Two Different Religions: How Islam Perceives Christianity and What Is the Truth

By Dr. Safwat Bishara

Religion plays a crucial role in the culture and history of nations. Christianity and Islam command the most followers with two billion and 1.3 billion, respectively. Both started in the Middle East. But each spread through a different path.
Some interpret 'jihad' as moral strife against the self while others think of it as an obligation to defend the faith against its enemies. So the question is 'jihad' moral or violent?
The book discusses how Islam views Christianity? Did technology alter the way clerics in Muslim-majority countries monopoly teaching the Islamic faith? How did the Internet, satellite television, and smart phones influence social life and extend to the spiritual realm?
The second half of the twentieth century had seen some eventful developments in the Middle East. Political changes proved far reaching, sometimes with detrimental outcomes. How did recent events affect Egypt--the most pivotal country in the Arab world? Did fanaticism survive in Egypt?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491834657

Dr. Safwat Bishara

The principal author is a Fulbright scholar with a doctorate degree in chemistry and a United States patent. He published 60 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals in the U.S. and Europe. He taught at Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas; Missouri Southern State College, Joplin, Missouri; Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa; Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman; and Mosul University, Mosul, Iraq. The coauthor has a doctorate degree in physics and worked as a senior programmer analyst with Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services, Topeka, Kansas. The authors have three grown daughters. They have college degrees in medicine (M.D.), chemical engineering, and journalism. The authors are now retired, and live in the Florida panhandle. They have six grandchildren who live with their parents in Kansas.

Book preview

TWO DIFFERENT

RELIGIONS

How Islam Perceives Christianity And What Is The Truth

DR. SAFWAT BISHARA

44174.png

AuthorHouse™ LLC

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2013 Dr. Safwat Bishara. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/10/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3466-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3464-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3465-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013920695

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Dedication

Epigraph

Preface

Acknowledgment

Part I: The Middle East—Where It All Began

Chapter 1       Christianity And Islam: How They Started

Chapter 2       Perception Of God And How To Approach His Will

Part II: Islam’s Worldly Aspirations

Chapter 3       Caliphate

Chapter 4       The Culture Of Islam

Chapter 5       Harshness Of Islam

Chapter 6       Jihad: Moral Or Violent

Chapter 7       Influence Of Religion On Social Attitudes

Part III: What Muslims Tell Their Children

Chapter 8       About The Lord Jesus Christ

Chapter 9       About The Holy Trinity

Chapter 10       About The Bible

Part IV: What Is The Truth

Chapter 11       Transformational Power Of A Living God

Chapter 12       How Muslim-Converted Christians View Jesus

Chapter 13       Amish Vs. Jihadists

Chapter 14       Freedom Of Choice In Christianity

Part V: Contemporary Conflicts

Chapter 15       How The West Views Islam

Chapter 16       Decades Of Conflict

Chapter 17       Islam, Politics, And The Internet

Chapter 18       Why Radical Islamists Hate The Modern World

Chapter 19       Reasonable Voices Vs. Fanatical Ones

Chapter 20       Egypt’s Refusal Of Fanaticism

Dedication

For those who like to see the light

Epigraph

For those who believe,

no proof is necessary;

for those who don’t believe,

no proof is possible.

Stuart Chase

Preface

To believe or not to believe. This is the choice the Creator has bestowed on every human being. Does one need proof to believe in God? Is there proof? The answer is both yes and no.

Consider the miraculous human body or look at nature. John Calvin reminded the world that God has given his creatures two books: the book of nature and the Word of God. For the Christian, they are not equal in authority or revelatory power, and yet it is a serious neglect to focus on one at the exclusion of the other, Stuart McAllister, JUST THINKING, Volume 21.2, p. 27. Is this a ‘definite’ proof? If you are a believer, the answer is yes. But for the unbeliever, the world came into existence as a result of the Big-Bang (or some other natural cause), and man is simply the present-day descendant of primitive single cell creatures that, over thousands of years, evolved from the simple amoeba into quite a complex structure. Evolution continued with no supernatural intervention.

Stuart Chase insightfully stated that: for nonbelievers, no proof is possible. Though capable of giving definite proofs of His existence, God willfully left out enough details so as to allow for man to believe without seeing [Hebrews 11:1].

But then, how do believers perceive the Creator? Christianity believes in a loving God (God is love, 1 John 4:8), Islam believes in a God that is aloof, vengeful, punishing whom He pleases and rewarding those whom He desires to favor.

