DUBLIN, Ireland - For a Friday night event, the atmosphere inside this university hall is both tense and expectant.

At the front, microphones humming, I am seated beside a Muslim speaker, a graduate of a prominent Middle Eastern school who now leads a large local mosque. I am a Christian ambassador facing a crowd of 100 students, most of them Muslim, where a lot of emotions and motives are mingling. Some want Islam to "win" a debate. Some want understanding to prevail.

All have questions. All want answers. 

It's a sensitive public dialogue in the wake of a very public storm: earlier this year, cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper spawned months of fierce demonstrations across Europe and the Middle East. As Muslims railed against free speech, some Western governments responded by sponsoring "religious hate-speech" legislation for censoring public discourse - especially against Islam.

I give my opening words: "Christians and Muslims both have strong senses as to what constitutes blasphemy: Muslims concerning criticisms of Muhammad, Christians about denials of Christ's deity. We must each decide to not be offended easily. Let us tonight listen to each other with patience and sympathy, and learn."

In my own heart, an unspoken question stirs: Will the event stay calm?

In the name of Isaac and Ishmael - what is going on? In this enduring culture clash, two ancient civilizations have two very different notions of freedom. Concerning the cartoon protests, Christian author John Piper observed, "Not all Muslims approve the violence, but a deep lesson remains: The work of Muhammad is based on being honoured and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery."

Muhammad chose to uphold his honor with violence. Christ gained the ultimate honor through his humble suffering for us. Muslims are compelled, by fear and shame, to defend Muhammad's name. Christians know that Christ, compelled by love, was willingly shamed for their freedom - and for the glory of His name.

This is why we must hold Christ up clearly. Amid controversy, the beauty of Christ stands out in greater relief.

As a missionary to the Muslim community in Britain, I was alarmed by my host country's reaction to the cartoon controversy. In late January, I joined a few hundred Christians in a peaceful demonstration outside the British Houses of Parliament in London - the ‘Mother of Parliaments,' as they like to say here. Up for the vote was a bill that would make it illegal to "incite religious hatred." The bill was so badly worded that a person could bring charges merely because he felt his religion the target of so-called abuse. Muslims in Britain were openly praising the proposed law as an effective barricade against public criticism of Muhammad and Islam.

However, Christian workers like me saw the imminent danger: simply saying in public that Muhammad was misguided or mistaken would open us to criminal prosecution. Our freedom to draw the contrast between Muhammad and Christ was under siege. Our protest made the BBC evening news, and the bill was defeated by just a single vote. It was a very narrow victory for freedom of speech.

One week later, a few hundred Muslims gathered in London to protest the Danish cartoons. They called for the beheadings of those who insult Muhammad, and chanted death to those who oppose Islam. Brandishing placards, they incited the very hatred they were protesting. Though moderate Muslims rightly condemned these violent declarations, they still admonished the government to defend Muhammad and the Qu'ran - with the platitude that religious criticism constituted excessive use of free speech. The same end, but different means.

I recently preached at a London church, where I met a young convert from Islam. Aisha shared how, after struggling to adapt as an Arab refugee, she returned to her Muslim roots for stability. But her visits to a local mosque raised questions in her mind about Muhammad: "Why did some of his revelations contradict others? Why didn't Muhammad know if his own sins were forgiven? How can I trust his interceding for me if he doesn't even know his own fate?"

She got the same angry answer from Muslim friends and mosque leaders: "Don't ask! Those kinds of questions will send you to hell!" Eventually, Aisha realized that Jesus was a much more compassionate and compelling figure - one who could actually save her from her sins. She trusted Christ and was baptised last summer.

For Muslims seekers journeying toward Christ, the university event in Dublin showed that open and honest dialogue is not only possible, but essential. Still, after two hours of sincere and aggressive debate, one pointed questioner threatened to make or break the evening: "What do you really think about Islam, the Qur'an, and Muhammad?" At stake was the peace of the event, my integrity, and the clarity of the gospel. I answered kindly but firmly: "Through my studies, I have come to the conclusion that Islam is not the true religion. The Qur'an is not Scripture from God, and Muhammad was wrong. He did not come with the same message as the biblical prophets, especially about the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Salvation is only found through personal faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Stunned silence. Then, a respectful murmur rustled through the crowd.

Afterwards, I was approached by a young Irish woman, her green eyes and red hair peeking out from under a Muslim headscarf. In a lovely Irish lilt, she apologized for how furiously she'd challenged Christ's deity during the question time. "You see, my mother converted to Islam. I've been brought up a Muslim, and I am struggling with these things. There is something about the Bible and Jesus that I keep coming back to. May I have your email address to ask more questions?"

Next in line was a tall, graceful figure in a traditional black covering. As a women's leader in the university's Islamic society, she thanked me with a warm smile. "This was so good, and we still have so many questions we want to ask. Can you come again?"

In the West, at least for now, Muslims still have the freedom to ask. And we Christians have the freedom to answer. So how will we use this freedom? Muslim immigration is fragmenting societies and pushing the boundaries of Islamic theocracy. But this friction is also creating opportunity for Muslims to hear the gospel.

Free speech isn't enough - God is looking for messengers to proclaim the truth of freedom in Christ.