VIII. Islam

     The founder, Muhammad, was born about 570 A.D., died June 8, 632 A.D.  His father is almost unknown and his mother died when he was six years old.  He was raised by a grandfather and an uncle.  His early years were spent amongst nomads and he eventually was employed by a rich widow named Khadija, who put him in charge of her caravans.  Eventually, he married her and was free to spend time thinking about the many religious ideas he had been exposed to.  Arabian tribal religion had a long history of spiritism and stone-worship, which was centered in Mecca.  One of the stone idols worshipped in Mecca was called Allah and was viewed as the tribal god of the Quraish.^[1]

     Muhammad, along with his dissatisfaction with the polytheism and superstition of his native Mecca, had been exposed to the monotheistic concepts of Jewish and Christian hermits and groups during his travels with the caravan.  He often went away to a cave on Mount Hira, three miles from Mecca, to meditate, fast, and had dreams while in seclusion.  When about forty years old, he received a vision one night in which the angel Gabriel appeared to him and began revealing what was written eventually in the Koran.  At first, he was uncertain of the source of the revelation.  In fact, on one occasion, when the angel commanded him to "recite" and he didn't, the angel grabbed him by the throat.  This disturbed Muhammad and he first thought the "angel" was really a demon, but Khadija and others encouraged him that God was communicating with him and, once he accepted that, then revelations came even more frequently.  Muhammad was not accepted in Mecca as a prophet, so he led a small group of followers to al-Medina (called the Hijira - July, 622 A.D.).  There he began to build a literal "army" of followers.  In 630 A.D., Muhammad's army was large enough to return and take Mecca.  He hoped the Jews and Christians would accept his message and was very favorable to the "People of the Book" at first.  However, his inaccurate stories from the Old Testament brought rejection and he turned against Jews and Christians.  One such distortion concerns the Messianic/covenant Promise to Abraham.  Muhammad claimed the covenant promise of Genesis 21:12-13 was made to Ishmael (Arabs) and not to Isaac (Jews).  With their rejection, Muhammad began to allege that the Jews had corrupted their Old Testament and the Christians had distorted the message of Jesus, claiming that the coming “Helper” Jesus referred to (John 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:7-15) was not the Holy Spirit, but Muhammad.  Muhammad's army eventually entered Mecca and then spread their faith through raiding parties moving outward in stages to the west, north, and east using the incremental “conquer & consolidate” method.

     Muhammad's revelations were often very convenient, when his life and desires are considered.  He was "allowed" to do things which were forbidden to all others by the Koran.

     1. He was allowed to have more than four wives

     2. He did not have to equally divide his time between them

     3. He married the divorced wife of his adopted son

     4. His wives did not have to wear the veil

     5. His wives were threatened with double punishment for unfaithfulness

     6. His wives were forbidden to marry after his death

Expansion and Division After Mohammed's Death

     After Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr, an early follower, became the first "Caliph" (successor/deputy of Muhammad).  Arab division and inter-tribal raiding was long a problem, but it was turned to advantage by the Caliphs.  They organized raiding expeditions toward Syria and Iraq, with the purpose of acquiring booty and domestic animals.  Rather than return to Medina after each raid, forward base camps were set up and Islam's borders expanded with each raid: Iraq/Mesopotamia (637), Jerusalem (638), Egypt (641), Persia (649), and most of Asia Minor (652).  Charles Martel met a raiding party at Tours, France (732) and successfully blocked Moslem expansion into Europe.  After 750 A.D., most expansion was eastward toward India.  Spain was lost to Islam in 1492 A.D., when the last Sultan of Granada was forced to surrender.

     Muhammad died without leaving any specific instructions concerning the selection of his successor.  Muhammad's claim to be the last and greatest of the prophets created a problem - who leads Islam after his death?  Three views arose.  First, the companions of Muhammad believed in the eligibility of any suitable "early believer from the tribe of Quraish.  Secondly, the aristocrats in Mecca wanted the Caliphate for the family of Umayga.  Third, the legitimists saw no need for "election" as the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, Ali, had been "divinely" designated.  Several major divisions of Islam arose in connection with the problem of succession and different views on how to relate to God and man.  The Sunni (from sunnah, lit.  "norm/customary practice") form the largest body of Islam, having succeeded by developing a system of several steps wherein they can adapt to new situations involving Islamic law and theology.  The Shi'a (lit. "party"), or "Shiite" sect, arose in response to the murder of Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, who they believed to be the intended successor of Muhammad.  Holding the view that the "Caliphate" was to be hereditary, this branch is a militaristic, "martyr" cult.  Shi'a dominates modern Iran.  Finally, the Sufi are the "mystic" sect of Islam, seeking direct personal experience with God.  The whirling "Dervish" order is Sufi.

