A Brief Comparison
of Islam and Christianity

In recent times we have seen on TV and in other media pictures of American military members laughing as they stripped and humiliated Iraqi prisoners. Incidents have been reported of Americans burning copies of the Qur’an (Koran). We have also seen pictures of militant Muslim terrorists slaughtering Americans, Israelis and sometimes even their own people who are part of a different sect of Islam. As Americans, and especially as Christians, we should be above such actions as demonizing all Muslims simply because they are Muslims. During the Second World War it would have been wrong for us to demonize all Germans or all Japanese. Let’s face it there are bad apples in every group of people, unfortunately even among Christians there are those who are anything but Christlike in their walk and in their talk.

Demonizing all Muslims and/or all Arabs is un-Christlike for the followers of Jesus Christ. Authentic faith in Jesus Christ is best demonstrated to the world by godly love: love for God and love for fellow human beings.

A view from inside the Dome of the Rock

As a Biblical Christian I disagree wholeheartedly with Islam. Yet, as a Christian I am to love even those with whom I disagree. The great difference between the followers of Jesus Christ and the religions of the world is Christ’s love. Note how our Savior put it to a group of religious leaders of his day, “Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:34-40) TNIV The systemic hate propaganda that spews forth from many politicians, preachers and the news media not only generates but

continues to perpetuate a constant paranoia, dislike and hatred toward all Muslims and all Arabs.

Hate crimes directed toward Arabs and Muslims are at an all time high in our country. Christians need to be at the forefront in seeking to curtail such viciousness.

An interesting quote from the Qur’an exhorts: “You who believe! Stand out firmly for God, as witnesses to fair dealing. Do not let hatred for a people incite you into not being just. Be just: that is next to Piety: and fear God. For God is well-aware of all that you do.” (Quran 5:8)

We should not be surprised as we read the above passage from the Qur’an that many Muslims do not heed its exhortation even as many Christians do not heed the biblical exhortation quoted above from the Matthew passage to love. Nevertheless to say, both passages should be applicable to their respective faiths.

Who Are MUSLIMS? Islam, the religion of Muslims, is probably the fastest growing religion in the world today. We are told that in the not too distant future if the present rate of growth continues Islam will be the largest religion in Europe. The continent that was at one time the bastion of Christianity has since World War II become large secular. Contrary to what is commonly thought by Americans the vast majority of Muslims are not Arabs. In fact the nation having the largest number of Muslims is Indonesia.

Blue Mosque, Istanbul Turkey

Basic ISLAM:

The word ISLAM is based on the Arabic term for “submission”. A practicing Muslim is one who has surrendered him or herself to the will of Allah [God].

The Muslim [2] faith rests upon what is referred to as The Five Pillars of Islam. These Five Pillars are:

(a Muslim facing Mecca bowed in prayer)

Shahadah: CONFESSION OF FAITH:“There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger.” Salat: PRAYER: All Muslims are to pray five times every day, facing Mecca. Zakat: TITHING: Muslims must give at least 2.5 percent of their total wealth to the poor and needy. Sawm: FASTING: During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims are to refrain from food, water, and sex from sunrise to sunset. Hajj: PILGRIMAGE: If at all possible, at least once in a lifetime Muslims are to travel to Mecca to engage in rituals of prayer and worship at the central shrine in Islam’s holiest city.

About the Qur’an:

The Qur’an aka Koran is the sacred book or scriptures of Muslims. It is considerably shorter than our Christian Bible. We, Christians, reject its veracity for many reasons that we are not able to delve into in this short article. However a simple reading of the Qur’an with the Bible will quickly reveal the vast differences between the two books. The Bible and the Bible alone is the divinely inspired written Word of God whereas Christians view the Qur’an as the work of fallible human beings presenting a belief system that is false and deceptive. There is no comparison between these two books. The Bible is clearly of God whereas the Qur’an is of man. In fact some passages in the Qur’an have been lifted from the Bible.

The following are a few facts about the Qur’an that you should know:

The Bible was compiled over a period of between 1,400 and 1,600 years. The sixty-six books that are included in our Christian Bible were written by forty to forty-four different writers each of which we believe was moved upon by the Holy Spirit to write.

About Muhammad:

Muslims look upon Muhammad as one of the prophets. Unlike we Christians who view Jesus Christ as deity, Muslims do not view either Muhammad or Jesus as divine or deity. The following are a few of Islam’s beliefs relating to their prophet:

	Some Muslims believe that Muhammad was sinless whereas others believe that he was a sinner; none believe that he was divine or deity.
	Most Muslims acknowledge that Muhammad was illiterate.
	Muslims do not question the prophetic status of Muhammad.
	Muhammad is said to provide the greatest example for all aspects of living life.
	The traditions about the prophet are known as hadith.
	It is believed by Muslims that Allah gave the prophet permission to have 12 wives.

