To judge the moral equivalency of Christianity with Islam, we must have a general understanding of Islam and what its followers profess to be truth. This understanding comes as we briefly explore the nature of Islam and its concepts, beliefs, and practices that are fundamental to the Muslim faith.
Sources of Islamic belief and law
• Qur’an – The revelations of God (Allah) to his prophet Muhammad over a twenty two year period in the seventh century.
• Sharia law – the Islamic moral code and religious law which deals with the institutions and daily life of the ummah (Muslim community).
• “Hadith” – Other words and deeds attributed to Muhammad but not found in the Qur’an.
• The rulings of the Islamic legal authorities (the “ulema”—its scholars, sheikhs, clerics, and muftis—both past and present).
• Historical texts that document jihad against Christendom over the centuries.[1]
Anti-Christian nature of the Qur’an
Islam’s ultimate authority lies in the words of Muhammad as recorded in the Qur’an,[2] purported to be revelations from Allah. The Quran (Koran) is intrinsically anti-Christian as shown by the following verses:
Christian Trinity – “They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a Trinity : for there is no god except One Allah.” [Quran 5:76]
Christ is not God – “In blasphemy indeed are those that say that Allah is Christ the son of man…” [Quran 5:19]
Christians are infidels and enemies of Islam who must be subjugated – “…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)…[Quran 9:5] “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Apostle, 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. [Quran 9:29]
Jews and pagans were considered by Muslims as the most hostile to Islam and least likely to convert. However, Christians are supposed to have a greater affinity for the message of Islam and can be expected to convert. Therefore, defenders of Islam who claim that it is a religion of peace often point to a number of verses in the Quran that seem to be quite friendly to Christianity. [See: Quran 5:82-93]
However, such verses are misleading because of the doctrine of “abrogation” (an instance of repealing). There are many contradictory verses in the Qur’an. To handle the resulting confusion as to what the Qur’an actually meant, early Islamic jurisprudence determined that whenever contradictory verses were found, the verse from later revelations of Muhammad would abrogate or cancel out the verse from his earlier pronouncements. This is confirmed by the Qur’an itself. “None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten but We substitute something better or similar : knowest though not that Allah hath power over all things? [Quran 2:106] Synonyms for abrogate are repeal, revoke, abolish, and nullify.
The Christian friendly verses were voiced by Muhammad early in his career when he had no power. Those verses were replaced by Qur’an 9:29 (see above) and many others verses that are exceedingly hostile and intolerant to Christians and which were voiced later in his career when he had attained power.[3] In accordance with the doctrine of abrogation, the earlier Christian-friendly verses were repealed and caused to be forgotten.
Jihad
One must understand that the ultimate goal of Muslims is to conquer and subject the world to Islamic rule. Jihad is the unending Muslim holy war designed to conquer the world by converting or subjugating infidels and eliminating those that stand in their way. In the Encyclopedia of Islam, jihad is required because the “…spread of Islam by arms is a religious duty upon Muslims in general…Jihad must continue to be done until the whole world is under the rule of Islam…”[4] If there is any doubt as to the purpose of jihad in Islam, Muslim scholar, philosopher, and historian Ibn Khadum has settled the issue.
In the Muslim community, the holy war [jihad] is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and the obligation to convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force…The other religious groups did not have a universal mission…They are merely required to establish their religion among their own people…But Islam is under obligation to gain power over the nations.[5]
Jizya
In a Muslim dominated society, Jizya is tribute money required to be paid by People of the Book (Christians) “…with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.” Again, we refer to Quran 9:29 (see above) to confirm this requirement. There are also many other verses that require infidels to be despised and systematically humiliated. Ibn Kathir further illuminates the heinous meaning of the Quran.
Allah said, “until they pay the jizya,” if they do not choose to embrace Islam, “with willing submission,” that is, in defeat and subservience, “and feel themselves subdued,” that is, disgraced, humiliated, and belittled. Therefore, Muslims are not allowed to honor the dhimmis or elevate them above Muslims, for they are miserable, disgraced, and humiliated.[6]
From the very earliest years following Muhammad’s death, the particulars of how Christians were to be made to feel themselves subdued were spelled out in precise detail in a document called The Conditions of Omar (Omar bin al-Khattab who reigned from 634-644). These conditions and restrictions were intended to humiliate and degrade Christians in every aspect of their lives life under Muslim rule including religion, business, housing, public demeanor, speech, dress, and deference to Muslims.[7]
Caliphate
Under Islamic rule there is no separation of church and state. The Caliphate is a unified government that rules the ummah, which is the entire Muslim community. As Allah is the only lawgiver, there is no legislature, and Muslims consider the caliphate as the highest type of political organization. Where human governments rule in the Muslim world, they only exist to enforce Allah’s law. From the very beginning of Islamic rule by caliphs, each would choose a location in which to base his empire. Prior Sunni caliphates ruled from Damascus, Baghdad, and Istanbul. The Ottoman Empire was the last Sunni caliphate and was ruled for 500 years by Ottoman sultans. The Turkish Grand National Assembly abolished the caliphate in 1924.[8]
Caliph (Imam)
Allah’s vicegerent on earth is the Caliph or supreme leader that governs the Muslim community. He is charged with administering and enforcing Sharia law by rendering “righteous judgement” between men. One of the puzzlements of non-Muslims is the reason for the incessant fighting between Muslims sects. Muhammad died in 632 but did not leave instructions as to selection of his successor. The Sunnis believe that any believer in Allah was eligible to fill the office of Caliph. The Shias believed that the Imams (their word for Caliph) must come from Muhammad’s bloodline. Following Muhammad’s death the first three caliphs were Sunnis but severely criticized as being wealthy tyrants. The fourth caliph was Ali, a cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, considered to be the first caliph eligible to fill the office because he was of the prophet’s bloodline. Ali was murdered and replaced by a Mu-Awiyah, a Sunni caliph who set up his capital in Damascus. This was the beginning of the schism in Islam that is as intense today as it was at its beginning in the seventh century.[9] About ninety percent of the world’s one billion plus Muslims are Sunnis, and the remainder is Shiites[10] who reside mostly in Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon.
In Part III we shall examine the growth and subsequent decline of the Muslim empire and Christendom’s response in the Middle Ages. Following that, we shall examine the modern misinterpretation of Muslim history and culture as well as the distortion of Christian history and the Crusades.
Larry G. Johnson
Sources:
[1] Raymond Ibrahim, Crucified Again-Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians, (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2013), p. 18.
[2] All quotations from the Quran are from the textless edition of the English translation of the Holy Qur-an: A. Yusuf Ali, The Meaning of the Illustrious Qur-an, Published by: Dar AHYA Us-Sunnah, Al Nabawiya.
[3] Ibrahim, p. 19.
[4] Ibid., p. 21.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid., pp. 22-23.
[7] Ibid., pp. 24-25.
[8] Jay Sekulow, “The Rise of ISIS & The New Caliphate,” The City, Volume VII, Number 3, Winter 2015, 22-24.
[9] Sekulow, 22-24.; J. M. Roberts, The New History of the World, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), pp. 329, 333.
[10] “Compare Sunni and Shia Muslims,” Religions Facts.
http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islamic_sects.htm (accessed March 31, 2015).
