Islam: What every Christian should know

Islam had its origins in the Middle East. The four largest populations of Muslims are Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today (there are between 1.2 and 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, nearly 25% making it the 2nd largest religion after Christianity at about 33% or 2.1 billion).

In America, they’re at least 7 million and quickly rising. There were 11,000 converts to Islam each year in the United States in the early 90s (Newsweek, Oct. 30, 1995) and 90% of them are among the black population. The word Islam, meaning submission, says much about the attitude of the followers of Islam.

Origin
Islam traces its lineage to the firstborn son of Abraham by Hagar, Ishmael. (Gen 16:16). The Jews trace their lineage to Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah who had been promised by God. Muhammad Ibne Abdullah founded Islam. He was born at or around 570 A.D. in the city of Mecca, which is now located in Saudi Arabia. He was orphaned early in his life and tradition says that he was raised by his grandfather and then his uncle, Abu Talib.

Muhammad was a poor man until he married a wealthy widow named Khadija. At about the age of 40, Muhammad is said to have begun to see visions and receive revelations. He had 9 wives but in his day, those who had more than 4 were commanded to divorce them. He was the only one exempt from this rule. One of his wives was 9-year-old Aisha Siddique who he married when he was 56 years old.

Writings
Qur’an. The Qur’an is considered to be Allah’s final revelation to humanity and is said to have been revealed to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel over a period of 26 years.
The Hadith are a collection of oral traditions surrounding the sayings and teachings of the prophet Muhammad. Both are widely accepted among Muslims.

The 5 pillars
The 1st pillar is Shahadah. As a profession of this faith, they would say, in Arabic, “I testify that there is only one god Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger.” The 2nd pillar of Islam is Salat. This requires a Muslim to pray five times a day at specific times. The 3rd pillar is Zakaat. This is alms-giving which is required from all who are able to do so. Sawm, the 4th pillar, is ritual fasting during the season of Ramadan. Muslims have to abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk during this month. The 5th pillar is the Haji. Every able Muslim is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime if they can afford it.

What Muslims believe
Muslims believe that Allah is their god. During the days of Muhammad, each Arab tribe used the word Allah to refer to its own particular god. Before Islam began, the moon god was the central focus of prayer and worship at Kabah. Interestingly the moon god was worshiped by praying toward Mecca several times a day, making an annual pilgrimage to the Kabah which was the temple of the moon god, running around the Kabah seven times, touching a black stone set in the wall of the Kabah and gathering on Fridays for prayer and giving of alms to the poor. These were all part of the pagan rites practiced by the Arabs long before Muhammad was born and they still serve as “the five pillars” of Islam practiced today.

Muslims generally are among the most serious and devout people on the earth. Many of them have completely memorized the Koran. They pray at least five times a day. They fast for one month every year (during Ramadan, from sunrise to sunset). Islam does have a high standard of morality called the “straight path,” which must be strictly maintained. Women are regarded as possible temptations which would lead men away from the path, so women must be modest to the point of being veiled and wearing clothing that completely covers them. Rape victims according to the Koran have to produce 4 male witnesses of good character to say that they were raped or they will be charged with adultery and stoned according to Islamic tradition. Also according to the Koran, all a man has to do to divorce his wife is say Talaq 3 times. For women of course getting a divorce is much harder.

Moslems belief that the moment they blow themselves up, taking ‘infidels’ with them, they will be transported to a heaven where 72 virgins will satiate their lusts and food and drink will satisfy their every appetite. This is why some of the 9/11 terrorists were frequenting porn shops just before their attacks

True Christianity is spread by love and choice – Islam is spread by sword and force.
Islam is a religion of works which was created by a warlord. Muhammad conquered territories and then rallied the conquered peoples around one central religion, which he created. Islam is a religion bathed in bloodshed. Islam clearly teaches that all non-Muslims who refuse to be persuaded be killed as stated in the following verses from Qur’an:

"But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful." (Surah 9:5)

"O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him). “(Surah 9:123)

"Fight those who believe not in Allah or the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." (Surah 9:29)

Surah 9:29 “Fight against such of those who have been given the Scriptures (Bible) as believers not in Allah…”

Surah 5:51 “O you who believe: Take not Jews and Christians for your friends…”

Surah 60:4 “And there has arisen between us and you hostility and hate forever until you believe in Allah only.”

According to Professor Gabriel Weismann of Haifa University, “There are some 4,800 terrorists or terrorist related Web sites currently on the Internet.” Not every Muslim is a terrorist or a terrorism supporter, but almost every terrorist today is a Muslim! And because of what the Qur’an says, every Muslim is high risk to one day rise up against us.

