Conversation with Muslims about Christ
Not
Every Muslim
Believes
And Thinks
The
Same!
Historical
developments and practical realities
Abd al-Masih
GRACE-AND-TRUTH
All Rights
Reserved
Order Number: FPB 8002 ENG
2nd Edition 2003
English Title: Not Every Muslim
Believes and Thinks the Same
Grace-and-Truth l P.O.Box 2904 l Weirton, WV 26062 l USA
Internet: www.grace-and-truth.org
e-mail: info@grace-and-truth.org
Whoever wants to understand Muslim
thoughts should be aware of the historical developments in the Jewish settlements
and the Christian churches on the Arabian Peninsula and in the Mediterranean
countries. Islam has not emerged out of the blue, but has developed from
on-going contacts with animists, Jews and Christians.
Jews and Christians in the times
before Muhammad
The Jews were scattered in
all directions by the Roman occupying forces in Greater Syria or sold into
slavery after the suppression of their revolts (70 A.D.; 132/135 A.D.). Jewish
colonies were established in Asia Minor, in Iraq, on the Arabian Peninsula, in
Egypt and in Rome itself.
In continuing waves of wars
between Mediterranean states and forces storming out of Asia, the Jews living
east of the Syrian desert fought on the side of the Sassanids against the
Romans. With the help of their allies they established a Jewish kingdom
in southern Yemen, where myrrh and incense grow, as a bulwark against the
Christian influence of the Byzantine empire.
After the Romans had
shattered the Jewish revolts between Jerusalem and Damascus, the Christian
churches were concentrated in the cities of Alexandria, Antioch, Ephesus, Rome,
Edessa and later Constantinople. They evangelized Mesopotamia, Ethiopia, North
Africa and Central Asia. The Ethiopian Copts started to evangelize in northern
Yemen and built a Christian kingdom for some decades with an episcopate
in Wadi Nadjran. Fierce wars broke out between the Jewish kingdom in southern
Yemen and the Coptic kingdom in northern Yemen. Christian slaves from Syria
were also sold in the Hedjaz. A house-church in Mecca gathered around Waraqa
b. Nawfal. About this time the bishop of the city of Sohat, in today's
Sultanate of Oman, was a participant in the Council of Nicea.
Muhammad and the "People of the
Book"
Muhammad (575-632 A.D.) was
impressed by Jews and Christians because they possessed a book that revealed to
them the secrets of the past since creation, ordered their present life through
laws and offered them future perspectives with the Day of Judgment. Muhammad
honored Jews and Christians and called them "People of the Book".
He wished to possess a book like theirs in the Arabic language. He tried to
gather as much biblical information as possible out of which he hoped to develop his own religion.
Muhammad was impressed by Abraham,
a Bedouin, who was willing to offer his only son as a sacrifice to Allah (Sura
al-Saffat 37:99-113). Because of that, the Qur'an calls Abraham the first
Muslim (Sura Al 'Imran 3:67).
Moses, a
political leader and the mediator between Allah and his people of the covenant,
is mentioned 136 times in the Qur'an. He was the guiding example for
Muhammad and his followers because he united faith and power, religion and
state in his person.
The stories about the fathers
of the faith and Solomon as well as various commandments from the Law of Moses
fill 10 times as many verses in the Qur'an as reports about the gentle son of
Mary, the miraculous healer and his followers. Whoever reads the Qur'an might
sooner or later feel compelled to regard Islam as a Jewish sect, which
is fervently denied by Muslims.
The influence of the Orthodox Church
on the formation of Islam
The Orthodox Churches had a
stronger influence on Islam than the Roman Catholic Church. However, Orthodox
Christians did not convey a complete teaching about Christ to Muhammad. While
the Copts emphasized the divinity of Jesus according to their school in
Alexandria, the Christians who followed the Antiochene school
concentrated on the human nature of Christ.
The worship patterns in Islam
can be traced back to the Orthodox services in which believers prostrate
themselves during the week before Easter to honor the Holy Trinity. The word qir'an
in the Arabic-speaking Orthodox Church means reciting the gospel during the
holy mass. This term is probably the root for the word Qur'an and not
vice-versa. In the Assyrian Bible the word for salvation is furqan,
which appears in the Qur'an frequently as a decisive message.
Muhammad and the differences between
Jews and Christians
Muhammad was aware of the hot
disputes and arguments between Jews and Christians (Sura al-Baqara 2:113 etc).
There had been fierce fighting between the Jewish and Christian Kingdoms
in southern and northern Yemen for several hundred years in which each side
persecuted the subdued after having won a campaign of battle. Muhammad, who
stirred the fighting parties against each other in the Hedjaz so that Islam
could be spread successfully among these weakened enemies, understood this
division as Allah's determination. Muhammad appeared as the smiling spectator
between the warring parties, but later he conquered all of them.
The Jews rejected
Muhammad as a prophet, they recognized his mistakes in the Qur'an and mocked
him publicly. So he cursed them ten times (Sura al-Baqara 2:65-66; al-Ma'ida
5:60; al-Araf 7:163-166 etc). He called them the most dangerous enemies of
Islam (Sura al-Ma'ida 5:82). He forced the wealthy Jewish tribes to emigrate
and in due course, he enslaved them or wiped them out with the sword.
