Download Understanding Islam

RELIGION ANALYSIS
ISLAM
by
JOE VALENTI
Introduction to Apologetics
Dr. Adonis Vidu
November 29, 2012
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
1
BEGINNINGS, BELIEFS, AND PRACTICES
1
CRITIQUE
3
CONCLUSION - EVANGELISM TO THE MUSLIM WORLD
5
BIBLIOGRAPHY
i
INTRODUCTION
Islam is often misunderstood largely due to the notoriety of extremist groups. In
the same way that the Westboro Baptist Church does not represent the whole of
Christianity, groups like Hamas and al-Qaeda do not represent the whole of Islam. This is
not to say, however, that Islam is not in opposition to Christian beliefs; it is indeed. But to
view all Muslims as extremists or terrorists is nearsighted and is fueled by fear.
T. Anyabwile is right when he says, “where fear takes control, thinking does not.”.1 If the
Evangelical community is ever going to have success in sharing the good news of Jesus
Christ with Mohammed's followers, their belief system must be understood and
thoughtfully critiqued. Christ-followers must be compassionate thinkers, not hateful fearmongers. There is a war happening in the world right now. It is not a war against terror, it
is a war for truth.
BEGINNINGS, BELIEFS, AND PRACTICES
"There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet." This saying is known as
the shahada and this belief is the foundation of the Muslim faith.2 In 610 AD an Arab
merchant named Muhammad ibn Abdallah claimed to have his first revelation from the
angel Gabrielle. Muhammad initially thought these revelations to be demonic, but was
1
Thabiti Anyabwile, "Thinking For The Sake Of Global Faithfulness," in Thinking. Loving.
Doing: A Call to Glorify God with Heart and Mind, ed. John Piper and David Mathis (Wheaton: Crossway,
2011), 82.
2
N. L. Geisler and A. Saleeb, Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross (Grand
Rapids: Baker Books House, 2002), 69.
1
convinced by his wife, Khadija, that they were messages from God.3 Muhammad had
grown frustrated with the pagan rituals and classism that had seemed to infest his people
and believed that he was the mouthpiece of Allah calling them to submission to the one,
true God. He called this new way of life Islam (surrender) and over the next 21 years of
his life continued to have these revelations, often times accompanied by severe
convulsions. These revelations were later copied and form the Islamic holy book, the
Qur'an.
There are five fundamental articles of the Islamic faith. Though time has caused
Islam to divide into sects due to differences of opinion on many issues, all Muslims are
united under these five pillars.4 They include, the complete unity of Allah, angels, holy
books, prophets, and final judgment. Jihad, struggle for Islamic standards, is often
mentioned as the unofficial sixth article.
In addition to these beliefs, Muslims have five responsibilities which include
reciting the shahada, prayer towards Mecca five times a day, fasting, giving alms to the
poor, and making the pilgrimage to Mecca called the Hajj. Another important piece of the
puzzle is Islamic law. As Islam grew from a grassroots movement to a world power, new
guidelines for organization were made. The sunna, a collection of the practices of
Muhammad, and the hadith, a collection of his sayings, were combined with the Qur'an
to form sharia. Sharia is a system of law by which Muslims live and govern. Though this
overview is not nearly exhaustive, this is the basic outline of Islam.
3
Karen Armstrong, Islam: A Short History (New York: Random House, 2000), 4.
4
Mirza Tahir Ahmad, An Elementary Study of Islam (Tilford: Islam International Publications,
2010), Kindle location 92.
2
CRITIQUE
Islamic thought fails on multiple levels. Muslims have a holy book with no
attestation to its validity which continually contradicts itself, a prophet who never had a
prophesy, and multiple other books and rules that are entirely man-made. Above all,
Muslims has no true affirmation that they will escape Allah's judgment.
It might be prudent to begin with Muhammad since he is the brainchild of Islam.
Proof of Muhammad as a prophet and the Qur'an as God's message are proved by entirely
circular reasoning. Muhammad claims that the Qur'an was a message from Allah and, in
turn, the Qur'an validates Muhammad as Allah's messenger. No external proof,
attestation, or fulfilled prophesy exists to affirm any of these claims. Even the revelation
of Muhammad's words is suspect as they were given in secret and over multiple years.
The Bible contains over two thousand fulfilled prophesies that validate it's claims.5 In
dire contrast, the Qur'an contains zero. It is also noted that the tone and ideals of the
Qur'an change over time as Muhammad and his community encounter different
challenges.6
The Qur'an itself has its own set of issues and contradictions. One of the most
notable is that, at multiple points within the early Surahs, the Qur'an encourages
Muslims to believe in the Bible, that the Bible is authoritative, and that the Old
Testament can be used as a tool to authenticate Muhammad's prophetic status. 7 However,
in these very same pages, assertions are made to the idea that the Bible has been
5
Dan Story, Defending Your Faith (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1997), 37.
