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Please feel free to publish this article in your church magazine, if you are allowed.
You may have been perplexed by the fuss about some cartoons. We saw Muslim demonstrators in London demanding the beheading of infidels and warning Europe that its 9/11 is coming. Muslim mobs in other countries burned down Danish embassies and Muslim mobs in Nigeria murdered 50 Christians and burned down 30 churches. Christians do not do this sort of thing even in response to incredibly disrespectful depictions of Jesus; so what is going on? Our leaders and our media don’t seem to be able to offer satisfactory explanations; presumably because so few understand the spiritual realm. Perhaps I can draw from the more informed comment that is available and give a Bible based insight.
The media and politicians are trying to find politically correct and even-handed explanations in order to avoid attracting the rage (or losing the votes) of a large and increasingly influential Muslim community. Thus all issues are approached assuming an equal validity to Islamic faith and our native Christian faith. Clearly we who believe Jesus is the only way are at odds with this viewpoint straight away; but let’s examine some of the core arguments.
Muslims around the world expressed outrage that a Danish newspaper published cartoons depicting the prophet, Mohammed – ( see the cartoons at http://face-of-muhammed.blogspot.com ) the greatest outrage being over one depicting the prophet with a bomb in his turban. However, the cartoons were published in September but the outrage did not erupt until February, so it was hardly spontaneous. The cartoons, which western journalists were at pains to describe as badly executed and offensive, were actually well executed and a fair comment on the terror that the prophet’s followers are bringing to the world. The offence is actually due to the alleged prohibition on Muslims depicting their prophet, even though this presented no problem to Muslims in earlier centuries, when Muslim art often depicted Mohammed.
It is hypocritical of Muslims to be outraged by these cartoons when the media in Islamic lands daily publishes, vicious, crude and hateful cartoons (9)(10) against Jews and Christians. Sadly, Muslims have never demonstrated outrage about these, nor about terrorist atrocities against innocent men, women and children in New York, London, Madrid, Tel Aviv, Beslan, etc, etc.
It was laughable when Dudley Council capitulated to Muslim pressure and banned from their offices, all coffee mugs carrying pictures of Winnie the Pooh’s friend Piglet. However, what is actually being sought is the imposition of Islamic observance on the rest of us. Both the violent anti-cartoon protests, and the demonstrations by “moderate” Muslims pressing parliament for changes to the law to forbid depictions of Mohammed are determined efforts to impose Islamic intolerance upon us; the former by intimidation, and the latter by use of British tolerance and democracy. This campaign suffered a setback with the defeat of the parts of the Religious Hatred Bill, which would have been used to silence the proclamation of our Christian Gospel, but the cartoons have got the campaign under way again.
Those who oppose this process are accused of “Islamophobia”, but this is just a campaigning tool designed to equate criticism of Islam with hatred of the Muslim.
Islam is not just a religion, comparable to Christianity and Judaism; it is an empire; a total way of national life – government, legal system, politics as well as religion. There is no separation between church and state, sacred and profane. Democracy, freedom of choice and freedom of speech have no place, as can be easily seen by examination of the workings of any Islamic nation and of the history of Mohammed and his followers, which clearly shows a military campaign. When Mohammed failed to win converts in Medina, he abandoned preaching and tuned to conquest by the sword.
Islam divides the world into two categories, Dar al Salaam – The House of Peace (under Islam) and Dar al Harb – the house of War – (not yet under Islam). The duty of every Muslim is Jihad, to work towards the day when the whole world is Dar es Salaam – under subjection to Islam / Allah. The word Islam means “submission” and Muslim means “one who submits”. The only place for a Jew or Christian in a Muslim country is as a “Dhimmi”, whose status defined by a raft of regulations designed to emphasise his inferiority and domination. Muslims are also committed to advancing Islam by Hijra, which is migration, such as that into Britain. Once territory has been gained for Islam, it becomes “sacred space” belonging to the umma (the totality of Muslims worldwide) and it must never be relinquished. If it is lost it must be regained by any means! This is what lies behind the conflict in Israel – all the talk of “occupation” is a smokescreen. Spain and much of France are in the same category!
At this stage, it is worth considering the context in which the cartoons were published in Denmark. The newspaper discovered that no Danish artist would dare illustrate a children’s book about Mohammed, for fear of Islamic Law (and Islamic violence) The newspaper boldly set out to reassert the rule of (Non Islamic) Danish law. Danes stood up to bullying (as is their tradition) while the USA and UK governments gave in, made weak apologies and took us all several steps closer to a dhimmi status of subjection and fear.
Many are confused by references to the three Monotheistic, Abrahamic faiths, and are reassured that, “we all worship the same God.” If this were true, why do Muslims say (in Arabic obviously) “first we kill the Saturday people; then we kill the Sunday people”? And why are acts of terrorist violence performed to the cry of, “Allah hu-akbah”, which means “Allah is greater”; not as is commonly supposed, “God is great.”?