Other Major Muslim Beliefs:
According to Islamic belief Islam began with Adam, not with Muhammad
Muslims teach that people are saved by the will of God through obedience to God’s law known as Shari’ah.
It is believed though humans are imperfect, they are not fallen through original sin.
Islam teaches that those chosen by God (predestinated) for salvation will enter paradise but only God knows whom he has chosen.
It is believed that those people who are damned will burn in eternal torment in Hell.
Muslims desire that all nations and peoples should follow Islam and Islamic Shari’ah [Islamic Law].

How do these Muslim beliefs compare with basic Christian belief?

The following Creed of Islam is to be repeated daily by every observant Muslim:

Father Abraham:
It is ironic that all three major monotheistic faiths stem from one individual. Abraham through his son Isaac fathered the Jews whereas through his son Ishmael he fathered the Arabs. Islam originated with Muhammad who was from Arabia in the Middle East. Islam has rapidly spread throughout the world numbering a billion plus people today. Christians are the spiritual children of Abraham originating from a descendant of Abraham whose name was Yeshua [Jesus]. Hence Judaism, Christianity and Islam all stem from father Abraham. This is a fulfillment of the biblical promise that many nations or many peoples would come from Abraham. See – Genesis 13:16; 15:4; 17:4.

GOD:
Allah is the Arabic word for God. It is compounded of “Al”, the definite article ‘the’ and ‘illah’, meaning “god”. Therefore, Allah literally means “The God” – somewhat parallel to the capitalized “GOD” or “LORD” in English. The name Allah[3] is used by Muslims world-wide, as well as by many Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews in the Middle East.

Muslims view pictures and statues as forms of idolatry which they soundly condemn. In fact, nearly all Muslims condemn pictures of Muhammad as well. One of the major reasons that the Muslims became so upset with the Danish cartoon picturing Muhammad as a terrorist was that it was viewed by the Muslims as outright blasphemy. On the Internet a number of Christian sites state that the name “Allah” is the name of a god/demon. Unfortunately some of these sites spew out an evil message of degrading the God of Muslims as an Arab tribal god, hence a god to be rejected by Christians. Yet, as indicated above many of the Christians, as well as Jews, living in Arab lands refer to the God of the Bible as Allah.

Western Christians are divided over whether or not the name of Allah is one of the names of the true and living God that Christians and Jews adore and worship. Many Christians believe that this is the same God worshipped by Muslims, though their understanding of God is considerably different from our understanding. It is interesting to note how the apostle Paul used a situation on Mars’ Hill in Athens to present the Gospel of God to a people who worshipped many gods, not the one God: “As I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:23) NIV

Christians using the name Allah in a positive way, rather than condemning its use, prove to be far move effective in reaching out to Muslims with the Gospel of Christ. I believe that the apostle Paul sets an example for our reaching out to the lost religionists of the world thusly, “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23) TNIV.

Is ISLAM a Religion of War or Peace?
Just as there have been some Jews and Christians who have taken certain passages from the Hebrew Scriptures out to context to commit acts and deeds that are contrary to the tenets of both Judaism and the Christian Faith, in like manner a growing number of Muslims are taking certain passages in the Qur’an that advocate and sanction violence to justify violence. Unfortunately it is the passages advocating violence that the militant Muslims base promoting terrorism in our day. As with the Bible much depends upon the context of the passages in question. Islam, Christianity and Judaism each have their share of extremists who are violent religionists. It must be admitted that the extremist element is a much larger percentage in Islam than it is in either Judaism or Christianity. It also tends to be more violent than the extremists in either Judaism or Christendom.

Osama bin Laden and his host of militant Muslim terrorists have given Muslims everywhere a bad rap. What took place on September 11, 2001 in our country will go down in history as another one of those days of infamy that will not soon be forgotten nor should it be quickly forgotten.

Were all Muslims to blame for what happened on 9-11? To hear some Christians and politicians speak one would quickly get the impression that Islam is a bloody religion to the core . . . .but is it? I’ve heard many Christian leaders say, “Why don’t we hear Muslim leaders condemning terrorism?” Yet, this is simply not true to say. It is misleading. It is a veiled way of degrading and condemning all Muslims. Christians are not called by God to degrade and/or condemn any people even those with whom we oppose. A quote from Abdulaziz Sachedina, who is a Muslim scholar at the University of Virginia who says that he does not remember ever praying so earnestly that God would spare Muslims the blame for, “such madness that was unleashed upon New York and Washington.