The Orthodox Church - a long chain
of suffering
At the beginning the
Christians on the Arab Peninsula were considered to be the friendliest
among the Muslims' enemies (Sura al-Ma'ida 5:82). But when they continued to
confess Jesus as the Son of God they were cursed like the Jews (Sura
al-Tawba 9:29-30). A few years later they were expelled from the Arab
Peninsula by Caliph Omar Ibn al-Kattab.
In a triumphant campaign
(632–732 A.D.) Muslim troops conquered all important centers of early
Christianity: Jerusalem, Alexandria and Antioch. These were followed by Constantinople
and Ephesus in the second wave of Islamic extension. Most Christians in the
West have forgotten, ignored or silently accepted this greatest catastrophe
in church history.
The Orthodox Churches were
often tested by suffering. They were suppressed, persecuted and constantly
decimated by Islam for 1,370 years. During Muhammad's time most of the
inhabitants of the southeastern and northeastern states around the
Mediterranean Sea were Orthodox Christians, but Islam absorbed 90
percent of them by ruinous taxes, suppression and humiliation, converting them
into Muslims. Only a remnant of 10 percent kept faithful to Jesus in spite of
being considered second-class citizens! Muslims often exploited this obedient
minority as ruling lords. They were never a real threat or a danger for Islam.
From their behavior Muslims considered Christians to be meek and humble
people, who could easily be subdued.
The powerful worship of the
Holy Trinity in the Orthodox Church and its hierarchic system helped it to
survive. In non-Islamic countries they submitted often to the ruling
authorities but in their humility they were dragged repeatedly into the role of
a state religion (Byzantium, Russia, Greece, Serbia etc). The Muslims in their
states forced the Orthodox bishops and patriarchs to collect the minority taxes
from their Christians for the Muslim rulers. In compensation they were granted
limited executive power in their church parishes. The remaining Orthodox
Churches with their 250 million members today comprise 14 percent of the
world's Christians.
Islam and the Roman Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church,
despite its diversity, is considered by many Muslims to be a fighting
church. It appears to them to be a religious-political world power
even after the decline of the western Roman Empire and the turmoil of the
counter-reformation in Europe.
The armies of the Catholic
Charles Martell repulsed the first attack of the Muslims at Tours, near Paris,
France (A.D. 732). The Catholic Crusades, however, weakened the Orthodox
Church with their conquest of Constantinople (A.D. 1204) to the extent that
this bulwark of eastern Christianity against Islam fell into the hands of the
Muslims in 1453. Shortly afterwards in 1529 the Turks stood at the gates of
Vienna for the first time. When they besieged Vienna a second time in 1683 only
a Polish-Catholic army was able to stop the advance of the Muslims who had
intended to occupy all of Europe.
In the meantime, the Roman inquisition
had expelled hundreds of thousands of Jews and Muslims from Spain and Europe.
The Roman Catholic Church with their crusades also inspired a dangerous
picture of the Christians into the Islamic subconscious. The Muslim concept
of a religious state faced a rival opponent in the Catholic Church, which put a
limit on their expansion.
Since then Muslims assume
that all Christian missionary activities are aimed at establishing Christian
states. They mistrust the embracing attempts of the Catholic Church since
the second Vatican Council decided to open the Catholic Church for good
elements from all world religions. The appeals of Pope John Paul II for
worldwide cooperation between Muslims and Christians is met with skepticism because
Muslims believe that the Catholic Church secretly intends to establish the
Kingdom of Christ on earth. The authority of the popes, however, has kept the
Catholic Church in an organized unity under the motto: "Thy Kingdom come,
on earth as it is in heaven", covering about half of world Christianity
with its 950 million members.
Islam and the Protestant Churches
The Protestant Churches were
originally "critical churches" who tried to reform the Catholic
Church. They had chosen the Holy Bible without traditions as their
foundation, believed in salvation by grace alone, without justifying
works and trusted only in Christ as mediator, not in his mother Mary.
Most of the Protestant
Churches in Europe in the first centuries after the Reformation were local
churches of regional rulers. Strong revival movements after rigidity and schism
resulted in strong missionary movements in the USA, Europe and Korea.
Rationalistic theology without control by a central church authority, however,
caused many liberal Protestants to fall into an ungodly freedom. Their
independent churches with about 600 million members cover one-third of world
Christianity.
The Protestants, who only
appeared 450 years ago, started a worldwide outreach in the 18th
and 19th centuries. They shipped the first printing press
into the Near East and printed the translations of the Bible in many Islamic
languages. They made it possible to copy the Bible, the Qur'an, tracts and
posters. Charities and Protestant schools supplemented their evangelistic
efforts based on the printed word of God. Unfortunately, Protestant activities
touched mainly Orthodox Christians, which resulted in a constant opposition of
their clergy to the Protestants.
Muslims look at the
Protestant Churches with suspicion, because many of their members
consider the State of Israel to be the chosen people of the Lord.
Protestant missionaries are therefore often considered to be spies or helpers
of the Old Testament people.
Liberal Muslims however have
a different view of Protestants. An Islamic Sheikh asked, "Why were the
Protestants the first ones on the moon?" He himself gave the answer to his
question and said, "We Muslims are inhibited in our thinking and are
unable to develop modern techniques. The Catholics always have to confess
their sins and have a broken attitude. Only the Protestants developed a 'free'
spirit and are encouraged to try the impossible." All efforts to
refute his concept were in vain. Even pointing to the devastating boomerang of
technical progress did not change his mind. He had his own ideas about motives
and goals in today's religions.
