The Muslims are certain that they will someday control the whole world. They are certain that people of all other faiths everywhere will become submissive to them. In fact, Islam means “submission.” They make no qualms about the fact that much of this submission will be brought about by force. This involves the sword, the gun and by other types of deadly violence. Even nuclear violence is not in the least forbidden to them.
Our politically-correct leaders assure us that Islam is a very peaceful religion. No doubt there are many peaceful adherents to Islam. However, most wars and skirmishes in the world today are related to Islam in some way. The borders of Islamic nations have been referred to as “borders of blood.” It is stated that “Over 90 percent of the current world-fighting involves Islamist terror movements” (Shoebat pp. 136-37).
There are some very good reasons why we Christians cannot accept this Muslim worldview or the Muslim plans for the future. Let us review some of these reasons.
TRUTH IS STRONGER THAN FALSEHOOD
We Christians believe that God’s word is truth (Jn. 17:7). The Bible declares that Jesus himself is “the Truth” (Jn. 14:6). Although Islam has some respect for the Bible, and even for Jesus, the Muslims maintain that the Bible has been corrupted by the Jews and Christians. However, they are never able to offer any proof of this supposed corruption. Since the middle of last century the Dead Sea Scrolls have become available and they totally dispute this claim. Portions of most the Old Testament books were found at Qumran. Now have a Bible that is a thousand years older than any edition we had before. The Book of Isaiah was found intact and this find alone disputes Muslim claims.
The Qumran finds make clear that the Jews were meticulous in their care and translation of the word of God. We have many more examples of this devotion and meticulous care of the Bible throughout the ages.
Islam has a very low view of truth, and lying is quite common. The great Imam Al-Ghazali, one of the most famous Muslim theologians, encourages people to lie providing some beneficial goal is achieved (Shoebat p.77). Muslims are always allowed to lie and deceive if it results in some benefit to Islam. Walid Shoebat, a former Muslim terrorist who became a Christian tells us that there are two popular deceptive practices in Islam. They are known as Kitman and Taqiyya. Both are means of deceiving and lying to non-Muslims regarding their true faith and intentions. He cites Al-Jafi who said that if one does not dissimulate he has no religion (Shoebat 74). Another Muslim leader, Abu Ad-Darda, has said, “We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them” (Shoebat p. 75).
In Israel this low view of truth is often displayed. Muslims have been known to actually destroy archaeological artifacts if these artifacts gave proof of Israel’s ancient history. In recent years the Muslims have excavated a large portion of the area under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. They excavated with heavy machinery with absolutely no regard for precious Israeli artifacts underneath. These were unceremoniously dumped into the Kidron Valley.
Occasionally Muslims allow the real truth of their intentions to slip out. They have claimed at least since the 1967 war that the real grievance with the Jews is that Israel is possessing their land. They give the constant impression that if the land issue could only be settled all would be well and they could live in peace. This is a lie. Hasan Nasrallah, leader of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon declared in 2002 that if all the Jews gather in Israel, “they’ll make our job easier, and will keep us from having to go hunt them down all over the world” (Gilder p. 25). This merely reflects what the Muslims have always said. They will never stop fighting the Jews and their intention is to drown them all in the sea.
As Christians we are not obligated to defend our Bible. We know that God will defend his own word and that the truth of the Lord will endure forever (Ps. 117:2). Islam has no such assurance concerning its scripture or its “truth.” Each Muslim must therefore defend Islam. In Christianity we allow people to constantly dispute the claims of the Bible. But in Islam to dispute the Qu’ran or Muhammad will quite often bring the death sentence.
Islam is always on the defensive because its truth claim is weak. Today any word of dispute toward Islam or Muhammad almost causes an international incident. In many Islamic nations if a citizen converts to Christianity that person will be killed, often by his own family. As Christians we casually allow people to believe whatever they want to believe. We do this because our truth claim is strong and we are not the least nervous about competing claims.
