we gathered for a good breakfast and fellowship after the last seven times around. However, things started falling apart shortly thereafter. One brother started spreading rumors about two other brothers: they were supposed to have stolen large amounts of money some time before, and might be trying to do the same thing again. They were not who they represented themselves to be. The rumors turned out to be not entirely true nor false – it still isn’t clear today! But the damage was done.

Some of the brothers were wary of meeting with others, and ceased doing so. Our little fellowship fell apart (although the seeds would later be resurrected in different ways) – the brother who first came forth with the allegation has since turned his back on the faith, so it seems. Some became luke-warm, whilst others remained strong, and became even stronger. But other events soon followed as well. The husband of our local librarian, who was our most influential staff member and a new believer, died of a heart-attack. A devastating blow to her in this male-dominated society. Not long after, our landlord started coming around, talking about raising the rent as soon as our lease was over. His were not idle words: he wanted to triple it on us! A couple months later, we had moved into a new place with a new landlord!

What is the conclusion here? Were all these events connected? Maybe, maybe not. However, it is certain that one should not enter into active spiritual warfare unprepared for counter-attacks! The balance lies in distinguishing between the real spiritual powers at work that keep people in bondage, and mere superstition founded on lack of knowledge. It’s not always easy to differentiate – and maybe sometimes those two are one and the same! One thing is for certain, however: belief in the everyday impact of the spiritual world on the material world is widespread there.

Our staff were afraid to walk into the basement at night, particularly when we had a well in the basement in the new place. Basements are widely regarded as high activity zones for spirits, or jinn, and wells even more so! Our driver told us not to whistle one day as we were driving along in the car, for this would be a signal for just these jinn to come pay a visit. The same driver had a little amulet hanging on the rear-view mirror. He kissed it every time he went on a journey, and then would proceed to drive like a mad-man. This amulet was a little pouch in which a little Qur’an had been stuffed. Undoubtedly, it had been blessed by a mullah of the more unorthodox kind. When we took it out of the car, we told him not to replace it with another one. Jesus was Lord of the car, not some funky talisman. His faith wasn’t overly confident, as he drove quite carefully ever after!

Do these customs and traditions have any basis in the official, or even historical Islamic beliefs? Perhaps, or perhaps not. One thing is certain, however. These animistic beliefs and practices are and have been widespread in the Islamic world for a long time, whether they existed before the arrival of Islam, or came afterwards. And to be honest, these beliefs can be found in most cultures of the world, even in dominant so-called Christian ones. When God is felt to be distant and life’s events seem dangerously threatening, we humans resort to any means necessary to feel even a semblance of control.

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