The division of the churches and the
division of Islam
These three main churches
have split into many small churches. The number of autonomous churches, synods
or organizations with their own doctrines and administration exceeds 22,000, a
number that leads us to repent if we remember the prayer of Jesus Christ: "That
they all may be one, as we are one." (John 17:21-22)
The common denominator which
still unites all these churches are the three basic elements of the Catechism: The
Lord's Prayer, the Nicene Creed and the Ten Commandments and their
explanation according to the New Testament. Our confession to God, the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit is regarded as polytheism and as an
unforgivable blasphemy by Muslims. They do not accept a triune God but
only Allah, the one and only. They also deny the crucifixion of Christ,
the foundation of our faith (Sura al-Nisa 4:157). Islam proves itself to be a world-wide
anti-Christian power (1 John 2:22-24; 4:1-5). Such thoughts are deeply
rooted in all Muslims, even if they do not declare them openly. The whole
culture of the Muslims is infiltrated by this anti-Christian attitude.
Whoever recognizes the
division of the churches in the Near East and in the whole world will not be
surprised to hear that Islam is not united either. Just as the churches have been divided a thousand times,
so Islam resembles a kaleidoscope of colorful splinters. Two main streams have
developed during the emergence of Islam.
The Sunnites - the main stream in
Islam
The Sunnites see themselves
as the faithful keepers of original Islam because they not only follow
the Qur'an but imitate the lifestyle of their prophet (Sunna) as
well. After the final overthrow of an intellectual infiltration (of the Mu'tazilites)
the pendulum started swinging in the opposite direction. Islam became a stiff,
legalistic religion on the basis of the Shari'a. Out of the Qur'an, the
Sunna, their analogous reasoning and the consensus of the five schools
of law they formed their Shari'a. They developed a law that molded every area
of life more deeply than the Islamic principles of faith. The Sunnites cover
about 84 percent of all Muslims, nearly one billion of the followers of
Muhammad, a number similar to the membership of the Catholic Church.
The Shiites - the first Islamic Sect
During the development of
Islam, the followers of Ali - an adopted son of Muhammad, who also was his
nephew and son-in-law, split from the Sunnites together with the two sons of
Ali: Hassan and Hussein. The reason for this division was not a dogmatic
argument about faith but the dynastic claim for ruling power in the Islamic
empire. The Shiites demanded that Ali and his sons should have taken over the
leadership of Islam after Muhammad's death. This shows that Islam understands
itself first to be a state and not only a religion. The Shiites
continued to glorify Ali and his two sons, nearly adoring them as gods and
developing their own hierarchy of imams - seven for one group, twelve
for the others - whom they obey without question. Their ayatollahs claim
to receive direct inspiration from the last imam. The Shiites cover 14 to
16 percent of world Islam, with 200 million
members.
Besides the Shiites there are
many other Muslim sects, ways, orders, communities, covenants and leagues who
are not ready to unite, but work hard at keeping their independence.
The third wave of Islamization
After the first two waves of
Islam towards Europe had failed (A.D. 732 and 1683) because of the Catholic
armies, a third wave started in 1973 after the sudden increase of
oil prices. The oil-producing Islamic countries became relatively wealthy.
Since a regular percentage of their net profit has to be paid for the Islamic
renaissance, many ideas of fundamentalist Muslims could be financed.
Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim brotherhood, preached, "A
Muslim who is praying, fasting and paying his religious tax is not yet a true
Muslim. Only if the Shari'a controls the state in which he is living has Islam
come to its perfection." His Muslim brotherhood split into more than 50
groups in most Islamic countries. They try to reform Islam and to bring liberal
Islamic countries under the control of the Shari'a.
At the same time Muslim
fundamentalists started a well-planned campaign to spread Islam in all
five continents. Mosques are shooting up everywhere like mushrooms. Naive
Christians welcome Muslims into their multi-cultural society. They do not want
to recognize that never before did so many Muslims live in predominantly
Protestant countries as today! We live in the midst of their holy war -
and do not realize it!
What kinds of Muslims do we meet?
Muslims do not live or think
alike. Every one is an individual. All categorization is insufficient or
false. A specific type of Muslim does not exist. Different talents, traditions,
education and convictions are compounded in each one. It would be wrong to talk
about "the Muslim". Whoever wants to understand Muslims needs time.
We should ask each one where he comes from, what he is thinking or feeling and
what his problems are. All stereotypical answers would be defective. In order
to become friends with Muslims we need patience to understand them. This is
also true vice-versa! Prefabricated opinions must be adapted to reality. A
Muslim can quickly feel and understand that we respect him and are not trying
to exploit him, but accept him as he is. The gospel can work as the power of
God after trust has been built. Constant prayer is the secret of a
lasting blessing.
Despite the fact that every
single Muslim is an individual, some kinds of categories can be singled out -
with reservations - as common or unifying aspects, so that we may speak of
different groups of Muslims.
1. The conservative and fundamentalist Allah-fearing Muslims
In rural areas and at
universities, in mosques and in each profession you can find Muslims who want
to live according to the Qur'an and their traditions. Not only a few have learnt
the Arabic Qur'an by heart completely or in part during their childhood.
They wear "Qur'anic spectacles" through which they understand
their world. Apart from the culture of the Qur'an and the rules of the Shari'a
no other lifestyle is acceptable to them. Servants of cults, other religions
and all idol-worshippers are regarded as unclean and cursed by Allah.