LOVE IS STRONGER THAN HATRED
Hatred is a negative emotion while love is a positive one. Love will always win out, for God is love. It is his very nature (1 Jn. 4:8). In Christianity we are taught to love others, even if they happen to be our enemies (Lk. 6:27). Islam on the other hand is a religion of hatred. This hatred is constantly demonstrated and displayed in numerous areas. For instance in Islam there is a great and public hatred of Israel. This is probably one of the strongest and most ancient hatreds on the earth today. There is also a great jealousy and hatred toward the west, particularly the USA, presumably because it is made up mostly of Christians.
In Islam there is also a deep resentment and even hatred of women. Brigitte Gabriel, who spent her younger years under Islamic guns in Lebanon says: “There is no greater lack of compassion than in the world of devout Muslims” (Gabriel p. 170).
She says: “Women in Islam are considered unclean, deemed inferior even to dirt” (Gabriel p. 172). She tells how that in Pakistan the Institute of Medical Sciences has reported that some 90 percent of the female population there has suffered beatings for such wrongdoings as merely giving birth to a daughter or perhaps cooking the meal in an unsatisfactory way (Gabriel p. 173). She reports how “honor killings” of women in Gaza and the West Bank make up close to 70 percent of all female deaths (Gabriel p. 176). Also she tells how female genital mutilation is widespread in the Muslim world and that in Indonesia, 96 percent of respondents to a survey by the Population Council acknowledged that they had mutilated their daughters by the time they were fourteen (Gabriel p. 178).
In John 3:16 we read: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God loves us all. He loves all nations and peoples on the face of the earth, including the Muslims. In God’s great plan of world redemption he has chosen to use Israel. The devil must hate Israel for this. He has apparently led many peoples and nations, particularly Islamic ones to hate Israel.
When God called Father Abraham, who is also recognized as a father in Islam, he made an interesting promise to him. He said in Genesis 12:2-3 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
LIFE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH
Christianity is a religion that is all about life. Jesus actually calls himself “the Life” in John 14:6. Jesus therefore says of his people, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (Jn. 10:10). Such a thing is not true in Islam but rather, Islam is a culture of death. The focus is on death by what is falsely called “martyrdom,” and even very small children are trained to blow themselves up for the cause of Islam. Mothers are most proud when their choice sons have become “martyrs” by stabbing, shooting or blowing up some Israelis. The school books in the Palestine Authority are filled with hatred and with stories of such “martyrs” who are greatly honored. Quite often other Muslim nations send large rewards to the families of such “martyrs.”
It seems that in Islam all things are settled by the sword. As we have said, converts are killed and even women and young girls are murdered for the smallest offenses, often being stabbed to death. Of course enemies like Israel are marked for death, and often it is the knife that is the weapon of choice. All this seems to reflect back to the Bible where we see that Esau, one of the progenitors of Islam, was destined to live by the sword (Gen. 27:40). Even Ishmael, who is also seen as the principal father of Islam today by Muslims everywhere, was described as one who would live in hostility and would be against all his brothers (Gen. 16:12).
There is no way for us to estimate the countless millions of people who have been murdered by Islam during its conquest of much of the world. Gabriel reports that “In their fourteen hundred years of rampage, Muslims have killed 270 million people across the globe: 120 million Africans, 60 million Christians, 80 million Hindus, and 10 million Buddhists” (Gabriel p. 36).
In Israel the toll has been staggering for a small country. Since 2000, 1218 Israelis have been killed as a result of Islamic terror alone. At the same time over 8000 have been wounded, no doubt some very seriously (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Still Israel lives on and today the little country is the epitome of life. While Muslim countries constantly portray Israel as a murderous, blood-sucking nation there is really a very high regard for life and human blood in the land. It is not unusual to hear of Israeli doctors struggling to save the life of a wounded Muslim terrorist who has just killed or wounded their own brethren.
All around us in our personal lives, in nature and in the Bible we see that life seems to win out over death. Long ago God said to Israel in Deuteronomy 30:19: “…I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live…”
-Jim Gerrish
Publication 2012
Walid Shoebat with Joel Richardson, God’s War on Terror, Islam, Prophecy and the Bible (US: Top Executive Media, 2008).
George Gilder, The Israel Test, (US, Richard Vigilante Books, 2009).
Brigitte Gabriel, They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It (New York: St Martin’s Press, 2008).
Picture credit Wikimedia Commons, Muslim men at prayer