Islam and Jesus

koran quotes

*** Messages from the Koran (that you won't hear on TV) ***

[4:56] Those that deny our revelations we will burn in fire. No
sooner will their skins be consumed than we shall give them other
skins, so that they may truly taste the scourge, surely Allah is
mighty, wise.

[8.12] When your Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you,
therefore make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the
hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and
strike off every fingertip of them.

[9:5] When the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you
find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere
for them.

[5.51] O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for
friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you
takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah
does not guide the unjust people.

comment

Paracletes,

Unfortunately, this is only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.  There are
also many points where the benefits of martyrdom are discussed (within the
legalistic system that includes the impossibility of knowing "god" or having
a personal relationship with him).

One of our dilemmas, which I think surfaced in the President's speech the
other day, is, on the one hand, (a) to discourage random "hate crimes"
against a class of people, who, like all people, are made in the image of
the True and Living God (Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech Ha-Olam), and, on the
other hand, (b) explain a few things clearly and rationally about Islam and
the Koran.

1)  Islam is not, as Muslims claim, some sort of historic continuation of
Judaism and Christianity as revealed in the Tanach and New Testament
writings.  All claims to supercede (as Mohammed claimed himself to be a
prophet in the "tradition" of prophets) the Bible are unequivocally false.

2)  The god of Islam is not the God of the Bible in any way, shape, or form.
Despite the fact that Muslims may appear to adhere to a moral law, their
lawgiver is not the One who spoke with Moses.  Muslims may refer to names
such as Ibrahim, Abu Mussa (father Moses), and so on, but they are not the
same persons who knew Our Lord.

3)  To say that Islam and Muslims worship the same god as others who have a
"monotheistic" faith is a very clever way of positioning Islam within the
Judeo-Christian historical framework, thereby legitimizing the "faith" of
Muslims.

4)  The Koran, like the Book of Mormon (and there are many similarities),
portrays a very different Jesus.  Obviously, when Muslims claim that they,
too, "believe in Jesus," that name refers to a fictitious character who
never lived, who was not the Messiah of whom the Law, Prophets, and Writings
of the Tanach clearly foretold.  This Jesus (or Isa), did not die on a
cross, and neither did He rise from the grave, to reveal Himself to hundreds
of eyewitnesses.

5)  While there may be many noble and very notable works that have been done
by Muslim scholars (notably during the Golden Age of Judaism in Spain and in
other parts of the Middle East when Europe was deep into the Dark Ages), it
is not a result of faith in the One God who created the heavens and earth
according to Genesis, Y-H-V-H.  A monotheistic worldview, just as a theistic
worldview, is capable of allowing the individual to infer certain principles
of nature and so on, but it is best to consider that coincidental, rather
than say that it comes from a belief in the "same god" of the Jews and
Christians.

As with the Book of Mormon, apologetics has its problems with the Koran.  It
claims to be revelation, which indeed humankind needs.  So, it needs to be
held to the same kinds of textual criticism that Western Philosophers have
subjected the Bible to.  Of course, this is not allowed in Muslim thought.
The Koran, or "Recitation", is above reproach and cannot be questioned,
probed, or subjected to criticism.

It also behooves all believers in Jesus to remain in solidarity with Jews,
believers or not, who have been the targets of hate for millennia.  Maybe we
should read Anne Frank and Auntie Corrie a few more times to understand the
venom that the enemy has in store for a people who are identified merely by
the often ambiguous and under-defined term Jewish.  True believers do
believe in the God of Israel, and our Messiah is the King of the Jews.

We will all see the media continue to plead for understanding Islam and the
"real" Muslims and their "peaceful cause"--as Muhammed Ali pleaded so
effectively.  We will hear the word fundamentalists used to refer to people
from fanatic suicide bombers to born-again Christians.  We need to be able
to give a reason for the hope that is within us, in love (needless to say),
but also in truth.  This is a good time to be wise as serpents but gentle as
doves, as we walk humbly with Our God.

God, grant us the wisdom and the grace to speak the truth and live according
to Your Word.