Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: Islam Final

Political Islam, Domination, and Violence Islam and Your Future Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 1 Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 2 Learning about Islam • Nearly everyone remembers where they were on September 11, 2001. • We have all learned more about Islam in the last 25 years. • But often political correctness has clouded clear thinking about Islam. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 3 PC Statement #1: Muhammad is just like every other religious founder. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 4 Muhammad “Muhammad, it will be recalled, was not only a prophet and a teacher, like the founders of other religions; he was also the head of a polity and of a community, a ruler and a soldier.” Bernard Lewis, The Roots of Muslim Rage,” Atlantic Monthly, September 1990. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 5 Muhammad • Was born AD 570 and received revelations in AD 610 which were recorded and became the Qur'an (“recitation”). • He was rejected for his preaching in Mecca and his rage began to surface. • His uncle rejected his message and Muhammad singled him out for judgment in hell (Sura 111:15). Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 6 Muhammad • After being rejected for his preaching in Mecca, fled to Medina in 622. • He raided caravans and fought a number of battles while in Medina (especially the Battle of Badr). • Led 10,000 men in taking Mecca. • Died in 632. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 7 Muhammad and Jesus • Muslims believe that Muhammad is the “seal of the prophets” (Sura 33:40). • The Qur’an teaches that he was a man like us (Sura 18:110), and Allah told Muhammad that he must repent of his sins (Sura 40:55). • Jesus claimed to be God (John 8:58). • The Bible teaches that Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21). Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 8 PC Statement #2: Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 9 Islam and Christianity • The foundational doctrine of Islam is monotheism. • The Qur’an teaches that Allah is one God and anyone who rejects this is guilty of the sin of shirk. • Christianity teaches that there is one God in three persons (the Trinity). Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 10 Islam and Christianity • Allah is exalted and removed from mankind. • Allah deals with the world through his word (the Qur’an) and his prophets (Muhammad). • Jesus came into the world that we might know God (John 17:3). • God so loved the world (John 3:16) that He sent His son. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 11 Islam and Christianity Allah Yahweh • Unitarian Monotheism • Master/Slave Relationship • Allah determines all • Allah is author of good and evil • Trinitarian Monotheism • Father/Son or Daughter Relationship • Sovereign and Free will • Always good Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 12 The Love of God • Seminary conducted a survey of 600 former Muslims who had become Christians. • One of the factors involved in the conversions was the emphasis on the love of God and the intimacy that believers can have with God as their heavenly Father. • When you witness to a Muslim, make sure you share the love of God. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 13 PC Statement #3: Islam is a religion of peace Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 14 The Spread of Islam Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 15 The Sword of Islam • After Muhammad’s death in AD 632, Muslim armies swept east through the Fertile Crescent and west through Northern Africa. • They would have taken all of Europe if the Muslim armies had not been repelled by Charles Martel in AD 732. • Muslim armies were defeated at the gates of Vienna on September 11, 1683. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 16 What Does Jihad Mean? • (Sura 9:73) “Strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode is Hell, and evil refuge indeed.” • “Strive hard” in Arabic is jahidi, which is a verbal form of the noun jihad. • The traditional interpretation was that this striving was to be on the battlefield. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 17 Muslim Interpretation • Islamic theology divides the Qur'an into the “Meccan” and “Medinan” suras. • The Meccan suras come from Muhammad’s career as a prophet. • In Medina, his positions hardened and are also filled with matters of law and ritual. • And this includes exhortations to jihad. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 18 Muslim Interpretation • The verses in the Qur'an that talk about peace and tolerance date from the Meccan period. • The Islamic doctrine of abrogation (naskh) which means that Allah can change or cancel what he tells Muslims (Sura 2:106). • Thus, the verses of the sword abrogate the peaceful verses. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 19 PC Statement #4: The Qur’an and the Bible are both violent books Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 20 The Qur’an • Sura 9:5 – “Fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them, and seize them, beleager them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem.” • Sura 9:29 – “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Prophet, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 21 Old Testament 1 Samuel 15:2-3 – “Thus says the Lord of hosts, I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 22 Key Difference • In the Old Testament, there was a direct and specific command to fight against a particular group of people. • These commands given during the Old Testament theocracy apply only to those people at that time. • The passages in the Qur’an apply to all unbelievers at all times. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 23 New Testament • Contrast this will the many commands to believers in the New Testament. • Believers are called upon to love their enemies (Matthew 5:44) and to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39). • A literal interpretation of the New Testament calls for Christians to be peace-loving. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 24 PC Statement #5: The Qur’an and the Bible are basically the same Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 25 Similarities • Islam and Christianity are both religions of the book. • The Qur’an and the Bible both claim divine revelation. • Both religions claim that the book of their revelation has been accurately preserved through the centuries. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 26 Differences • The Qur’an teaches (Sura 5:116) that Christians worship three gods: the Father, the Mother (Mary) and the Son (Jesus). • But the Bible actually teaches that there is one God in three persons (the Trinity). Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 27 Differences • The Qur’an says (Sura 37:100-111) that Abraham was going to sacrifice Ishmael. • The Bible teaches that Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 28 Differences • The Qur’an teaches (Sura 4:157) that Jesus was not crucified. • The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 29 Christianity • God is three persons • Jesus is second person in the Trinity. • Jesus rose from the dead. • Bible is Word of God. • Humans are sinful by nature. • Salvation by grace. Islam • God is absolute one • Jesus was a major prophet but not God. • Jesus did not die on the cross or rise. • Bible is corrupted. • Humans are good by nature. • Salvation by works. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 30 PC Statement #6: We are fighting a war on terror Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 31 War on Terror? • We are fighting a war without a name. • We are not engaged in a “war on terror.” • We are not even engaged in a war against Al Qaeda. • We can’t win if we can’t name the enemy. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 32 War on Terror? • Current conflicts involving Islam: Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Philippines, Somalia. • Attacks have been against the UK, Spain, France, the United States, etc. • The war is more than just a military battle in countries in the Middle East. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 33 Islam and the Mosques • Of the 1400 mosques in America, 90% have been built in the last 20 years with Wahhabi funds from Saudi Arabia. • The 9/11 hijackers received support from at least seven U.S. mosques. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 34 PC Statement #7: There are lots of moderate Muslims Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 35 Moderate Muslims? • The Qur'an is in difficult, classical Arabic, and most Muslims are not Arab. • Many Muslims contextualize the message of the Qur'an. • One American Muslim spokesman often presented as a moderate is Siraj Wahhaj, who was the first Muslim to give an invocation to the U.S. Congress. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 36 Siraj Wahhaj • After the attack of September 11 he said, “I now feel responsible to preach, actually to go on a jihad against extremism.” • That was just what the media and the American people wanted to hear. • But he has also warned that the U.S. will fall unless it “accepts the Islamic agenda.” Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 37 Islam, Women, and Children 1. Child Marriage is acceptable in Islam. 1. Mohammed’s married Aisha at age 6, but consummated the marriage at age 9. 2. In many Islamic nations, age nine is the acceptable age for marriage. 2. A Muslim man may have four wives, but many sex slaves captured in battle. 3. In a court of Islamic Law, a woman’s testimony is considered as only half of a man’s testimony Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 38 Islam, Women, and Children 1. The Muslim man seeks paradise where he will be rewarded with 72 virgins. He may rape these virgins for eternity. 2. The Muslim woman has an uncertain future in eternity. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 39 Islam, Women, and Children From Abraham Kuyper: Women are involved very little in public religious life. The larger mosques have designated a sort of gallery for women at the back or side of the building, but the small size of most of the galleries indicates how little they are frequented. Women in large number are seen only in the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and then only during Ramadan, when women are allowed out after sunset. This is the precise opposite to the Christian world. In our churches women generally outnumber men; in the mosque there are many more men than women. This is undoubtedly an advantage for Islam. A nation in which males from all walks of life are bound to its religious practices fares uncommonly better than a nation whose religion is more withdrawn from public life and left to the women. The absence of song, music, and mystical ceremonies or sacraments leaves Islam with little sense of feeling. The many body movements required by prayer are more easily attained by men than women. It is unlikely for women to return to the mosque since they find its religion is not to their taste. It caters to the man since it is organized almost exclusively around the notion of the man as head in the tent and as the intrepid warrior battling for Allah. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 40 Islam, Women, and Children • In Islam the female is merely incidental. She is no more than a footnote to the male and, ideally, is denied any independent existence. It is even doubted whether women have a future after death. The paradise that the Prophet dangled before the eyes of his fearless faithful as a sparkling world of neverending opulence was exclusively for men and not women. It is indeed a high honor when, by some exception, the latter get in. Women are not definitively ruled out of Paradise but over their future destiny lies a thick fog that cuts off almost all hope. The subservient role to which the Prophet assigned women is at the same time the Achilles heel of his regime. It was a devastating social blunder, the guilt of which is all the more serious since Muhammad once knew Christianity and the high esteem in which it holds women. By contrast, he reduced women to little more than the subordinate objects of manly lust. In so doing he sealed the ignominious fate of more than half of his religious following for over twelve centuries by now. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 41 Islam, Women, and Children This undervaluing of women has even spilled over into the world of children, with devastating results. The Muslim woman considers bearing a son much superior to having a girl. Consequently, many girls were smothered in the harem, something that went relatively unnoticed because the police were unable to gain access there. This grossly inferior standing of women is not a consequence of polygamy, since by its nature polygamy is the exception, found almost exclusively among the better off. First of all, the supply of women would fall far short of providing two or three women for every man, as an expanded system of polygamy would require. In addition, maintaining more than one wife is unthinkable for men on a limited income. Then too, the Qur’an prescribes that what one receives must also be shared with another; under polygamy, the lot of all women in the same harem must thus be the same. Even in the days of the holy wars, when women were carried off as spoils of war, polygamy was naturally restricted by the limits of a man’s income. Clearly, then, the low status of women does not stem from polygamy. Just the opposite: polygamy has emerged from the low status of women. Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 42 “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9–11, ESV) Shepherds College: Homeschool Curriculum: World Religions: Is lam 43