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In an 2009 article, Why do Muslims come to Christ? Five case studies that underline the key factors as Living God in Christ, the living Word, and the living Body of Christ. by Salaam Corniche, there is a reference (on the last page) to a study of Ex-Muslim Christians in the USA.

The study was described in a 2013 blog article, Factors leading to conversion of Muslims to Christ., by Georges Houssney.

The study was a multiple-choice questionnaire answered by 100 converts who had come to the national conferences for Christians from Muslim Background held in Washington DC and New Jersey.

Under question 4, it states:

“What was the major factor in drawing you to Christ?

[...]

25% experienced dreams and visions, most of Jesus but some various dreams.

I want to know if the statistics are genuine and valid. Did they use proper scientific methods in the survey? Is there other evidence to support or reject this claims.

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    It's difficult to see how this could be answered objectively as personal testimony would seem to be all that can be held up as evidence. Had you asked if 25% claimed to have received such a vision, then we might find support for that. We're not mind readers as much as we'd like to be. Please take the tour and refer to the help center particularly the How to Ask section for guidance. Welcome to Skeptics.
    – Jiminy Cricket.
    Commented Dec 1, 2022 at 20:52
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    I am the one who asked the question. Yes, I am asking if 25% claimed to have seen Jesus, as she/he claimed in the article. I am also asking what could explain this stats?
    – John
    Commented Dec 1, 2022 at 23:01
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    Welcome to Skeptics! You say Corniche compile multiple studies that say 25% of converts had a vision of Jesus, but I can't see that in the study. One ranks dreams and visions as "Equal 7th" (with a score (??) of 14)(I think). One ranks "Supernatural events" as affecting 8 participants (out of an undeclared number). [Not that a dream is supernatural!], and a blog said 25% of 100 US respondents experienced dreams and visions.
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Commented Dec 2, 2022 at 15:06
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    Please quote the claim from the text, so we can see what statement you doubt.
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Commented Dec 2, 2022 at 15:06
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    Now that you have specified the claim, we can see it is NOT "25% of converts had visions of Jesus" (which is dramatic) but that it includes dreams (far more mundane) and they weren't all of Jesus. (Also, others may have also had such dreams, but didn't consider them a major factor.)
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Commented Dec 11, 2022 at 4:51

1 Answer 1

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(This no longer serves as an answer to the revised question but I'm leaving it as supplemental info)

Mystical visions are not uncommon among religious converts. For instance, another study reports that 11% of converts to Islam also have supernatural experiences:

Eight participants (11%) described supernatural experiences leading to their conversions to Islam. These experiences aligned with the mystical motif. Often, these respondents described visits from angels, unexplained spiritual energy flowing through their bodies, or divine intervention following a crisis or near death experience.

Conversion Motifs Among Muslim Converts in the United States Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 13, no. 4 (2021)

I therefore conclude that the claim of widespread visions is not extraordinary; such visions are especially frequent among converts.

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  • This answer was given to an earlier version of the question that was closed for being too vague. Now that the actual claim has been specified, unfortunately the start of this answer doesn't address it. The second half may still be useful though.
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Commented Dec 11, 2022 at 4:53

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