The Cross and the Crescent: Understanding the Muslim Heart & Mind

I just finished Phil Parshall's book and can easily say it was time well spent. I was most impressed at Mr. Parshall's objective approach considering he is a Christian missionary. He even dedicates some time at the end of the book claiming he might be bias because of his own Christian presuppositions and not have given a completely objective account of Islam. In my opinion, he has come as close as he possibly could. It is refreshing to know that Mr. Parshall is so confident in his personal faith in Jesus Christ that he does not hesitate to commend Muslims in the areas where their faithfulness exceeds that of many, if not a majority of, Christians. There is not as much detail about Islam as I was searching for when I set out to read a book about Islam, however, I have gathered knowledge about the religion, at least enough to understand the major premises and carry on a conversation about it. I have taken away one star because there were some dry times in the book for me. There were a couple of 5 to 10 page sections that didn't move me either further in my understanding of Islam or challenge me in my own Christian faith. Also, Mr. Parshall uses quite a bit of poetry, which I didn't feel accomplishes the goal of the book. But it is obvious he enjoys it and wants to share it with the reader. Overall, I would recommend this book, but it is the only book I've read that explores the Muslim faith. I have a deep respect for how the author has spent his life witnessing to Muslim people all around the world and if any one can claim to be the Christian authority on a Muslim's heart and mind, I believe Mr. Parshall is the one by virtue of the amount of his life that he has spent with Muslim people.

I've read a few books on "understanding islam" but this one is far and away different than most. Not obvious from the title or the back cover reviews, this book lays out the challenges of Islam that missionaries face but more importantly and refreshingly, it also reveals the challenges Muslims face when they consider Christianity. This book gets 5 stars for 2 reasons. I like Parshall's cautionary approach to insider movements and his honest look at Christianity through the eyes of a sincere, searching Muslim. He conveys a great respect for Muslims without compromising or going overboard into syncretism. Grace and truth are both found in this book.

I set out to read "The Cross and the Crescent" to understand more about Muslims, in light of my Christian faith. While I did learn about what Muslims believe - examining how Muslim faith plays out in real life, I was mostly challenged to examine my own faith, and how it plays out in my day-to-day life. Phil Parshall is sensitive, as well as revolutionary - his examples come from his personal day-to-day experience living in the Muslim world, with Muslim friends, neighbours, babysitters, etc. I would highly recommend this to someone who wants to understand the "Muslim Heart and Mind" - like the subtitle says.