Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same? 1
A Special Topic CoursePresented by: Austin Boyd
www.IslamicStateOfAmerica.com
Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As This
Lesson 2: Do We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Lesson 1 Review
• This course is presented for your use– Share it with others– Take it to your civic organization, your church, or your school
• Why this course?– The evil of Islamic terror is at our doorstep and we must address it head
on. We cannot retreat from this terror in fear– We must understand Islam, its history, its implications in the modern
world, and its multiple facets– We cannot build relationships with Muslims if we do not understand Islam
• Why now?– Islamic terror threatens our country– Islamists seek to overthrow our form of government through insidious
means, using our liberties against us– God is moving powerfully in the Muslim world. We should join Him!
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Do We Worship the Same God?
• An understanding of Islam first requires that you clearly distinguish between Allah, the god of Islam… and Yahweh, the God of the Bible.– They are NOT the same
• Christianity and Islam are both “Abrahamic Covenant” religions, but… – Islam is a devious, insidious, and dangerous distortion of God’s truth as
revealed in the Bible• Beware of “universalist” belief that we are all pursuing the same god,
along different paths. Note that:– Islam states that the modern Bible is corrupt and is inferior to the Qur'an– Islam denies that Jesus is the divine Son of God– According to Islam, Jesus cannot atone for man’s sins– Islam denies Jesus’ death on the cross and denies His resurrection – Islam denies that Jesus is a mediator between God and man. – Islam states that a belief in the doctrine of the Trinity is the worst of sins
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same? 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHvdixOtV4c
Video: Christian College Suspends Hijab-Wearing Professor Over Islam Comments
Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Is Allah the God of the Bible?• Qur’an
– “Allah is only one god. Far be it from his glory to have a son.” (Surah 4:171)– “They indeed disbelieve who say: ‘Surely Allah—he is the Messiah, son of
Mary.’”(Surah 5:17)– “They commit blasphemy who say that God is one of three in a trinity.” (Surah 5:73)– “They killed him not (Jesus), nor did they cause his death on the cross, but he was
made to appear to them as such… They killed him not for certain.” (Surah 4:157)• Bible
– “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3, On denying the incarnation)
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
God’s Word• “A household divided against itself will not stand.”
– Matthew 12:22-28– Islam condemns the fundamentals of our Christian faith. It cannot be a path to
salvation as we understand God’s word. Allah cannot be the God of the Bible.• “Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person
is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”– 1 John 2:22– Islam denies the divinity, Lordship, and atoning grace of Jesus Christ. Without
Jesus, we will die unforgiven and destined for judgment
• “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse.”– Galatians 1:8– The Qur’an wrongly declares that it is the final and authoritative word of God
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Where We Agree
• There is one Almighty God who created Heaven and Earth
• God gave us commands and laws and will judge us at the Last Day
• Human beings are sinful and need God’s mercy and forgiveness
• Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin mother named Mary who heard from an angel
• Jesus is the Word of God. During his life he healed the sick, raised the dead. He is an infallible prophet.
