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May 18, 2005
fisherofmenintl@yahoo.com
Key Questions for Christians to Ask About Islam
Introduction
Open any newspaper, magazine, or turn on the nightly news, and you will encounter a
myriad images of Muslims, as peaceful family members, as terrorists, and as persecutors of
other religions. You will also hear well-meaning people speaking such slogans such as,
“Muslims and Christians worship the same God.” Or “Islam is a peaceful religion.” The
messages are often mixed, we have seen the World Trade Center and other atrocities yet
we hear other messages from leaders we respect. One is tempted to either view all
Muslims as enemies that must be destroyed or to accept the slogans of the peacefulness
of Islam at face value. This paper will help the Christians to ask good questions and even
more importantly find the right answers about Islam so that we, as Christians can develop a
Christ-centered way of responding to Islam and Muslims not only at the global political level
but also at the workplace, in our families, the mission field, and in our classrooms. In this
paper we will discuss the some key differences between Islam and Christianity, the origins
of Islam, Islam in the Pacific, and how Muslims can be reached for Christ.
Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
President George W. Bush believes that we do. In an October 26, 2004 ABC News
interview, Bush said, “We have different routes of getting to the Almighty," Bush said. "But I
want you to understand, I want your listeners to understand, I don't get to get decide who
goes to heaven. The Almighty God decides who goes to heaven and I am on my personal
walk," he said.” Others might cite this passage from the Koran.
Sura 29:46 (Translations of the Qur’an)
YUSUFALI: And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, except with means better (than
mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong (and injury): but say,
"We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to
you; Our Allah and your Allah is one; and it is to Him we bow (in Islam)."
This is an important question for Christians to answer in their own minds. (This is not an
issue that should be raised during the first evangelistic encounter with a Muslim. The
evangelistic process with Muslims will be discussed in greater detail later in this paper.)
This view is correct on the surface but it is important to look deeper. Although it is true that
Muslims, like Christians, and Jews, claim the God of Abraham as their God, their
conception of God is so different that that it really is not the same God at all. Likewise,
Jews after Christ who have rejected Jesus as Lord and Messiah have rejected the true God.
John 8:39, 41, 42 NIV, "Abraham is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's
children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did.”
. . . "The only Father we have is God himself." Jesus said to them, "If God were your
Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my
own; but he sent me.
John 14:9 NIV. Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among
you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say,
`Show us the Father'?
A brief look at the history and theology of Islam reveals that the Muslims worship a
different God, have a different Jesus, and a different Gospel. First, Allah is a Unitarian
God while the Christian God is a Trinity. (Apologetics Index: 2005)
Sura 4:48 “PICKTHAL: Lo! Allah forgiveth not that a partner should be ascribed unto Him.
He forgiveth (all) save that to whom He will. Whoso ascribeth partners to Allah, he hath
indeed invented a tremendous sin.
It is not possible for the Unitarian Allah of Islam to be the same as the Trinitarian Yahweh
of Christians and Jews. The only possible answer to this question is that Muslims and
Christians are in fact worshiping a different God. The Koran also teaches a different Jesus
that is not the Son of God but is only a messenger from Allah.
Sura 4:171 emphasis mine
”Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word,
which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His
messengers. Say not "Trinity" : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah:” . . .
The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He
conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and
say not "Three" - Cease! . . . .Allah is only one Allah; far be it from His glory that He should
have a son. . .”
This passage clearly contradicts Bible. Children reciting John 3:16 in Sunday school
could clearly see how that this verse denies the God gave his “only begotten Son.” Sura
112:3 says that Allah “begetteth not.” (Apologetics Index: 2005). The Koran (4:157) also
denies that Jesus died on the cross but was instead taken up into heaven and someone
else was crucified in his place. Instead he was taken up into heaven. Like Christians,
Muslims believe that Jesus will come back to earth. Unfortunately, their Jesus will destroy
all the crosses, convert the world to Islam, marry, reign for 40 years, die and be buried next
to Muhammad. (Apologetics Index: 2005) Therefore, the only possible conclusion is that
Islam in fact, has a different Jesus.