The Beliefs of Islam

     The word "Islam" means submission and "Quran" (Koran) means “to recite.”  Allah maintains the whole creation by a continuous miracle.  The impression of human choice is Allah's creation. 

The Five Pillars of Islam are as follows.

     1. Recite the creed ‑ "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet."  Mere recital enrolls new converts in the ranks of Islam.

     2. Ritual prayers offered at five appointed times during each day.

     3. Fasting from dawn to dusk during the month of   Ramadan.

     4. Almsgiving ‑ legal requirement is 1/40 of money and merchandise; 1/10 or 1/20 of         agricultural produce (irrigation).

     5. Pilgrimage - once in his life, each Muslim is to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, in order to visit the Great Mosque (left) and the Kaaba (“black stone” - below).

     The duty of Jihad or Holy war is enjoined upon every capable male when called by a Caliph.  Death assures one of direct entrance into Paradise.

     There are four Arch-angels: Gabriel (messenger of revelation, confused with Holy Spirit), Michael (Guardian of the Jews), Israfil (summoner of resurrection), and Izrail (messenger of death).  There are two recording angels monitoring each person's life.  There are two angels who visit each newly buried corpse and they examine it in the faith of Islam.  Satisfactory answers are rewarded with peaceful sleep, but if the corpse does not acknowledge Muhammad as God's Prophet it is severely beaten.  Animals can hear the cries, but humans cannot.  Between angels and humans are "jinn" which can eat and drink, reproduce, believe or disbelieve, communicate with magicians, tempt people to do evil, appear as animals or humans, and possess people.

     Orthodox Islam is uncertain as to how many prophets there have been, estimating between 124,000 and 248,000.  The Koran lists 28, most of which are Biblical.  The six greatest prophets all brought new dispensations:  Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.

     The Last Day (resurrection and judgment) is unknown as to day or hour, but will be preceded by 25 signs.  At Judgment, all non-Muslims will go to the fires of hell.  Most Muslims will spend some time in Hell as a type of purgatory, but will not stay there long.  The martyrs and a few others will go directly to Paradise, where they will drink wine, lay on soft couches, and be served by beautiful maidens.

     Marriage is enjoined, but men are limited to only four wives (if they can afford them).  He may cohabit with all of his slave concubines.  A man may divorce a wife at any time for any reason, but the woman may not divorce the husband for any reason.  Muslims may not consume pork, blood or alcohol.  The demons and jinn may be used through magic.

Islam's Understanding of Christianity

     To begin with, Islam rejects the four Gospels as corrupted in favor of the Gnostic "Gospel of Barnabus."  This later non-canonical document was the basis of Muhammad's understanding of Jesus (see the following Koran references).  Muhammad believed that Jesus did not claim deity or accept worship (4:171; 5:116), he did not die on a cross (4:155,156), Jesus was NOT the "son of God" (19:34), nor did he die for human sin.  He thought the Christian "trinity" was the Father, Virgin, and child.  The Koran depicts Jesus as a prophet who was deified against his will by later followers.  Jesus foretold the coming of another prophet: Ahmad (61:6).  This is a variant on Muhammad and was based on his handling of John 14:17 and 15:26 (claimed to be Jesus foretelling Muhammad’s coming).  Moslems are taught that Jesus will come again, marry and have children, destroy the symbol of the cross and acknowledge Islam.  Thus, Islam rejects the deity of Jesus, vicarious atonement sacrifice, and His claims of being God's unique and special "Son."  Islam claims that Christians "blindly" follow the Bible, but it is actually they who embrace the Koran with "blind faith" – asking no questions, seeking no proofs or evidences, and allowing no critical investigation of either the text or content of the Koran.

