Download Overview of Islam and its Worldview

OVERVIEW OF ISLAM
By
Lyle B., Ph.D.
August 25, 2008
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DIFFERENT VIEWS OF ISLAM
Islamic View -- all writings are done by
believers; Muslims themselves.
Academic View -- taught in schools by
dhimmis: basics of religion; art, poetry, etc.;
jihad not discussed; always respectful.
Foundational View -- kafirs (unbelievers)
use all Islamic texts to explain Muslim world:
its politics, religion, history, victims; w/dots.
[CSPI, p. x (all)]
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ISLAM -- THE COMPLETE WAY
Islam, viewed completely, is a:
Complete political system,
Complete cultural system,
Complete religious system.
[CSPI, p. viii (all)]
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CORE BELIEFS OF ISLAM
1. Belief in Allah. 2. Belief in angels.
3. Belief in the revealed Books of God.
4. Belief in God’s many prophets.
5. Accepts concept of a last day.
6. Belief in divine measurement of humans.
7. Belief in life after death.
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[YE, p. 18 (all)]
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FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
1. Shahadah -- profession-of-faith.
2. Salat -- Daily prayer, towards Mecca.
3. Zakat -- Almsgiving, annual charity.
4. Saum -- Month-long Fast of Ramadan.
5. Hajj -- Pilgrimage to Mecca.
[YE, p. 114 (all)]
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THE SHAHADAH
Declaration of Faith:
“I declare there is no god except Allah,
and I declare that Muhammad is the
Messenger of God.”
[YE, p. 115]
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ALLAH, GOD OF ISLAM (a)
Allah/God means “the divinity.”
Allah has many different names, such as
the Compassionate, the Merciful, etc.
Allah is unknowable and impersonal.
[KRS, p. 249 (all)]
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ALLAH, GOD OF ISLAM (b)
Allah absolutely monotheistic; no Son.
Allah wills directives & commands only.
Viewing Allah any different = a BIG sin.
Islam & Christian Worldviews differ.
[KRS, p. 249 (all)]
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ALLAH, GOD OF ISLAM (c)
Allah is sovereign over all things.
Only His divine will & commands are
known.
Allah is absolutely transcendent.
He never reveals himself; He is not a
“personal” God.
[KRS, pp. 249-250 (all)]
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ISLAMIC BELIEFS (a)
Muslims believe in angels, esp angel
Gabriel. [KRS, p. 250]
Jinn -- Intelligent & powerful spirits;
<angels, >humans; may be good or evil.
[KRS, p. 250]
Satan (Shaytan), an evil Jinn, and other
bad Jinn seek to corrupt us. [YE, p. 29]
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ISLAMIC BELIEFS (b)
Muslims believe in Bible prophets.
Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet.
Muslims do not believe Jesus was a Son
of God; Allah has no offspring.
[KRS, p. 250, (all)]
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ISLAMIC BELIEFS (c)
Muslims believe in absolute
monotheism.
ISLAM means “peace” & “surrender.”
Muslim: “one who submits to Allah.”
[KRS, p. 248 (all)]
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ISLAMIC BELIEFS (d)
No original sin. Allah forgave Adam
and Eve -- no taint of sin.
No atonement. No need for Allah to
atone for sins of mankind.
No Trinity. Allah abs monotheistic;
Niceene Creed rejected. [YE, p. 208 (all)]
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ISLAMIC BELIEFS (e)
No Holy Spirit associated w/Godhead.
No Begotten Son. Allah did not have
any children.
Mary, mother of God? No, no trinity,
no quartet; Allah undivided.
The Bible. Not authentic, it has many
errors and contradictions. [YE, p. 208 (all)]
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ISLAMIC BELIEFS (f)
Islam accepts Jesus’ virgin birth.
[YE, p. 208]
Jesus not crucified; Allah raised Him up
directly to Paradise. [YE, p. 213]
Islam is not a religion of grace and
redemption. [KRS, p. 253]
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ISLAMIC BELIEFS (g)
Muslims believe Islam is God’s last and
complete message to World.
