Islam: A Christian Looks at the Muslim Faith

ISLAM
Dr. Freddy Cardoza
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Islam comes from a derivation
"salem" meaning "peace" or
"surrender"
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Ten Interesting Facts
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Early Islamic Culture contributed greatly to
some societies through higher education
(Morocco), literacy, philosophy,
mathematics, art and architecture
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There's an empty place next to Muhammad's Tomb
(the Honorable Rawdah) reserved for Jesus' burial,
once he returns to kill the Antichrist and rules for 40
years, then dies. They reject his resurrection, because
Islam teaches Jesus did not actually die (Surah 4:158)
but ascended like Elijah to heaven

Marriage between even First Cousins is not uncommon
in Islam. This girl was married at age 9 and divorced at
10. Muhammad's youngest wife, Aisha, was 6 at
marriage and 9 at consummation. He was 53.

In Saudi Arabia, UAE, Sudan, Brunei, Qatar and
others, people who abandon Islam and convert to
another religion may face the death penalty
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Islamic law divides food and other products into
three different types: 1) Halal (allowed), 2)
Makruh (permissible but discouraged), and 3)
Haram (forbidden, such as pork, carnivorous
animals, certain types of cheese, and anything
that causes addiction, such as alcohol).

Muslims Accept that Jesus was
Virgin Born, but call him "Son of
Mary" to eliminate God as Father
Quran, Surah 19:16-34; 21:91
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The Quran teaches Jesus was without sin
["faultless", Arabic: zakiyya], but said
Muhammad and all others sinned
Surah 19.19; Surah 47:19; Surah 28:16;
Surah 26:82

Muslim literature, including the Quran,
affirms Jesus will have a Second Coming
Surah 43:61
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Muhammad and Islam never claimed him
to perform a miracle
Surah 6:37; 10:20; 13:7

In Islam, marriage is seen as a contract, not a
covenant. Muslim faith provides for divorce
more easily than Christian faith, but divorce
rates in the US are about the same among
Christians and Muslims (low 30%)
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Things You Should Know
About Interacting with Muslims

Keep In Mind
• "Muslims" are the people
• "Islam" is the religion itself
• "Mohammedanism" is an older term
considered insulting to many Muslims
• "Islam" means 'peace' or 'surrender'
• "Muslim" means "one who submits"
• 15% of Muslims worldwide are Arab

• Birth rates and world conversion rates make
it a fast growing religion
• Muslim women typically keep their family
name when married
• Muslims consider Islam a "way of life"
[deen] not a religion
• The first US Mosque came to Iowa in 1934
with 1200 now in the US
• About 8-10M Muslims live in the US

• Except for family, Muslim women are not
to touch or shake hands with men
• Dogs, especially dog saliva, is considered
especially unclean and require washings
when touched
• Menstruation is considered impure to
Muslims, and women may not join in
public prayers during that time

• Images or depictions of Muhammad are
forbidden and offensive to Muslims
• The strict sexual-visual restrictions of Islam
often have the opposite effect
• Tattoos for Muslims are taboo. Converts may
keep or remove them
• Females plucking eyebrows for greater
beauty is considered forbidden (haram)
• Islam is primary in some 60 nations

Online Muslim Dating Sites like
"Muslima" Exist to Connect
Islamic Men and Women

1. Repetition of the Creed
(Shahada)
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“There is no God but Allah, and
Muhammad (also spelled Mohammed,
Mohammad) is His Prophet.”