• The Torah, the Psalms (Zabur), and New Testament (Injil) were, in their original manuscripts, the verbally inspired word of God
• 1.6 billion Muslims, 52 Muslim majority nations, 40 Muslim minority nations, hundreds of distinct ethnic groups
• 87% Sunni, 13% Shi’a, several recognized schools of Islamic jurisprudence
• Islamic fundamentalism and Islamic-inspired terror activity is on the rise at the same time that many voices in the Islamic world call for an interpretation of Islam that calls for peaceful relations with non-Muslims
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Where We Disagree
• The One God is revealed in Scripture to be Triune (God, Father, Holy Spirit)• Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is with God and is God• Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah predicted in Jewish scripture• Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. His death atones for our sin.• The biblical manuscripts are sufficiently reliable, and the Bible that we read
today is trustworthy. It is the inspired, authoritative and infallible Word of God.• The Jihadists and many leaders within the fundamentalist movement want a
reestablishment of the historic Caliphate, spanning from Spain to Indonesia• Islam is both religion and state. Islamic countries under Shariah rule are
theocracies, and democracy cannot coexist with Islam in a strictly Islamist state• 6-8 million Muslims a year are coming to Christ through visions and dreams
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
A Biblical Approach to Muslims
• Be faithful to God’s truth – the whole Truth. Do not compromise Scripture just to get along
• Be Jesus-centered in our interactions with Muslims• Be truthful and gracious in our words and witness• Be wise in our words and witness• Be respectful and bold in our witness• Be prudent in an electronically-connected world. Not everything you find on
the Internet is true. Confirm everything you read through reliable sources.• Be persistent in our call for religious freedom• Be peaceable and uncompromising in our dialogue• Be loving toward our neighbors and our enemies• Differentiate between the roles of the church and the state
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Source: “Grace and Truth: Toward Christ-like Relationships with Muslims
,” Rick Love, 2009
Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Muslim Distribution Worldwide
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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Islam_by_country.png
Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Muslim Distribution in the Middle East
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same? 12
All Muslims Are Not the Same
• Secularists– Reject Islam as a guiding force in their lives
• Modernists– “West is best” approach to Islam
• Traditionalists– Islam as a source and treasure to be wisely adapted to the modern world
• Fundamentalists– Literalists who strive to obey the Quran and Hadith, while ignoring or rejecting
many of the classical traditions of Islam• Jihadists
– Militant Muslims to espouse violence to force all peoples under Sharia law. Any Muslims who resist are apostate and even violence is warranted to coerce their submission
Secularists Modernists Traditionalists Fundamentalists Jihadists
1.6B Muslims worldwide10% identify with “jihadists”
Islamists > 50% (Pew Research Center)
Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Secular Islam• St. Petersburg Declaration, 5 Apr 2007, from the Institution for
Secularization of Islamist Society (ISIS)– “We are secular Muslims, and secular persons of Muslim societies. We
are believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle, not between the West and Islam, but between the free and the unfree.”
– “We say to Muslim believers: there is a noble future for Islam as a personal faith, not a political doctrine; to Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Baha'is, and all members of non-Muslim faith communities: we stand with you as free and equal citizens.”
– “Before any of us is a member of the Umma, the Body of Christ, or the Chosen People, we are all members of the community of conscience, the people who must choose for themselves.”
– Source: http://www.centerforinquiry.net/isis
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Modernist Islam
• Islamic Modernism– A re-interpretation of Islam
to fit in with the modern world. • Egypt, Turkey, and India are
influenced by Islamic modernist ideas• Modernist Islamic scholars re-discovered the role of Islamic philosophical
principles, and affirmed that revealed knowledge and individually-sought rational knowledge could co-exist. Thus, they sanctioned the study of Western science as acceptable to Islamic education.
– A movement described as “the first Muslim ideological response to the cultural challenges which attempt to reconcile Islamic faith with modern values regarding nationalism, democracy, civil rights, rationality, equality, and progress.”
– Sources: • Islamic Modernism, Nationalism and Fundamentalism by Mansoor Moaddel • Modernist Islam, Charles Kurzman• Oxford Islamic Studies Online http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t253/e9
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Traditionalist Islam
• Middle Eastern traditional Islam– A term most often used to describe orthodox Sunni Islam, distinguishing it from
Salafism and Islamism– Promotes practice of blind adherence to one of four traditional schools of Sunni
jurisprudence (as opposed to Salafists who argue for scholarship and discourse)– Neutral or ambiguous approach towards politics (as opposed to Islamists)– Islam is seen as a source and treasure which must be wisely and flexibly applied
to the modern world. (Freedom of Expression in Islam by Mohammad Hashim Kamali)
• Western concept of traditional Islam– “Sets forth a holistic, inspiring and learned grand vision of the Islamic past, of
traditional Islam as it was, is, should and could be.” (Traditional Islam in the Modern World, by Seyyed Hussein Nasr)
• Expressions of traditionalist Islam are found in many secular and modernist Islamic states including:– Morocco, Libya, Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Fundamentalist Islam
• Literalists who strive to obey the Qur'an and Hadith• Focused on Islamic legalism, revivalism and activism. Considered by many to be
the most conservative element of the Islamist movement• Founded in recent history through the Wahhabi movement of the 18th century and
the teachings of Muhammad al-Wahhab who called for a return to the Islam and rule of the Prophet Muhammad’s day
• May ignore or reject many of the “classical traditions” of Islam• Defined by strict adherence to the teachings of the Qur’an and the Hadith.
