Asked to buy Islamic gift

goro said:

It's Mosque Shape Alarm Azan Clock Islamic Loud Call to prayer Muslim

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I would not buy it for them.. it does seem the child is being raised Muslim, if nominally, but that doesn't mean you have to purchase gifts that promote that faith.

If you feel led by the Spirit to say no on the matter, then I would follow that leading.

Certainly kindness and love and Christian charity is in order, but if they are people of faith they will understand a kind statement like "our faith prohibits us from purchasing this for a child, might there be something else he would prefer instead, as you would be happy to purchase a gift that was neutral when it comes to faith".

I'm a sister however, so you may not find what I think authoritative in any way, since it's not, however perhaps there is a Pastor nearby you that you could speak with in person, should you prefer.

goro said:

New here. In general I kind of could find most of the answers about Christian living but got stumbled on something I just don't know how to act.
My sister in law (non-believer) lives in Turkey and has I think 12 year old autistic son who is a fan of Islam, Quran, etc....I don't know how extreme though. She asked my wife (her sister) to order certain Islamic souvenir (about $20) here in US for her son which she can't buy in Turkey. My wife will be traveling and seeing her sister later this year.
So....I don't know how to act. So far options are:
1. Order the souvenir and give it as a gift.
2. Order the souvenir and ask for money later.
3. Ask her to order the souvenir herself and ship to our address. And give it to her whenever my wife travels.
4. Refuse ordering

In case of option 4, there will be some tensions in relationship obviously....
I personally am not comfortable with ordering this souvenir, and I might be making big deal out of it but my understanding by buying this souvenir we kinda of show we're OK with it in certain way, it's not that big of a deal. But I think if a person is alcoholic and you give him shot glass souvenir, it's not right....or if someone is in serious gambling and you give him roulette souvenir. Here, autistic child is worshiping false religion, is it a right thing to give him Islamic souvenir? What would be considered sinful in the options I have?

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God tells us to destroy idols and I would submit buying something like this for a kid is akin to buying an idol. I would politely refuse, citing God's word. Deut 12:3, 1 Cor 6:9-10, Eph 5:5 etc.

"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” -Matthew 18:6

goro said:

to be honest I would not want to buy it for anyone especially for totally lost and ill-spiritual autistic child.

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Then don't get involved. Have her buy it and send it to your wife and your wife can deliver it to her sister. So you are not involved. We do have a custom that we do not insult people. Although I would be tempted to tell them what I think. Families put up with a lot of crap but you can only keep a balloon under the water for so long and sooner or later we end up telling people what we think of the whole thing.

Doesn't matter. The whole point is to not let children stumble. Would you further contribute to worship of something else rather than Christ?

goro said:

New here. In general I kind of could find most of the answers about Christian living but got stumbled on something I just don't know how to act.
My sister in law (non-believer) lives in Turkey and has I think 12 year old autistic son who is a fan of Islam, Quran, etc....I don't know how extreme though. She asked my wife (her sister) to order certain Islamic souvenir (about $20) here in US for her son which she can't buy in Turkey. My wife will be traveling and seeing her sister later this year.
So....I don't know how to act. So far options are:
1. Order the souvenir and give it as a gift.
2. Order the souvenir and ask for money later.
3. Ask her to order the souvenir herself and ship to our address. And give it to her whenever my wife travels.
4. Refuse ordering

In case of option 4, there will be some tensions in relationship obviously....
I personally am not comfortable with ordering this souvenir, and I might be making big deal out of it but my understanding by buying this souvenir we kinda of show we're OK with it in certain way, it's not that big of a deal. But I think if a person is alcoholic and you give him shot glass souvenir, it's not right....or if someone is in serious gambling and you give him roulette souvenir. Here, autistic child is worshiping false religion, is it a right thing to give him Islamic souvenir? What would be considered sinful in the options I have?

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I say, try turning the situation around. Let's say a relative or friend of yours was in a country where they could buy a Christian item that you had always wanted, but had no access to. They were about to come visit you and you thought it would be no big deal for them to buy it and bring it to you when they come.

