From the days of Muhammad, Islam has seen long periods where it has advanced its cause by carnal war - and I'm not speaking of self-defense. This view has not been in the minority, historically. Muhammad himself was a warrior, not a man of peace. I challenge anyone to lay the history of Muhammad's life down beside that of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, and say they are in any way similar. They are not. The Qur'an contains some very disturbing statements with regard to advancing Islam with carnal war. When I see the fear our government officials have for "igniting the entire Muslim world" in a situation where we are trying to bring the terrorists to justice in an oppressive Islamic country that starves its own citizens, I realize how volatile the Arab situation is.
Introduction
It has now been one month and three days since the terrorist attacks on America. As of this morning, 4688 Americans remain unaccounted for. 445 are confirmed dead. Just a tiny fraction of the Twin Tower rubble has been cleared away in New York City. Pentagon progress in cleaning up the damage there has also been slow. Our military has been deployed to the region around Afghanistan where the leading perpetrators hide out. Our President has built a worldwide coalition against terror with United Nations Approval. Military strikes are being carried out, even as I speak. America is on high alert under the threat of more terrorist attacks. Anthrax scares are cropping up. We are in a war with an enemy that has successfully pressed a surprise attack to our own shores. America is suddenly awakened from her pre-September 11 slumber. It seems that this is a different place than it was just over a month ago.
Looking back through my teaching and preaching through the years, it has not been often that I have focused the messages which come from this pulpit so consistently on current events. My job is to teach you what the Bible says and exhort you to follow God through its teachings. Yet I find myself in a somewhat different position today. The present struggle has unavoidable religious connections that run right through the middle of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. While our government has been very careful to reiterate that the present war is not one between Christianity and Islam, its roots in religious belief are unavoidable. While we may not feel it is a religious war on our side (and I support the President's repeated statements to that effect) certainly those who attacked our nation consider it a religious battle.
If you are like me you've been wondering why someone could be so angry as to attack America in such a cruel and cowardly way. How could anyone justify this? How could people in some areas of the world actually cheer and celebrate when they got the news of the attack? The intent of the hijackers was to murder as many people as possible, with no distinction between men, women, and children. They succeeded in part and have promised more attacks. It is said that they are still among us. To add to our amazement, perhaps, is the fact that these terrorists supposedly carried out their heinous deeds with the stated intent of serving their god!
I am not an expert on terrorism. I am not a political analyst or an authority on international affairs. I am not a serious student of the religion of Islam. I certainly do not pretend to understand all of the divisions and sects that exist in that religion today. Yet, as a preacher of the gospel, because of the religious roots of this conflict, I feel compelled to address it and I believe you need to be educated about it, too.
Before I go any further, let me clarify that I'm glad that there are peace-loving Muslims in the United States who are publicly denouncing these terrorist acts. I hope they continue to decry such crimes against innocent civilians. However, I am concerned about certain things taught in their "holy" book, the Qur'an. I'm also concerned when I read the history of the spread of Islam.
It seems to me that if we are to understand anything that is as complex as this has become, we must first find our bearings in the basic context. So let me ask and briefly answer these questions this morning: Just what is this religion called "Islam?" Where did it come from? What does it teach?
1. What is Islam?
The word Islam is an Arabic word that means "submission." It designates a world religion that is shared by an estimated 750 million to 1 billion followers. It is geographically concentrated in an area that spans from the Atlantic Ocean across North Africa, the Middle East, and Southern and Central Asia to the Pacific Ocean. Its adherents are called "Muslims," a word derived from the active participle of the word "Islam." Its apparent meaning is "those who have surrendered."
The predominant nations of the world that embrace Islam are Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Persian Gulf states, Oman, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The largest minority populations of Muslims are found in India and Nigeria.
The "submission" of Islam is surrender to the will of Allah, the one god of the Muslims. (By the way, the word "Islam" does not mean "peace" as some have erroneously said in the media.) The Muslim creed is a simple statement: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah." All Muslims must make this confession of faith. It is the one concept that binds them all together. Thus, to understand Islam, we must first learn about Muhammad.
