Dreams and Visions, Pentecost and Extremists
The surprising phenomenon of dreams and visions and a window into a theology of the Spirit, even among extremists.
When I started interviewing Islamist extremists, I knew dreams and visions were a common experience in the Middle East. But I didn’t expect the similarity from story to another or the extremely high prevalence. Many see a ‘man in white’ speaking to them, convicting and/or comforting, inviting them to follow. Others had terrifying visions of blood dripping from the ceiling, causing them fear and guilt at their violent actions. Others recount experiencing great peace, some walk away with overwhelming awe or curiosity.
Pentecost, the feast celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ resurrection, seems a distant, strange story reading Acts 2 as Christians around the world did this past Sunday. Sounds like rushing wind, tongues of fire floating over people’s heads, mysterious ability to speak other languages and appearing drunk at 9 A.M… what gives? And, is this Spirit still active in the same ways today?
A major conversion trend “far more prevalent in the Middle East than Westerners realize” began with the Syrian Civil war in 2011 spurred by growing Islamic extremism, refugee flow into neighboring countries and sectarianism. Many evangelicals providing humanitarian aid started hearing Muslims report dreams and visions and seeing miraculous healing and answers to prayer. These stories occurred with 4 out of 5 conversion stories of those from extreme backgrounds.
Pentecost type spiritual experiences may sound foreign to most in the West in our modern age, but the supernatural, dreams and visions, and miracles have been accepted and expected for millenia. The “plausibility of an active supernatural” is a critical element for any religious group and appears across the spectrum of religions1.
A cursory reading of conversion narratives in the New Testament book of Acts reveals most of them contain some kind of supernatural element (15 of 23 by my count or 65%). The first centuries of Christianity are filled with reports of messianic visions and supernatural healings. Some positive and encouraging and others frightful and mysterious. In Acts 9 Paul is afflicted with blindness (in one of the first extremist conversions on record) when he’s confronted by Jesus himself who forces him to the ground with a bright light. In Acts 10 Peter has a disturbing vision of unclean creatures and a voice telling him to “kill and eat” which convinces him about the inclusion of non-Jews. And in Acts 16 Paul (now as a missionary) has a jarring dream of a desperate man urging him to come to Macedonia.
The Spirit enabling humans to speak the words of God is not unique to the Book of Acts. It happened many times in the Old Testament too. In Numbers 11 for example the Spirit comes upon not just Moses but 70 elders and even two other normal dudes who it seems were just passing by. Moses exclaims “Would that the Lord put his Spirit on all his people!” A prophecy in Joel 2 describes a widespread spiritual awakening with individuals experiencing visions, and dreams. The apostle Peter cites this text in Acts 2 describing what happened on Pentecost as its fulfillment. The narrative portrays Cretans and Arabs, people from Egypt and Libya, Cyrene and Rome all “astonished and amazed” at what was happening. They heard and spoke the “mighty works of God” in various languages.
The writings of the church fathers are replete with confrontations between spiritual powers and wonderworking. In fact, the supernatural is common in conversion phenomenon across various cultures and times from the 1st century Roman world, 19th century America, 1990’s post-Soviet bloc and the modern-day Levant. Even in the Western context of the Second Great Awakening in America, visions and the miraculous were commonplace2.
In Islam, dreaming is a normative and revered reality. Muhammad’s revelations and the Qur’an are reported to be divinely imported through dreams and visions. Istikhara, literally “seeking the good” is a special prayer in Islam where a dream or vision is sought and dreams are “incubated” in a bed-time ritual seeking answers and guidance3. Kelly Bulkeley reports that the “religious heritage of Islam has drawn deeply from the powers of the dreaming imagination… at the level of popular practice, pious Muslims have every reason to feel confident in looking to their dreams for divine guidance4.” And these dreams, especially of jinn (bad angel-figures in Islam), feature prominently in the modern Middle East with one in five Jordanians for example experiencing dreams regularly (Bulkeley, 210).