Would you want them to consider whether or not they agree with your religion first before doing you this kindness? Which if the options you mentioned, would you like for them to take concerning you?

Your answer should be what you do in this situation...... For what you sow , you shall reap.....for God is not mocked....... So Sow the seeds of the fruit you would like to harvest.....

Unfortunately he’s not your son so you can’t choose not to buy it for him or refuse it and I think I would go with option one, my family despite being Muslims have always allowed me to get Bibles (of which I now own four different copies in different places) and crosses along with icons despite it contradicting their Islamic faith, my family is pretty secular anyways when it comes to religion. But in this case I think you should be a good Christians and buy it for your sister without asking for anything back. Since her son seems interested in Islam I’d sure he’d enjoy talking about Christianity or Islam’s relation to Christianity or the commonalities and differences the two faiths have. Just a slight warning, he may just like the sound of the Islamic adan and many of us do, you should know that it pretty much spits on Christ and his cross every time it’s recited, La Ilah ila Allah Muhammed Rasul Allah. I have no problem with La ilah ila Allah, I’m sure most of us here as Christians believe in that already, but the Muhammed rasul Allah part now see there’s the problem it spits on Christ by promoting a heretic over him. But at the end of the day I think it’s better if you would do something nice for your sister then educate her son later, pushing Christianity down his throat at the expense of Islam won’t help with anything many people tried doing that with me vice verse and it didn’t work at all.

goro said:

Not really, his mom is not religious at all, and although father's family call themselves Muslims, they don't really practice it besides holidays and stuff.

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Has he been baptized as technically by sharia law he’s Muslim due to being born to a Muslim Father even if he’s not practicing or knows nothing about the religion. As Islam like Judaism is an inherited faith although unlike Judaism you can’t freely leave it under sharia law.

I would ask yourself, If your sister in law's Autistic Kid was a "fan" of Judaism, and She asked you to Buy Him a Menorah, or a Dreidel, Would you be feeling the same apprehension?

If the answer is no, then its clear you don't really have a personal, moral issue about giving someone who is worshiping a false religion a trinket symbolic to the false religion they worship, so you should go ahead and buy the kid the gift.

In the Roman Catholic Church, we reject nothing in other religions that is true and holy. I see prayer to God as a holy and positive thing. I would encourage any follower of the Abrahamic religions (at very least) to pray. So not a problem for me.

goro said:

4. Refuse ordering

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Any other option makes you a participant with encouraging false religion. It may result in family tensions but they will pass.

Same goes for your Jewish friends and relatives Goro.

False Religion is False Religion.
God does not favor one false religion over another.

Which brings me back to my original point of advice... If Giving a Menorah to a Jewish friend or relative wouldn't bother you, then its not the notion of supporting false religion that you are struggling with... it's something else entirely.

goro said:

3. Ask her to order the souvenir herself and ship to our address. And give it to her whenever my wife travels.

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#3

I think you can find sort of a loose analogy in 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 1 Cor 8:9-12. Chapter 6 is Paul chiding Corinthian men about going to prostitutes as they were justifying it as a Christian because "...all things are permissible". 8:9-12 is about food offered to idols and that being a stumbling block. In other words as a Christian are you harming the boy by giving him an icon of a false religion? I would say the right thing is the hardest thing for you to do...and that would be to kindly tell your sister in law that your Christian beliefs just don't square with you providing a "gift" in this situation as it does not further the gospel.

goro said:

New here. In general I kind of could find most of the answers about Christian living but got stumbled on something I just don't know how to act.
My sister in law (non-believer) lives in Turkey and has I think 12 year old autistic son who is a fan of Islam, Quran, etc....I don't know how extreme though. She asked my wife (her sister) to order certain Islamic souvenir (about $20) here in US for her son which she can't buy in Turkey. My wife will be traveling and seeing her sister later this year.
So....I don't know how to act. So far options are:
1. Order the souvenir and give it as a gift.
2. Order the souvenir and ask for money later.
3. Ask her to order the souvenir herself and ship to our address. And give it to her whenever my wife travels.
4. Refuse ordering

In case of option 4, there will be some tensions in relationship obviously....
I personally am not comfortable with ordering this souvenir, and I might be making big deal out of it but my understanding by buying this souvenir we kinda of show we're OK with it in certain way, it's not that big of a deal. But I think if a person is alcoholic and you give him shot glass souvenir, it's not right....or if someone is in serious gambling and you give him roulette souvenir. Here, autistic child is worshiping false religion, is it a right thing to give him Islamic souvenir? What would be considered sinful in the options I have?

