Islamic-Christian Dialogue

The purpose of this dialogue is to show where we our Cultures are different? Our goal is to encourage Muslims, who live in a free democratic country, to try to understand, by means of their God-given reasoning powers, what Christinity is all about. Muslim dogma, in alpabetic sequence, is followed by Christian responses (C). Primary sources were: Inside Islam by Daniel Ali and Robert Spencer, and The Holy Koran translation by S.V. Mir Ahmed Ali:

Arabic: Muslims must pray in Arabic. However, most do not understand Arabic; they memorize the words of the Koran by rote, and bow towards Mecca. Muslims pledge uncritical allegiance and conformity to all sheikhs. ?C: We believe that God understands all languages, even our thoughts before we pray to Him. Christians do not have to bow East or West since God is everywhere. We primarily pledge allegiance to the Apostle’s Creed.

?Abraham: Muslims claim that Abraham was the first Muslim and the Father of Islam. The Koran says that at the time of Muhammad, Jews and Christians were in dispute as to which faith Abraham belonged. On the next day, Allah revealed that Abraham was a true believer, a Muslim. ?C:?This lacks historical support! The fact is that the Bible clearly indicates, “Abraham was the Father of all three religions,” and made his Covenant with God.

?Adam & Eve: According to the Koran, Adam asks for pardon. Allah forgives him. That ends the matter! They do not believe in Original Sin. C: If Adam and Eve were pardoned by God, why were they then expelled from the Paradise??That’s an illogical contradiction!

?Allah (God): A Master/Slave relationship exists between Allah and all Muslims. The five pillars or practices of the Islamic faith are: Confession of the faith; Prayers five times per day; Fasting during Ramadan; Pilgrimage to Mecca (if possible); and Almsgiving. ?C: Allah to Muslims is a God of fear, who is the Master of all, and is not concerned for a personal relationship with creatures. He is not a God of love, as Christians believe.

?Apostasy: An American Arabic-language textbook teaches: “The unbelievers, idolaters and others like them must be hated and despised …” Anyone after accepting the Islamic faith, and later expresses unbelief, the penalty is the sentence of death (Surah 16:106). C: Why are Muslims afraid of people learning about other religions? If Islam is the “true faith”, they should have no fear of people freely choosing their religion. Where is the love, mercy and peace in this faith?

?Bible: The Koran contains the first five books of Moses in the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, plus additional material. Allah is the only speaker (a few exceptions exist). ?C: The Old Testament does not agree with the Koran, Muslims claim, because it was “corrupted by the Jews.” Hence, the Muslim leaders “changed the OT” to fit their Koran, many thousands of years later.

?Civil Rights: The concept of civil rights is a Judeo-Christian concept, which inadmissible under Islam law. Testimony of a non-Muslim, the “vilest of creatures” (Surah 98:6), is not valued as highly as a Muslim. A woman’s testimony is devalued and inadmissible in many cases. ?C: These different views on justice and human rights, explains why some Muslim countries remain underdeveloped. If the required male witnesses cannot be found, a woman’s charge of rape becomes an “admission of adultery.” In Islamic countries, penalties still include stoning for adultery, amputation for theft, among other draconian methods.

?Crucified Jesus Christ: In the Koran, Jesus Christ is a “Prophet,” a slave to Allah, but He is later defined as the “Spirit of Allah” (Surah 4:171). The Koran says that Jesus was not crucified (Surah 4:157).?C: How can God’s Spirit be a “slave,” or anything other than God Himself?

?Divorce: “I divorce you!” That is all a Muslim man has to say to his wife, three times, if she is not pregnant. She is thereby “officially divorced.” If a Muslim couple have children, they live with the father, after divorce; that is, if he so decides (Surah 65:1). ?C: Christians believe that marriage is a Sacred Blessing between God, man and woman. A Muslim wife has great difficulty divorcing her husband, since the testimony of a woman in court does not carry the same weight.

?End Times: Allah remains unknowable even in Paradise. Humans will never approach, know, or see God. ?C: Christians believe that true joy in heaven is being close to Love itself, which is God. The Islamic vision of Paradise is filled with earthly desires of wine, women, and sex.

?Evangelization: Muslims will fight until everyone on earth has converted to Islam. A Christian’s life is in danger if they attempt to convert Muslims or preach the Gospel. They are signing a death sentence under Islamic law. In Saudi Arabia, Christians cannot bring Bibles into the country, wear a cross, or practice their Christian religion. C: The Koran says Jews and Christians are under Allah’s curse, and have experienced widespread persecution in most Islamic countries. In contrast, in America and Europe, Muslims are free to practice their faith.

