For evangelical Christians, a primary duty is to "evangelize" - spread the news of their religious faith in order to convert as many people as possible. This includes Muslims, of course, and the growing numbers of Muslim immigrants to America is inspiring Christians to come up with new and better ways to approach them for conversion. Rusty Benson writes in Agape Press (my comments are in bold):

Should these people whose worldview is so alien to American culture be considered friend or foe (Should I treat them like potential converts or like potential terrorists who want to kill me?)? Should Americans view Islam as a fanatical religion that threatens our nation, or welcome it as a rich addition to America's diverse cultural landscape (at least until we can convert them to our religion)?

"Despite the fact that it is creating a lot of chaos in the our society and in the world in general, I believe God's purpose in bringing so many Muslims to America is so they can be reached with the Gospel," said Jeff Marlowe. Marlowe is a missionary trainer with Enterprise, an Atlanta-based church planting initiative affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America. (they only think they are here for freedom or economic opportunity – instead, they are here for us to convert)

"Americans are propositional thinkers," Stewart says. "We think it's a matter of showing how my Christian proposition is more correct than your Islamic proposition. But a much more effective way is to show your Muslim neighbor or co-worker that you see him as a person, not as a project.“ (even if you believe that the only reason he is here is so that he can be part of your project of converting Muslims to Christianity)

Most cultures of the world, including Muslims, are oriented toward the group (collectivist) instead of toward the individual, as Americans are, Marlowe explains. (but don’t worry, we’ll cure them of their nasty socialist tendencies once we convert them to Christianity)

That sort of “respect” is something I suspect most Muslim immigrants would be happy to do without. I wonder how many will be made aware of the ulterior motives evangelical Christians have when approaching them in feigned friendship?

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