Failure to adhere to the Qur’an is punishable by Shariah law.• Apply Shariah law for many, if not all, aspects of religious, personal and business
life. The law is the most essential component of Islam, leading to a narrow but overwhelming emphasis on jurisprudence
• Shariah law nations• Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Mauritania, Afghanistan, Sudan, Pakistan, Qatar,
Indonesia (Aceh), Nigeria*, UAE*
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Islam and Islamists
• Glenn Beck, “It Is About Islam” (2015)– “Islamism is the supremacist political ideology that insists on
imposing Sharia, or Islamic holy law, on the world.”• Ayan Hirsi Ali, best-selling author on Islam (2009)
– “Islam is not a religion of peace. It's a political theory of conquest that seeks domination by any means it can.”
• Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, Muslim reformer (2015)– “Muslims aren’t making it clear that we’re not Islamists. And
we’ve been painfully silent,” Jasser said, adding, “We need to have that room to differentiate between Muslims who are against theocracy and (the) Muslims who are Islamists that are part of the problem.”Source: http://www.glennbeck.com/2015/09/29/muslim-reformer-articulates-dangers-of-islamism-which-candidates-get-it/?
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Shariah Law and Islamic Nations
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Members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation where Shariah law plays no role in the judicial system.Countries where Shariah applies in personal status issues (such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody), but otherwise have a secular legal system.Countries where Shariah applies in full, covering personal status issues as well as criminal proceedings.
Regional variations in the application of Shariah
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_of_sharia_law_by_country
Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same? 19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIV56s6sPfU
Video: "Not all Muslims are Islamists" - Dr. Zuhdi Jasser
Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Jihadist Islam
• “Jihad” in Arabic literally means “struggle”– Commonly used for all kinds of struggle, including personal struggles,
physical struggles, or spiritual warfare– Most recently associated with armed conflict in support of
fundamentalist Islamic efforts to overthrow the West• Modern roots for armed conflict trace back to 18th century focus on
Islamic revivalism and strict application of Islamic law – Jihad is the only form of warfare permissible under Islamic law and may consist
in wars against unbelievers, apostates, rebels, highway robbers and dissenters renouncing the authority of Islam.
• The primary aim of jihad as warfare is not the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam by force, but rather the expansion and defense of the Islamic state (caliphate).– Jihadist groups/nations: Hamas (Palestinians), Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (Levant), Muslim Brotherhood, Taliban, Mujahedeen
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Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
Jihad Is Global
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International terrorism, domestic evil, slavery, human rights abuses,
murder, and battleground savagery of epic proportion.
The worst humanitarian and refugee crisis since World War II.
All perpetrated in the name of Islam.
Do you understand “why?”
Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As ThisDo We Worship the Same God? Are All Muslims the Same?
In the Next Lesson
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• Foundations of Islam– Abraham and Hagar– Ishmael, Hagar and sacrifice– Origin of the Ka’ba and Mecca– Biblical references to Arabs
• Keep an eye on current events– Come prepared to talk about Islam each week– Can you find issues related to each of the
spectrums of Islam?• Modernists? Islamists? Jihadists?
• Pray for God’s wisdom and revelation