2. How Did Islam Originate?
Islam began in Mecca, a city on the Arabian Peninsula, in what is today called Saudi Arabia. The claim is that Mohammed received a revelation from Allah (the Arabic name for God) through the angel Gabriel. Muhammad was born in approximately AD 570 into the powerful and wealthy tribe of the Quraish in Mecca. His father's name was Abdullah. His mother's name was Aminah.
Muhammad's father, Abdullah, was a wealthy merchant whose business was caravaning. Today we would probably call it "importing." He was very successful in it. He died on a trading trip soon after his marriage to Aminah, leaving Muhammad fatherless at birth. Aminah, his mother, died when Muhammad was only six years old. Muhammad's grandfather took him in but then he died when the boy was just eight years old. At this time, Muhammad's uncle, Abu Talib, one of the leaders of the Quraish tribe took him in and raised him.Muhammad learned the family business and was apparently quite successful. A wealthy widow named Khadijah arranged for Muhammad to oversee her trading business, and was so impressed with his skill and appearance that she proposed marriage to him. Muhammad was twenty-five and Khadijah was forty when they married. They had six children, two boys and four girls. Both of the sons died while still young. The daughters lived to see Muhammad become the founder of Islam.
Having married the wealthy Khadijah, Muhammad became a gentleman of leisure and somewhat of a philosopher. Around the age of 30 he met some monks who taught him about meditation. After this he would retreat from society, take trips into the desert and mountains, and spend his hours in meditation, greatly concerned about the condition of the civilization he saw around him. He considered himself on a personal mission to find truth. One of his frequent places of seclusion was a cave on Mount Nur. It was while in this cave, during the month of the Ramadan, a pagan festival, that he reportedly received his first visitation from the angel, Gabriel. There would be other reported divine communications as his life circumstances proceeded.
At first Muhammad shared his new revelations with only his family and close friends. During the next three years the stories and message of Muhammad quietly spread among the people of Mecca, especially among the youth. Then Muhammad is believed to have received instructions from Allah to go public with his message and openly condemn the paganism and idolatry of Mecca. This open condemnation of their polytheism was perceived as an economic threat to the prosperity of the business people of Mecca. The fears of these merchants soon crystallized into organized opposition. Persecution aimed at Muhammad and his followers began. The extent of the persecution is not entirely clear, though it is said that there was little violence at this early date. Whatever the extent, the persecutions left many Muslims bitter, something that would shape Muhammad's later life and message.
During the persecution at Mecca, many Muslims fled to Ethiopia for refuge. When Meccan delegates tried to extradite them, after hearing the Muslim's defense, the ruler refused their extradition on the basis that his faith was similar to theirs, and he could not allow them to be harmed.
Muhammad continued to proclaim his message in Mecca, and his following slowly grew. At one point, in AD 621, a group of 12 men from Medina, also located in what is now modern day Saudi Arabia, responded to his call and made a covenant with Muhammad and declared themselves Muslims. It was a time of tribes and clans where survival depended upon alliances you could make with others. These 12 vowed to protect and defend Muhammad to the death.
A year later, in AD 622, seventy people from Medina made a similar declaration and pledged to take up weapons and fight to protect Muhammad against any and all odds. This pledge from some that were leaders of Medina was a turning point for Islam. It provided Muslims with a secure base of operations that allowed them to expand and not be wiped out by the other clans. The persuasive and charismatic Muhammad commanded the Muslims in Mecca to migrate to Medina. It was a violent period. While in Medina, Muhammad led three razzias or raids on merchant caravans passing near Medina on their way to Syria. In once incident he attacked a Jewish clan of Qurayzah, which had probably been plotting against him. When they surrendered, the men were all executed and the women and children sold as slaves.Ultimately, Medina was declared to be a Muslim community. For thirteen years, Muhammad had preached in Mecca with minimal success. He had followed a quiet, non-political approach and merely preached. Now, however, his tactics changed. He established himself as the religious, political, and military leader - church, state, and army all under his command. Under his guidance, the community of Muslim believers became more important than family or tribe. Islam began to be spread through intimidation and force. I don't have time here to tell you all the history. Encyclopedia Britannica has a detailed account.(1) Entire tribes and cities were "converted" under threat of war or by conquest. While it is claimed that those conquered were given freedom of religion, the entire intent of the Islamic subjugation was to set up a society where Islamic principles were law. One success led to another. In the year AD 630, eight years after he had been forced to leave Mecca, Muhammad returned with such an overwhelming military force that the Meccans made no resistance. Muhammad's forces destroyed all the idols of Mecca, and declared the Kabah to be the place of worship for Allah. Muslims come on pilgrimage to this site even to this day.