I felt the pain and, perhaps the first time in my entire life, I felt embarrassed at the thought that it could very well be my fellow Muslims who had committed this horrendous act of terrorism. How could these terrorists invoke God’s mercifulness and compassion when they had, through their evil act, put to shame the entire history of this great religion and its culture of toleration?”

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) released the following after the bombings in London:“The Islamic Society of North America expresses its strongest condemnation of the horrific bombings in London today. We abhor these acts of mindless violence that violate all Islamic principles regarding the sanctity of life and security of innocent civilians. ISNA urges the swift apprehension of those responsible and offers condolences to those who have lost their loved ones.”

“Attacking civilians who are going about their daily business is a criminal act that violates Islamic principles, and must be condemned by all Muslims. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families.” (Dr. Syeed, ISNA’s secretary general stated).

Contrary to what some would have us believe since 9/11 and other terrorist attacks by militant Muslims a number of moderate Islamic groups have been condemning the attacks. Many Muslims are seeking to counteract the violent fanatical element within their religion which is no easy task. After September 11, a number of Muslim leaders issued statements, prayed for the victims of the attack, encouraged relief efforts and in some cities, took out a full-page newspaper ad signed by 40 groups that said: “We condemn in the strongest terms possible the use of terror to further any political or religious cause.”

Nearly 700,000 Muslims have signed a “Not in the Name of Islam” petition on CAIR’s Web site that begins, “We, the undersigned Muslims, wish to state clearly that those who commit acts of terror, murder and cruelty in the name of Islam are not only destroying innocent lives, but are also betraying the values of the faith they claim to represent.”

There are some militant Jews in Israel who lash out with violence directed often at innocent Arabs. Within Christendom there are some militant anti-abortion Christians destroying and killing those with whom they disagree, in like manner militant and misguided Muslims are committing an incredible number of dastardly evil deeds that cannot be ignored and need to be condemned. I would hope that the moderate Muslims would become more vocal and more active in dealing with the fanatical element in their midst. Because of the few Jews, the few Christians and unfortunately a larger number within Islam are evil yet not every Muslim is evil. We cannot use all Jews or all Muslims as our scapegoats to justify unChristlike actions on our part as Christians. Remember, the bottom line of our Christian Faith is love even for our enemies.

Unfortunately some within our Christian fold do not always appear to fully understand the Message of Love that our Savior advocated. I came across a Christian Web Sit that advocates a spiritual crusade against Islam. The site invites Christians to sign the following pledge: “In response to the Muslim Holy War now being waged against us, we, the undersigned, following the example of the Christian Church since the 7th century, do commit ourselves, our wealth, and our families to join in a Holy Crusade to fight against Islam and its false god, false prophet, and false book. We, the undersigned, believe that Islam is the root of all Muslim terrorism, which is the fruit of Islam.”

The Web site then invites Christians to fill in what is called a “Certificate of Valor” which reads thusly: “I wish to join in the Crusade of Christ against Islam. To that end, and to demonstrate in the crusade against Islam, I hereby donate toward emergency wartime funds.”

In The Arizona Republic I came across the following:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colorado., refuses to back down from his statement suggesting that the United States may respond to a radical Islamic terrorist attack by bombing Muslim holy sites. Muslim groups earlier had called on Tancredo to apologize. “I’m not suggesting we do it. I have nothing to apologize for in that respect,” Tancredo said.

Whatever happened to the call of our Lord Jesus Christ to his followers where he issued this promise to them, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5 9).

JIHAD:
Whenever discussion of Islamic militancy comes about the question of Jihad must be confronted.

Does Jihad mean that all ‘good’ Muslims must advocate terrorism? Do all Muslims support the actions and work of such people as Osama bin Laden? Are the violent jihads in our day sanctioned by the Qur’an and by the actions of all Muslims? In this brief comparison of Islam with Christianity I cannot possibly do justice in answering the above questions adequately. It appears that the Qur’an can be used to promote either peace or violence. This is true for the Bible as well. Biblical quotations are used by those of us who advocate peace, those of us who are peacemakers. However other biblical passages, taken out of context, are used to justify warfare, violence, suppression of women, subjection of the people of color, anti-Semitism, etc. by the extremists amongst us.

Who are correct? I, choose to take the side of the peacemakers. Some Christians are with me while others oppose my position. The same principle holds true for Muslims.

Rethinking ISLAM:
Though many Muslims have tried to blame America and Israel for all of the ills of the Muslim world, a growing number of Muslim intellectuals are calling for a new and radical self-criticism, within Islam. Something on the order of the Protestant Reformation within the established Church appears to be taking place in Islam. This is an encouraging sign. I especially like the motto of Reformed Christians which declares: “The Church Reformed, always reforming!’ I would hope and pray that this same premise will find an ever increasing following among Muslims of the world.

