A SHORT GUIDE TO ISLAM: A Biblical Response to the Faith of Our Muslim Neighbors PB

How can we love and understand our Islamic neighbors well?

Beth Peltola grew up in Zambia, and then moved to London to begin her career in missions serving a Turkish-speaking church for refugees and immigrants. She has spent her life training Christians in the tenets of Islam and Christian mission to Muslims. This accessible book will help Christians understand the beliefs of their Muslim neighbors so that they may love them and engage them in gospel conversations.

In this biblical response to Islam, you will learn:
- The primary tenets of the Islamic faith
- The common misunderstandings Westerners hold about Islam
- How Christians can best respond and engage their Muslim neighbors


The world has moved into our neighborhoods. We have a great opportunity to love our Muslim neighbors like Jesus does.

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group (20 Nov. 2023)
Language: English
Hardcover: 160 pages

Stephen's Review

A Short Guide to Islam is the latest work by Elizabeth Peltola. This book does exactly what it says on the front cover, it tries to explain in plain language what Islam is as a faith system and what Muslims believe. Beth is someone who has spent years evangelising Muslims as well as engaging them in debate and she seeks to make friends with Muslim neighbours so she can win them for Christ. As you read through the book this becomes clear, not just because she gives lots of personal accounts of interaction with Muslim friends but also because she conveys a real warmth for the Muslim community.

The book is divided up into sections covering modern myths about Islam, a basic understanding of what Islam is, the differences between different kinds of Muslims (eg. traditional, moderate and mystical), Islam and migration and aspects of Islamic theology. These sections are further sub divided into a total of 22 chapters, each of which is short, and Beth’s explanations are backed up both with quotes from the Quran as well as the Bible. I particularly appreciated Beth’s explanation of the differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims as well as her interesting definitions of traditional and moderate Muslims. Her book displays not just an academic knowledge of the subject but also a personal knowledge of the Muslim community. This is an excellent and concise book if you really want to understand Islam in the UK today.