Forbidden and allowed food divide their world into pork-eaters and pure
people. To buy meat in the market on which the Basmallah was not spoken
at the slaughter is a sacrilege for conservative Muslims. However, if they are
obliged to eat of it, it would be no offense for them.
Those devoted to their
religion are not allowed to "think or speak critically" about the
Qur'an. If you would question only one verse the whole building of their
worldview would collapse. Therefore, they have to defend the truth of
their faith whenever a different opinion is given. The Qur'an is their life.
You can only explain the gospel to them with the help of Qur'anic terms,
and fill them with the meaning of the Gospel.
Astonishingly, even students
are numerous among these conservatives. If they come from their village to the
great cities and see the liberal, sinful life, they feel ashamed of their
people, and turn back to the roots of their culture and become more fanatic
Muslims than they had been before. They try to confirm what has been the basis
of their life and defend the universal validity of the Qur'an in a fanatical
way.
When such fundamentalists
rank as intellectuals, they try to reform their people by peaceful or
violent means. Not a few of these believers are ready to kill liberal Muslims
or to engage in violent gangs to enforce the principles of Islam on their
country.
The number of fundamentalists
among Muslims differs from country to country. They reach between 15 and 35 percent.
According to political elections in their states they gain only about 10 to 20
percent of all votes. The majority of Muslims are not radical. But the Qur'an
commands them to implement the Shari'a in their own Islamic country whatever
it costs!
2. Liberal Muslims
As in so-called Christian
countries the majority of Muslims in the Islamic states are liberal,
soft and peace-loving. With not too much labour they work to earn enough income
to feed their families. They are not interested in many activities. They hope
to own a freezer, a big TV set and, if possible, a car or a motorcycle. For the
majority, religion is a secondary matter or a means to do business.
In daily life, liberal
Muslims act pious because he who does not live according to the culture of
Islam cannot buy or sell for long. Many use religious phrases in their speech,
defend Islam publicly for their traditions and support the ruling customs. If
just one member of a family becomes a Christian, he will create turmoil.
For the sake of the good name of his clan, the convert will be hated,
threatened or sent abroad. Under no circumstance shall the smell of shaky
loyalty to Islam besmirch their name. Apart from that, the members of such a
clan seldom attend the official prayer or only do so to be seen. They
hardly open the Qur'an to contemplate it. A kind of indifference towards
religion has fallen on the majority of Muslims. They make up 50 to 70 percent
of the population, depending on the regions or countries where they live.
Occasionally nationalism and
Islam can join together. Then religion will support national feelings and
vice-versa. However, after the country has reached Islamic independence a
materialistic attitude will dominate. Work, bread and family soon become more
vital than religion.
Liberal Muslims highlight humanistic
statements in the Qur'an and in the traditions. The prohibition of meals, the
commandments concerning Holy War (Jihad), the status of women in the Qur'an or
the cruel punishments are ignored with the remark that such rules were
necessary for the Bedouins in the days of Muhammad. Nowadays, in times
of progress, these laws are no longer relevant. The liberals live according
to an amputated Islam.
Most Islamic governments
travel on a similar path. They allow the leaders of the mosques to supervise
the personal duties of the Shari'a. All principles regarding Holy War or the
severe punishments remain in the hands of the government. They try to compromise
between the Shari'a and international human rights, and oppose the
fundamentalists in their own country. The terrorist attacks in Egypt or Algeria
are nothing else than a battle for the implementation of the whole Shari'a.
This is exactly what liberal Muslims in their governments want to prevent at
all costs.
3. Muslim Women
Half of all Muslims are
women! We should not think only of men when we talk about Muslims. Women play
an important role in Islam. They often influence children in their families
more than their husbands.
However, the Qur'an clearly
writes:
And the male is not like the female (Sura Al 'Imran 3:36).
This truism in Islam has a legal background. The Qur'an states:
The men stand above the women in that Allah has preferred one above the
other and in that they (i.e. the men) spent from their money (for getting women
as brides) (Sura al-Nisa 4:34).
In court the testimony of one Muslim man counts equal to the
testimonies of two Muslim women (Sura al-Baqara 2:282). In inheritance
cases a woman receives only half as much as the man or as her son, the
sister half as much as her brother or a girl half as much as a
boy (Sura al-Nisa 4:11,176). Legally a woman is only worth half as much
as a man.
A man is allowed to marry up
to four wives (Sura al-Nisa 4:3) if he can love all of them equally.
Since most men today do not earn enough to provide for four women and their
children, monogamy prevails. The wives of one husband, however, suffer from
misery and jealousy more than we can imagine.
In an Islamic family a man
has the right to "educate" his wife. If she is rebellious he can
address her in a "sermon". If she continues to be stubborn he can
deny her conjugal rights and if she remains obstinate, he has the right to beat
her until she submits, but he is not allowed to break her bones (Sura al-Nisa
4:34).
According to the Qur'an (not in the laws of
Turkey, Egypt or Tunisia and some other Islamic states) a man has the right to divorce
his wife for any reason. After a waiting period of three to four months he can
marry her again, divorce her again and marry her another time. After having
divorced her for the third time she must be married to another man. If this
man, too, dismisses her the first husband is allowed to marry her again (Sura
al-Baqara 2:229-230). The continuous suffering of women in some Islamic
countries is more deeply ingrained than we can conceive. Who has a divine call
to speak to Muslim women and to bring them the gospel of spiritual freedom on
the basis of complete forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit?