If one learns about Islam, they are then
compelled to become Muslim.
[YE, p. 209 (all)]
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ISLAMIC BELIEFS (h)
Islam: Humans born good & responsible.
Islam: No “grace” or “redemption.”
Allah: Fair & impartial to all believers.
Get Paradise if “good” > “bad” actions;
assuming a moral life. [KRS, pp. 252-253 (all)]
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ISLAMIC BELIEFS (i)
To Muslims, sin is willful disobedience.
Muslims not born into sin of Adam.
Islam: religion of justice based on deeds.
Deeds may be good/bad, judged by Allah.
Paradise -- based upon one’s good vs
bad deeds. [KRS, pp. 252-253 (all)]
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ISLAMIC BELIEFS (j)
Muslims have no assurance of paradise.
They must always strive for submission
to Allah’s will.
Paradise -- involves spiritual rewards;
including physical pleasures for men.
Hell -- Eternal banishment from Allah,
with despair and punishment. [KRS, p. 253 (all)]
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ISLAM & CREATION (a)
According to the Koran:
God made time. A day to Allah is
different than a day on Earth.
Six days to create everything; Earth and
planets created during last two days.
Allah said “Be” and a “ball” of matter
appeared, then spread out. [YE, p. 77 (all)]
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ISLAM & CREATION (b)
According to the Koran:
Heavens filled with “smoke.”
Planets & stars “swim” in their orbits.
The Sun -- giver of light.
The Moon -- reflector of light. [YE, p. 77 (all)]
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ISLAM & CREATION (c)
According to the Koran:
Earth is round (a sphere).
Earth’s surface is spread out like a
carpet (crust).
Mountains have ”roots” to stabilize the
planet (plate techtonics). [YE, p. 79 (all)]
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ISLAM & CREATION (d)
According to the Koran:
Rain -- It falls, collects, springs up from
ground (water cycle).
Clouds -- Different ones for rain, hail,
sleet, snow, etc.
Earth -- Surrounded by protective layer
(ozone layer).
[YE, p. 79 (all)]
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ISLAM & CREATION (e)
Muslims point out that these scientific
descriptions in Koran were unknown in
Muhammed’s time. [YE, p. 79]
Muslim scholars agree that universe
developed over long time period. [YE, p. 80]
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ISLAM & EVOLUTION (f)
Origin of life attributed to Allah; life
arose via natural processes, separate
from evolutionary processes. [YE, p. 81]
Muslims lean toward creationism
regarding humans. [YE, p. 81]
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PROOF OF ALLAH’S EXISTENCE
1 Natural world -- Beauty and complexity,
created by an intelligent being. [YE, p. 19]
2 Human abilities -- capacity for thought,
belief, invention, creativity. [YE, p. 20]
3 Allah’s revelations -- His guidance and
existence of religion. [YE, p. 20]
4 Human feelings -- we seek meaning of
life, why do we exist? [YE, p. 20]
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THE COSMOS
The Word Muslim means submit or
surrender. [YE, p. 20]
Allah created the cosmos; it submits to
Him; hence it is Muslim. [YE, p. 21]
Animals are Muslim -- Allah taught them
to do what they do. [YE, p. 21]
Plants are Muslim -- Allah programmed
them to do what they do. [YE, p. 21]
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PROPHET MUHAMMAD (a)
~570, Muhammad born in Mecca.
[CSPI, p. 270]
At age 40 in Mecca, He received first
revelation via angel Gabriel. [CSPI, p. 11]
During next 13 years in Mecca, He
converted 150 people to Islam. [CSPI, p. vii]
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PROPHET MUHUMMED (b)
In 622 he escaped assassination in
Mecca and migrated to Medina. [YE, p. 277]
In Medina, he began using violence to
promote his new religion. [YE, pp. 279-285]
In 630, he became “Master of Arabia.”
