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Patrick Johnstone, international director for research at WEC International, is the author, with Jason Mandryk, of the 2001 edition of Operation World. The phenomenally successful prayer guide has gone through six international editions and sold more than 2 million copies (see official site). In a telephone interview with Associate News Editor Stan Guthrie, Johnstone discussed world missions trends in light of September 11.

What is the missions fallout from September 11?

It is quite plain how antipathetic the majority of the Afghans are to all that the Taliban were seeking to do. So we have hope and prayer that this might yield good opportunities for Christians. As for the wider implications, the greatest challenge is not so much what some are calling the "clash of civilizations," the Muslim-West clash. The biggest conflict is going to be between the largely silent Muslim majority and the very vocal Islamist minority. The Islamist minority now has center stage. It has done a lot towards winning the propaganda war, and sometime or somehow the Muslim majority is going to have to speak clearly from a theological and social perspective about what needs to be done about the future. Otherwise, relationships could be very difficult between the Muslim world and the non-Muslim world.

What makes you think that there is a silent Muslim majority?

Because of the way Islam is built up. It's very hard to find in Sunni Islam—as opposed to Shi'a Islam—a spokesman who can speak out clearly on theological positions. And to make matters more difficult, if somebody expresses a moderate position, he is putting his head above the parapets and may be threatened with death.

But what makes you think the majority isn't behind some form of radicalism right now?

I think that in the hearts of many, many Muslims there's a tremendous fear that the Islamists might gain control. But they dare not say it because it looks un-Islamic. I'm leaving aside the Palestinian issue and speaking now in more general terms. In Indonesia, the majority of Indonesian Muslims are horrified by what the extremists are doing. The same is true in many Muslim countries. Many of the leaders of the Muslim world may have to speak against what the West is doing, but they're longing for the West to win, because their own heads might be lost if the West doesn't succeed.

Muslims know that there's something wrong and they're unhappy with the situation but dare not articulate it. But I think many are going to be open to the claims of Christ as a result.

What makes you say that—recent history?

Over the last 10 or 15 years there hasn't been a huge rush of [Muslim] people coming to Christ, but it has certainly picked up speed. The Islamist pressure has accelerated it. At the time of the Iranian revolution in 1979, there were very few Christians who came from a Muslim background in Iran or outside it. But with those who fled and even those who remained, the level of interest greatly increased, and the number of conversions greatly increased from what it was. We're only speaking of thousands, but they were in the hundreds before. And so the very fact of the Ayatollah [Khomeini] and what he has done has made many Iranians more open for the gospel. That's true inside Iran and outside. And right across the Muslim world there are, here and there, those who are coming to Christ in larger numbers. And so my expectation and trust is that the September 11 incident is actually going to open up many more Muslims to the gospel.

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August (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46