Why No Missionaries to the Muslims?

The following excerpt is from a letter to the editor of TOUCHSTONE magazine (Jan/Feb 06). It is written by an American Catholic who has lived in Europe for the past 28 years.

I note that there are a few brave missionaries sill in various Islamic lands, but I see practically no effort to evangelize the Muslims in our own lands. I recognize that the record of success in converting Muslims seems to be rather poor; I suspect that it is largely due to the rapid exchange of the role of convert to that of martyr in Islamic countries. That handicap should be minimal in Western lands (at least the murderer should face punishment, not receive praise). Thus, we could have converts in the society to help the process of further conversion.

Therefore, why are there not swarms of Arabic- or Turkish-speaking missionaries sent to convert Muslims living in Christian lands (and not just in Europe)? Is it that our cultural relativism has paralyzed us? I suspect that this effort might have the side effect of the renewal of Christianity among the non-Muslim population as well.

Food for thought.