Islam

Americans do not know much about Islam.  Many assume that Islam must be a lot like Christianity since Islam is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion.  Others are full of fear and are worried that all Muslims are potential terrorists.  There is some truth that can be found in both statements, but both statements are false.  Islam is very different from Christianity, and the average Muslim is not a terrorist and does not want to be a terrorist.  Muslims need to come to know Jesus, the only one who can save us from our brokenness. 

Muslims believe in one god, Allah.  Christians also believe in one god, God, who is Triune (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  The Quran denies the Trinity saying that Allah is above having a son, and many Muslims believe Christians worship three gods, Father, Son, and Mary. I will use “God” for our Christian god and “Allah” for the Muslim god.  (Allah means god in Arabic.)  Allah can not  be conceived or comprehended. He is transcendent like God.  God is personal and desires to connect with us in a personal manner (John 14:23).  Allah is completely separate from his creation.  Allah is impersonal, unlike God.  Muslims also believe Allah has preordained every event.  This fatalism can lead to a denial of responsibility though there is also the idea of Allah rewarding those who do good.

Muslims believe in angels.  Each person at birth gets two angels,  one to record all the good deeds and the other to record all the bad deeds.  One also gets a qarina (a jinn tempter (like a demon)) whose job is to haunt and distract people from the good straight path.  Christians too believe in the spirit world of angels and demons.  We believe in guardian angels and demons.  We do not believe in recording angels who keep track of our good and bad deeds, because of Jesus paying the price for us on the cross so we are free from any good and bad deed accounting.

Muslims believe in prophets, Allah’s messengers, communicating the message from Allah to the world.  The major prophets are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the final prophet, Muhammad.  According to Islam, Jesus is a prophet and nothing more than a prophet though he was unique because he was sinless and had a virgin birth.  He was not the Son of God, rather the Quran calls him, the Son of Mary.  According to the Quran, Jesus did not die on a cross rather he ascended into Heaven.  He will return for Judgement Day.

These prophets brought scriptures with them, and Muslims acknowledge the Torah, Psalms, Gospels, and Quran.  Except for the Quran, all the other scriptures have been corrupted and since the Quran exists, these scriptures have been superseded and canceled.   Muslims believe that the Quran is the final revelation and is eternal and uncreated, meaning it existed before the creation of the world.  In 650 A.D., Caliph Uthman standardized or canonized the Quran, and again in 1924 Egypt created an official version of the Quran, which is the version used today.  In both cases, any variant versions of the Quran were destroyed, so there is little evidence of the variant versions today.

The Hadith is a record of Muhammad’s sayings, actions, and approvals.  The Hadith is also important to Muslims for it tells them how to live.  From the Hadith is derived most of Sharia Law (part of Ahkam).  As Christians we are called to imitate Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1), and Muslims use the Hadith to imitate Muhammad.

Allah requires obedience.  The Five Pillars of Islam (as well as Sharia Law) is what a Muslim needs to obey.  The first pillar is confession.  You need to confess that Allah is the only god and  Muhammad is his prophet.  The second pillar is prayer.  The ritual includes washing, facing the Kaaba in Mecca, greeting your personal angels, and reciting a prayer. This is done 5 times a day.  The third pillar is daytime fasting during the month of Ramadan.  At night you can feast.  The fourth pillar is almsgiving.  You give one fortieth or 2.5% to Islamic causes or to the poor.  It can cancel out some of your sins.  The fifth pillar is a pilgrimage to Mecca.  These acts increase one’s chances of making it to Paradise.  Note that all these actions are to please Allah. The external actions are what are important.  As Christians, we value all what God has done for us.  We do not have to do anything to get into Heaven.  Jesus did it all to restore a broken relationship with us. That relationship is internal and out of gratitude we do good deeds, not to earn our way to Heaven.  We pray to a God who hears us and cares for us.

Islam is more than just a religion.  It is also a political movement and a culture that ultimately wants to unite the entire world under a single Islamic government or at least having a single Islamic culture governing everyday life.  Muslims have a religious and a political identity.  Christianity is separate from politics (Mark 12:17).  Jesus did not come to govern.  He came to save us from our sins (1 John 2:2).  (Those times when the Christian Faith and government were connected, Christianity took a back seat to government priorities and its mission was corrupted.)  Muhammad militarily conquered the Arabian Peninsula.  He created a government under him.  His followers continued to conquer lands after Muhammad’s death.  Under Islamic Law, Christians and other non-Muslims were and are second class citizens that have to pay a special tax for being non-Muslim.

Radical Islam promotes the idea of martyrdom (Istishhad) as the only sure ticket to Paradise.  (Christians have the assurance of Heaven. Muslims do not.)  It is all about waging war against the enemies of Islam.  According to the Quran (sura 3:169-171), “those martyred in the cause of Allah” will be rewarded and transported to Paradise.  Islam has always highly regarded martyrs, and Radical Islam has used this passage to promote suicide killings.  These killings happen much more often in Islamic countries than in the West with rival factions using suicide killings to promote their version of Islam.

Islam is very different from Christianity, and I believe the difference comes down to the two primary individuals, Jesus who died a violent death and then rose again, and Muhammad who used violence to conquer Arabia.  And Jesus taught about the unconditional love God has for us, while Muhammad taught about our required obedience to Allah.  Christians imitate Jesus, and Muslims imitate Muhammad.  I believe this is the big difference between the two religions.

When we talk to a Muslim, we need to show them the love that Jesus brings, and we need to be aware that we may not totally understand what is being said and our Muslim friend may not understand what we are saying.  This is because of the differences between Islam and Christianity.  Be sure to ask questions to clarify so that you can understand each other.  And remember it is all about Jesus, the only way to Heaven (John 14:6).

Much of this information came from the excellent book “Engaging Islam” by Georges Houssney, and if a book is too much, I found that the booklet, “A Biblical Response to Islam” by Hesham Shehab, is also an excellent read and is only 32 pages.