The History of Evangelical Missions in Muslim Countries

The story of evangelical missions in Muslim-majority countries is one of persistence, adaptation, and complex intercultural exchange. Spanning centuries, it reflects the evolving strategies of Christian evangelists, the shifting dynamics of global power, and the resilience of faith amid resistance. While Christianity and Islam have coexisted—and often clashed—since the 7th century, the specific history of evangelical missions in Muslim lands is largely a modern phenomenon, beginning in earnest in the 19th century with the rise of Protestant missionary movements. Below, we explore this history through its key phases, challenges, and transformations.

Early Encounters: Pre-Modern Foundations (7th–18th Centuries)

The earliest Christian-Muslim interactions predate evangelicalism as a distinct movement. Following the rapid expansion of Islam across the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe in the 7th and 8th centuries, Christian communities under Muslim rule—such as the Copts in Egypt and the Church of the East in Persia—engaged in limited evangelistic efforts. These were not evangelical in the modern sense, as they lacked the organized, global outreach that would later define the movement. Instead, they focused on survival and dialogue, with figures like John of Damascus (c. 675–749) writing theological critiques of Islam from within the Umayyad Caliphate.

During the Middle Ages, efforts to evangelize Muslims were sporadic and often tied to political conflict. The Crusades (1095–1291) left a legacy of bitterness, as military campaigns overshadowed any missionary intent. However, exceptions existed. Ramon Llull (1232–1315), a Catalan philosopher and missionary, advocated for peaceful engagement with Muslims, emphasizing language learning and reasoned debate over confrontation. His vision of large-scale mission work died with him, as medieval Europe lacked the infrastructure and theological impetus for sustained outreach to Muslims.

The Protestant Awakening: 19th-Century Beginnings

The modern era of evangelical missions to Muslim countries began with the Protestant missionary awakening of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Fueled by the Second Great Awakening in Britain and America, evangelical Christians—marked by their emphasis on personal conversion, biblical authority, and global outreach—turned their目光 toward the “unreached” peoples of the world, including Muslims. This period coincided with European colonial expansion, which provided both opportunities and complications for missionary work.

One of the earliest Protestant efforts came from the Church Missionary Society (CMS), founded in 1799 in Britain. In 1815, CMS sent missionaries like William Jowett to Malta, a strategic hub for reaching the Ottoman Empire and North Africa. Jowett focused on Bible distribution and education rather than direct proselytizing, reflecting early caution about Muslim resistance and legal barriers under Islamic rule, where conversion from Islam was often punishable by death.

In the United States, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), established in 1810, launched missions to the Ottoman Empire. By 1820, pioneers like Levi Parsons and Pliny Fisk arrived in Smyrna (modern-day Izmir, Turkey) to evangelize Muslims, Jews, and Eastern Christians. Their approach combined preaching with education and medical work, establishing schools and hospitals as entry points for gospel witness. The Syrian Protestant College (later the American University of Beirut), founded in 1866 by ABCFM missionaries, became a flagship institution, teaching in Arabic and fostering an evangelical presence—though it often prioritized cultural exchange over overt conversion.

Meanwhile, in Africa, missionaries like Thomas Bowen of the Southern Baptist Convention began work in Yorubaland (modern Nigeria) in 1850. Operating in a region with a growing Muslim population, Bowen and his successors navigated tensions between Islam, Christianity, and indigenous traditions, achieving modest success among animists while facing resistance from Muslim communities.

Expansion and Adaptation: Late 19th to Early 20th Century

The late 19th century saw an explosion of missionary activity, driven by optimism and organizational growth. The 1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference, a landmark event, highlighted the “Mohammedan problem” as a key challenge, estimating that only 2% of Protestant missionaries worldwide focused on Muslims despite their significant global population. Agencies like the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM), founded in 1893, targeted Muslim regions in West Africa, while the Egypt General Mission (later Middle East Christian Outreach) began work in 1904.

Missionaries adapted to local realities. In India, under British rule, figures like Henry Martyn (1781–1812)—who translated the New Testament into Persian and Urdu—set a precedent for linguistic engagement. Later, in the 20th century, missionaries like Samuel Zwemer (1867–1952), dubbed the “Apostle to Islam,” emphasized understanding Islamic culture and theology. Zwemer’s work with the Arabian Mission (founded 1889) in Bahrain and Oman focused on literature distribution and medical care, though conversions remained rare.

Colonialism both aided and hindered these efforts. Missionaries often operated under the protection of European powers, as in French-controlled Algeria or British-ruled Egypt, but this association fueled Muslim suspicions of Western imperialism. The legacy of the Crusades and the perception of Christianity as a colonial tool complicated outreach, particularly in the Middle East.

Mid-20th Century: Challenges and Shifts

The mid-20th century brought seismic changes. World War I disrupted missionary funding and personnel, while the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of nationalist movements reshaped Muslim-majority regions. Post-World War II decolonization further altered the landscape, as newly independent states like Indonesia (1945) and Algeria (1962) restricted foreign missionaries. In many countries, evangelism became illegal, forcing a shift to “tentmaking”—missionaries working secular jobs like teaching or medicine to maintain a presence.

Despite these obstacles, evangelical missions persisted. The 1950s saw the founding of groups like Frontiers, dedicated solely to Muslim outreach. Radio ministries, such as the Far East Broadcasting Company (1945), and later Trans World Radio, emerged as vital tools, beaming Christian messages into closed countries. In Iran, the evangelical church grew from a handful of believers in the 19th century to an estimated 14,000 by the 1990s, half of whom were Muslim converts, according to Iranian Christians International.

Contemporary Era: Post-9/11 and Beyond

The September 11, 2001, attacks marked a turning point. Heightened security concerns and anti-Muslim sentiment in the West prompted reflection among missionaries. Some, like J. Dudley Woodberry of Fuller Theological Seminary, noted a 26% increase in missionaries to Muslim-majority countries between 2005 and 2010, per the Atlas of Global Christianity. This period also saw a rise in conversions, with estimates suggesting over 2 million African Christians had Muslim backgrounds by 2015, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity.

Globalization and migration further transformed the field. The “10/40 Window”—a term popularized in the 1990s by missionary strategist Luis Bush—focused efforts on the band between 10 and 40 degrees north latitude, encompassing much of the Muslim world. Meanwhile, missionaries from the Global South, particularly Latin America and Africa, began leading efforts. Adriana Carranca’s book Soul by Soul (2024) documents Brazilian evangelicals covertly evangelizing in Afghanistan, reflecting this shift.

Today, strategies blend traditional evangelism with humanitarian aid, education, and digital outreach. In places like the Arabian Peninsula, where overt proselytizing is banned, local churches in trade languages like English serve as subtle witnesses. Yet challenges remain: persecution, cultural suspicion, and legal barriers persist, while debates over contextualization—whether converts can retain Muslim social identities—divide mission thinkers.

A Tale of Mixed Outcomes

The history of evangelical missions in Muslim countries is neither a tale of unrelenting triumph nor abject failure. It is a narrative of gradual progress, marked by fewer than 1 million converts globally from Islam to Christianity historically, yet punctuated by moments of profound impact. From Llull’s medieval dream to Zwemer’s tireless advocacy and today’s diverse approaches, evangelicals have sought to share their faith in contexts often hostile to it. As the global church shifts southward, the future of these missions may increasingly lie with non-Western believers, redefining a centuries-old endeavor for a new era.