With the subjugation of Mecca, Islam became the power on the Arabian Peninsula. Tribe after tribe, city after city declared allegiance to Islam and it's powerful prophet - some out of convenience, some out of fear, some as the result of military force of arms. It is claimed that those conquered were allowed to have freedom of religion. In reality they were given little choice. Those who were spared were persecuted until they converted. The non-religious were slaughtered. Muhammad returned to Medina and continued to rule his kingdom from there. He died in AD 632 at the age of sixty-three. In twenty-three years he established a religion and social order that still dominates the Arab world today.
After Muhammad's death, Islam continued to flourish under the leadership of his companions. The first Caliph (successor to the prophet) was his father-in-law and long time friend, Abu Bakr. In his two years of leadership, Abu Bakr consolidated Islamic influence over the entire Arabian Peninsula.
The second Caliph was Umar. He was in power ten years, from Ad 634 to AD 644. Under Umar, Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Persia were added to the growing list of Islamic subjects. This expansion was carried out by carnal warfare - conquering and subjecting with the sword in the name of Allah, literally applying the principle of jihad taught by Muhammad in the Qur'an. Others nations followed. The borders of Islam continued to expand. Under the leadership of the Caliphs, Islam spread into Europe, Africa, and Asia. The caliphate lasted centuries, shifting from one dynasty to another, but it always claimed the religious right to lead.
Eventually the caliphate evolved into what became known as the Ottoman Empire which lasted until the early 20th century.
Islam spread as a social, political, and religious system and it was spread by force of arms even from the days of its founder. This is an important point to understand because many claim today that it was the appeal of their religion that caused entire nations to convert. History denies that. Since religion and state were one in the same in the nations once they were conquered, there was little if any internal opposition to challenge this violent expansion. Whatever may be the disagreements of Islam today, there can be little argument that its roots are in religious expansion by force of arms through jihad, or "holy war." That was its philosophy in the beginning. Subjugated nations were given the "freedom" to convert to Islam. When they refused, they were put the sword.
Islam claims to be a united religion with no divisions. However, one does not have to investigate very far to learn that it is fragmented into many different branches, some of which are militantly hostile to each other. While all Muslims endorse the confession that I mentioned earlier ("There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah") there is not full unity among them. Two prominent groups, the Shiites and Sunnis had their origins around AD 660 in a quarrel over who was the legitimate Caliph, or successor of Muhammad. Other sects developed thereafter. Like other religions, they have their "liberals" and "conservatives."
The appearance of the internal combustion engine and subsequent world demand for petroleum has given the Arab states world prominence in our modern day. It has also allowed the religion of Islam to be exported to many places in the world including the United States. There are approximately 7 million Muslims in this country. Most of them live together with us in peace. Islam is being successfully spread over the globe. It is one of the fastest growing religions in the world.
3. What Does Islam Teach?
The "holy" book of Islam is the Qur'an or Koran. It is accepted by Muslims as the infallible word of God and was supposedly given to Muhammad some 500 years after the completion of the New Testament in a series of communications from Allah that spanned approximately 20 years. Not assembled until after Muhammad's death, during the rule of the third Caliph, it contains 114 chapters, called surahs, and is roughly the size of our New Testament. The other sacred Islamic writings are the hadith, which are compilations of stories about Muhammad's life. While Muhammad is not worshipped as deity in Islam, the events of his life are considered in very high regard, almost as though he was a perfect man.