True Christianity worships the eternally self-existent God who spoke the world into being. Islam worship a god named Allah who is not eternal and who created nothing. James 2:19.

Is Islam a peaceful religion?
Many moderate Muslims would say yes but action speaks louder than words. Jerry Rassamni, a former Muslim extremist who converted to Christ, wrote the book “From Jihad to Jesus.” He writes, “In Islam, the world is traditionally divided into two camps. Those are Dar Al Islam (literally house of Islam or submission) meaning House of Peace, and Dar Al Harb (House of War).

Salman Rushdie had a fatwa (an Islamic death sentence upon someone who is considered an infidel, apostate or a blasphemer) was issued against him by Ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran, in February 1989. He remains under British government protection till today.

After a Danish newspaper displayed 12 cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad in 2005 and early 2006, violent protests erupted around the world. Muslims throughout the Middle East and Africa rioted. They burned embassies and churches and fought with police; at least 200 people died and many more were injured. More recently, the preacher from Georgia, Terry Jones, who planned to torch 200 copies of the Qur’an, may face a $200,000 bill for policing costs during the firestorm his plan created, The Gainesville Sun newspaper reported.

In September 2001, at least 915 people were killed as Christian-Muslim violence flared in northern Nigeria. The following year, more than 200 died in rioting in the northern city of Kaduna. The first spate of violence of 2010 started on 17 January at Jos in Nigeria and lasted at least four days. Houses, churches, mosques and vehicles were set ablaze during the fighting. At least 200 people were killed. In the same area, hundreds of people died in fresh clashes in March 2010. According to the New York Times, the slaughtered villagers were, Yoruba, mostly Christians, slain by machete attacks from the Hausa-Fulani, a group of Muslim herdsmen. Hundreds more left the scene of the attack in case the perpetrators returned.

Christianity versus Islam
In the Koran there are no miracles performed by Mohammed or anyone else. There is not a single mention of the love of Allah for the world or the people in it. There are many laws and strict warnings of the penalty of not keeping the laws. The concept of having a relationship with Allah is not found anywhere in the Koran. But Christians understand that Christianity is not about moral laws or religious practices — it is about a relationship with a living Savior, Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:8-11.

The greatest tension between Christian and Muslims is the difference between Muhammad and Jesus Christ. To Muslims, Jesus was a prophet but not the Son of God. While Christians understand that Jesus was not a way to God, He is the only way to heaven. John 14:6-7. For Muslims, evangelism is not so much by the word as it is with the sword. The followers of Mohammad have been the most violent people in the history of the world, and continue to be so to this day — a fact well attested to in history. Jesus taught that we are to love the sinner. Mohammed taught that the infidel must be killed if he refuses to convert.

Islamic Methods of Conversion
According to the Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HUT) conference 1994, Muslims have been instructed to specifically target problem groups for conversion. These include teenage girls, people with social problems, the recently bereaved and victims of abuse as children. These people are considered to be weak willed and easily manipulated. Once identified, the Muslim will try to convince their target that Islam will magically solve all their problems. Muslim men are to target non-Muslim girls with plain or unattractive physical, facial or body features. These girls would not be accustomed to this attention and would do anything to maintain a relationship.

Muslims work in groups when converting, with one person forming a very close friendship with their target. The group works to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the person involved and then will work accordingly. If for example, the person loves sport, they go on about how Islam actively encourages sport and how all the world's best sportsmen such as Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson are Muslims. If the person has a strongly anti-white attitude, then they will stir up racial hatred against whites even more by talking about past white injustices against them. This policy has been used effectively with African-Americans, with whom they talk about the slave trade and give Malcolm X as role model. The poor are offered well-paid jobs with Muslim businesses providing they convert.

Political Strategies of Islam
Islam is a religion committed to making EVERYONE Muslim. It is the duty of every Muslim to wage Jihad (Holy War) against infidels and unbelievers (what the Koran calls non-Muslims) and make them submit to Islam. Violence against unbelievers is encouraged in the Koran, if gentle persuasion doesn’t work. The HUT and other Muslim groups aim to make FRANCE, an Islamic Republic by the year 2015 and Britain by 2025 through conversions, immigration and high Muslim birth rate. Please take time to watch the stunning video below titled Muslim Demographics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU

Conclusion
Violence had been part of Islam from its inception as a religion. World domination is its current goal. It is intent on
1) Dominating the entire Middle East
2) Wiping Israel off the map
3) Fulfilling what it sees as its mission of bringing the entire world into a state of submission to the religion of Muhammad. It's already happening in Europe.