Some more Comparisons:
Though Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are related, yet they differ greatly in a number of respects. Because all three revere Abraham and certain other patriarchs mentioned in the Bible as their spiritual ancestors, they are often referred to as Abrahamic religions. However, in spite of their many points of similarity the differences cannot and must not be ignored. The following are some comparisons between the Christian Faith and Islam:

Date of founding: Christianity around 30 AD; Islam 622 AD.
Founder: Christianity by Yeshua of Nazareth (aka Jesus the Christ); Islam by Muhammad.
World’s population of followers: Christianity 33%; Islam 20%.
Worldwide growth rate in numbers of followers: Christianity 2.3% annually; Islam 2.9% annually.
Internal divisions: Christendom (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant, and a host of other sects and cults); Islam (Shi’ite, Sunni, Sufi which is a mystical tradition. The Sunnis represent eighty-plus percent of the Muslim population with the Shi’ites a minority living mostly in Iran and in Iraq. For the Shi’a Muslims the principle figure of religious authority is the imam).

Beliefs:

JESUS and/or MUHAMMAD?

It is this one individual who is the great dividing point between Christianity and Islam. As a follower and disciple of Jesus Christ to me it is not Jesus and/or Muhammad but it is Jesus only!! I believe that Jesus is “the truth!” I accept what Jesus declared as recorded in John’s Gospel to mean exactly what he said: “Thomas said to him [Jesus], ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’

Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:5-12) TNIV.

I believe that Jesus, not Muhammad, is the One whom he claimed to be or else I would not be a Christian. This is not a put down on Muhammad. He evidently had some good things to say and promote. He was undoubtedly sincere seeking to know God better for himself and for his people. He was instrumental in turning an entire pagan people who believed in many gods into believing in one God. Unfortunately, he and his followers often conquered using the sword to convert the pagans. Muhammad is not viewed as Deity by most of his followers. As mentioned earlier he was not God in human flesh. He did not die for the sins of humankind. He did not rise from the dead as did Yeshua. Hence, it is not Jesus and/or Muhammad, rather it is Jesus who alone who is Savior and Lord! It is Jesus who is the true King of kings and Lord of lords. It is through Jesus alone that there is eternal salvation, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

At this point I am probably walking a fine line. . . but stay with me. In today’s multi-cultural world the new reality is one of tolerating various beliefs as complementary. The unique Christian message of abundant life in Jesus Christ has become largely lost even to many who believe in Christ as the only begotten Son of God.

Christianity is a missionary (witnessing) faith. Our Lord commissioned the disciples to “Go, preach, baptize, teach and disciple” all peoples of the world. See - Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; Romans 1:16-17. I believe that our responsibility as disciples of Jesus Christ is to go and make disciple of all nations. We are to boldly proclaim the wonderful news of the Gospel not by intolerance nor by persecuting and hating others. Christ Jesus commands us to make disciples of everyone by demonstrating our love and by being the ones that are hated, despised, and often persecuted.

Jesus promised his followers, “To the Jews who believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32).

If Jesus is the Truth, and in him we are set free, then as one of his followers I have come into the truth. By this I do not mean that I have all of the truth of Scripture, rather to me it means that what is true about Jesus is mine as one who acknowledges him as my Savior and Lord. Two thousand years ago, people were willing to accept Jesus as a prophet or a teacher or a good man, but Christ didn’t give them that option. . .so they crucified him. He alone and only is Savior and Lord.

Does this mean that all Muslims are headed for hell?

God alone is Sovereign. I choose to let God be God. Who belongs to God and who does not belong to God I leave with God. I do believe that following Jesus Christ is ‘the’ better/best way to live life. When I speak of being a follower of Christ I am not necessarily referring to “Christendom.” I separate authentic Christian Faith from the institution that too often falls far short of what it claims to be or what it should be.

It is my prayer that each of us who are followers of Yeshua [Jesus] will be loving to those who are not yet committed to him. It is by reaching out in love that we can prove the reality of the Christian Gospel to our Muslim friends. Hate and rejection repel but love wins in the end. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord I urge you to begin praying for the Muslims of the world that they too will come in this personal relationship with Christ as you know him.

[2] Muslim rather than ‘Moslem’ should be used when referring to those associated with the Islamic faith. Muslims usually do not like to be referred to as ‘Moslems’ as they do not worship their prophet Mohammad.

[3] Strawberry Mountain Views has a booklet titled “Is Allah God or a god?”