Muslims also have a different Gospel. One Muslim author, Kateregga writes: “Although
Adam disobeyed Allah, he repented and was forgiven and even given guidance for
mankind. Man is not born a sinner and the doctrine of the sinfulness of man has no basis in
Islam.” Another “Muslim author, Faruqi, notes that “in the Islamic view, human beings are
no more ‘fallen’ than they are ‘saved.’ Because they are not ‘fallen,’ they have no need of a
savior. But because they are not ‘saved’ either, they need to do good works—and do them
ethically—which alone will earn them the desired ‘salvation.’” (Geisler & Saleeb: 2002 44)
This obviously contradicts the Biblical view of original sin. Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all
men, for that all have sinned.”(KJV)
How did Islam begin?
Having established that Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God, have the
same Jesus, or have the same salvation we can now look at the formation of Islam. This is
not to say that Muslims are to be despised, but should rather be seen as sincere people
who are sincerely deceived. Even though the Middle East is now a Muslim stronghold it
was not always the case. In the first seven centuries after Christ, Christianity spread
throughout the Roman Empire after the Constantine made it the official religion in 314
(Marshall et al.: 2002 41). Sadly, false teaching began to grow and spread within the
region. In the fifth and sixth centuries there were divisions and disputes between Christians
from Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch. The heresies that grew in Alexandria and Antioch laid
the foundation for Islamic theology. One heresy, Monarchianism, taught that “Christ was a
mere man, endued with God's power.” Another heresy, Arianism, “denied the deity of
Christ: he was considered the first and noblest of created beings, but in nature and dignity
inferior to the Father.” A third heresy, Monophysitism, taught “that the two natures became
"blended and confused" in Christ with the result that he had only one nature, the divine
(Survey of Islam: 2000).”
Muhammad married a wealthy widow named Khadijja. Her wealth gave him free time to
spend in seclusion and prayer. Around 610 A.D., at the age of forty, “he began to
experience visions in a cave on Mount Hira, outside Mecca.” They began as good dreams.
Then one day, the angel Gabriel came to him and asked him to read. He said, "I do not
know how to read." Then the angel caught him and forcefully and squeezed him so hard
that he could not bear it any more. This was repeated until finally Muhammad said, "I do
not know what to read." The angel squeezed him forcefully once more and told him to read
in the name of the Lord who created humans from coagulated blood (Sura 96:1, 2, 3)
(Survey of Islam: 2000).”
At first Muhammad was deathly afraid of the source of his newly found revelation,
believing that he was possessed by a jinn or evil spirit. But he found in Khadija a great
source of comfort and encouragement. Khadija is also said to have relayed this incident to
her Christian cousin Waraqah, who upon hearing her descriptions reassured her that
Muhammad’s source of revelation was the same as that of Moses, and that he too would be
a prophet of his nation (Geisler & Saleeb: 2002 72).
With this confirmation, Muhammad began to claim to be a prophet and preached what he
believed was a revelation from God through Gabriel. Today there are a billion Muslims all
over the world. It is sad that Waraqah did not have a better grasp of scripture for if he had,
he could have helped Muhammad discern that this angel was not the same as the Angel of
the Bible and that this new revelation was not the same as the Bible. He should have
helped Mohammad compare his new teachings with the Old and New Testaments to see if
they were consistent with the Scripture. If they were not, Muhammad should have
abandoned them. If Waraqah had only shared a couple of verses with Muhammad, it may
have changed history.
Galatians 1:8-9 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto
you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before,
so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have
received, let him be accursed.
2 Corinthians 11:14 . . . for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Islam did not develop in a vacuum. It grew out of the fertile soil of Christian division, false
teaching, and Biblical illiteracy. This should serve as a warning to Christians of all ages.
While division, heresy, and lack of Biblical knowledge promote the growth of false religions
and the ultimate devastation of Christianity in a region, unity, truth, and wisdom, can both
prevent the spread of false religions such as Islam and reclaim the soil that has been lost
to weeds.
How did Islam spread to the Pacific?
Before the Islam came, the Pacific was primarily influenced by Buddhism. There were
some legends from the time of Noah. Islam first came from Persian traders on their way to
China. By 758 A.D. there were enough Muslim traders in China to capture Canton. In
1204 the Sultan Johan Shah came to Acheh, married the daughter of Baludri Acheen. He
ruled until 1233 and was succeeded by his son Ahmad. During this time, the people were
converted to Islam. Islam then spread from Malaysia to Sumatra. In 1292 Marco Polo on
his way home from China visited Sumatra and reported that Perlak had been converted to
Islam. Gradually Islam took deeper root in the societies as Muslims intermarried with local
populations and became integrated in the local community, eventually the local people
came to respect and imitate their religion (McAmis: 2002 10-14).