6
Ergun Caner, "Islam," in The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, ed. Ed Hindson and Ergun
Caner (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2008), 280.
7
Dean C. Halverson, "Islam," in The Compact Guide to World Religions, ed. Dean C. Halverson
(Bloomington: Bethany House, 1996), 111-112.
3
perverted by the Jews and gives warning against believing it to be true. The Qur'an
claims that Jesus did not die on the cross with complete disregard to the eye witnesses
recorded both in the Bible and by Tacitus. Perhaps these contradictions are due to the fact
that Muhammad never wrote down his supposed revelations. He would recite them to his
followers who would memorize them or write them down on any manner of different
things. Only after Muhammad's death and the death of many of those devout followers
who had portions memorized was the Qur'an assembled.8 This occurred almost 25 years
after the first supposed revelation.
The other authoritative books and ideas in Islam are completely man-made as
well. In the late 8th century, as Islam continued to spread, there were many who desired
to build a society that surrendered to Allah in every way. The Qur'an, however, had very
little to say about government and organization. Therefore, hadith and sunnah were
collected from followers over several centuries. All of these collected ideas are subject to
personal interpretation, human fault, and outright lies. These less than reputable findings
are the basis by which Sharia law was written, rendering Islamic law void of any divine
direction.9
The foundation of Islam is man, not the God of the Bible. Mentioned above are
only a few of the contradictions and fallacies contained within Islamic teaching and they
are all due to the fact that anything beginning with man is bound to fail. Only God can
orchestrate the brilliant complexity with which the truth claims of the Bible are validated.
The fact that Islam is based on Muhammad is its first and ultimate undoing.
8
N. L. Geisler and A. Saleeb, Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross (Grand
Rapids: Baker Books House, 2002), 91-92.
9
Karen Armstrong, Islam: A Short History (New York: Random House, 2000), 60.
4
CONCLUSION - EVANGELISM TO THE MUSLIM WORLD
Evangelizing Muslims is a very unique task in that Islam is not only a religion,
but a way of life that is tied to one's family and ancestry. It is important to show Muslims
where there are areas of poor reasoning in their belief system, but this is not where to
begin. Doctors Ergun and Emir Caner note that one of the most important first steps in
developing a relationship with Muslim neighbors or friends is to respect their home,
customs, family, and beliefs.10 This falls in line with Peters command for gentleness and
respect in our apologetics. It can also be helpful to meet with Muslim friends away from
their family so that their family allegiance guard is down. Once a relationship is built, it is
important to share ones personal testimony. Often story is more influential to the Muslim
than theological debate.11
Islam is a religion that gives very little hope for Heaven. Militant jihad is the only
way to guarantee Heaven. All other Muslims are completely reliant on their deeds on
earth, hoping that they are good enough. Sharing with Muslims that they can have
complete comfort in knowing that their sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ and that
they do not have to live up to God's standards can be their greatest relief. It is vital to
combat the doctrine of self-reliance with the doctrine of God's grace through Jesus.
Finally, of course, is deep love and fervent prayer for our Muslim friends. Only
the power of the Holy Spirit can open blind eyes and very little headway can be made
10
Ergun Caner and Emir Caner, Unveiling Islam (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2002),
Kindle locations 2146-2162.
11
Del Kingsriter, Sharing your Faith with Muslims (Springfield: Center For Ministry To Muslims,
1986), 17.
5
without the Spirit working in and through the Christian. The majority of the worlds 1.5
billion Muslims are not bombing America and fighting Israel. They are devout, sincere,
family-oriented, hard-working people that need not be feared. Instead, the Christfollower should be in fear for them if they do not come to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
This is a call to love-filled, Gospel-centered action to honor Jesus' command to make
disciples and see Muslims continue to be rescued from false hope to true joy.
6
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ahmad, Mirza Tahir. An Elementary Study of Islam. Tilford: Islam International
Publications, 2010.
Anyabwile, Thabiti. "Thinking For The Sake Of Global Faithfulness." In Thinking.
Loving. Doing: A Call to Glorify God with Heart and Mind. Edited by John Piper
and David Mathis. Wheaton: Crossway, 2011.
Armstrong, Karen. Islam: A Short History. New York: Random House, 2000.
Caner, Ergun, and Emir Caner. Unveiling Islam. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2002.
Caner, Ergun. "Islam." In The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics. Edited by Ed
Hindson and Ergun Caner. Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2008.
Geisler, N. L., and A. Saleeb. Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross.
Grand Rapids: Baker Books House, 2002.
Halverson, Dean C.. "Islam." In The Compact Guide to World Religions. Edited by Dean
C. Halverson. Bloomington: Bethany House, 1996.
Kingsriter, Del. Sharing your Faith with Muslims. Springfield: Center For Ministry To
Muslims, 1986.
Story, Dan. Defending Your Faith. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1997.
i