Week 1: Foreword & Introduction — A World Apart

1.Lee Strobel's foreword frames this as a story of evidence, friendship, and courage. Before you read further, what do you expect from a book about a Muslim converting to Christianity? What assumptions are you bringing in?

2.Nabeel describes his family — his father Ammi, his mother Abba, and his sister Baji — as the most important people in his world. How does the portrait of a loving, faithful Muslim home challenge any stereotypes you may have held about Islam or Muslim families?

3.The Qureshi family belonged to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a minority sect that faces intense persecution from mainstream Islam. Why is this detail important for understanding Nabeel's specific Islamic formation, and what does it tell us about the diversity within Islam itself?

4.Nabeel writes that he was taught from childhood that Islam was self-evidently true and that Christianity was riddled with contradictions. Have you ever held a belief simply because the community around you held it? What would it take for you to examine that belief critically?

5.The concept of izzat (family honor) is central to Nabeel's Muslim identity. How does understanding izzat help explain why conversion, for a Muslim, is not merely a private religious decision but a communal and familial earthquake?

6.Nabeel describes feeling a genuine, warm love for Allah — not fear, but devotion. How does this complicate the common Christian assumption that Muslims are simply following rules rather than seeking a relationship with God?

7.Jesus claims in John 14:6 to be the way, the truth, and the life. As you begin this book, how do you hold that exclusive claim alongside the evident sincerity and love you see in Nabeel's Muslim family?