?Fate/Destiny: In the Koran everyone’s destiny or fate is in the hands of Allah: “Say nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us” (Surah 9:51; 64:11). ?C: Christians believe that each individual person has free will and is responsible for their decisions. Muslims do not believe one is not responsible for what happens. Morality cannot exist without free will.

?God: Muslims believe that Allah is so far above humanity and creation, that He can never be known. Muslims will never “see God as He is.” He remains transcendent, unapproachable, unknowable. God is not Father, or Son, but Master, who orders His slaves (Muslims) to obey His rules. ?C: In Christianity, God is both transcendent and knowable through His Creation, and especially from His Revelations, through Jesus Christ (His only begotten Son). John 3:2 promises Christians that they will see Him as He is. The Christian God is always Merciful and Loving!

?Heaven (Paradise): Paradise is offering Muslims physical, sensory, earthly pleasures of wine, women (slaves) and sex. C: Christians believe that the bliss and joy of Heaven is to see and know the magnificent Beauty, Wonder, and Love of God.

?Islam: In Islamic tradition, the prophet Muhammad began receiving revelations (Wahy) from Allah, through the Angel Gabriel, in the city of Mecca, in 610. These revelations continued until his death in 632. His followers committed his messages to memory and wrote them down. Muhammad is not the founder of Islam, but simply the final prophet. C: How can Muslims really know that Muhammad’s followers recorded exactly what his revelations were since the prophet could not read/write, and these various notes were finalized into a book, called the Koran, fourteen years after Muhammad’s death?

?Jesus Christ: The Koran calls Jesus the “Spirit of Allah” (Surah 4:171), and a messenger of Allah, the “Messiah.” ?C: “Spirit” is the essence of life of all living beings! How can God’s Spirit be anyone other than God Himself? Therefore, Jesus Christ is “Divine,” according to this line of reasoning in the Koran.

?Jihad: “Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah.” Allah’s Messenger said, “Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords [jihad in Allah’s cause].” ?C: “Golden age of Islam” was in the 9th century, when Caliph (leader) was flexible about Jews, Christians and unbelievers. Jihad is, by definition, a call for violence against anyone who does not accept his or her version of Islam. Christian inquisitions and missionaries were intolerant toward heretics. However, they finally learned, love is far more powerful than fear.

?Judgment Day: Among the signs of this day, Islamic tradition holds that the greatest of all is the second coming of Jesus Christ! It is Christ, not Muhammad, whom Muslims expect to return to earth on the last days to judge all. “When Judgment day arrives, Allah will give every Muslim a Jew or Christian to kill, so that the Muslim will not enter into hell fire.” (Source: Mishkat Al-Messabih, vol. 2, no. 5552). ?C: The Second Coming of Jesus Christ completely contradicts killing of Jews and Christians! This Islamic idea is bewildering.

?Love: Allah’s love is only for obedient Muslims. He hates unbelievers, and is transcendent, unapproachable, and unknowable. ?C: The concept of service to others motivated by Divine Love, and belief that the Son of God sacrificed Himself for us while we were His enemies (Rom 5:18), is unique to Christianity.

?Martyrdom: The foremost cleric in Sunni Islam, Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azahar, at the?University in Cairo, “emphasized that every martyrdom operation against Israeli, including children, and women, is legitimate act according to [Islamic] religious law, and is a commandment” (see MEMI Special Dispatch Series No. 363, www.memri.org). C: Christians worship a God of Mercy and Love, not a God of fear, hatred and terror. The Saudi government will not accept Palestine Muslims as citizens. Yet they finance suicide bombers and award families of martyrs.

?Nullification of Verses (Surah 2:106): Allah is Divine, and can say and do whatever He likes. If there are contradictions in the Koran, then Muslim theologians determine which parts are actually the Word of Allah to be recited, and which verses have been abrogated (denied by Allah, later). The Koran declares that the author of some of these abrogated verses was the Prince of Darkness, Satan. Nevertheless, even on a whim (Surah 13:39, 22:52), Allah can change His mind, and say something completely opposite to His earlier word! Allah has revealed that Satan routinely tampers with the messages from the prophets. Allah later annuls these demonic interpolations. ?C: How can God’s Word be inconsistent? How can “truth itself” be changeable? To assert that God has no need to adhere to the truth is to say that God can be a liar. This is not only gross blasphemy, it is impossible! He is Truth (John 14:6). If God is not immutable and unchangeable, then all that is taught about faith is open to all kinds of heresies.?If the Bible is self-contradictory, no one would believe it! Christians emphasize that an all-knowing, all-powerful God, cannot contradict Himself (Heb. 6:17-18). Since God exists outside of time and space, all reality is present to Him—so God cannot “change His Mind,” because change implies limitations of space and time, which are limits that God does not “have.” Nullification supports relativism in society, where traditions, moral values, laws and rules are changeable to whatever fits the current mode of thinking.