[RS, p. xii]
In 632, he passed away.
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[YE, p. 286]
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PROPHET MUHAMMED (c)
Muhammed received divine revelation.
Muslims believe he is the final prophet.
He is #1 moral example for Muslims.
He is perfect of all God’s creatures.
Muslims: “What would Muhammed
do?”
[KRS, p. 251 (all)]
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ISLAMIC DIFFERENCES (a)
Two major Islamic sects, Sunni & Shia:
Sunni ~85%; all successors to be blood
relative of Muhammed.
Shia ~15%; all successors from Ali and
his male decendents. They interpret
Koran & other religious books differently.
[YE, pp. 334-335 (all)]
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ISLAMIC DIFFERENCES (b)
Islam has three major movements:
(1) traditional or orthodox,
(2) modernist or secularist,
(3) Fundamentalist (Wahhabism).
Wahhabism -- fundamental Islam;
extreme, intolerant, uncompromising.
Some believe Wahhabism may die out.
[KRS, p. 255 (all)]
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WHAT IS JIHAD?
‘The word “jihad” literally means to struggle
or strive or work for something with
determination.’
Two basic types of Jihad:
Personal struggle, such as quitting
smoking.
Physical struggle, such as warfare for
Allah’s cause (holy war).
[YE, p. 166 (all)]
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TESTING ISLAM WORDVIEW (a)
Islam has commendable positive features:
1. Belief in human reason & argumentation.
2. It has some rationality (coherence).
3. Believes cosmos real (scientific realism).
[KRS, pp. 256-257 (all)]
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TESTING ISLAM WORLDVIEW (b)
Commendable positive features, continued:
4. It can document historical truth-claims.
5. It believes in a single transcendent
Creator.
6. Muslims believe in Jesus, as a prophet.
[KRS, pp. 256-257 (all)]
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TESTING ISLAM WORLDVIEW (c)
Negative aspects of Islam:
1. No coherence between Koran and Bible.
2. Non-existential, impersonal for living.
Allah’s nature unknown.
3. Non-explanatory, superiority not real;
e.g., sins of al-Qaeda and 9/11/01?
Superior inconsistent with submission.
[KRS, pp. 260-261 (all)]
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SUMMARY COMMENTS (a)
Islam: Trinity is idolatrous polytheism.
Islam: Incarnation is blasphemy.
Islam rejects “original sin,” man is only
disobedient, not a lost sinner.
[KRS, pp. 262-263 (all)]
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SUMMARY COMMENTS (b)
Islam denies need for a Savior.
Islam: Jesus did not die on the cross.
Islam: Jesus less prominent than
Muhammed.
[KRS, pp. 262-263 (all)]
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SUMMARY COMMENTS (c)
Christianity & Islam at odds w/ each other.
Each denies the essential doctrines of the
other.
Their theological essentials are in conflict
with each other.
[KRS, pp. 262-263 (all)]
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SUMMARY COMMENTS (d)
“If Islam is true, then historic
Christianity is false.” [KRS, p. 262]
“If Christianity is true, then Orthodox
Islam is false.” [KRS, p. 262]
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SUMMARY COMMENTS (e)
In 2001, a leading Saudi Sheik, Almad Al
Qatani, confirmed that:
“In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to
Christianity” … “Every day, 16,000
Muslims convert to Christianity. Every
year 6 million Muslims convert to
Christianity.” [JCR, p. 28]
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
(YE) Yahia Emerick. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Islam.
Alpha, a Pearson Education Co., 2002.
(JCR) Joel C. Rosenberg, author. The Big Untold Story in the Middle
East. My world article, Long’s Christian Bookstore Cat., Fall 2008.
(KRS) Kenneth R. Samples. A World of Difference, Putting Christian
Truth-Claims to the Worldview Test. Reasons To Believe, BakerBooks,
MI., 2007.
(RS) Robert Spencer. The Truth About Muhammad : founder of the
world’s most intolerant religion. Regnery Publishing, 2006.
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