An Overview of The Religion of Islam Comparing Islam and Christianity

Background To Islam It is arguably the fastest growing religion in the world.1 True or not, the number of people identified with Islam is about 1.2 – 1.8 billion, 2nd only to 2.1 billion identified as Christian.2 As of 2008 there are approximately 1.35 million Muslims in the U.S.3 Accordingly, Islam would rank as the 2nd largest religion in the U.S.4

Why is Islam so Popular? Why is it growing so quickly? “The secret of Islam’s powerful appeal lies in the fact that it is not only a religion regulating the spiritual side of the believer, but also an all-embracing way of life governing the totality of the Muslim’s being” – Caesar E. Farah, Islam: 6th Ed. Such growth can be attributed to a number of different factors... High birth rates Militant and evangelistic fervor Independence of Islamic countries Wealth (oil) Education in other countries

Islamic Terms Islam - submission, peace, the religion of submission to God (Allah). Allah - the Arabic name for the Supreme Being. Mohammed - a man claiming to be a Prophet of Allah who started the Islamic religion. Koran (Qur’an) - the collection of sacred writings collected from Mohammed’s utterances or sayings. (114 chapters) Moslem (Muslim) - a true believer, one resigned to Allah, and following the Quran (Koran), a follower of Mohammed and/or Islam. Jihad – literally means “striving” or “struggle”. In practice it is a “holy war”, and can involve the promulgation of Islam by force to any perceived enemies of Islamic faith. Muezzin – A muezzin calls the faithful Muslims to prayer in their mosque, the Muslim public place of worship. Mecca – The town of Mecca is the holy city of Islam and the center for pilgrimage.

The Five Pillars of Islam Profession of Faith – “There is no other God but God and Muhammad is his prophet.” Worship – Worship is to be observed five times each day. Alms-giving – Over 2% of one’s wealth is to be paid to the poor. Fasting – Fasting is to be observed during the month of Ramadan. Pilgrimage – A pilgrimage, or Hajj, is to be made to Mecca.

The Islamic Creed The five main articles of the Islamic creed are: Belief in one God Belief in angels Belief in prophets Belief in revealed scripture Belief in a day of judgment

Background “Muslims believe in all Messengers of Allah without any discrimination among them, as every known nation has a Warner or messenger from Allah. They were chosen by God to teach humanity and deliver His Divine message. The Qur’an mentions the name of some of them including Jews including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus (peace be upon them).” - IslamicWeb.com

Background To Islam The Qur’an’s history. “Began with revelations on Muhammad’s divine revelations” when he was 40 years old (610 A.D.) til his death (632 A.D.).5 The problem is that these revelations are contrary to the doctrine of Christ. 2 Jn. 9 Further, the Law of Moses was to bring people to Christ, not beyond Him. Gal. 3:24; Jude 3

The Role of Muhammad “In Islam there can be no confusion or doubt that Muhammad was a man, and only a man, chosen by the Creator to fulfill a divine mission as a prophet. Muhammad's mission was literally to ‘read’ what Allah had ordered and ordained, nothing more. The Prophet received his revelations from God, sometimes in solitude, sometimes in the presence of others. Words flowed from his mouth in a way that others described as inspired. This was Muhammad’s wahy (divine inspiration or revelation). Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the Word of Allah expressed through the revelations to the Prophet.” - Introduction To Islam, M. Cherif Bassiouni (http://www.mideasti.org/library/islam/introislam.htm)

Islam And Christianity GOD ISLAM... Teaches there is one God – (Qur’an 3:64) Rejects the concept of the Trinity (Qur’an 4:171) CHRISTIANITY... Teaches there is one God - 1 Co 8:6 Reveals that the Godhead is composed of three distinct personalities - Father, Son, Holy Spirit; one in essence and substance - cf. Jn 1:1-5; Ph 2:5-8; 2 Jn 9; Mt 28:19

English Excerpt from Qur’an 4:171

Islam And Christianity JESUS ISLAM... Considers Jesus a prophet, like Noah, Abraham, Moses (and Muhammad) Rejects the divinity of Jesus, denies his preexistence - Qur’an 4:171 Believes in the virgin birth, however Does not believe Jesus died on the cross nor was raised from the dead - Qur’an 4:157 CHRISTIANITY... Declares that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God - Mt 16:13-18 Teaches the preexistence of Christ - Jn 1:1-5; Co 1:16-17 Proclaims that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and was raised from the dead