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so ... this type of item can not be bought in Turkey?

There is one here whose muslim family allowed them to get christian Items. If we do not think the muslim family is wrong for allowing this, then it would be hypocritical to say that the OP would be wrong for purchasing an item at the request of someone he knows.

goro said:

New here. In general I kind of could find most of the answers about Christian living but got stumbled on something I just don't know how to act.
My sister in law (non-believer) lives in Turkey and has I think 12 year old autistic son who is a fan of Islam, Quran, etc....I don't know how extreme though. She asked my wife (her sister) to order certain Islamic souvenir (about $20) here in US for her son which she can't buy in Turkey. My wife will be traveling and seeing her sister later this year.
So....I don't know how to act. So far options are:
1. Order the souvenir and give it as a gift.
2. Order the souvenir and ask for money later.
3. Ask her to order the souvenir herself and ship to our address. And give it to her whenever my wife travels.
4. Refuse ordering

In case of option 4, there will be some tensions in relationship obviously....
I personally am not comfortable with ordering this souvenir, and I might be making big deal out of it but my understanding by buying this souvenir we kinda of show we're OK with it in certain way, it's not that big of a deal. But I think if a person is alcoholic and you give him shot glass souvenir, it's not right....or if someone is in serious gambling and you give him roulette souvenir. Here, autistic child is worshiping false religion, is it a right thing to give him Islamic souvenir? What would be considered sinful in the options I have?

Click to expand...

Sometimes we struggle harder to make things right in the eyes of others rather than the eyes of God. My son is working in Kuwait. While his area is very westernized there are things he cannot do and one of those is order certain forbidden things. If it is impossible for her to order it then I can imagine your wife would not be welcome at their customs checkpoint with it. Tell her you are not comfortable with ordering it and would happily bring him a gift that does not represent religious leanings either way.

goro said:

New here. In general I kind of could find most of the answers about Christian living but got stumbled on something I just don't know how to act.
My sister in law (non-believer) lives in Turkey and has I think 12 year old autistic son who is a fan of Islam, Quran, etc....I don't know how extreme though. She asked my wife (her sister) to order certain Islamic souvenir (about $20) here in US for her son which she can't buy in Turkey. My wife will be traveling and seeing her sister later this year.
So....I don't know how to act. So far options are:
1. Order the souvenir and give it as a gift.
2. Order the souvenir and ask for money later.
3. Ask her to order the souvenir herself and ship to our address. And give it to her whenever my wife travels.
4. Refuse ordering

In case of option 4, there will be some tensions in relationship obviously....
I personally am not comfortable with ordering this souvenir, and I might be making big deal out of it but my understanding by buying this souvenir we kinda of show we're OK with it in certain way, it's not that big of a deal. But I think if a person is alcoholic and you give him shot glass souvenir, it's not right....or if someone is in serious gambling and you give him roulette souvenir. Here, autistic child is worshiping false religion, is it a right thing to give him Islamic souvenir? What would be considered sinful in the options I have?

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I would actually say 1) Order the souvenir and give it as a gift. - this will elevate offence. But also buy a small Christian gift, and give it along side. In that way you are showing where your loyalties lie. Maybe a small plaque with a bible verse, or if you can a bible or bible portion.

goro said:

That would not be healthy. I expect that we make those decisions together as one, not separately.

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Hi Goro,

Making decisions together would always be the goal, of course. But when it comes to issues where one spouse has a conviction about something and the other one doesn't, there may not always be agreement or compromise. In those cases, we have to hold to our own convictions and act accordingly while allowing our spouse to do the same - and respect each other through the process.