When the Dutch came to Indonesia in 1590 the Muslims were at first seen as “respected
heretics (Steenbrink: 1993 25).” Later, when Dutch theologians studied their doctrine they
were seen as heretics (Ibid 43). When the age of missions came in the late 1800’s the
missionaries came to the conclusion that regions of Indonesia which had embraced Islam
would never turn to Christianity so they focused on areas which practiced ‘pagan’ religions
(Ibid 106). Between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries, the coastal area of Sumatra
was completely converted to Islam. However, it was not until the beginning of the
nineteenth century that the interior began to become Islamized. As the Dutch conquered
the islands, the Muslims followed in their wake, converting the conquered lands to Islam.
The Dutch government further paved the way for the Muslims by promoting the use of
Malay, an Islam language that used and Arabic script and through the employment of
Muslim teachers in the government schools. To reverse this trend, in the late 1800’s, the
Dutch government began to offer political, administrative, and financial support for missions
in Indonesia in areas where Islam was advancing rapidly. In 1905 the government offered
moral and later financial support for missions in Sulawesi to prevent the Torajans and
Murians from becoming Muslim. The German government also supported its missions in
Indonesia before World War I. Some mission organizations refused the government
subsidies such as the Mennonites (Ibid 107-9).
Indonesia became predominately Muslim although some indigenous groups such as the
Torajans became Christian. Islam also began to develop new leaders such as Muhammad
Abduh from Egypt in the late 1800’s. These leaders called for the return to the Koran’s
original teaching, the modernization of education, and wrote critical anti-Christian
apologetics works against missionary activities. This Islamic reform movement brought
about growth and expansion through hospitals, clinics, and schools (Ibid 134-5). The
Indonesia Nationalist Party was founded by Sarkano and began to push for independence.
This was cut short in 1942 when the Japanese invaded Indonesia. At first, they were seen
as liberators from colonialism, but they were just as brutal as the Dutch. In 1945, the
Japanese surrendered and Sukarno declared Indonesian Independence (The New
Encyclopedia Britannica: 2005 298).
One of the main reasons that Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country is
because most of the missionaries have focused on more receptive groups. Ninety percent
of Indonesia’s 190 million citizens are Muslims. There have been more than 3,000
missionaries in Indonesia since World War II but until 1965, no missionaries worked among
the Muslims. Instead, the vast majority of missionaries have worked among the Chinese or
animistic tribal people. The missionaries that did attempt to reach the Muslims, never more
than fourteen missionaries at any given time, mainly focused on educational and medical
missions but made little or no effort to persuade the Muslims to accept Christ. This is the
same pattern that has occurred with missionaries to Muslims, in Egypt, Turkey, and
Malaysia (Livingstone: 1993).
How can Muslims in the Pacific be reached for Christ?
Over the past several pages, a grim picture has been painted. Not only are the followers
deceived, but many religious and cultural barriers have been erected that have made
evangelistic efforts difficult, discouraging, and seemingly impossible. The difficulty of the
task at hand in no way releases us from the Great Commission.
1. Know the essentials of Christianity.
This is the first step in any missionary effort. Evangelizing Muslims in Pacific is a difficult
and potentially deadly undertaking. Before going into this battle, one has to know which of
their beliefs and practices are “non-negotiable.” Without this, one will be tempted to
compromise the essentials of Christianity or to seek to convert people to North American,
denominational, Christianity. Islam grew out of the soil of poor Christian theology; only
strong theology can push it back.
2. Conform as much to the lifestyle of Muslim culture without compromising the
essentials of Christianity.
It is important to remove as many cultural and social barriers between ourselves and our
Muslim friends, before presenting the Gospel. The ground must be cultivated before the
seeds can take root (Matthew 13:4-7). We can see this in the ministry of Paul in Acts 17: 1-
2, instead of forcing the Jews to come to church on Sunday to hear the gospel, he went
into their synagogues and taught them on Saturday (Accad: 1997 13). When ministering in
a Muslim context, we should avoid doing things that might offend them and compromise our
credibility with them. For example, our Western dress and interactions between males and
females may seem as sinful to Muslims. While, we have many freedoms as Christians, we
must not allow those freedoms to damage our ability to share the gospel with Muslims (Ibid
13). "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is
permissible"—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the
good of others (I Cor. 10: 23-24).” It is important to note that we are not compromising our
message but our manners. If the former is compromised, the seeds of syncretism will be
planted.