From each person’s perception of God emanate most, if not all, of his attitudes and actions.

The Word of God tells us that Adam, the first created man, disobeyed God’s commandment. His sin separated man from a Holy God. Alienated from the Creator, man was lost. Inherent in man is a feeling of insecurity. He felt inadequate, and sought a higher power. He built idols to worship.

But few still believed in God: Enoch, Noah, then Abraham. Childless, Abraham was promised a son; a promise from God when Abraham was already an old man. The Creator fulfilled His promise and Isaac was born. But when the son grew to be a lad, the Bible says that God told Abraham to present Isaac (the long-awaited son) as a sacrifice. Abraham obeyed God, and went to the mountain to execute God’s will. The Qur’an, on the other hand, says that Abraham took Ishmael, not Isaac, up the mountain to be sacrificed.

Just before the knife struck Isaac, God told Abraham to stop; He had entangled a ram in a nearby thicket to serve as a surrogate sacrifice.

Before Isaac was born, years had passed between God’s promise to Abraham to have a son and the actual birth of Isaac. During those years, Sarah, Abraham’s wife, got impatient. She even doubted the promise of God to have a child. Rich and barren all of her life, she just could not wait as the years went by and she got older. A woman without children was considered deficient and lacking.

Sarah suggested to Abraham that he take Hagar, her handmaid, as a wife so that Sarah might build a family through her. When Hagar knew she was pregnant, she despised her mistress. Sarah mistreated Hagar who fled from her. In the desert, the angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar and told her to go back to her mistress and submit to her, then promised that her descendants would be too numerous to count. The angel also told Hagar to call her son Ishmael, adding: his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers, (Genesis 16:12). When Hagar bore Ishmael, Abraham was 86 years old.

From Isaac and Ishmael, two peoples emerged: Jews from Isaac and Arabs from Ishmael.

Arabs maintain that as descendants of Ishmael, the eldest son, they—not Jews descended from the younger son Isaac—legitimately inherit the Abrahamic legacy.

These Biblical events cause a number of questions to spring to mind. Is this why, early in its history, Mohammed and his followers sought to impose their religion on non-Muslims? Is this why coercion, rather than persuasion, characterized the early stages of Islamic history when the armies of Islam conquered nations east, west, and north of Arabia? Does this explain the hostility of followers of the faith toward all others even other factions of Islam? (Shia vs. Sunni).

In other words, the symptoms of aggression and hostility showcased during ancient and modern history were predicted in the Old Testament thousands of years before the beginning of Islam in the seventh century. If anything, this adds to the evidence that the Bible is the Word of God.

The validity of the Bible (Old and New Testaments) as the Word of God is eloquently stated by Ravi Zacharias: in the Gospel of John, when the Holy Spirit comes, Jesus said that the Spirit would bring conviction of truth, righteousness, and things to come. Peter says this is that which was spoken of by the Prophet Joel. So while he is harking to Scripture, he’s harking back also to an empirical way of justifying it: this is a fulfillment of prophecy which was spoken of hundreds of years ago. There is a rational process, existential relevance, . . . http://www.rzim.org/just-thinking/learning-to-think-critically.

In the sermon on the mountain, the Lord Jesus Christ preached: ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit, [Matthew 7: 16-17]. In verse 20, the Lord says: Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

As He usually did, the Lord spoke in parables. Men are like trees in that their deeds tell about their beliefs.

Christianity preaches peace, love, and forgiveness. Limitless love and forgiveness are goals for the Christian to strive to attain. Love not only those who love you but even your enemy. Forgive the one who wrongs you not just once but as many times as forgiveness is needed [Matthew 18:22]. The Christian should control himself, not others.

The Greek philosophers sought principles to live with but could not come with a philosophy to die with. The coherent message of Christianity is unparalleled as it addresses life, death, and the beyond.

Through the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, believers in Him have the hope of eternal life. Christ is the lamb of God who carried the sins of the world, and His death on the Cross removed our sins and reconciled man to God. With one man, Adam, sin entered the world, and with one ‘man,’ Jesus Christ, sin was atoned for.

The Christian message tells of a loving God—a Father in Heaven who so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but has everlasting life, [John 3:16]. Jesus is the unblemished sacrifice. His death on the Cross ended the Old Testament practice of sacrificing birds and animals.

