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St Francis Magazine Vol 8, No 4 | August 2012
isolation. Can a believer in Christ survive without joining the flock
Is it only through incorporation into a congregation of believers that
a new social identity can emerge—one which will complement and
complete the transformation in core identity
Converts from Islam seek a new social identity, a new “family” to
substitute for the old (especially if rejected by their own loved ones),
a new role model of what it means to be Christ's follower, and a new
pattern of Christian discipleship.
Biblical theology and the social sciences alike assert that the new
community is essential for providing converts with the social identity
they crave. What, however, is to come of their old social identity, the
community in which they were born and raised Will all links with
that be cut off Is it necessary to have only one social identity, or can
two be combined at the same time
In fact many converts from Islam, to the extent that they want to
or are allowed to, maintain links of some kind with their Muslim
families while simultaneously joining their new Christian “family”.
Dual belonging is a reality for them, and they seek strategies to combine
both social identities. So what circumstances allow coexistence
and where is conflict inevitable When can twin loyalties be held
side by side and when do they tear a heart apart What local contextual
variations bear on this, and what theological insights help to
chart a way through
These questions are of urgent relevance to many thousands of
Christians from Muslim background today. It is over these questions
that converts, national Christian leaders, missiologists and theologians
should pool their perspectives, not the old polarized Insider
Movements debate which can never move forward until it recognizes
the reality of dual social identity. I address this further in section 6.2
below.
3.1.3 Conversion at the "Collective Identity" Level
Collective identities of religion, ethnicity and nationality tend to get
fused in traditional societies. So a person changing their religion is
seen as betraying their family and their nation as well. Islamic histo-
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