In studies of conversion to Christianity from Islam, the supernatural often surfaces. In one study of over 700 converts, “27% reported visions and dreams before their decision for Christ, 40% at the time of conversion, and 45% afterwards.” In another study, 30% had dreams or visions5.
Clergy in the Middle East report they are regularly asked to interpret dreams, or that prayers for things like fertility or reunification with lost relatives are regularly answered. Many have multiple or recurring visions both before and after their conversion. In my research I heard a total of 36 different detailed visions, dreams, or occurrences interlocutors attribute to a personal visitation by Jesus or direct intervention by God. In sum 83% of extremists who converted had a supernatural experience of some kind.
One lady recounted her vision of a man in white calling to her to walk out to him on the water and reflected “How special I must be that he came to me. We did not go searching for him, but he appeared to us.” Another older Sharia scholar estranged from his family due to his conversion says: “no one faced me or challenged me to believe in Jesus. Jesus told me himself; no Christians were part of the process [until later]. I was thirsty for the truth, and he came to me.” He saw a bright light and the face of a man in white with an expression of longing and invitation.
A conservative Levantine pastor I spoke with about the phenomenon remarked that the stories of dreams, visions, miraculous answers to prayer and supernatural healings are so ubiquitous in his congregation he is no longer surprised. “Every week there are more people delivered from demon possession, visions, healings, answered prayers… I can’t possibly remember all the stories.” Fascinating since this pastor is from a theological tradition given to suspicion of these types of experiences.
Why the high incidence of supernatural in conversion stories of extremists? Viewed through a missiological lens… if God is the primary actor in mission, seeking, saving, drawing the lost, constantly expanding his invitation to those far off… then perhaps those that are the furthest-off, who have the least hope from a human perspective, he pursues with the most extraordinary means.
In other thinking, extremists have less access to things like scripture, Christian neighbors or literature, therefore it is reasonable to assume (again from a theological perspective) that God speaks their ‘language’ and takes unusual measures with “all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Acts 2 says the promise of salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit is not only for immediate family, the Jews, the insiders… but for a much broader circle than even the disciples were comfortable with… eventually extending to gentiles, samaritans and the entire world.
This phenomenon also has applications from a deradicalization and counter-terrorism perspective. Both Islamic and Christian traditions contain long-standing theological frameworks for understanding the spiritual realm, angelic and demonic influences, and spiritual practices. Recognizing and respecting this metaphysical worldview is essential for professionals working in prevention and deradicalization. We need more interdisciplinary collaboration that includes theologians and spiritual practitioners who can engage extremists meaningfully within their own epistemological frameworks. Understanding and validating the spiritual realities believed and assumed by most of the world’s population may open pathways for rehabilitation and transformation that are otherwise inaccessible through purely secular or psychological approaches. The church has an important role here, as demonstrated in the Levantine phenomenon.
It is sometimes impossible to discern between our fragile emotions, the pull of social groups, urges and desires and the mysterious realm of the spirit. As a Christian, I take great comfort in the fact that there is a Spirit that guides, convicts, draws, comforts us in our weakness, leads and yes, sometimes even frightens human beings. This Spirit (the Spirit of Jesus himself), who Christians celebrate on Pentecost, is active all over the world, leading humans into truth, seeking to save that which is lost, convicting the world of its wayward ways, and making us aware of God’s righteousness and of the coming judgment.
Rodney Stark and William Sims Bainbridge, “Networks of Faith: Interpersonal Bonds and Recruitment to Cults and Sects,” American Journal of Sociology 85, no. 6 (1980): 1381.
Robert Hudson, Seeing Jesus: Visionary Encounters from the First Century to the Present (Minneapolis, MN: Broadleaf Books, 2021), 227.
istikhara.com
Bulkeley, Kelly. 2008. American Dreamers: What Dreams Tell Us about the Political Psychology of Conservatives, Liberals, and Everyone Else. Boston: Beacon Press.
Tom Doyle, Dreams and Visions: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World? (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012)