Christian men should not
talk alone with Muslim women, but only in the presence of their own wives. So, Christian
women should take over this neglected service and speak with women and
girls about Christ and testify about their experiences with their holy Savior.
Muslim mothers are the ones who bring up their children. For this reason the
evangelization of Muslim women, especially mothers, plays a decisive role in
outreach among Muslims at all times. TV programs for women and books for women
written by mothers in Christ are urgently needed. A generation ago fewer than
25 percent of Muslim women and girls could attend school! Today the number of
educated girls and women lies between 40 and 70 percent of the population. Who
of you recognizes this new opportunity and seizes it with the Gospel?
Women in Islam are sometimes more pious
and religious than men. Muhammad is supposed to have said that he had seen hell
and 90 percent of its inhabitants were women, because they did not
always obey their husbands. Muhammad also claimed to have seen paradise. Only
10 percent of its inhabitants were women because only a few men attested that
their wives had been god-fearing and always obedient. Such
discrimination spurs women to observe the laws of Islam more than their
husbands do, in the hope of gaining one of the rare places for women in
paradise.
Who will show mercy to Muslim
women and will try faithfully to find ways to relieve their misery in this
world and the next in the name of Jesus?
4. Muslim Teenagers
Half of all
Muslims are under 18 years old. In some Islamic countries half are under at 16
years old. Whoever has had experience in evangelistic youth work should be alerted
by this fact! Children, teenagers and young adults need programs different from
those for adults. This statistical reality demands rethinking and restructuring
for some mission strategies and even for prayer partners.
Youth all over the world love
football and car races. Whoever travels in Islamic countries will
enthusiastically be asked about Beckenbauer, Rummenigge and Schumacher. Becker
and Graf were also well-known names among young Muslims.
Islamic youth learn to read
and to write today. They search for interesting reading material. They
are eager for knowledge. They want to learn everything. They believe in science
and think they could conquer the world with good grade reports. By offering
tracts, books and magazines that fit the mindset of youth, a Bible school course
by correspondence can easily be set up, in which tens of thousands will take
part within a short time.
Most young folk do not search
for forgiveness of sin. They do not think about repentance or faith. They want
to investigate everything: Jesus, Paul and John are as interesting for them as
Marx, Lenin and Mao. This thirst for knowledge is an open gate through
which we can offer the gospel without great obstacles. Many of such seekers for
knowledge will be touched and changed by the love of Jesus Christ, his meekness,
humility and peace.
An increasing number of high
school and university students own a computer or find access to the
internet in tearooms or at their friends' homes. Much filth, disagreements
between Muslim groups and seductive flute music from sects are pouring out of
this medium. But whoever offers helpful spiritual programs for young adults
will soon register thousands of visitors on their homepages even from closed
Islamic countries. Particularly in demand are substantial comparisons between
the gospel and Islam and positive answers on delicate questions.
Supplying good Christian songs
with native melodies also belongs to this category. Boring German chorales
or romantic American church hymns do not attract young Muslims much. Wherever
the gospel is presented in moderate rhythmic melodies in a local system of
five or twelve-tone music, one will find that even those who are not familiar
with the Bible start singing the new songs. Deep respect of the creator and fear
of the judge of the world are not yet obsolete in the world of Islam, despite
modernism.
Rarely before has the
opportunity for an evangelistic outreach among Muslims been as great as it is
today, because the younger half of Islam is learning to read, write and think
and many of them are enthusiastically looking up to the heroes in sports and
technology. A Bedouin girl of Hadramaut, living at the rim of the great desert
Rub al-Khali, when asked in a questionnaire what kind of music she liked answered,
"The songs of ABBA from Sweden."
5. Frustrated Muslims
Since the present generation
of Muslims are learning to think, they are starting to question their
culture and religion objectively. The apparent weaknesses of Islam no longer remain
hidden from them.
Some irritated Muslims ask,
"Why have the armies of 250 million Arabs not been able to crush the
soldiers of the five million Israelis in the last 50 years? Something is wrong
here. Something is wrong with us!"
Others claim, "The term Islam
has significant meanings. One of these is: Making peace! Why then are
half of all wars in our world connected with Islamic countries? Why do we
export terrorism, civil-wars, bloodshed and not peace or development?"
Some remark, "The
oil-producing Islamic countries belong to the richest people on earth! But more
than ten Islamic states belong to the poorest of all countries and languish
below the poverty-line. Why do the rich Islamic states not generously
support the poor Muslims in need? And if they help a little, why does the main
part of the support find its way into the upper floors of the governments,
while next to nothing gets through to the needy?"
An Indian driver of an
Islamic oil sheikh in Saudi Arabia was asked whether he has become a devout
Muslim during the eleven years of service for one of the guardians of the two
holy places. The Indian driver burst out, "Shut up! I don't want to hear
anything about Islam! I do not want to have anything to do with it anymore. If
you knew what they talk, drink, and do when they are alone you would not
believe me." When he was asked what conclusions he would like to draw from
this knowledge he answered, "I will study communism and the Christian
faith to evaluate which one of the two offers the better basis for my life.
That one I will follow."