Muslims claim to worship the God of Abraham (the same God as Christians) except they have a different view of what happened to Abraham's two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. (I learned this recently listening to a short debate between a Muslim cleric and a rabbi.) Islam teaches that God's promise of blessing was given to Ishmael, not Isaac. Thus they claim their origin through Ishmael in the Genesis account of the Bible. They consider the Jews to be usurpers of their blessing from God. They also teach that Muhammad was the last in a long series of prophets, which include Adam, Noah, various others, and even Jesus. However, they also teach that the words of Muhammad in the Qur'an both consummate (complete) and abrogate (replace) the revelations attributed to these "earlier" prophets.
Their teaching that Jesus was a prophet sounds heartening at first. On that they are correct. However, Christians know that the teaching of the New Testament also says He was the "only begotten Son of God"(2) who has "equality with God."(3) This is where Islam falls short of Christianity. To Muhammad, Jesus was not the Son of God and certainly not deity. Here is an example of the teaching about Jesus taken directly from the Qur'an:
"People of the Book [Muhammad's designation for Christians], go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and say not as to God but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God . . . So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not, 'Three.' Refrain: better is it for you. God is only one God. Glory be to Him - He is above having a son." (4:171).
You can understand that the whole concept of the Triune God, Elohim, the Three-in-One, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,(4) is rejected by Islam.(5) Neither are the crucifixion and resurrection accepted as fact. Thus, the idea of the atoning sacrifice of Christ is also denied. In Islam there is no Savior. Though the Qur'an teaches a literal Heaven and a literal Hell, and a judgment to come, its adherents are left to earn salvation themselves by doing good deeds and being faithful Muslims.
Islam, somewhat like modern day Mormonism, accepts the Bible, including the New Testament as a message from God, but believes that it has been so corrupted that it is of little use. Any passage that speaks of the deity of Jesus, for instance, is firmly rejected as inaccurate. Yet it seems that Muhammad himself accepted the Bible as accurate and never made a charge that it was full of errors during his lifetime. Statements in the Qur'an seem to imply that he accepted it as accurate.(6) That leads us to ask: If Muhammad accepted the Bible as uncorrupted in the seventh century and we have manuscripts of the Bible which date back to the seventh century that show that the Bible is essentially the same as what we have today, how then can a charge be leveled that the Bible is full of errors? That's just one of the weak points of Islam.
Further, Muslims consider the Qur'an to be 100% accurate. Yet if the same God who inspired the Bible also inspired the Qur'an (as Muslims claim) and if that God did not see fit to keep the Bible from corruption, how can the adherents of Islam be sure that the Qur'an has not also been corrupted? Another weak spot.
In the decades following the death of Muhammad certain essential principles were singled out from his teachings to serve as anchor points for the Islamic community. These have come to be called the five pillars of Islam. The five pillars are:
1. The basic creed, the confession that ""There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah."
2. Prayer, which is done by practicing Muslims 5 times a day facing Mecca.
3. Pilgrimage (or hajj), which is the teaching that every Muslim must make at least one trip to Mecca during his lifetime.
4. Fasting, in which for the entire month of Ramadan, each Muslim must fast during daylight hours.
5. The zakat or charitable contribution, was originally an obligatory tax paid to the Islamic state or the poor in the community.Reading through these religious activities, I'm reminded of the Apostle Paul's statement about the Jews in Romans 10:2: "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but it is not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God." It seems the Muslims have fallen into the same trap. Remember that there is no Savior in Islam.
