Recommended Resources and Reading About Islam

B.P., a young single interested in missions, just asked me: "At your convenience, would you mind providing some guidance?  What would you advise that I start reading, studying, exploring?  Recommended books on reaching Muslims for Christ?"

I want to give him some suggestions, and if any readers have some other suggestions for him, please note it in the comments below.

1. Read the Qur'an. Don't mark up your copy (offensive to a Muslim in case he ever sees it), but make notes with your questions. Get a "Study Koran" (yes, they have them, I have A. Yusuf Ali's). Remember that Muslims have about as many different denominations and interpretations as Christians do, but it will be interesting to discover, for example, that the Qur'an itself doesn't SAY Judas was crucified instead of Christ, but the commentators interpret it that way.
2. Read about Islam from Islamic sources. How would we like it if Muslims only learned about Christianity from the Muslim scholars? They often do, and therefore think that Christians believe in three gods, Allah, Jesus, and Mary, for example.  I can recommend Islam World and Islam.com and there are many other sources.
3. The best source of knowing what Muslims believe is simply meeting a Muslim and asking him. So many people waste time learning "what Muslims believe" and discover that the Muslims themselves don't believe that way. Simply ask the Muslim sincere questions ... "a question stirs the conscience, but an accusation hardens the will." The questions themselves may lead the person to realize that his religion is unfulfilling.
   
4. One of the best overviews out there from a Christian perspective is Dr. Timothy George's Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad? (Zondervan). I recommend this easy, fair, and scholarly read.
5. Get Badru Kateregga and David Shenk, A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue, Herald Press.  This book is great because it is a dialogue between friends. David Shenk told me personally about Muslim clerics weeping for him because he was such a good man, but going to Hell because of his heretical views. This book is not "dialogue" as in compromise. It is debate, but not in the Ahmet Deedat form of debate, all centered around sound bites and charisma. 
6. I can't wait to get my hands on Dr. Peter Pikkert's Protestant Missionaries to the Middle East: Ambassadors of Christ or Culture?  Since I have not read it, I cannot be sure, but from what I know of Pikkert and his works and reputation, it is a must-read for anyone considering missionary work to Turkey or the Middle-East.
   
7. I shy away from books and articles with an agenda of proving Islam's link with terrorism. I'm not blind and I don't need books which lessen my compassion for the lost.
8. As far as specific books on reaching Muslims for Christ, I would like to read one from someone who has seen it happen a lot. I understand that the two most effective books are The Bible and the Christian who lives and loves like he is one.