“Allah” is the only Arabic word for god, and therefore appears for “God” in an Arabic language Bible. But the deity which Muslims worship is different from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; The father of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we used the name of God (1) the distinction would be impossible to miss. Indeed, it is a fundamental teaching in the Qur’an(8 (Koran) that Allah has no son. This is written around the inside of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Although Jesus is known as the Messiah and acknowledged to have performed miracles, his death and resurrection are denied. Muslims are taught that another was crucified in Jesus’ place and that Jesus was taken up into Heaven. Jesus is expected to return to support the Muslim Mahdi, slay the Antichrist marry, die and be buried next to Mohammed before the Day of Judgment. (at this time, all Christians will become Muslims and the Jews will all be killed)
Having realised that the observant Muslims are committed to defeating us and taking over our nation, what should be our attitude be towards them? Obviously no one should suggest violent rampages every time a Muslim slights Jesus. Jesus certainly never advocated spreading his message by the sword. He told us to, “make people from all nations into disciples….”; but not to conquer nations. (The concept of conquering nations opens the door to all the errors of believing in Crusades, “Christendom” and “Christian countries.”) We also need to remember that Jesus warned us that, “a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.” For many of our fellow Christians, in lands where Islam is strong, these words are already a reality. While the media is not interested, the Barnabas Fund (2) is speaking out. Barnabas Fund is now including the UK in its monitoring of Muslim persecution of Christians.
Sadly, the world’s media tends to talk of Christian / Muslim conflicts around the globe in terms of Moral Equivalence(3) – as if both sides are equally to blame. But this is because the world does not like Christians and is happy to overlook the fact that the violence stems from Muslims advancing their religion by the sword. A world map marked with the wars that are in progress will show they are moving outwards around the perimeter of the Islamic Empire.
Some advocate Interfaith Dialogue as the answer to inter religious conflict. The Three Faith Forum(12) works with the aim of getting Jews, Christians and Muslims to talk to each other to avoid misunderstanding and mistrust, which is clearly a good idea. But there are two problems with this dialogue. If we believe Jesus is the only way, how can we affirm the Muslim’s faith and leave him to face judgment without redemption through Jesus? And, what if the people with whom we dialogue are not committed to coexistence but to conquest and subjection? Whilst most Muslims living in our land, the ones that we might get to dialogue with, are sincere and peaceable people others are committed to fundamental demands of the Qur’an to pursue world domination.
Since we know that Jesus is The Way and that Muslims are worshiping a god who has no son, they are clearly in need of salvation. We need to be aware that the Muslim has no assurance of salvation, as we have. He must obey the demands of his religion and hope that his good deeds (the five pillars of Islam; plus fighting the enemies of Allah) will outweigh his bad deeds on Judgment Day. The required standard is not defined, there is no atoning sacrifice and Allah is fickle; hence the phrase, “Insh-Allah” – “if Allah wills”. The only guaranteed way to Paradise is through Shahada – Martyrdom – dying whilst fighting infidels. This is the reason for the modern day phenomenon of “suicide bombing”.
Reading the Qur’an(8) makes it clear that Islam defines itself by contradicting the Bible of Jews and Christians. The spirit of Islam has a very strong hold over its one billion adherents, so winning Muslims to faith in Jesus, the one who died and rose again for their sins is not easy. Jesus taught about not attempting to plunder the strong man’s house unless he has first been bound. Perhaps you will join those who are fasting and praying on Fridays(4) (the day Muslims pray to Allah) for the binding of the spirit behind Islam, and the release of his captives. Pray too that Jesus will continue to appear to Muslims in dreams and visions.(5) Pray also for the fellowships in Israel where Jews and Arab ex Muslims are coming to faith in Jesus (Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah) and being reconciled as brothers.
Be encouraged by the testimonies of men like Walid Shoebat(6) and Tassir abu Sada,(7) who Jesus saved from being Palestinian terrorists and who now love Israel and the Jewish people they once hated so passionately.
If you have the opportunity to talk with Muslims, take it in the spirit of the love of Jesus. It is useful to understand the differences in our beliefs, but as Patrick Sookhdeo of the Barnabas Fund said, “For Christians who would preach the Gospel to Muslims, nothing less than the power of God released by the Holy Spirit is adequate. Most Muslims who come to Christ are not won over by intellectual argument, but rather they have a personal encounter with Christ.”
If you would like to understand more about Islam, please see the pages on Islam and the books list on wildolive.co.uk.
(1) www.wildolive.co.uk (2) www.barnabasfund.org (3) www.second-draft.org
(4) www.exploits.tv (5) www.jesusvisions.org (6) www.shoebat.com
(7) www.hope4israel.org (8) www.Amazon.co.uk (9) www.memri.org
(10) www.pmw.org (11) www.davidpawson.com (12) www.threefaithsforum.org.uk