Last Christmas was my fourth Christmas in a predominantly Muslim country. Many friends and neighbors have come to expect some kind of celebration event from my coworkers and me around this time of the year. They happily attend these parties just like they expect us to happily visit them during their Muslim holidays. It is a great time for outreach.

Many of our Muslim friends had heard the Christmas story from us before. But some of them reacted to the story a little bit differently last Christmas! For you see, it has taken me a while to become proficient in the local language. In the beginning I would memorize a story and “recite”it to them. I was not able to assess their understanding and whether they accepted the teaching or not. They could see that I had tried hard and were sympathetic enough just to smile and nod. Now that I can speak their language fairly well, when I tell a story, we have a lively discussion afterwards!

At our parties last year, children and young adults listened attentively. They had heard of Jesus before and respected Him as a prophet, as they do 365 other prophets. Virgin birth? No problem; they believe in miracles. Angels appearing to shepherds? No problem; angels do that kind of thing. Jesus is called the Son of God? Sure; He had no earthly biological father. Jesus is our Savior? Some of them agreed.

Problems arose with the older audiences. They had heard different stories about the birth of Jesus. When I told them that Mary’s conception of Jesus was the work of the Holy Spirit, one woman said, “We Muslims believe that it happened like this: As you know, Joseph was the most handsome man that ever lived. Half of the world’s beauty was concentrated in him. When Mary saw him, a great desire rose up inside her and the respected Jesus was conceived.” What perversion! For one thing, they confused Joseph the husband of Mary, with Joseph the son of Jacob who was sold to Egypt. Legends abound in the Muslim world about how handsome Joseph was and how much Potiphar’s wife desired him.

When I told them that Jesus was born in a stable, they said, “We Muslims have heard that Mary gave birth to Him underneath a palm tree. She was in such great pain that she ate some dates from the tree and her pain lessened. That’s why we eat dates during childbirth.” One woman asked, “You Christians say He was born in a stable. We heard that He was born under a palm tree. Who is right?” I responded, “The Injil (New Testament) was written 2000 years ago and it hasn’t changed. The stories that you heard, where did they come from? When were they written? As you know, most people long time ago could not read. Stories passed around by word of mouth and, after a while, stories became changed. According to the Injil written 2000 years ago, Jesus was born in a stable.” They were quiet after that. They could not say anything because they had not read any holy books; their entire belief system is based on hearsay–stories they have heard from grandparents, parents, friends, neighbors, and the local mullahs–some dead, some still alive. They could not prove the truthfulness of their stories. At the same time pride and fear stood in the way of them accepting my story as the true version. Their culture is a source of pride for them and the stories they believe are an important part of that culture. Many of them were afraid of being influenced by another religion. Some mullahs have told them that even touching a Bible is a grave sin deserving hell’s fire.

Many years ago it saddened me that there are people in the world who have never heard of Christ. Today it saddened me even more that many people have heard perverted stories about Christ and will not believe otherwise. When you celebrate Christmas this year, give thanks for the truth you have received and please remember those who have heard only perverted versions. Pray that the Holy Spirit will enable them to believe the true Christmas story.

(D. Thompson [fictitious name to protect author’s identity] is a vocational charity and educational worker in a predominantly Muslim country.)