Human governments cannot stop Islam; it is a religion governed by a violent principality. Only born-again believers who are strong in the Lord can tame it. The Almighty God is not afraid of Islam. “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.” Psalms 2: 4. The Lord laughs at the attempt by Muslims to dominate the world with their religion. The enemy behind the Islamic propagation is Satan, a defeated foe. Let us join the Lord Jesus in asking the Father who admonished us to “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession”. Psalms 2:8.

GRACE

Many of us are like the poet Heinrich Heine who said, “My nature is the most peaceful in the world. All I ask is a simple cottage, a decent bed, good food, some flowers in front of my window, and a few trees beside my door. Then, if God wanted to make me completely happy, he would let me enjoy the spectacle of six or seven of my enemies dangling from those trees. I would forgive them all the wrongs they have done me from the bottom of my heart, for we must forgive our enemies. But not until they are hanged.”

In the secular world, we are taught mottos such as: the early bird gets the worm, no pain no gain, there is no such thing as a free lunch, demand your rights, you get what you pay for. These are all merit-based virtues. We are brought in a world where you get things done by your might and power. Then you read what God spoke to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4:6-7, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it”. Then we came to know Christ, the antithesis of merit.

Grace: God’s favor that is unearned, undeserved and unrepayable.

Grace is a gift that costs everything to the giver and nothing to the receiver. It is given to those who don’t deserve it, barely recognize it, and hardly appreciate it. God sought us out when we had our backs turned on Him. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. Romans 5:6-8

It is important to understand grace because God does not use men based on merit. The grace of God is demonstrated in the kinds of people He used in the Bible. Such persons include:
Rahab, a harlot
David, the murderer and adulterer
Jacob, the cheat and liar
Noah, who got drunk after the flood
Moses, the murderer with a hot temper
Jonah, who disobeyed because he did not understand grace of God
Peter, who denied the Lord
James & John, who piously thought they were the greatest
Paul, who killed Christians in the name of religion

Grace teaches us that there is nothing you can do to make God love you more. There is nothing you can do to make God love you less. In Jesus Christ, our value in God’s Kingdom is set from the very beginning. Our value does not depend on our position, status or ability but upon the person of Jesus Christ.

The example of Christ
The Lord Jesus had God’s grace upon Him. “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him”. Luke 2:40, John1:14
The Lord Jesus accomplished all he did by the grace of God. “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”. John 1:16-17. Even the death on the cross was by the grace of God.
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone”. Hebrews 2:9
The Lord Jesus was grace personified. 2 Corinthians 13:14. None of us can relate with Christ without grace. Even the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of grace in Hebrews 10:29.

No Christianity without grace
1. No one can be saved without grace. According to Ephesians 2:8–9
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”. Our gospel is the gospel of grace. The good news is good only because of grace. Acts 20:24, Titus 2:11.
We are justified by the grace of God and our redemption from the sin market is by grace also. Romans 3:24, Eph 1:6-7.
2. Our calling is by grace. Gal 1:15.
3. Grace is a gift from God to us. “Who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time 2 Tim 1:9
4. Believers in Jesus are under grace, not under the law. Romans 6:14
5. The Word of God is the Word of His grace. The impact of the Word in your life is based on grace. Acts 20:32
6. Our faith works by grace. Romans 4:16
7. Spiritual gifts come to us by grace. Romans 12:6, Eph 4:7
8. You are who you are in Christ by the grace of God with each of us receiving unique parcel of grace from our Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15:10, Ephesians 4:7.
You can only serve the Lord by grace. Your success in the ministry depends on the grace of God. Ephesians 3:7, 1 Peter 4:10.
9. Our ability and desire to give are grace-driven. 2 Corinthians 8:1-7, 2 Corinthians 9:8.
10. In prayer, we approach our Father who sits on the throne of grace. Hebrews 4:16
11. The last verse in the Bible speaks of grace. Without grace, the Bible has no meaning. Revelation 22:21

Grace Multipliers
There are 3 things that increase the grace of God in our lives: the knowledge of God, humility and holiness. You grow in grace as your knowledge of the Lord increases. 2 Peter 3:18, 2 Tim 2:1, 2 Peter 1:2. As we draw closer to God, we become more aware of our inadequacies versus God’s awesomeness. We come to understand the importance of grace for such a God to choose to work in and through our lives.

Humility before the Lord is a grace multiplier. James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5-6. Humility is attractive to God and brings His grace to us. Holiness unto the Lord is another grace multiplier. Heb 12:14-16.