3. Build genuine relationships.
Muslim people are not just “potential Christians,” but are people who are created in the
image of God. If we are to reach them, we must build trusting relationships. The easiest
way to build trust with them is to genuinely care for them and love them with the love of
Christ for who they are, regardless of whether they become Christian or not.
4. Find truth in the Qur’an.
For the Muslims, the Qur’an is their ultimate standard of Truth. Look for places where
the Qur’ an is in agreement with the Bible. These passages will not only help the Muslim
learn the truth of God’s word; it will increase their view of the trustworthiness of the Bible
(Ibid 17). This is a good way to build a bridge with your Muslim friend so that you can
discuss other things. Be sure that you are able to support the reliability and inerrancy of
the Bible because one of the major arguments of Muslims against Christianity is that the
Bible is full of errors while the Koran is correct. Present these evidences gently and
respectfully, as you have opportunities in your discussions. Using their worldview as a
starting point and slowly moving them step by step toward the truth is modeled in Acts 17:
22-34. Paul spoke the truth but in a friendly and engaging manner.
Some examples of common ground found in both the Qur’an and the Bible are; that there
is one God, Jesus was a prophet (Acts 3:20 and Sura 3:45), and that the Muslims respect
Moses. Therefore, you can speak of God as the Creator, of Jesus’ prophecies, and of the
Law of Moses with little conflict. Even though Islamic theology has a different view of sin
that Christians, individual Muslims recognize their own sinfulness. You may want to focus
on issues of sin found in Luke 3:20 and Matthew 5:27 which would lead the Muslim to admit
that they are liars, thieves, and adulterers in God’s eyes. You may want to ask them if they
were judged by God according Moses’ Law if they would be innocent. If they say that they
would be innocent because they confess their sins to God you might show them Sura 10:54
which states, “Every soul that has sinned, if it possessed all that is on earth, would fain give
it a ransom.” Moses instructed Israel to shed the blood of a spotless lamb as a temporary
atonement. Jesus was the only prophet of all time who claimed to have the power to
forgive sins (Matthew 9:2-6). He also said that he was the only way to God (John 14:6). If
the Bible is true (be prepared to give evidence for this) and Jesus is truly a prophet of God
as the Koran claims, then we must accept his teachings about how to be forgiven from sin
(Comfort: 2001 409).
5. Work for inside out transformation
Many Christians get impatient in their witness. They are so eager to “close the deal,” that
they rush through all the foundational background knowledge that they people need. For
someone to become Christian, they must make a commitment that is stronger and will last
longer than marriage, yet many well-intentioned evangelists attempt to have the wedding
on the first date. Instead, allow your Muslim loved one time to learn, consider the
foundational beliefs of Christianity one at a time rather than forcing them to accept
everything at once. As God uses his truth to transform them, they will be better prepared
to receive the message. When they are ready, they can accept Christ and will be equipped
to live for Him despite persecution. To be a committed Christian one needs to be grounded
with the Truth of the Christianity, have strong relationships with other Christians, and
experience God’s grace and blessing in their personal relationship with Christ. These
three anchors will help strengthen their faith, protect them from falling away, and embolden
them to share their faith with others.
6. Encourage new Believers to worship in a culturally appropriate manner
without compromising the Essentials of Christianity.
Christianity requires few set external forms. Therefore, they may be more comfortable
with worshiping in a ‘mosque-like’ environment (Friday worship, believers remove their
shoes and sit on the floor. So long as the local practices do not violate Scripture they
should be given the freedom to develop their own forms. As their knowledge of God
increases, they will continue to develop their forms of worship to better serve him. This
flexibility will also help them to minister to other Muslims in a non-threatening environment
(Accad: 1997 13). It is vital that they are grounded in the essentials of Christian doctrine
and are well trained in how to interpret the Bible correctly beyond that it is between them
and the Holy Spirit to guide them in how to apply it to their cultural context.
Conclusion
This paper has discussed the important differences between Christianity in Islam, the
beginning and spread of Islam to the Pacific, and culturally sensitive ways of reaching them
for Christ. It is my hope and prayer that this writing will help the reader begin the process
of preparation to share the Gospel with Muslims. You may not be called to go to Indonesia
or Mindanao to reach them, but it is quite possible that at some point in your life, God may
lead one of them to you. Will you be ready to give the hope that you have with gentleness
and respect? (I Peter 3:15).
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