Mr (he has asked us only to use his last name) Atalla looks like the Egyptian architect he once was, with a beaming smile, mustache, and bright clothes. But rather than building for rich Egyptians, he now wants the riches of Christ for Muslim people. Our interview started with how he explained Christ to a Muslim couple in Sydney a few days earlier…

I had just arrived and the time difference was killing me. I found a restaurant and I sat down in a corner by myself. Then a couple came and sat there (Atalla gestures across our table). They kept looking at me and after fifteen minutes the guy, asked “Where are you from?” In evangelism that is the only question that I love to hear—it opens all kinds of discussions.

I learned that they are from Singapore and they are Muslims. I asked “How do you know if your eternity is guaranteed? Because Mohammed had no way to be sure that he would end up in heaven. He (Mohammed) said, ‘I do not trust him (Allah) because he is a deceiver’.”

They said “Nah, Mohammed was sure of his eternity.”

I said, “Sorry, you do not know your Koran. It is written in the Koran, there are thousands of verses about ‘Kill the infidel’, ‘Cut their fingers’, ‘Ambush them’, and ‘make them pay poll taxes’.”

They said “No, no, these are not in the Koran. The Koran is so peaceful”. I said “Apparently you don’t know your Koran. I read it in Arabic, my language. And I teach it”.

“Do you teach Islam?”

“Yes, I let people be aware of the reality of Islam. Full of blood. Full of hatred. And I am here to tell people about another one who is the hope for the world.”

“Who’s that?”

“The one who I worship”. And we started from there. I usually share my testimony about growing up in a Christian family and having the Islamic influence. I gave up on all religions and I became an atheist. Until I became concerned about my eternity and started studying in depth—the Torah of the Jews, the Koran of the Muslims and the Bible of Christians. My simple question to all the prophets was “Do you guarantee my eternity?” I trusted in the one who said you don’t have to DO anything, just live for him.

I invited them to do the same.

Eternity: That’s you talking to a couple of Muslims the other day but you talk to many Muslims every day, through Kingdomsat, don’t you?

I am from the Middle East and I am aware of all the other Christian channels, Arabic Christian channels, but without attacking anyone, they are there just to entertain, to superficially share Jesus.

But Muslims have big concerns about Christian things. They have many questions about our beliefs and they don’t find answers. The Kingdomsat channel is simply the answer to Muslims’ questions. We take the gospel not to the shallow end but to the deep end.

Eternity: So if somebody writes to you or emails you, how does Kingdomsat respond if they are a Muslim in a Muslim nation?

We respond by phone, email, SMS first to make sure this person is sincere, secure and not the secret police. Once we find that he or she is a seeker, we respond with emails and then we meet with that person. Once we have discipled for a year we connect them into either an existing church, or to an underground church.

Eternity: You said you don’t attack other religions on Kingdomsat. Why not?

In normal life when you attack a person they become defensive. Attacking will generate a reaction, a counterattack.

You might think that once somebody gives up on Islam they will immediately become a Christian. That is wrong. There is a gap.

I can talk to a Muslim and I can refute Islam and I can get a Muslim to give up on Islam on the spot. But does that mean that he or she will believe in Christ? No. If I do that I am creating atheists.

Eternity: Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?

I grew up in Egypt where for security reasons Muslims and Christians say they worship the same God. That is dangerous.

I cannot say we are worshipping the same God because God would not contradict himself.

If God sent Jesus his son who was crucified to take your sins and then six hundred years later God remembers that that was wrong and he sends a revelation to say that he was not crucified… either the first was wrong or the second was wrong.