The ancient Arabic words "al ilah"
(The God) predate Islam. "Allah" is the only
Arabic word for 'God.' So even though Arab
Christians and Arab Muslims are speaking of two
different concepts-meanings of God, they use the
same word, "Allah"

2. Prayer (Salat)
1-3-5x a day

An appointed person climbs the minaret 5
times daily and issues four directional
(N,S,E,W) calls to prayer
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What Happens at Prayer
• Call to Prayer is issued
• People drop everything to pray
• People face Mecca (Makkah)
• People stand as Quran is read
• People bow to give Allah glory
• People prostate up to 3x
• People sit, prayers continue, then end
• These are all done in unison
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3. Fasting (Sawm)

Fasting from Food and even Sex,
especially during 30 Days of Ramadan
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The Muslim calendar is made up of 12 lunar
months, each lasting between 29-30 days (or
354 days a year). For that reason, 103 Muslim
years are the equivalent of 100 solar years.
So, though Muslims celebrate Ramadan
annually, it occurs at a different time for those
following a solar (or Julian) calendar. Muslims
date their years from After Hijrah (A.H.)
meaning the migration of Muhammad from
Medina to Mecca
cc: davidwjford - https://www.flickr.com/photos/33389995@N08

4. Almsgiving (Zakat)

Each Muslim is expected to provide 1/40 of
his income (about 2.5%) to the poor and
needy (giving alms). Some countries take
alms as a tax, others treat it as a freewill
offering
cc: Hernan Piñera - https://www.flickr.com/photos/67430875@N03

5. Pilgrimage (Hajj)

Called the Hajj, each able-bodied Muslim is expected
to visit the “holy” city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia (and
other cities) to re-trace the steps of the Prophet
Muhammad at some time during one’s lifetime.
Sometimes Muslims will spend their entire life savings
in order to be faithful to this requirement
cc: Al Jazeera English - https://www.flickr.com/photos/32834977@N03

The Kaaba's (Stone Building)
cornerstone is the Black Stone, a
meteorite believed to fall at the
feet of Adam and Eve
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Mecca, Saudi Arabia
The Ka'ba/Kaaba (Cube of the Black Stone)

Black Stone sent by Allah as
Covenant to Abraham &
Ishmael, a Sign of Islam's
Legitimacy

Medina, Saudi Arabia
The Prophet's Mosque
cc: Mohamod Fasil - https://www.flickr.com/photos/131688925@N04

Muhammad fled to Medina in
622 and overtook it. He set up
the Islamic Caliphate (global
rule) and is buried there
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Jerusalem, Israel
Third Most Important Site in Islam
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Islam teaches of the "Night
Journey" (Isra and Miraj, from
Surah 17:1) where Muhammad
rode a mythical winged steed
(horse-or-camel-like animal)
from Mecca to Jerusalem's
temple, ascended to heaven,
then returned to Mecca

The problem is that the 621AD
journey to the Jerusalem mosque
(Masjid al Aqsa) involves a building
that did not exist until 691, plus
Muhammad's cousin Fatikhe and
wife Aisha said it was a vision and
not physical. The current teaching
developed in 1876, 1100 years
later (see note 1)

Who Was Muhammad?
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The earliest mention of Muhammad was a
Greek history writing about the Arab
invasion Syria, rejecting him, saying God's
prophets do not come leading invasions
"with sword and chariot"

Most Information about
Muhammad began to be written
about 4-5 generations after his
death at age 63

Muhammad
• Born in 570 to a widow who died when he
was 6, and raised by his uncle
• At 25, he married a wealthy 2x divorced
widow
• After her death, he married a total of more
than 15 women, plus concubines in his
harem, some taken as slaves
• He reportedly visited all his women in a
single night (the prowess of 30 men)

• Had 7 children, all with his 1st wife
• Originally, Ubu’l-Kassim, he renamed as "the
Praised One" (Muhammad)
• At 40 in AD 610 in Mecca in the month of
Ramadan he reportedly received revelation
from Gabriel. He was named God’s Prophet,
to correct and finalize the teachings of
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus,
the Six Great Prophets.

