A Christian View of World Religions- Islam

In recent years, the Islamic (Muslim) faith has been one the most, if not the most, maligned and demonized religions.  The major reasons for this have been the events of 9/11/01 with the bombing
of the Twin Towers in New York City, and in recent times the activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria, and also the recent activities of the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS).  These and other groups, such as Al Qaeda, that have committed atrocities in the name of the Muslim faith, have been referred to as "Radical Islam" and in essence, have been the groups that have been scapegoated to give the Islamic faith a bad reputation.  Because of their activities, many of which have been in retaliation for the support of state-sponsored terrorism by the Western powers of Euro-America, many people (including religious and political leaders) have concluded that Islam is "terrorist" religion.  They fail to see the distinction between what the religion itself teaches, on the one hand, and on the other, what people do, including committing atrocities in the name of religion.  Much of this criticism come from people who claim to be "Christian," and who at the same time overlook the atrocities that have been committed in history in the name of the Christian faith.

The purpose of this essay is not to defend Islam or any other religion, but rather to give an exposition as to what the historical origins and teachings of the Islamic faith are, and to give an opportunity for non-Muslims (especially Christians) to evaluate the Islamic faith on its own terms.  I hope and trust that you, the reader, will take an open-minded approach to this presentation, and then arrive at your own conclusions.  Once again, I would advise evaluating this religion on the basis of your own.  In this case (especially for Christians), I would caution against judging the Islamic faith on the basis of our own sacred Scripture, i.e. the Bible and let the faith speak for itself.

1.  Historical Origins- Islam, as a religion, can be considered to have begun around the year 610 when Muhammad, who was born around 570, claimed to have received a series of revelations given to him by Allah (the Arabic word for God, and the equivalent of the Hebrew word Elohim, mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Muhammad understood these revelations to mean that God was calling him to be a prophet to bring God's message to the people of Arabia, many of whom were immersed in practices of idolatry. Muhammad believed that God was charging him with delivering a message that would set straight misinterpretations of earlier revelations that God had given through the prophets (including Jesus) to both Jews and Christians.  The Judaeo-Christian roots of Islam are very evident here. 

John Renard, a Christian scholar of comparative religions, and a specialist in Islam, informs us that for approximately 23 years, the prophet Muhammad continued to preach the word God had spoken to him. Central to the message was the notion of "surrender". The word "surrender" in Arabic is "Islam," from which we get the name of the Islamic faith, and the Arabic word "Muslim" means one who surrenders.  The main thrust of the Islamic faith, then was to surrender to God and to God's laws. Because Muhammad was preaching this unpopular message to his fellow compatriots in Mecca, he experienced persecution and had to flee to Medina.  Eventually, he returned to Mecca, where he had originally received the revelations given to him by God through the angel Jibril (Arabic for Gabriel).
Mecca then became the geographical center of the Islamic faith.

2.  Sacred Scriptures- In the same manner that the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is considered  to be the divinely inspired book of the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the Qu'aran (Koran) is considered the divinely inspired and authoritative book of the Islamic faith. Muslims believe that it is normative for faith and practice. 

3.  Muhammad is considered to be the final prophet of God to the human race, following in the footsteps of other prophets, including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Subsequently, the written revelation given to Muhammad by God, goes over and beyond all previously written revelations. The Holy Qu'aran, then, is considered to be superior to the Torah and the New Testament. It should be noted that Islam does not deny the divine inspiration of the Bible.  Muslims believe that the Bible has been tampered with, and that therefore, God inspired the Qu'aran as a corrective to the "corrupted" texts of the Bible. 

4.  Doctrines of Islam- For an individual to convert to Islam, he/she would have to affirm and be committed to the following doctrinal positions (Five Pillars of Islam):

a.  I confess that there is only one God and that Muhammad is his messenger. This commitment of faith is called the Shahada, which means confession or witnessing.  It would be the equivalent of a Christian saying "I believe in one God, and that Jesus is his messenger."

b.  Ritual prayer (Salat) five times daily, at dawn, noon, afternoon, evening, and nightfall.

c.  Giving of alms to the poor (Zakat)

d.  Fasting from dawn until sunset during the holy month of Ramadan

e.  Making the pilgrimage (haaj), if physically and financially able, to the holy city of Mecca at least once during one's lifetime.

5.  Major groups in Islam

a.  Sunni- Sunni Muslims constitute approximately 90% of the world's Muslims.  They believe that their brand of Islam is the true one since they follow the Sunnah (the traditions handed down by the prophet Muhammad).

b.  Shi"ites- Shi"ite Muslims believe that a leader in the Muslim community should be designated by his predecessor and belong to the family of the Prophet

c.  Sufis- Sufis are a group of Muslims (almost monastic) who believe in detaching themselves from whatever may distract them from serving and worshiping God.  They are said to engage in meditation and prayer on a continuous basis, and to be involved in mysticism.

d.  Nation of Islam-This group of Muslims emerged under the leadership of Elijah Poole (later on known as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and presently being led by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.  They believe that the ancestors of African Americans had been Muslims.  Until recent years, they have kept themselves separate from mainstream Islam, believing in God has a special place for black people because the Scriptures (both Bible and Qu'aran) emphasize that God would choose the oppressed and suffering of this world.  They believe that black people world-wide fit these two descriptions more than any one else in the world, and therefore, the Nation of Islam theology is a type of "Liberation Theology" which emphasizes oppression and suffering as the starting points of scriptural interpretation and theological reflection.

The questions for you, the readers are the following:

1.  Do you see any similarity between Christian doctrine and Islamic teachings?

2.  If so, can we then affirm and embrace these similarities?

3.  In your opinion, is Christ present in the Islamic community in any way?

4.  If so, can we then embrace Muslims as "sisters and brothers" in the faith?

Please feel free to comment on this essay and on any of the four questions that have been raised.

Grace and peace,

Dr. Juan A. Ayala-Carmona