Islam and the Muslim Agenda

First of all, what chance does a believer have for taking the message of Jesus (Isa al Masih...Jesus the Messiah) to followers of Islam if we say bad things about their key figure? Is that in ANY way lead to the road to "right relationships" as urged by Jesus? Professor Warren Larson...23 years as a Christian missionary to Pakistan...sent me a copy of his single-spaced, typed, 6 page essay titled, "Why I am a Christian and not a Muslim"...in which he notes (page 6) that a few Muslim friends had noted with dismay that the hadith (Traditions) indicates that Muhammad could not guarantee salvation for his own daughter (Fatimah), then how could he assure other muslims of their salvation? This YouTube video which came to me near the end of 2014 notes that the Koran mentions Jesus far more often than Mohammed & the additional markers in the Koran which point to Jesus (HERE).

[the following is adapted from an article by Chuck Colson, February, 2002,
"Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad?" & an article in Baptist Courier 4 July 2002]

Some think that Florida Pastor Jerry Vines, while declaring his and Jesus' love for Muslims, was unnecessarily harsh (16 June 2002)...though accurate in some details...when he said Mohammed was, "...a demon-possessed pedophile..." who had 12 wives, the last one a 9 year old little girl. From the death of his first wife, Khadija, in 619AD to his own death in 632AD, he married 11 more...almost one per year, his 3rd wife being A'isha @ age 6, though not consummated until age 9-12!!! When Joseph married Mary mother of Jesus, she was only 14. The age of marriage a thousand or so years ago seems awfully young to us moderns. And we forget that many of the marriages were politico-cultural and not necessarily consummated prior to an older age. What, then, do the above facts mean?

Who has the "right" to Palestine?

Note: Contacts from "The Galilee Experience", in Tiberias, on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee note the following as to who has the "right" to Palestine. A core aspect of the teaching of Mohammed in the Koran is that God initially chose and made promises to the Jews. The Jews blew it, and all divine promises then defaulted over to the Christians who also blew it. So, Mohammed taught that the chosen-ness, promises, and favor are now, therefore, upon the followers of Islam. Mohammed taught that the promise of the Land of Canaan (LoC) transferred, thereby, to the Islamics. As noted elsewhere, that land went by God to the Jews (who is Mohammed to over-rule God?); then the Roman empire threw the Jews out before 100AD. Then the Eastern Roman Empire (which included LoC) became "Christian" under Constantine in 312AD, becoming the Christian Byzantine Empire (the LoC continuing Christian for 300 years). The area was conquered by Muslims in 632AD and held pretty much continually until Israel was declared a state there in 1948! But Jews began to return to "Israel" in the 1800s, being a population component of over 600,000 by 1948. Israel survived an initial onslaught by 6 Muslim nations after the declaration of statehood. At the end of 2002, 37 nations still fail to recognize Israel in international diplomacy...all are Muslim nations! The goal of fundamentalist Islam is the destruction of the state of Israel. Why? According to Islamic theology, it is in time impossible (in view of Mohammed's above teaching) for Jews to return to the LoC & miraculously reestablish their nation and survive against overwhelming odds. If Mohammed was wrong...and the LoC still belongs to the Jews, then Mohammed was a false prophet; and Islam is a false religion. Now I understand the source of the desperation that would lead leaders and parents to teach children to blow themselves up or otherwise die just to inflict death on Jews and innocent citizens of countries who do not consider Jews "the enemy". Therefore, Islam (Muslims) cannot and will never accept the existence of Israel and will never make peace with her!!

Jesus strapped to the cross:

But, even more...but similarly...compelling, the only way for a Muslim to be sure that the balance scales judging his/her life are tipped in favor of eternity in heaven with Allah is to die a martyr. However, in effect, Jesus strapped Himself to the cross so that Muslims wouldn't have to strap themselves to homicide bombs!! [quote]

Respected theologian and Prison Fellowship Board member Timothy George recently posed a provocative question: "Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad?" To judge by what politicians, Muslim leaders, the media, and even some churches are saying, the answer is an unequivocal "yes." Many suggest that Islam is just a variation of Christianity and Judaism—and that Islam is a "peace-loving" religion that was "hijacked" by terrorists. Some—like President Bush—are saying these things for sound prudential reasons, to prevent a backlash against innocent American Muslims, etc. Others claim there's no real difference between Christianity and Islam because such distinctions between the religions tend to suggest that all religions are not morally equivalent—and thus those distinctions offend against the tenets of postmodernism, multiculturalism, and secularism. [uniqueness of Christianity]

But the fact is, judging by the humanly-claimed divine attributes, Christians and Muslims don't worship the same God—and, historically, Islam is anything but peace-loving. Or, if Muslims think that the God that they worship is the God of Abraham, then they have a seriously distorted view of God. [attributes of God] Christianity (like Judaism) teaches that God is a God of redemption. Both Old and New Testaments affirm that God is love, a God who initiates and champions a relationship with His people. By contrast, Muslims believe that god, or Allah in Arabic, is aloof and distant. He is primarily a god of justice rather than a god of love. And he is not a god who redeems his people, but a god who must simply be obeyed. Islam is fatalistic in a way that would have never lead to the modern scientific and societal achievements elsewhere in the world [see "What Would the World Have Been Like If Jesus Had Never Been Born"].

While, for most Muslims in America, Islam is simply "a religion", there is another, more dangerous aspect. As Dr. Samuel Schlorff, an expert with Arab World Ministries, writes, "There is another side to Islam, a side that embraces violence 'in the way of Allah'…Muslims believe that Islam's destiny is to extend its control until the whole [non-Muslim]  world is subject to Islamic law in an Islamic state, and this includes the use of force." Today this force is being brutally & lethally exerted worldwide. In Indonesia, well-armed Islamic militia are raping and slaughtering their Christian neighbors, burning their homes and forcing them to convert to Islam. In Sudan, two million Christians have died as a result of their government's attempt to impose Islamic law on its non-Muslim population. Nigerian Christians face similar pressures.

That Islam can be so internationally (cross-culturally) & publicly hijacked by "extremists" is, in itself, strong evidence that terror is what Islam stands for...totally the opposite of what Jesus stands for and Christians are supposed to be about: love God with all their heart and their neighbors (mankind) as themselves. Jesus pronounced two commands to sum up the others & they were about "right relationships".

The truth appears to be that bin Laden and his followers may not have hijack Islam; they may have simply taken it seriously. As Harvard historian Samuel Huntington puts it, Islam has "bloody borders." Though Muslims claim the good of Islam and say that only a small percentage are violent-minded fanatics, the vast majority have been silenced so that only rare Muslims speak out against this madness. Though unintended, the silence of the vast majority equates to "unintended complicity". On 2/10/07, I watched an earlier-taped interview of a dynamic female Muslim giving voice against violence, Irshad Manji. She has written a book in English & had it translated into Arabic & downloadable in Muslim countries [her website]. On April 19, 2007, a PBS TV special will be the broadcast premiere Irshad's movie "Faith Without Fear".

Views of God:

     
[God comparison table, below]***[see terrorist summary...world situation...here]***[key Muslim thinker's influence]***[who has the "right" to "Palestine?]***[following Islam brings disaster?]

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(posted 26 May 2002; latest update 13 May 2017)