About the Qu'ran
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About the Qu'ran
• The Quran (Koran) is not Muhammad's
biography-- it helps us understand what
was going on in his mind
• Because the Quran is considered
"dictated" from God, it appears in Arabic
and Muslims expect people to learn Arabic
to read it in the original language, each
verse is considered a "sign from God"

• Slightly shorter than the NT
• Organized from longer to shorter
"Surahs"
• No Muslim challenges the Quran's
authority. They consider it the
absolute, irrevocable Word of God—
the Last Word to Humanity

• It is more like "God" than about God
• Children sometimes memorize the
entire book
• It is used as an Arabic textbook
• It is read upon a Muslim birth and
quoted at death
• It covers a 23 year period of time

MUSLIM BELIEFS
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About Jesus
• Jesus (Isa, Arabic) is said to be a great
prophet, second only to Muhammad.
• Virgin Born and Exhibited Miracles
• Muslims teach Christ did not claim
divinity
• His death was only apparent— it was
Judas Iscariot (or Simon of Cyrene)

About Sin
• People are fundamentally good, not
inheriting Original Sin
• Some Muslims teach that Muhammad was
sinless, others do not
• After Satan tempted Adam (not Eve), he
sinned, but was pardoned
• Each person will answer to God by trying to
balance the scale of good and evil

Taboos
• All types of intoxicating drinks are forbidden
(wines, spirits, liquors of any type)
• They are not to eat swine, carnivores,
rodents, reptiles, worms, etc.
• Having Pets other than Cats (Muhammad
loved cats)
• Gambling, Lottery, Games of Chance

Taboos
• Homosexuality
• Staring at the opposite sex or making
friends with them, premarital sex
• Eating or washing with your left hand
• Wearing clothes showing knees or higher

Salvation
• Salvation in Islam is by works
• Those faithful to Islam’s sacred law
(Shari’a), go to an oasis-like paradise,
while sinners go to an indescribable hell
and drink boiling water.
• Unfaithful Muslims will go to hell for a
time, then will ultimately be liberated by
Allah. (Quran 56:1-56)

Salvation
• About heaven, the Prophet
Muhammad was heard saying: 'The
smallest reward for the people of
paradise is an abode where there
are 80,000 servants and 72 wives'
cc: Juliogmilat Fotografía - https://www.flickr.com/photos/28292227@N08

Different coverings (hijab) are used as expressions of
modesty, by women and less often by men. Originally
upper class Muslim women wore them, until about 4
generations after the time of Muhammad

6 Types of Hijab
1. Hijab: head and neck
2. Shayla: head, tucked at neck
3. Khimar: head, neck, shoulders
4. Chador: head to foot
5. Niqāb: Visible eyes with Khimar
6. Burqa: mesh screen over face

Hands, face, mouth, and feet are washed
by Muslims upon entering the Mosque

More Facts
• Islam has no priests or sacraments
• Women pray outside the main hallway
of the mosque, usually a side room
• On the holy day, Friday, the imam leads
a sermon; other days he leads prayer
• Mosque (masjid) are "places of
prostration"

Female Genital Mutilation is widely
practiced (200M victims by 2016 according
to UNICEF Report)

Jihad and Extremist Islam
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State Sponsors of Terror
• This is a phrase meaning any
nation-state who directly or
indirectly facilitates, allows, or fails
to prosecute terrorist acts or groups
• The US Government has designated
Iran, Syria, and the Sudan as such

Extremist Groups
There are dozens. Primary ones are:
• ISIS/ISIL (Iraq/Syria)
• Al Qaeda (Yemen, Other)
• Boko Haram (Nigeria)
• Al Shabab (Somalia)
• Taliban (Afghan/Pakistan)
• Ansar al Sharia (Lybia-Tunisia)
• Abu Sayyaf (Philippines)
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Jihadist Ideology
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Jihadist Ideology
• The World is Divided into Two
Spheres:
• House of Islam (Islamic
nations, Sharia Law areas)
• House of War (non-Islamic)

• The Global Goal is to Unite the
World into the House of Islam
• It assumes that all Muslims are
bound and this identity transcends
all other loyalties, even if violence is
required

• The establishment of a global
Islamic state is called the
Caliphate, ruled by a Caliph, where
no legislature or government
exists-- only global Sharia/Quran