An Islamic graduate of
Al-Azhar University in Cairo wanted to perfect and polish his Arabic
pronunciation among the Saudi Arabian tribes. He taught Islamic literature at
the University of Riad. The majority of students opposed him because he
offered modern thoughts in lectures and instead of a white robe, he wore
western style trousers. When their opposition increased and some students
threw tiny stones at him during lectures, he became furious, ran away from the
lecture hall, rushed to the nearby teachers' hostel into his room, took his
Qur'an and tried to calm his frayed nerves with loud recitations of the suras.
Suddenly he stopped and confessed later, "At this moment I realized that
it was this book that acted like a brake on the brains of the Muslims
and inhibited their reasoning and morals." He took the Qur'an and tore it
up in anger, rushed into the garden of the hostel and tried to burn the pages.
Some teachers who had heard
the doors slamming and his loud recitations of the Qur'an, hurried after him to
calm him down. But then all stood silent and shocked around the smoldering
Qur'an. Everyone knew this crime demands the instant burning of the offender.
No one said a word. The teacher came to his senses, rushed to his room, took
his money and passport, called a taxi, raced to the airport and fled away from
the deadly trap before it closed on him.
These men had no connection
with Christians. They realized the weaknesses of Islam in the backwardness of
their countries and tried to escape from the imprisonment of their spirit.
Medical students, princesses, sheikhs and ordinary Muslims clearly identify the
obvious contradictions in the Qur'an and search eagerly for answers and better
philosophies of life. We should pray to find such frustrated Muslims
before they fall into the hands of sectarians. Probably about five percent of
all Muslims are no longer satisfied with their own religion and long for
somebody to enlighten them.
6. Atheists among the Muslims
In a TV-program a Muslim film
star was asked which religion he belonged to. He spontaneously answered,
"To the best religion in the world, Islam!" (Suras Al 'Imran
3:19,110; al-Fath 48:28; al-Saff 61:9; etc.).
Further asked whether he
believed in the existence of Allah, he said, "No! Surely not! Such a faith
is right for old people before they die and for small children, but we belong
to a generation that acts!" The shocked reporter continued to ask how he
would react if Muslims were attacked. The film star replied immediately,
"Then I would be the first one to take a Kalazhnikov and defend
Islam." He still considered himself to be a Muslim even though he did not
believe in the existence of Allah, nor did he pray! Islam is not only a religion,
but also a culture, a state and a society.
During a lecture on the
relationship between Islam and Christianity, a young Turk fervently opposed the
speaker saying, "Islam is much gentler, nicer, more humanistic and more
modern than what he heard in that lecture." When the young Turk was
invited to explain his opinion at the microphone in front of the listeners, he
spoke emotionally to make his own point of view clear. The speaker soon noticed
his background, interrupted him and asked, "Have you ever in your life
opened the Qur'an?" "No," the Turk said astonished. When he was
asked how often he participated in prayer in the mosque, he answered that he
never prayed! But he defended his religion fervently. Islam is more than Qur'an
and prayer. He was one of the modern Muslims who lost his faith - but still
defended an Islam that he did not understand.
The Bengali gynecologist Dr.
Nasrin called for an editorial correction of the Qur'an with regard to
the position of women and the cruel treatment of adolescent girls in marriage.
She had to flee to Sweden because Muslim men were jealous of their rights and
because she had dared to question the Qur'an! This doctor still regards herself
as a Muslim, however, she had lost faith in the divine inspiration of the
Qur'an through her practical experiences.
Islamic politicians and
university graduates who have lived abroad are sometimes more critical of
Islam. They live an empty life and have lost their unconditional faith in
Allah. For their family's sake, however, they participate in prayer when they
come home to their native lands. They apparently fast during the month of
Ramadan and donate their religious taxes openly. Inwardly, they have distanced
themselves from the law of Islam and are searching for new horizons in an age
of rockets and space stations. Their increasing rejection of conservative Islam
was confirmed by meeting excellent scientists, technicians and public
personalities from East and West, since they recognize that a great number of
these personalities were not Muslims, but live an honorable life.
The number of Islamic
atheists is not large, about one percent, maybe more in countries in which
communism has found a strong foothold. They can be recognized, like the socialists
in Turkey, by their sharp attacks in newspapers and books on Muhammad and his
Islam.
7. The Mystics of Islam
The inner void of
Muslims swings like a pendulum between militant fundamentalism and hidden
atheism. It creates dissatisfaction, frustration and a seeking for new reliable
paths. One of these trends can be seen in the mystics of Islam (often
called Sufis with their Tariqas) who contemptuously turn away from the
juristic hair-splittings of Islamic Muftis and jurists. These seekers of truth
in religious experiences have separated themselves from the
stereotypical mosque activities with their prescribed ablutions and
soul-destroying repetitions of ritual prayers. They do not find anything there
that satisfies their soul or spirit. They depart from official Islam, and
unite in orders and try to create a personal religiosity and honest piety from
the Qur'an and non-Islamic writings.
You can find Sufis and their
different Tariqas in Morocco, in Sudan, in Turkey and in Pakistan. Even in
China and Indonesia Islam is divided into a mystic and a legalistic branch. In
Morocco one can see whitewashed tombs of venerated mystics on hills along the
main roads. Women who cannot have children sometimes rub their bellies against
the grave of a saint in order to become fertile. In Sudan the dervishes skip,
jump and roll around in the dust to demonstrate their enthusiasm for Allah and
their spirituality.
