“Islam is winning some hearts that long for meaning, conviction, and community—hearts that should be hearing the credibility of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The tragedy isn’t that Islam is advancing. It’s that the Church has been retreating. Islam’s growth doesn’t prove that the religion is true. It proves its followers take their faith seriously, and that should wake us up.”

Less than 25 years after Muslim terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people on 9/11, New York City, home of “ground zero,” just elected a Muslim as its next mayor. Some European cities are already majority Muslim, so what does this mean for America? 

 Today on Breakpoint, speaker and author Abdu Murray takes a closer look at Islam in America and how Christians should respond. 

The truth, as usual, is complicated. There are legitimate concerns about Islam’s growing influence in Western life. But there are also exaggerations—or flat-out falsehoods. Take the rumor that Dearborn, Michigan, has implemented anti-Christian missionary laws. It hasn’t. I’ve read the ordinances and confirmed with Christian friends who live there that they can still share the Gospel in Dearborn’s parks and streets. 

Still, there are real tensions. When Dearborn’s mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, told Christian Dearborn resident and street preacher Ted Barham that he wasn’t welcome in Dearborn, the backlash was swift. In response, Hammoud issued a “sorry, not sorry” statement that Dearborn is open to people of all faiths. But he didn’t apologize or even address Barham. With a population that’s roughly 55% Muslim, Hammoud likely feels no need. His base will keep him in office. 

That’s what makes the situation interesting—and instructive. Islam’s growth in the West isn’t hypothetical. It’s real, and it’s reshaping local cultures and politics. But contrary to some fears, Shariah law isn’t taking over Western legal systems. Islam’s spread in America isn’t primarily legal or coercive. It’s cultural, demographic, and deeply spiritual. 

Despite its global PR problems—association with extremism, restrictions on women, authoritarian regimes—Islam continues to grow in the U.S. Yes, that’s partly due to immigration and birth rates. But it’s also because Islam offers what secularism can’t: a clear message and a sense of belonging. 

For young men especially, Islam presents masculinity as virtuous, not toxic. It calls them to discipline, duty, and identity. In a culture that sneers at male strength and a mainline church that too often avoids moral rigor, Islam’s conviction can look like courage. 

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