A bearded man in the long tunic and headdress of a Muslim elder walked slowly up the aisle of our plane at the end of a line of passengers making their way to their seats. He stopped at our row and indicated that his assigned seat was by the window next to Sean. After we got up and let him in, Sean introduced himself, as he usually does to seatmates. The man introduced himself as Ilyas and said that the flight attendants usually try to move people around so that he ends up sitting alone. “People are afraid to sit by me for some reason,” he smiled, “but you don’t seem to be, so perhaps we can have an enjoyable flight.”
After some small talk, Ilyas told us he had been born in Pakistan and brought up mostly in the UK. He was returning from a visit to the Middle East where he was both learning and teaching within his faith tradition. He said he hoped we weren’t concerned or offended that he was Muslim. We assured him we weren’t and that we live in the Muslim-majority country of Albania. We then had an interesting discussion about the history of Albania and the Ottoman Empire that heavily influenced Albanian culture. Ilyas is a scholar with an interest in the Ottoman period, so he was pleased to be able to discuss the subject.
Sean asked if he had a family, which opened a conversation about the challenges faced by families of faith in today’s world. Ilyas asked if our children continue to practice our faith after leaving home. He seemed surprised that they do and wondered aloud why so many young adults have wandered away from the faith of their families. We didn’t bring up the fact that our oldest is a missionary-in-training and has a burden to reach Muslims with the Gospel.
The conversation went on for hours, and gradually Ilyas began to open up about more personal matters, including his fears for his siblings, who seem to be more interested in worldly wealth than spiritual matters, and his concern that his own children might someday be drawn away from choosing a God-pleasing lifestyle. “Paradise wouldn’t be paradise without them,” he said sadly. He seemed to feel the need to pour out his heart to someone, but sadly he didn’t understand how to go to God with his pain and sorrow like a child to a loving Father. I prayed silently for this man.
We discussed topics ranging from childrearing to social issues to health. After he mentioned having just bought a particular blender to make healthy smoothies, the conversation turned to wheat grass and kale. He was excited that we shared several uncommon interests.
Then he said something unexpected. “My primary mission is to share a message with my fellow Muslims about preparing for the return of Jesus.” He pulled a book out of his bag that had charts and diagrams to illustrate his teaching. “There are four main areas of emphasis,” he explained. “1) Purity of the eyes, or what we look at, 2) purity of the mouth, or what we say, 3) purity of the heart and mind, or what we think about and how we treat others, as well as humility, and 4) purity of the body, or physical health practices. He asked us to email him recipes for healthy smoothies so he could consume more fruits and vegetables in order to better practice the fourth aspect.
Sean and I glanced at each other, and after listening to him we began to mention some of the areas where we could agree with him. He grew more comfortable with us and began to open up about some of the disagreements and tensions between different Muslim sects and how they needed to be united on this message about the return of Jesus. He didn’t know much about Seventh-Day Adventists but was impressed with what we shared with him.
Of course, there were many subjects where we did not agree with him, but focusing on the common ground kept him open and positive so he wasn’t defensive when we brought out some ideas that were new to him. We shared the beauty of the Ten Commandments and how the first four show us how to love God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and the last six show us how to love our neighbors as ourselves. We spoke about how impossible it is to do this without relying on God. He nodded thoughtfully. We told him about some of the Old Testament prophecies that predicted the birth of Jesus and prophecies that point to His return. He was intrigued.
Ilyas later shared how disappointed he is that some Muslim extremists have resorted to violence and terrorism, even attacking women, children and other non-combatants. “They don’t know the Quran. Their motivation is not religious, but political. They create further division among Muslims and have distorted the image of Islam,” he continued. We then discussed how hatred toward others, especially in the hearts of those who claim to follow God, plays right into the hands of Satan. After all, Jesus commanded us to love our enemies.
By the time our airplane had landed, we were convinced that God had placed us together on the flight. “This is real interfaith dialogue, much better than the formal kind,” said Ilyas. He gave Sean his contact information and said he hoped to keep in touch. Please join us in praying for Ilyas, that God will guide him into all truth. May he come to know Jesus more fully—not only as the Messiah, but also as his Savior. Interestingly enough, his name is the Arabic form of Elijah. May he one day embrace the Elijah message and carry it to the ends of the earth.
Believe it or not, our return flight found us sitting next to an Orthodox rabbi whose final destination was Tel Aviv, Israel. But that’s another story.