One final concept to mention in this summary of Islamic belief is that of jihad, which means "holy war" or "holy struggle." We have heard this term again and again in the media since September 11. Usama bin Laden and the Taliban government in Afghanistan have called for jihad by Muslims worldwide against Israel and America. This has been echoed by at least one Muslim fundamentalist group in Indonesia and is being heard in the streets of neighboring Pakistan. In response to this, many Muslim clerics in this country today are saying that neither Muhammad nor the Qur'an ever intended for jihad to become justification for carnal warfare except in cases of self-defense. They say it was not intended to justify attacking nations in order to convert them to Islam. "Extremists have hijacked Islam," they say. "It is really a peaceful religion." They also tell us that acts of terrorism and suicide bombings are not consistent with true Islam. They say jihad was intended to describe only the inner struggle of the individual to do the will of Allah.(7)
If that is what they believe it means, then I'm very glad. May the peace they claim be genuine and increase. (I shudder to contemplate 7-million Muslim-Americans suddenly declaring holy war on this nation from within!) As a Christian, I understand all too well how corrupt followers can distort the primitive teaching of a faith for selfish ends and do all manner of evil in the name of God. But in the interest of full disclosure, I must also say the following:
From the days of Muhammad, Islam has seen long periods where it has advanced its cause by carnal war - and I'm not speaking of self-defense.(8) This view has not been in the minority, historically. Muhammad himself was a warrior, not a man of peace. I challenge anyone to lay the history of Muhammad's life down beside that of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, and say they are in any way similar. They are not. The Qur'an contains some very disturbing statements with regard to advancing Islam with carnal war. When I see the fear our government officials have for "igniting the entire Muslim world" in a situation where we are trying to bring the terrorists to justice in an oppressive Islamic country that starves its own citizens, I realize how volatile the Arab situation is. I fear that jihad as an inner struggle is not as firmly held as some would hope. You would think that with all the effort by America to minimize "collateral damage" in this war and the dropping of food and medicine to the people whom their own government has starved, those who are supposed to love peace would notice and call an end to Taliban rule! Is this extreme volatility toward violence through jihad caused by a minority of radical Muslims or is this really what Islam is at its core?
Yes, I believe those American Muslims who condemn the terrorist acts and say they are for peace. I will treat them with all the kindness and love that Jesus requires of me. It is clear that they don't want to believe that this represents their religion. But are they representing the true Islam or do they simply espouse a westernized, liberalized version of what is really, at its heart, a very violent faith founded on the teaching of a very violent man? That dilemma has yet to be fully resolved in my mind.
Conclusion
I am grateful to live in a country where there is freedom of religion. I will do my best to respect people who have faith that is different than mine. By the standards of the Bible, however, I must tell you that Islam is a false religion. It's adherents walk in darkness according to the Bible. I will, therefore, within the freedom of speech that we also have, try to persuade Muslims and ultimately, try to convert them (something punishable by death in some Islamic states.) Our congregation will continue to support radio broadcasts into Asia through Key Communications telling Muslims of the gospel. However, our Lord forbids us to use the sword to advance His kingdom. While the New Testament reserves the right of vengeance (and I believe self-defense for the civil government as a servant of God(9)) it forbids us to take our own revenge. It also forbids us to use force to promote the cause of Christ. Our Lord said, after Peter picked up his sword to keep the mob from arresting Jesus and ruining the plans he thought they had for making Jesus king: "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?"(10) The sword has no place in the promotion of religion.
Footnotes: (Use your "back" button to return to your place)
1. See "Muhammad and the Religion of Islam" in Encyclopedia Britannica (1999 CD Edition).
2. John 1:14, 18; 3:16
3. Philippians 2:6
4. John 1:1-2; Acts 5:3-4; Matthew 28:19; 1 John 5:7; Romans 15:16
5. Qur'an 19:88-93; 2:136
6. See "The Bible is Dependable"
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/9465/dependable.html
7. http://www.alislam.org/books/study-of-islam/jihad.html
8. "The period of Islamic conquests and empire building marks the first phase of the expansion of Islam as a religion. Islam's essential egalitarianism within the community of the faithful and its official discrimination against the followers of other religions won rapid converts. Jews and Christians were assigned a special status as communities possessing scriptures and called the "people of the Book" (ahl al-kitab) and, therefore, were allowed religious autonomy. They were, however, required to pay a per capita tax called jizyah, as opposed to pagans, who were required to either accept Islam or die. The same status of the "people of the Book" was later extended to Zoroastrians and Hindus, but many "people of the Book" joined Islam in order to escape the disability of the jizyah.". ---Encyclopedia Britannica CD, 1999 Multimedia Edition.
9. Romans 13:1-5
10. Matthew 26:52-53
Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.
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All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.
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