In Egypt Sufis sometimes sit
or stand in circles and repeat the name of Allah or one of his attributes,
"huwa, huwa, huwa..." countless times until one
of them falls into a trance or starts to speak in foreign tongues. In Turkey a
student of such groups observed, "We are guided to call the spirits and to
send them away after they have served us." One girl confessed that Satan
would visit her every Friday. Friends tried to tell her that she was dreaming,
but she explained that when she was seriously ill as a child, her father took
her to a Sufi sheikh who healed her with spiritual influences. Since then she
was troubled weekly by visits of the evil one.
In Pakistan a group practiced
communal contemplation. After one of them became a Christian, the father of the
convert brought a leader from the mosque to convert his lost son back to
Islam. But when this sheikh imputed sexual motives on the apostate, his father
threw the teacher of the Qur'an out of his house because such deviations were
unthinkable in his family.
In Indonesia Hinduism with
its numerous spirits is mixed with mystic Islam in such a way that during
village festivals tribes let their spirits visibly fight with each other in the
air. Swallowing iron nails and electric bulbs that dematerialize when eaten is
common. Male voices can be heard coming from females and vice-versa.
Sufis try to make Allah take residence in them
and fill them with his presence. Others even try to enter Allah himself
through their meditations. A third party aims at penetrating into the world of
angels and demons "behind" Allah. They are bound in increasing
levels of occult possession.
Since Allah in Islam is
infinitely far away from his creation nobody should wonder that honorable
Muslims try to bridge this distance by religious exercises. Unfortunately
anti-Christian spirits pour into this great vacuum. The number of Sufis
in Islam is increasing. In some countries they make up 10 to 20 percent of the Islamic population divided in
various groups.
Some Catholic theologians
claim that Sufis would be the best bridge between Christianity and Islam.
However, they overlook the fact that the religious-minded mystics believe in
their own righteousness and think that they do not need to repent. The
crucified Son of God remains a stumbling block for them. Their blindness
separates them from His salvation, which was completed for them as well as for
us.
8. The Redeemers in Islam
The Sufis can be described as
the doves among frustrated Muslims. The Muslim terrorists could be
called the hawks among them. They complain, "All praying, fasting
and praying is good for nothing. We must do something ourselves. We have to
sacrifice our life and blood in order to wash away the shame from Islam and
overcome injustice in Islamic society with just violence!"
Hassan al-Banna, the
founder of the Muslim brotherhood, taught that praying and fasting is not
enough to live a full Islamic life. He insisted that a true Muslim should
overcome his inhibitions until he is ready to kill the enemies of Islam. One
hundred commandments in the Qur'an call Muslims to participate in armed
fighting as proof of their obedient faith.
The Muslim brothers, severely
persecuted by the Egyptian government, have split into more than 50 active
terrorist organizations. Ayatollah Khomeini on the Shiite side took up the
torch of Holy War (Jihad) and sent his suicide fighters into different
countries as assassins, like the Assassins at the time of the crusaders who
kept the world on alert.
Hisbollah, Hamaas, al-Djihad
and other groups train their followers for unconditional suicidal attacks.
The Qur'an reveals that Allah himself would write Islamic faith into their
hearts and that Allah would strengthen them for such missions with spirit from
himself (Sura al-Mujadila 58:22). This is the only verse in the Qur'an
that speaks about a relationship between the Muslims and the spirit from Allah!
Martyrs in the Holy Wars are promised a splendid place in paradise (Sura
al-Baqara 2:154; Al 'Imran 3:157-158,161-171,193-195; al-Nisa 4:74; Muhammad
47:4-6; etc). It would be unfair to call these fighters, who die in suicide
missions, terrorists, because they see themselves as redeemers who
sacrifice their lives for the victory of Islam. They are told that it is not
they who kill the enemies of Islam, but Allah himself. He will shoot in their
shooting to eliminate the opponents of Islam (Sura al-Anfal 8:17).
Some journalists and
humanists call these fanatics a minor group of lost extremists in Islam. They
are mistaken! For these redeemers are the only ones who literally fulfill
the Qur'an and carry out the commands of Allah at any cost (Sura al-Baqara
2:191-193; al-Anfal 8:39; al-Tawba 9:12-14; etc). Humanistic and kind Muslims
are called cowards and traitors by the Qur'an. Peace with non-Muslims is
deplored, except as a truce if they do not have enough money and weapons, or if
circumstances are unfavorable.
What happened in the last 50
years in and around Israel in the unholy war of the Muslims could fill volumes.
Hijacking planes, bombs in hotels, tanks destroyed by suicide missions and
permanent threats in a war of nerves are features of that movement.
When Swiss tourists were
murdered, dismembered and their women raped near the kings' tombs at Luxor, the
would-be redeemers cried, "Allahu akbar!" (Allah is greater!). The
same shouts were heard in Indonesia when crowds set hundreds of churches on
fire and raped Chinese girls. On the island of Mindanao in the Philippines
more than 50,000 Christians were killed during the liberation wars of Muslim
redeemers there since World War II. The same number or even more had to die in
northern Nigeria, because the Christians were not willing to submit to the
Islamic law, the Shari'a.
In the Federal Republic of
Germany 32,000 Islamic fundamentalists found asylum because most of them are wanted
by their liberal Islamic governments. They are under constant surveillance of
German intelligence. A massacre, like the one that occurred during the 1972
Olympic Games in Munich, is quite possible any time. In the Qur'an Allah
challenges all loyal believers to fight and kill the enemies of Islam (Sura
al-Baqara 2:191-193; al-Nisa 4:89,91; al-Anfal 8:39; al-Tawba 9:5 etc). Jews
and Christians should be attacked according to the Sura of Repentance (Sura
al-Tawba 9:28-29), because they do not believe in the true God, do not follow
the Shari'a and belong to the wrong religion! Islam, according to the Qur'an,
is a destructive spirit.