Qur’an 4:157

Islam And Christianity SALVATION ISLAM... Salvation comes by works Personal righteousness is weighed against personal sin, which ever is greater determines salvation - Qur’an 23:101-103 A Muslim can be forgiven by repenting of sin - Qur’an 39:53-54 Paradise is assured for one who dies as a martyr for Islam One becomes a Muslim by confessing “There is no other god but God; and Muhammad is the Prophet of God” (la ilaha ill’Allah, Muhammad rasul Allah) from the heart CHRISTIANITY... Salvation is by grace through an obedient faith - Ep 2:8-9; Ti 3:4-7 Jesus died on the cross as atonement for our sins - Ro 3:21-26 He is the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him - He 5:9 Those whose names are in the Lamb’s book of life will be spared condemnation - Re 20: 11-15 One becomes a Christian by obeying God’s plan of salvation.

Islam And Christianity THE WORD OF GOD ISLAM... Believes in 4 inspired books - the Torah (5 books of Moses), Zabur (the Psalms), lnjil (the Gospel), and Qur'an The first three have been corrupted; the Qur’an provides the final revelation of God’s Word B. CHRISTIANITY... Believes Old and New Testaments contain the revelation of God’s Word - 2 Ti 3:16-17 Believes that God’s Word cannot be corrupted, but is preserved - 1 Pe 1:23-25; Mt 24:35; Isa 40:8 Believes that revelation of God’s Word is fully and finally revealed - 2 Pe 1:3; Ju 3

Islam View Of The Scriptures “Muslims believe in all original scriptures and revelations of Allah, accepting them as the guiding light that the messengers received to show their respective people the right path to Him. However, some of these books and revelations had been lost or corrupted before the revelation of the Qur’an. The only authentic and complete book of Allah in existence today is the Qur’an, which has been preserved as it was revealed to prophet Muhammad through Angel Gabriel in its pristine, pure form.” - ibid.

Islam And Christianity WAR AND VENGEANCE ISLAM... Allows war and vengeance for self-defense against persecution (Qur’an 4:95,96; 8:39;65) Allows use of war in promoting the faith against unbelievers and idolaters (Qur’an 9:29) CHRISTIANITY... Forbids war and vengeance when persecuted for righteousness’ sake - Mt 5:10-12,38-48 Forbids use of war to promote the cause of Christ and the gospel - 2 Co 10:3-5

The Dangers of Islam Clearly: there are Muslims who do not act out in “terror” against non-Muslims.6 Why are there so many reports of “terrorist” of violence against non-Muslims? “Fight against such of those to whom the Scriptures were given...and do not embrace the true Faith, until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued.” (Qur’an 9:29)

The Dangers of Islam Muslims believe their acts are done out of vengeance for years of those who have oppressed them. Regarding the Western world: Hussein Massawi (former leader of Hezbollah) – “We are not fighting so that you will offer us something. We are fighting to eliminate you.” Hamas Parliament speaker calls for Muslims to kills Jews/Americans.8 Nancy Perkins (American school teacher in Saudi and Kuwait): “I couldn't wait to get out of there - daily the Imam called out for prayers saying "Allah Akbar - Death to Americans.”9

The Error of Islam Summary When Jesus Christ is lessened by one iota, the gospel becomes false. Cp. Gal. 1:6-10 Anyone bringing a different teaching has no fellowship with God. 1 Jn. 4:2-3; 2 Jn. 9

Conclusion To accept the Islamic faith is to totally reject Jesus as the way to God. Let our faith be solely in Christ and no other… no matter what. 1 Pet. 4:16 (John 8:24) I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (ASV) (Acts 4:12) And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved. (ASV)

References World Religions Made Easy by Mark Water. (Pages 14-17) Websters’ Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Resources and Outline by Mitch Davis BELIEFS OF ISLAM EXAMINED By Kevin Cauley Comprehensive study by Mark Copeland

References on Internet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claims_to_be_the_fastest-growing_religion#Islam NewsBusters.com, Media Ignore Hamas Parliament Speaker’s Call for Allah to Kill Jews and Americans: http://newsbusters.org/node/12463; http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=214&ar=1426wmv&ak=null Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents, 2005, http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html. American Religious Identification Survey, Summary Report, March, 2009: http://livinginliminality.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/aris_report_2008.pdf. Nancy Perkins, To Veil or not to veil, http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/16/470834.aspx Jihad Watch, Why are you doing this, http://www.jihadwatch.org/spencer/. Major religious groups: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_religious_groups http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_history#Origins Reading Islam: http://www.readingislam.com/ (site no longer working). Text: http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/index.html#Attacks