It was God’s grace on mankind to offer salvation—through Jesus Christ—from the original sin brought on humanity by Adam’s rebellion. The undeserving human being got redemption from sin by God’s grace, and this should keep man humble. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer in Jesus Christ guides him or her into righteousness, doing what is pleasing to God.

It is this perception of God that guides man. Jesus Christ preached the unconditional love of God for man: Agape love. Allah, as perceived by Muslims, is far away, requires his name be avenged, forgives those he desires to forgive, and punishes those he desires to punish. Even Mohammed himself said: By Allah, yet I do not know what Allah will do to me, SAHIH AL-BUKHARI, Volume 5, #135). Not knowing what pleases Allah leaves man adrift and confused. Absent a clear path, man is lost.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul says: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [Romans 8: 35]. The assurance of God’s love for believers provides a hedge around man knowing that his life is in the hands of a graceful Creator. On the Cross, Jesus Christ asked the Father to forgive His captors as they know not what they do. The Son asked the Father to forgive those who are crucifying Him. That is God’s grace—undeserved mercy.

Over two millenia, many nations believed in and were affected by Christianity, but each country maintained its culture. Separation between church and state preserved each nation’s characteristic culture. But in the Islamic world, religion and state are intertwined. Islamic teachings dominate the social and political life leading to a more or less uniform Islamic culture and behavior over most Muslim countries. Uniformity is the norm, and outside appearance is of crucial significance.

The author, a Christian, had the privilege of living forty years in Egypt. During those years Egypt was not a typical Islamic country; Christians and Muslims lived together peacefully allowing direct human interactions and friendships. First-hand familiarity with Islam and its culture contributed valuable insight in putting this book together.

Acknowledgment

The author deeply thanks Dr. Jan Branthaver for his great help not only in editing the manuscript but also in providing valuable input during communication over a number of years. Before retiring, Dr. Branthaver was senior scientist at Western Research Institute (WRI), previously an institution of the United States Department of Energy.

Special thanks are due to Dr. Jim Congdon, lead Pastor, Topeka Bible Church, Topeka, Kansas. His input and insight contributed significantly to this work. Dr. Congdon has a college degree in Mathematics but chose to dedicate his life to serving God. With more than 20 years at TBC the church has grown both in number and in stature. He also serves as chairman of the board of Jews for Jesus.

Part I

The Middle East—Where It All Began

But from the Abbey of the Dormition to Jesus’s resting place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the bell-ringers of Jerusalem are abandoning their ropes after a century and a half, and installing automated timers instead, reported THE ECONOMIST, January 5th, 2013, p. 35. "with their bells on auto-pilot, the churches can compete with the mosques and the air-siren that Israelis use to call in the Sabbath… Muslims led the local Christians astray by recording and broadcasting their calls to prayer over loudspeakers."

In Jerusalem the three heavenly religions come face to face, and in the Middle East they all started.

Two thousand years ago, a child was born in Bethlehem. Six centuries before His birth, the Old Testament prophet Isaiah wrote: Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (God with us), [Isaiah 7: 14].

Isaiah went on to say: For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this, [Isaiah 9: 6-7].

Of the same event that changed the world, the New Testament said: In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven, [Hebrews 1: 1-3, NIV].

About 600 years after these words of the New Testament were written, the Prophet Mohammed, born in Arabia, agreed with the Bible in teaching that God had spoken through a long series of prophets. The Qur’an itself says: We believe in God and in that which has been revealed to us and in that which was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants. We believe in that which was given to Moses, Jesus and the Prophets by their Lord. We make no distinction between them and we have submitted ourselves to the will of God, (3:84).

Mohammed affirmed that over many centuries God had spoken through Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Lot, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, Ezekiel, David, Solomon, Jonah, Zechariah, John the Baptist, and Jesus. But Mohammed taught his followers that God had more revelation to give, and Mohammed began to teach a message he said was given to him by the angel Gabriel, (Martin R. DeHaan II, THE MESSAGE OF THE PROPHETS: MOHAMMED AND THE MESSIAH, 1995, p. 2).

The Qur’an forbids worshiping Jesus as God. An English translation says to Christians: People of the Book, do not transgress the bounds of your religion. Speak nothing but the truth about God. The Messiah, Jesus the Son of Mary, was no more than God’s apostle… And do not say ‘Three’ . . . God is but one God. God forbid that He should have a son, [4: 171].