To make a long story short
Whoever wants to offer the
gospel of Christ to Muslims should overcome the idea that all Muslims believe
and think alike! Whoever wants to serve them must listen first and ask
where they are coming from and what they think about politics, religion and
their future.
Whoever lacks wisdom in such
conversations should ask Jesus for His guidance to find those Muslims whose
hearts have been prepared by the Spirit of God. Faithful love remains the best
language that all human beings understand. He who helps foreign citizens to
sort out their problems with the authorities will at the same time guide them
to respect and understand Christians.
We should not fear the spirit
of Islam, because the blessing of Jesus Christ is stronger than the
curses of Muhammad. "Greater is he, that is in you, than the one who
is in the world." (1 John 4:14) We should also not stumble unprepared
into talks with Muslims but prepare ourselves. Several organizations are ready
to support those willing to serve in this ministry with books and training
courses.
You can find helpful answers
for the different groups of Muslims in the Old Testament, in the New
Testament, in secular sources, in the Qur'an and in your personal experience.
The Lord can open the door to a Muslim heart and give you the right word
for a specific person at the right moment through the guidance of His Spirit.
Q U I Z
Dear reader!
If you have studied this booklet carfully,
you can easily answer the following questions. Whoever answers 90 percent of
all questions in the eight booklets of this series correctly, can obtain a
certificate from our center on
Advanced Studies
in helpful ways for
conducting conversations with Muslims about Jesus Christ
as an encouragement for
his/her future services for Christ.
1. Which were the
three main religions that heralded and influenced the rise of Islam?
2. What was the
relationship between Jews and Christians in the Arabian Peninsula, especially
in Yemen?
3. What did the
Qur'anic expression "People of the Book" mean for Muhammad?
4. Whom did Muhammad
consider to have been the first Muslim?
5. Why did Muhammad
regard Moses and not the gentle Christ, Son of Mary, as his example?
6. Why did Muhammad
declare the Jews to be the most dangerous enemies of Muslims? How did he
overcome them?
7. Which of the
three main international churches had the strongest influence on the appearance
of Islam?
8. What picture did
the Orthodox church form in the minds of Muslims and why can it be called
"The suffering Church for 1370 years"?
9. Why do many
Muslims consider the Catholic Church to be a fighting Church? How can
you explain this by referring to historical events?
10. Why did the
Protestant Churches have absolutely no influence on the formation of Islam?
Why do Muslims look at evangelical Christians with great suspicion?
11. How many
independent Christian churches exist in the world today and what is the common
denominator for them all?
12. What basically
distinguishes all Christians from Islam?
13. Who are the
Sunnites and what percentage of Muslims follow this main stream of Islam?
14. Who are the Shiite
Muslims and how many follow their doctrines?
15. When did the third
wave of Muslim expansion start? What is its driving power and what is its goal?
16. Why is every
Muslim different from every other Muslim? How can we understand some of their
feelings, thoughts, beliefs and actions?
17. What are the
special attitudes in conservative and fundamentalist Muslims and what
proportion of all Muslims follows their principles?
18. How can we
approach Muslim fundamentalists and why?
19. How many Muslims
are liberal and what kind of lifestyle do they follow?
20. Why are there
severe tensions and even civil wars between groups of fundamentalists and
liberal Islamic governments?
21. What should
servants of the Lord decide when they realize that half of all Muslims are
women? Who is able to reach them?
22. What are the main
problems that women face in Islam?
23. What challenge
should a servant of the Lord face when finding out that half of all Muslims are
under 18 years old and in some Islamic countries even under 16 years of age?
24. How can we reach
youngsters and young adults in the Islamic world?
25. What significance
lies in the fact that five percent of all Muslims are frustrated by their
Islam? What are the main reasons for their frustration? How can we find them?
26. Why can
individuals be atheists and still consider themselves Muslims? Is Islam more
than a religion?
27. What are the
reasons that 10 to 20 percent of all Muslims have become Mystics? How do they
differ from other Muslims? What do they try to establish?
28. What are the good
qualities and merits of Mystics in Islam? What hinders them from accepting
Christ as their saviour?
29. Why do Muslim terrorists
call themselves "Redeemers"? How can they claim that they alone are
the truly faithful Muslims?
30. What do such
"Redeemers" expect if they die in a self-sacrificing raid or attack?
31. What is the
general aim of this booklet?
32. Why should we not
be afraid of reaching out to Muslims?
33. Which are the five
sources from which we can gain helpful answers for our conversations with
Muslims?
Every participant in this
quiz is allowed to use any book at his/her disposition and to ask any
trustworthy person known to him/her when answering these questions. We wait for
your written answers including your full address on the papers or in
your e-mail. We pray for you to Jesus, the living Lord, that He will call,
send, guide, strengthen, protect and be with you every day of your life!
Yours
in His service,
Abd
al-Masih and his brothers in the Lord
Send your replies
to:
GRACE-AND-TRUTH
P.O.Box 2904
Weirton, WV 26062
USA
or by e-mail to:
info@grace-and-truth.org