This book provided some useful insights into the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam, as well as the historical and cultural background leading to today's misunderstandings and fears of each other's faiths. However I found the book to be a bit disorganized, and much of the sections on how to interact with Muslims seemed like common sense to me. I had to trudge through large portions of it. I'm glad I read it, but it took some determination to finish it.

This book is a mixed bag. Positively, there is a decent amount of helpful information towards understanding Islam and the chapters are generally not too long. Negatively, Chapman often advocates an idea of the Golden Rule that is not interpreted by the whole of Scripture along with many more approaches/perspectives that are disagreeable to confessional Reformation Protestantism.

The first half of the book was mostly history and facts about Islam, and the second half was how Christians should talk with and convert Muslims. I would recommend a less biased book if you're not looking to convert anyone.

Whilst reading this on a London underground train somebody seemed to download the book and told me that it was good. The train was so busy that I was a little bewildered that anybody was speaking to me, now I wish I was I had asked them, their thoughts and wished I could speak to their about why they were reading it / their background etc...

A book that brings conversations between faiths to the fore.

Absolutely phenomenal. This is a must read for any Christian looking to understand Islam and how pur two faiths interact with each other. This is incredibly important information to know when wanting to be a good witness of Christ to our Muslim friends and neighbors.

EDIT: Upon a second reading a few years later, I lowered my rating. Chapman seems to more readily punch Christianity and coddle Islam and is at times a bit too soft on the faith of Muhammad.

There's a lot of really great information in this book, as well as helpful suggestions for approaching Muslims. For example, Chapman gives several reasons why the parable of the prodigal son and the Gospel of Luke are the ideal places to start in Scripture. He also gives helpful historical, political, and ideological context for contemporary Muslim thinking.

But the book falls flat in a number of ways. First of all, it's poorly organized and redundant. It's difficult to see a logical progression -- it feels like a sequence of tangentially related chapters, many of which cover the same material. It doesn't help the problem that the book is as long as it is. Nearly 400 pages, with a somewhat small font. I had to fight to keep my eyes from glazing over each time I turned a page.

It also suffers from a lack of clear theological perspective. In certain places, it seems Chapman is attempting to speak from the standpoint of (an absurdly broad and nebulous) "mere Christianity." In those places, he is unable to offer clear suggestions because he must be inclusive of all types of Christians. On the other hand, there are parts where he speaks firmly about inerrancy, penal substitution, salvation through faith alone, and so on. In still other places, he entertains the idea of inventing a new sacrament to replace baptism in order to avoid all the connotations baptism has in Muslim contexts. It's all over the place.

I would recommend What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Qur'an by James White over this one any day, even though it's missing some of the very helpful information contained in Cross and Crescent. It's much easier to follow, and written from a clear doctrinal stance that is able to provide specific answers to important questions. In the end, this book just wasn't worth the trudge.

A good book, long but with short chapters it was easy to read. My knowledge of Islam was decent enough so I felt much of what was said I knew previously. Great at covering breadth of Islamic belief among common people from folk to liberal to conservative views and touched on a heap of relevant issues. I felt the last part was the best in engaging with Muslim objections though felt other books did a better job of covering a Christian apologetic. At times too irenic but a good corrective for some more polemical works. Misses out talking about terrorism. Overall decent but I would recommend reading other works on Islam too (James White's book is excellent).

Chapman attempts to bring a balanced and nuanced perspective to Christian/Muslim interaction. In some cases, it works; in others, I believe he goes a little further than I would like or am comfortable with. However, the questions that he raises are needed and this is a good start to get the discussion going and for trying to think through issues. The writing is very much at a lay level and the book covers many areas of interaction from politics to culture.

There are shorter books that are more helpful.

Chapman has written a provocative volume on the political and religious issues on the Arab-Israeli conflict. I read this for a CIU course on Islam in 2013. He leaves much of main stream Christianity, liberals and evangelicals alike, in describing and biblically defending a better loving way toward reconciliation. Highly recommended for those considering the Mid-East issues.

This book was quite helpful for me. I learned a great deal about Islam - it’s roots about which I had a vague idea; and it’s underlying story about which I knew very little.

Chapman also challenged me to think more carefully about how Christianity can be viewed by those who don’t know us very well. Makes me thankful for people who take the time to engage with others who may think differently.

This book is a great introduction to Islam that makes it easy to understand for people who don't have much starting knowledge about Islam but who are well-versed in Christianity. Writing from a Christian perspective for a Christian audience, Chapman does a very good job of presenting Islam factually and neutrally, with only the last chapter providing advice about how Christians should respond to Islam, in accordance with the book's subtitle. I would highly recommend this book, especially to Christians who have Muslim friends or acquaintances.