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After twenty hours in an airplane, I was glad to reach my destination. We landed in Saudi Arabia late at night. I was grateful to get some much-needed sleep.

The following morning I was rudely awakend at 4 a.m. by voices from loudspeakers chanting in a language I could not understand. I knew what it was-first call to prayer. Five times a day devoted Muslims stop all activity, face Mecca and fall on their faces to pray. The Apostle Paul’s comments in Romans 10:2 apply: “They are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.”

Muslim zeal was clearly evident on the day etched in history as 9/11. A hand-written document was found in a bag belonging to Mohamed Atta, a suspected organizer of the attacks and a hijacker on the first of two flights that slammed into the World Trade Center. Another copy was found at the site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. A third copy was found in a car rented by Hawaf Alhazmi, one of the hijackers of the plane that smashed into the Pentagon. Attorney General John Ashcroft released a translation of the documents written in Arabic:

Familiarize yourself with the plan in every aspect. Read the Al-Taubah chapter (of the Koran). Think of what Al-Taubah has prepared for you in paradise…. Check all of your items-your bag, your clothes, your knives, your will, your IDs, your passport, all your papers…. When you board the plane… recite the prayers and remember: it is a raid for the sake of Allah. Recite the prayer. As you take your seat, recite the prayer. Mention Allah a lot…. When the storming begins… shout “Allah is great!” because this shout strikes terror in the hearts of the infidels…. When the time of truth comes and zero hour arrives… welcome death for the sake of Allah….. Seconds before the target, your last words should be “There is no God but Allah! Mohammed is his mesenger!”

More than one billion people are caught in the grips of this religious system that borrows from Judeo-Christian teachings but denies that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, died for our sins or rose from the dead. They have removed the essentials of the gospel. In light of present world turmoil, it behooves those of us who have saving faith in Christ, to pray as we have never prayed before for a breakthrough for the gospel among Muslim people.

It is my prayer that a Muslim leader would come to Christ and become the modern “Apostle Paul to the Muslim world.” He would face violent opposition and repeated threats of death. This is what the Apostle Paul experienced. An evangelist rescued by the Lord from Islam could light a flame that might sweep through the Muslim nations, just like the gospel spread in the early centuries. God’s choice evangelist from a Muslim background might be living nearby. We must look for every opportunity to befriend Muslim neighbors and get them into Bible study. It is an incredible advantage that Muslims consider the Bible as a holy book. This is our open door.

It may be necessary to remove Sadam Hussein. Far greater it is to launch an “Apostle Paul” in the Muslim world. Bombs can never do what the Bible can do.

More World Pulse articles on Muslims:
Steven Downey. October 4, 2002. “Global Outreach to Muslims”
Mart Hershberger. December 4, 2002. “Praying through the Arabian Peninsula”
Dawn Herzog. September 6, 2002. “A Look at Muslim Outreach in North America since 9/11”
Don Jacobs. November 22, 2002. “Muslims, Our Friends?”
Kelly K. December 6, 2002. “Sharing the Good News with Muslims”
Debbie Meroff. September 6, 2002. “Awakening the UK: London: Europe’s Capital of Islam”
Jay Smith. September 6, 2002. “Heckling for Jesus”

Ron Blue is international mobilizer of Latin missions for CAM International and coordinator of the Spanish doctor of ministries program at Dallas Theological Seminary.