• To establish "Ummah" (global Islam),
political and military groups exist all over
to bring these about
• Examples: Hamas (Palestine) and
Hezbollah (Iran and N Iraq), PLO (Fatah),
and the Muslim Brotherhood
• The means to this is Jihad (Struggle) in
peaceful or violent ways

Nothing is Too Extreme
• Explosives in Children's Backpacks
• Explosives in Kids' bike tubes
• Bombing Weddings
• Public Executions
• Children as Young as 8 have been
kidnapped, tortured, & executed

Nothing is Too Extreme
• Torture with electrical shock,
beatings, floggings
• Crucifixion, thrown off buildings,
burned alive
• Sexual slavery, rape, exile, forced
conversion

Islamist Percentages
• A Pew Study showed 13%(Eastern
Europe)-76% (South Asia) of Muslim
areas held extremist views
• 8% to 99% of Muslim areas want
Sharia Law instituted
• This involved 38,000 face to face
interviews in 2013
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Muslim Infighting
• Muhammad didn't name a successor
• Two factions emerged: Shiite (Shia) and Sunni
(and later a third, Sufi)
• Shia want Caliphs and Ayatollahs to be
descended from Muhammad's Bloodline
• Sunnis accept any leader of any Muslim heritage
and are looking for the "Madhi" a leader to
create a Caliphate
• Funding comes from oil sales and the black
market sale of stolen antiquities
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Discussion Questions
• Islam believes in One God, but not a
Trinity. Explain the difference
• Islam believes Jesus is the second-
best prophet. Why is it offensive to
call Jesus only a prophet?
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• Christians are not expected to
learn Greek and Hebrew, but
Muslims are expected to learn
Arabic. What do you make of this?
What are the advantages and
disadvantages of each approach?

• What are your concerns about
Extremist Islam?
• Islam teaches salvation by 'works'
(personal effort), meaning Islam has
no savior. How is Christianity
different?

Sources
• http://facts.randomhistory.com/islam-
facts.html
• http://bit.ly/1mPYZcZ
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/edwardmusi
ak/11133556913/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/ouadio/1229
2419565/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk
/3198997800/

Sources
• http://www.answering-
islam.org/Gilchrist/uniqueness.html
• http://www.factslides.com/s-Islam
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-
considine/overcoming-historical-
amnesia_b_4135868.html
• http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/c14151.htm
• https://lebanonglc.wordpress.com/2014/10/0
8/expressing-oneself-through-body-ink-
allowed-for-muslims/

Sources
• (1) http://www.answering-
islam.org/Shamoun/nightjourney.htm
and http://religionresearchinstitute.org
/mohammad/ascension.htm
• https://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-
europe_islam/mohammed_3866.jsp
• http://www.answering-
islam.org/Authors/Fisher/Topical/index.h
tm

Sources
• https://wikiislam.net/wiki/List_of_Muhamm
ads_Wives_and_Concubines
• Hopfe, Lewis. Religions of the World, 5th ed.
New York: MacMillan
• Dribble, R. F. Mohammed. Garden City, NJ:
Garden City Publishing, 1926
• http://arabsinamerica.unc.edu/identity/veili
ng/hijab/

Sources
• https://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/com
ments/2y1u9n/list_of_things_muslims_c
onsider_forbidden_haram/
• http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/
the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-
executive-summary/

Image Credits
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/haniamir
/1576894929/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/moham
medj/5180004475/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/lain32/81
18861878/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/klebtahi/
3931316620/

Image Credits
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/brokendru
mphotography/2324386385/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/azwegers/
6362307027/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/josepcastel
l/15417550071/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/ninedrago
ns/6769478303/

Image Credits
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucadevito
/4467077224/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/etienne_va
lois/15323469835/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/omarsc/78
13126052/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/t_abdelmo
umen/5221133899/

Image Credits
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/defenceimage
s/15013106350/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/archer10/784
6825950/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/janodecesare/
5327872299/
• Muhammad's Grave By Aiman titi - Own work,
CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php
?curid=14494092

Islam: A Christian Looks at the Muslim Faith

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Islam: A Christian Looks at the Muslim Faith