Speaking the Truth in Love to Muslims
Under Authority
Muslim and Islam are from the same Arabic word which means, "submit." Islam is a religion of submission and those who practice it have submitted themselves.
The idea of submission is certainly not new. Human societies are possible because the individual or groups submit their will, rights and freedoms to the good of the whole or the good of others. In the simplest terms, I have to slow my car down--or even bring it to a complete stop!--whenever there is a person walking across the street in front of me in the cross walk.
Now the question becomes, submit to whom? The answer gets complicated rather quickly.
I. Submission to God
A. Enshaalah (If God Wills)
The God of Islam, Allah, is very active in the world. Unlike some deities who are too far off to care for their adherents or too distracted to care for their worshippers, Allah is involved with people's lives. He demands right action and rewards good deeds. He punishes the evil-doer. He hears prayer. He has everything in a Muslim's life laid out for them. All that is required of them is that they submit to his will.
This attitude of "if God wills" easily translates into fatalism, destiny, fate, kismet!
How is fatalism different from the Christian view of God's providence?
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. Genesis 8.22
If a man will not work, he shall not eat. 2 Thessalonians 3.10
Recount the story of Matthew 2.13-14--The Holy Family's Escape to Egypt
Is a Christian to submit to the Triune God? Give some examples. When is this submission hard?
See Matthew 11.28-29
Hebrew 12.7-11
B. Sharia
Islam claims to govern the whole life of the Muslim. Not only their religious life, but every aspect of their daily life is regulated by laws and rules.
1. Koran
"There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet," the Shahada (Muslim Creed) goes. Submission to Allah means a Muslim will submit to Allah's will revealed in the Koran.
2. Hadith
There is a second source of Muslim belief--the Hadith. This is the traditional record of the sayings and deeds of the Prophet and his Companions. There is great dispute about these writings.
They have to be traced back to someone who saw the living Prophet (the Companions) and it can't contradict the Koran. Every Hadith, therefore, will have the line of witnesses and then the event or saying.
3. Qiyas (Reasoning)
Reasoned analogies from rules in the Koran and Hadith are applied to situations not explicitly covered by them. This gives the Koran the ability to address new, unforeseen situations.
4. Ijma' (Consensus)
When there is a seeming contradiction between Hadith or Qiyas, legal scholars are brought in. Their general agreement is taken as binding on the Muslim's life.
5. Ra'y (Human Reason)
When all other sources are exhausted and do not speak to a point, the human reasoning from an individual Muslim legal scholar can be used as a source of law.
Here's as good a place to talk about it as any. What rules the Muslim's life--Law or Gospel?
Let's get definitions first:
Law =
Gospel =
What rules the Christian's life--law or Gospel?
OK, let's see if you really grasp it. Explain the motivation that would lead the Moslem or Christian to do the following good works and explain them.
| Law | Gospel | Explanation | |
| Gotta get up to go to church | |||
| Gotta get up to go to the mosque | |||
| Will give money to the poor | |||
| Will fast during the month of Ramadan | |||
| Will give up chocolate for Lent | |||
| Want to go to Mecca | |||
| Want to go to Jerusalem | |||
| Won't drink beer while I am under 21 |
II. To Man
Caliphate/Uluma
The majority Mulsims (Sunni) believe the caliph is the rightful successor of Mohammed. As the sole ruler of the state, he is the guardian of the faith. The Caliphate continued until 1924, when it was abolished with the dissolution of the Ottoman Turkish Empire.
At times the caliphs were ungodly. Religious leadership was delegated through the Ulama. The Ulama was a group of widely recognized scholars trained in religious law. They interpreted the Sharia for the people.
Absolute submission was required of the Muslim to both the caliph and the Uluma.
Can you think of a similar situation in the United States without the religious overtones--a group of selected men interpret the laws for us?
1 Peter is a book on submission. Quickly list all those a Christian will submit to.
2.13-15
3.1
3.7
4.19
5.5
B. Caliphate/Imam
The minority Muslims (Shiite) believe the caliphate should have belonged to the direct descendents of Mohammed and was to be designated by the previous caliph. Rather than calling their leader caliph, they speak of him as the Imam.
The imam is not divine, but is infallible. He alone can interpret the Koran and makes legislation. Rather than being "committee law followers," like the Sunni, the Shiites follow a "law creator." The imam holds much the same position as the prophet Mohammed did. The last of the direct descendents of Mohammed, Ali, were killed in 661 at Najaf and his son Husain in 681 at Karbala.
This tradition of an "infallible strong man law giver" is present in the Christian church!
Guess which denomination this official teaching comes out of?
Adhering faithfully to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith, we teach and define as dogma divinely revealed, that the ________, when he speaks fulfilling the office of Pastor and Teacher of all Christians is endowed with infallibility in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals.
Now the harder part--what does that quote mean?
Rate these Christian denominations as to how they are organized, more like the Sunni (U-for Uluma) or like the Shia (I-for Imam!) traditions in Islam.
___ Lutherans
___ Methodists
___ Presbyterians
___ Anglicans
___ Congregationalists
___ Baptists
___ Greek Orthodox
III. Community
Perhaps the triumph of Islam is the sense of community it creates. The Arabia of Mohammed was a rough place. People were divided into families. Several families formed a clan. Several clans formed a tribe. Tribe warred against tribe to steal food, women and cattle. Sometimes they warred against others seemingly for the fun of it! The Arabian Peninsula was divided and, because of this, trade was dangerous, business difficult. It is sort of like the situation in Afghanistan right now, with all the feuding warlords holding control over different parts of the country and what some fear Iraq is heading towards.
Islam imposed a common thread of community over not only the Arabian Peninsula, but throughout the "House of Islam." The expression of their faith in the mosque and daily prayers, rule by religious leaders (even if it was only for appearance's sake), intellectual pursuits beyond making money in commerce and the spread of the Arabic language all bound different peoples and tribes together under one identity.
Islam also created a society that, in part, provided social services for its citizens. The Muslim attention to almsgiving expressed itself in the creation of hospitals, orphanages and other welfare systems. All these would be run out of the mosque, which was also the center of education. In this regard, the culture of Islam was very similar to the culture of Christianity in the Middle Ages with its monasteries, church orphanages, schools and hospitals.
Think of and discuss what makes America the "melting pot" it supposedly is.
How would a common religion make the "melting pot" even better?