In their ancestry as well as their geography, Christianity and Islam shared a close proximity.

But spiritually and theologically, they could not be farther apart.

Chapter 1

Christianity And Islam: How They Started

CHRISTIANITY

A. W. Tozer wrote:

When the Word says that God sent His Son into the world, it is not talking to us merely about the world as geography… this message does not have any geographical or astronomical meaning… What it really means is that God sent His Son into the human race… He came to people… to seek and to save people. Not just certain favored people. Not just certain kinds of people… God loved each of us in a special kind of way so that His Son came into and unto and upon the people of the world—and He even became one of those people! (THE RADICAL CROSS, Christian Publications, Inc., Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, 2005, p. 41).

The Lord Jesus Christ took the form of a man because He loved humanity; He came to save humanity from sin by offering Himself as the perfect sinless sacrifice. This Agape love (the love of God to the human being) is at the heart of the Christian faith. Without this love, the Christian message would be confusing, and the Cross would be meaningless.

From the beginning, His virgin birth was a miracle. Even the Qur’an says that Jesus was born miraculously through the virgin Mary [3:47; 19:19], and that He did many miracles—gave sight to the blind, healed lepers, and raised the dead, [3:49].

At the age of 30, Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river. He chose the twelve disciples from among simple, ordinary people—such as fishermen. The disciples followed Him during the three years He preached His message. They saw Him doing every kind of miracle. He ordered the wind to calm down, and it did. He fed five thousand with a loaf of bread and two fish. He opened the eyes of the born blind, and cured the lepers. He raised the dead, not once but on three different occasions for three different people. One of the three raised from death was named Lazarus who had been in the tomb for three days before Jesus ordered him: Lazarus come forward. And he did.

One time, Jesus and His disciples were in a boat crossing the lake of Galilee. While He was asleep in the bottom of the boat, a storm came. The storm was so severe to cause even these veteran fishermen to panic. They hurried down to awake Him saying we are about to drown. He went up and said: Be still! Immediately the wind subsided, and the disciples wondered among themselves who is this that even the wind and the waves obey Him?

Now, consider this. A storm was so strong to make these long-time fishermen worry about their lives. Yet, He was asleep. What does this imply? He, the Creator, had nothing to fear from the wind—His creation. The proof? He ordered it to be still, and it did!

Jesus Christ preached a message of love, forgiveness, and meekness—but most of all to love one another. He stressed love on so many different occasions because He, the Creator, knew that love does not come naturally to us. No wonder He is called: The Prince of Peace.

As humans, we may show love to our family, close friends, and even those who love us. But He said: love your enemies, because if you only love those who love you, what favor have you gained with God? It pleases God when you love even your enemies! Love is not a sign of weakness but, in reality, a point of strength. The Christian willfully struggles against his/her human nature that responds with hostility toward our enemies. In place of the natural, a Christian aspires for the supernatural. In the Sermon on the mountain [Matthews 5-7], the Lord Jesus Christ taught the supernatural in His message to a human race mired in sin and needed a Savior. When one reads the Sermon on the mountain s/he realizes that these teachings are coming from Heaven; it simply can not be human. No man would teach you that if someone hits you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek to him so he may hit you again. Do that not out of weakness but of grace.

Imagine a world in which all Christians practice this supernatural love, and that all humanity come to believe in Jesus Christ—by choice, not by force.

Jesus Christ chose the twelve disciples Himself. Yet one of them betrayed Him, and pointed him out for those who came to arrest Him (this disciple later hanged himself). Our Lord knew ahead of time who this disciple is, and what he is going to do. He told the disciple John about it during the Last Supper—the night before the crucifixion.

After authorities arrested Jesus Christ, they took Him to the high priest, then to the Roman authorities. The crowd shouted crucify Him, crucify Him. The Roman ruler granted them their wish because he did not like to displease the Jews.

The Old Testament has many references to the coming of the Messiah. But almost all people failed to recognize Him. In Psalm 45, written a thousand years before the coming of Jesus, David the king spoke of the coming Messiah when he wrote: You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever. Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your majesty.

Speaking like a prophet David continued: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than your companions,

In 700 B.C. the prophet Isaiah predicted the coming of a Messiah who would be born of a virgin [7: 14], suffer and