"The Muslim believes this authoritative statement as the veritable Word of God.  And as such, he asks no questions, and he demands no proof."^[2]

Dissident Voices

     Aside from the three-way division within Islam (Shiite, Sunni, and Sufi), there are other voices of dissent.  In 1988, Salman Rushdie published a novel entitled The Satanic Verses,^[3] which was not flattering to Islam and soon led to assassination orders and a $6 million dollar price on his head, for which Rushdie had to spend a good deal of time in hiding.  Since that time, extremist terror-tactics have increased - bombings, assassinations, suspicious murders of ex-Muslim families in western lands (by execution teams?), atrocities against women in Muslim lands who are “unfaithful” with nothing done to the men involved, etc.  Professor Khaleel Mohammed, Assistant Professor at the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State University, was interviewed by Frontpage Magazine.com and asserted that the Koran (5:20-21) actually teaches that Israel DOES have a right to the land of Canaan and that most radical Moslems, calling for Israel’s destruction are wrong and do not read the Koran for themselves, but listen to radical clerics and imams for their beliefs.^[4]

Islam is Not a Religion of Peace

     Perhaps the issue of greatest concern for Westerners, be they Christian, Jewish, or even atheists, is that radical, fundamental Islam (as directed by the Koran) aims at world conquest and death to all “infidels” (i.e. non-Muslims).  Consider the Afghanistan man who in early 2006 was arrested for converting to Christianity and had to leave the country or be killed (right).  The original program of expand and forcibly convert (or kill) is still in effect.  Growing Muslim populations in Western lands will someday bring internal conflict, as the percentage of Muslims become large enough to exert political power in Western lands.  That day is close at hand for France and not far behind in Great Britain.  Christians have tolerated a great deal of more direct assault on our beliefs than a cartoon depicting Mohammad associated with bombings, which radical Muslims make a reasonable comparison.  While atheists and secularists have worked to marginalize largely tolerant Christianity in Western civilization, they should be more concerned with the spread of militant radical Islam, for they will be some of the first "infidels" to be removed if Islam takes over.

     To demonstrate the violent form of Islam moving into Europe, the pictures below were taken during the February 6, 2006 demonstration (reacting to a published cartoon) outside the Danish Embassy in London and the signs speak for themselves.  Western civilization values freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but these folks are showing us what they are ready to do when "offended."  Western contractors and military people are not the only people being killed in Iraq -  Shiite and Sunni Muslims, stirred up by radical and power-hungry imams and clerics, are killing each other also.

     In early June, 2006, over a dozen people were arrested as an Islamic plot was uncovered that aimed to blow up a number of Canadian parliamentary buildings, the CBC building, and behead the Canadian Prime Minister.  Many Muslims are peaceful people, but the number of radicals willing to commit major acts of violence and destruction seems to be large enough (and growing) to at least warrant serious concern amongst those in the West who do not have their heads in the sand!  Moderate Muslims may be opposed to the attacks (and methods) of these radicals, but don’t expect the moderates to be able to control them either because they know these guys will go after them as well if they get too vocal.  This seems reminiscent of how Hitler’s forces came to control Germany - intimidate opponents until they are “out of the picture” (one way or another) and do whatever is necessary to advance your cause.

     From its beginnings, Islam has been a religion of hate towards non-Muslims and Muhammad himself beheaded people (according to Islamic sources).  The Koran repeatedly calls for the death of those who will not convert to Islam, often by beheading.^[5]  As Constantine’s experiment went off-course, centuries after Christianity began, Roman Catholicism did become militaristic and forced conversions in Northern Europe, but the New Testament does not advocate any of this.  However, Islam began with military conquest (Muhammad returned to Mecca with an army to seize power) and then spread westward across North Africa and Eastward towards Persia with raiding parties that conquered, consolidated, and conquered some more (630-750 A.D.).  Following the Crusades, which Islam generally won, the West lived peacefully with Islam/Middle East for centuries until Iran was taken over by a fundamentalist Muslim regime in the later 20^th century.  Since then, the Middle East has been marked by increasing turmoil that is now reaching out into Western Europe, The United States, and Canada.  Politically-minded fundamentalist Clerics and Imams are willing to use religion to incite their followers to go kill infidels and the promise of “instant paradise” for men dying in Jihad has “sanctified” this mentality for many followers.  From its origins, Islam has been a religion of aggression.  The radicals, with Quranic support, insist that they are the true followers of Islam.

Charles E. McCoy

2006/05/30