Polygamy: Muhammad had fourteen wives, including Aisha, a nine-year-old. (Surah 4:3). A Muslim man today, living in Islamic countries, can have more than one wife (up to four wives). ?C: This practice makes it difficult, if not impossible, to eliminate child marriages in the Islamic world today.

?Sin: Muhammad taught that “every human is a sinner by nature, and the best among sinners are those who repent.” “Indeed man was created impatient” (Surah 70:19). According to Islamic teaching only Jesus and Mary were exempt from the touch of Satan at birth; i.e., they were sinless (Surah 3:36). Moreover, even Muhammad was not sinless. In the Koran, judgment proceeds according to scales. If good deeds outweigh his bad deeds, he will enter Paradise; if they do not he will enter Hell (Surah 7:9). ?C: Christians believe that Salvation is a “Gift from God,” which is accepted or rejected by us, but never earned. Christians believe, as the Bible teaches, that Adam and Eve sinned by their disobedience to God’s commandment, by their free will, which has been inherited by all people. God in His great Mercy and Love, however, sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ to redeem all, including Muslims.

?Sunni vs. Shiite Conflicts: Sunni represents about 85% of all Muslims worldwide. Sunnis follow doctrines and traditions (Hadith) from Muhammad, as interpreted by various Muslim scholars. Shiites or Shi’a represent 15%, and are the party of Ali, the husband of Muhammad’s daughter Fatima. They have different traditions and practices, such as their belief that Imams succeeded Ali, and inherited the “light of Muhammad’s prophetic spirit.” ?C: Schisms between these two major Muslim religious groups is not unlike the Christian schisms that developed between the East and West by 1054, and especially after the Reformation. The point is that Muhammad and the Koran teaches that Muslims may not kill each other; otherwise, they will go to Hell. Yet, they continue to slaughter each other, as Christians did in history. Where is the “brotherly love and mercy,” that Allah taught them?

?Terrorism: The Koran says: Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah; those who follow him are merciful to one another, but ruthless to unbelievers” (Surah 829). “Fight against those who believe not in Allah …nor acknowledge the religion of truth, from among the “People of the Book” (Jews, Christians and atheists), until they pay the jizay [special tax for non-Muslims] with submission, and feel themselves subdued” (Surah 9:29). ?C: There is no justification in the Hadith for the use of lethal force against nonbelievers, and the innocent. In Islam, there is no true peace between the nonbeliever and the devout Muslim. Peace can only exist between those who follow Islam. In fighting the infidels, the Koran teaches: … “But those who are slain in the way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost. Soon will He guide them and improve their condition, and admit them to [Paradise] which He has announced for them” (Surah 47:4-6; 3:157).

?Women: The Koran teaches male superiority forthrightly: “Women shall, with justice, have rights similar to those exercised against them, although men have a status above women” (2:228). Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the other, and men spend their wealth to support them (4:34). Husbands by “divine right” have authority over their wives. Muslim men are entitled to twice the inheritance as women (Surah 4:11). ?C: All persons are declared equal in America, Europe, and the free world, especially by God and His Church.

?Wahhabism: Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia represent a significant Sunni subset. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1701-1792) was a radical reformer, who wanted to rid Islam of everything that developed after the first few centuries. He stressed a “literal” reading of the Koran and Hadith. This is the most extreme teachings within the Sunni faith. C: The only hope for peace between Islamic, Christian and other cultures, is a “Reform Movement” by Saudi leaders. Wahhabism is the problem with Islam today. They are still living in the 7th century! Muslim extremists should remember the Koran’s warning:?“Allah changes not what is in a people until they change what is in themselves.”

Those who blindly accept all the teachings of the Koran and Hadith, literally, are by definition, fanatics! Civilized society no longer follows the outmoded laws of Moses, which were essential to control lawless tribal peoples, before 1400 BC. Islamic Sharia laws are based on these laws. The solution to this Cultural Crisis is a “Reform Movement” by Sunni leaders. Wahhabism is the KEY PROBLEM within Islam today.

?See my “Not-For-Profit” books, Consequences & Sword of Allah.

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