Beth Peltola’s A Short Guide to Islam: A Biblical Response to the Faith of Our Muslim Neighbors is a concise yet thoughtful resource aimed at Christians seeking to understand Islam and engage with Muslim neighbors in meaningful, gospel-centered conversations. Drawing on her extensive experience as a missionary and scholar, Peltola delivers a guide that balances accessibility with depth, making it a valuable tool for readers navigating interfaith dialogue.

Plot and Content Overview

The book serves as an educational primer, outlining the core tenets of Islam while offering a Christian perspective on how to approach conversations with Muslims. Peltola, who grew up in Southern Africa and later served in a Turkish-speaking church in London, leverages her decades of experience to explain Islamic beliefs, address common Western misconceptions, and provide practical strategies for respectful engagement. The text is structured to cover the primary doctrines of Islam, such as the Five Pillars, the role of the Qur’an, and the significance of Muhammad, while contrasting these with Christian theology, particularly emphasizing the person of Jesus. Each chapter concludes with reflective questions to encourage readers to internalize the material and prepare for real-world interactions.

The hook lies in Peltola’s mission-driven approach: she frames the book as a call to love Muslim neighbors as Jesus does, urging readers to move beyond stereotypes and fear toward compassionate dialogue. This resonates powerfully in an era where cultural and religious divides often feel insurmountable. The book avoids spoilers by nature, as it’s nonfiction, but it carefully sidesteps revealing overly sensitive details about Islamic practices that might hinder constructive conversations, focusing instead on fostering understanding.

Strengths

Peltola’s voice shines through as both authoritative and empathetic, reflecting her 25 years of studying Islam and working with Muslim communities. Her academic background, including a Master of Theology in Islamics from the London School of Theology, grounds the book in well-researched insights. She backs up claims with references to the Qur’an and Bible, making it easy for readers to verify information online. The inclusion of reflective questions at the end of each chapter is a standout feature, encouraging readers to process the material deeply and apply it practically. For example, questions prompt readers to consider how they might initiate a faith-based conversation without causing offense, which is particularly helpful for those new to interfaith dialogue.

The book excels in its clarity and brevity, packing substantial content into just 156 pages (or 240, depending on the edition). It’s not heavy reading, as one reviewer noted, making it accessible to lay Christians without sacrificing substance. Peltola’s emphasis on love and respect aligns with her work at the One Truth Project, which promotes harmonious discussions between Christians and Muslims. Her real-life examples from ministering to refugees and immigrants add authenticity, making the book feel like a conversation with a seasoned mentor.

Critiques

While the book is praised for its clarity, some readers have pointed out editorial shortcomings. One Goodreads review highlighted issues with disjointed paragraphs, awkward sentence transitions, and occasional inaccuracies in Bible verse citations, suggesting the book needed stronger editing. These issues can disrupt the flow, particularly for readers sensitive to polished prose. Additionally, some critics felt the book’s approach—relying heavily on biblical responses like “but the Bible says…”—might not always resonate with Muslim interlocutors, potentially limiting its effectiveness in certain contexts.

The book’s focus on a Christian audience could also be a limitation. While it’s explicitly designed for Christians, those seeking a more neutral or comparative study of Islam might find the biblical lens too prescriptive. Furthermore, the audiobook version, narrated by Aimee Lilly, has received little specific feedback, so it’s unclear how the narration enhances or detracts from the experience.

Audience and Recommendation

This book is best suited for Christians—particularly those in Western contexts or expat communities in Muslim-majority regions—who want to engage with Muslim neighbors or friends in a way that is both informed and compassionate. It’s an excellent resource for church groups, missionaries, or individuals preparing for cross-cultural ministry. Fans of apologetics or books like The Jesus Storybook Bible (noted for high ratings on Christianbook.com) might appreciate its focus on biblical truth and practical application. However, readers looking for an in-depth academic treatise or a secular analysis of Islam may need to supplement this with other texts.

Rating

I’d rate A Short Guide to Islam 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a well-researched, heartfelt guide that effectively equips Christians for interfaith engagement, though minor editorial issues and its specific audience focus slightly temper its universal appeal.

Final Thoughts

Peltola’s work is a timely and practical tool for fostering understanding in an increasingly diverse world. Its strengths lie in its accessibility, reflective questions, and the author’s lived experience, though it could benefit from tighter editing. For Christians eager to build bridges with their Muslim neighbors, this book is a must-read, offering both knowledge and a heart for loving outreach. Thank you to B&H Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A wonderful book by Beth Peltola! If we are Christians, then we are given an opportunity to witness to our Muslim friends or neighbors of Christ. Some might be afraid or just delusioned about their religion but we are called to witness and shine a bright light for the gospel. “We have to forget their religion and look at them as people” - a quote from the book. Does that mean we should trust Islam, the religion? No, but as a nation and as a people, we are to care for our people in our country. We want to harm to come to any of them, especially to our families. So we cannot trust Islam, but we have to give our Muslim friends and neighbors a chance to choose Christ or Islam. This book yes is a short guide to Islam. It breaks it down for us Islam for us so we are guided in how to talk respectfully to Islamic religious friends and neighbors. Be willing to share the gospel with them and you just might lead them to be saved in Christ! Thank you to #NetGalley and the author, and publishers for the opportunity to read and review #AShortGuideToIslam with my honest thoughts and opinions.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

This is a guide of Islam from a Christian's view. Some of the statements and inferences can anger those with a wealth of knowledge about Islam. I think it can be helpful for those who want to understand more, however, this is not a definitive guide for those who truly wish to learn about Islam.

Thank you, NetGalley and B&H Publishing Group for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so helpful! I have read many books on ministry and missions to Islamic communities as well as on the views that Muslims hold. Of all of the books that I have read, I think that THIS book was the most helpful in offering a quick overview of so many things and much biblical as well as practical advise. I'm so glad to have read this book, and I know that I will be going back to reference it in the future. This book gave me a greater understanding of many things.

I would highly recommend this book!

I really tried to like this book.

But I could not as the author seems to be antagonistic in her review of Islam in comparing it to Christianity and she’s still wrong.

She comes under the idea that Islam isn’t a Abrahamic faith, yet it is globally known that Islam is an Abrahamic faith along with Christianity and Judaism. Then there’s the idea that the faiths are not similar, similar doesn’t mean the same. It means having some shared beliefs and qualities which all 3 of the Abrahamic faiths do have.

Honestly, I don’t believe this book was written in good faith or with good intentions towards bridging the gap between Christians and Muslims.

Wow! This is a great book! A super resource that points you to more resources to study in depth. I learned so much and was challenged by this book to be more proactive in reaching out to others with the message of Jesus.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance e-copy! All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Wow. This is an incredible resource for anyone who has Muslim friends. I wish I had read this after living in Turkey for a year. So often, I tried to understand the Qur'an and use that to start talking about the Bible and Jesus, and what Christians believe. This book refreshingly kept pointed me to talk about who Jesus is - in a variety of contexts.

Definitely gave me so much to chew on. Any Christian with Muslim friends or any expat living temporarily in a predominantly Muslim context who wants to share Jesus would benefit greatly from this resource!

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. But I would pay for this for sure - many times over.