An Overview of The Religion
of Islam
Comparing Islam and Christianity
Background To Islam
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It is arguably the fastest growing religion
in the world.1
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True or not, the number of people identified with
Islam is about 1.2 – 1.8 billion, 2nd only to 2.1
billion identified as Christian.2
As of 2008 there are approximately 1.35 million
Muslims in the U.S.3
Accordingly, Islam would rank as the 2nd largest
religion in the U.S.4
Why is Islam so Popular?
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Why is it growing so quickly?
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“The secret of Islam’s powerful appeal lies in the
fact that it is not only a religion regulating the
spiritual side of the believer, but also an allembracing way of life governing the totality of the
Muslim’s being” – Caesar E. Farah, Islam: 6th Ed.
Such growth can be attributed to a number of
different factors...
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High birth rates
Militant and evangelistic fervor
Independence of Islamic countries
Wealth (oil)
Education in other countries
Islamic Terms
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Islam - submission, peace, the religion of submission to God
(Allah).
Allah - the Arabic name for the Supreme Being.
Mohammed - a man claiming to be a Prophet of Allah who started
the Islamic religion.
Koran (Qur’an) - the collection of sacred writings collected from
Mohammed’s utterances or sayings. (114 chapters)
Moslem (Muslim) - a true believer, one resigned to Allah, and
following the Quran (Koran), a follower of Mohammed and/or
Islam.
Jihad – literally means “striving” or “struggle”. In practice it is a
“holy war”, and can involve the promulgation of Islam by force to
any perceived enemies of Islamic faith.
Muezzin – A muezzin calls the faithful Muslims to prayer in their
mosque, the Muslim public place of worship.
Mecca – The town of Mecca is the holy city of Islam and the center
for pilgrimage.
The Five Pillars of Islam
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Profession of Faith – “There is no other God
but God and Muhammad is his prophet.”
Worship – Worship is to be observed five
times each day.
Alms-giving – Over 2% of one’s wealth is to
be paid to the poor.
Fasting – Fasting is to be observed during
the month of Ramadan.
Pilgrimage – A pilgrimage, or Hajj, is to be
made to Mecca.
The Islamic Creed
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The five main articles of the Islamic
creed are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Belief in one God
Belief in angels
Belief in prophets
Belief in revealed scripture
Belief in a day of judgment
Background
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“Muslims believe in all Messengers of Allah
without any discrimination among them, as
every known nation has a Warner or
messenger from Allah. They were chosen by
God to teach humanity and deliver His Divine
message. The Qur’an mentions the name of
some of them including Jews including Adam,
Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon,
Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus
(peace be upon them).” - IslamicWeb.com
Background To Islam
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The Qur’an’s history.
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“Began with revelations on Muhammad’s divine
revelations” when he was 40 years old (610 A.D.)
til his death (632 A.D.).5
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The problem is that these revelations are contrary to
the doctrine of Christ. 2 Jn. 9
Further, the Law of Moses was to bring people to
Christ, not beyond Him. Gal. 3:24; Jude 3
The Role of Muhammad
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“In Islam there can be no confusion or doubt that
Muhammad was a man, and only a man, chosen by
the Creator to fulfill a divine mission as a prophet.
Muhammad's mission was literally to ‘read’ what Allah
had ordered and ordained, nothing more. The Prophet
received his revelations from God, sometimes in
solitude, sometimes in the presence of others. Words
flowed from his mouth in a way that others described
as inspired. This was Muhammad’s wahy (divine
inspiration or revelation). Muslims believe that the
Qur’an is the Word of Allah expressed through the
revelations to the Prophet.” - Introduction To Islam,
M. Cherif Bassiouni
(http://www.mideasti.org/library/islam/introislam.ht
m)
Islam And Christianity
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GOD
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ISLAM...
Teaches there is one God – (Qur’an 3:64)
 Rejects the concept of the Trinity (Qur’an 4:171)
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CHRISTIANITY...
Teaches there is one God - 1 Co 8:6
 Reveals that the Godhead is composed of three
distinct personalities - Father, Son, Holy Spirit;
one in essence and substance - cf. Jn 1:1-5; Ph
2:5-8; 2 Jn 9; Mt 28:19
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English Excerpt from Qur’an 4:171
Islam And Christianity
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JESUS
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ISLAM...
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Considers Jesus a prophet, like Noah, Abraham, Moses
(and Muhammad)
Rejects the divinity of Jesus, denies his preexistence Qur’an 4:171
Believes in the virgin birth, however
Does not believe Jesus died on the cross nor was raised
from the dead - Qur’an 4:157
CHRISTIANITY...
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Declares that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God - Mt
16:13-18
Teaches the preexistence of Christ - Jn 1:1-5; Co 1:16-17
Proclaims that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and
was raised from the dead
Qur’an 4:157
Islam And Christianity
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SALVATION
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ISLAM...
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Salvation comes by works
Personal righteousness is weighed against personal sin, which
ever is greater determines salvation - Qur’an 23:101-103
A Muslim can be forgiven by repenting of sin - Qur’an 39:53-54
Paradise is assured for one who dies as a martyr for Islam
One becomes a Muslim by confessing “There is no other god but
God; and Muhammad is the Prophet of God” (la ilaha ill’Allah,
Muhammad rasul Allah) from the heart
CHRISTIANITY...
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Salvation is by grace through an obedient faith - Ep 2:8-9; Ti
3:4-7
Jesus died on the cross as atonement for our sins - Ro 3:21-26
He is the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him - He 5:9
Those whose names are in the Lamb’s book of life will be spared
condemnation - Re 20: 11-15
One becomes a Christian by obeying God’s plan of salvation.
Islam And Christianity
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THE WORD OF GOD
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ISLAM...
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Believes in 4 inspired books - the Torah (5 books of
Moses), Zabur (the Psalms), lnjil (the Gospel), and
Qur'an
The first three have been corrupted; the Qur’an provides
the final revelation of God’s Word
B. CHRISTIANITY...
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Believes Old and New Testaments contain the revelation
of God’s Word - 2 Ti 3:16-17
Believes that God’s Word cannot be corrupted, but is
preserved - 1 Pe 1:23-25; Mt 24:35; Isa 40:8
Believes that revelation of God’s Word is fully and finally
revealed - 2 Pe 1:3; Ju 3
Islam View Of The Scriptures
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“Muslims believe in all original scriptures and
revelations of Allah, accepting them as the
guiding light that the messengers received to
show their respective people the right path to
Him. However, some of these books and
revelations had been lost or corrupted before
the revelation of the Qur’an. The only
authentic and complete book of Allah in
existence today is the Qur’an, which has been
preserved as it was revealed to prophet
Muhammad through Angel Gabriel in its
pristine, pure form.” - ibid.
Islam And Christianity
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WAR AND VENGEANCE
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ISLAM...
Allows war and vengeance for self-defense
against persecution (Qur’an 4:95,96; 8:39;65)
 Allows use of war in promoting the faith against
unbelievers and idolaters (Qur’an 9:29)
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CHRISTIANITY...
Forbids war and vengeance when persecuted
for righteousness’ sake - Mt 5:10-12,38-48
 Forbids use of war to promote the cause of
Christ and the gospel - 2 Co 10:3-5
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The Dangers of Islam
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Clearly: there are Muslims who do not act
out in “terror” against non-Muslims.6
 Why are there so many reports of “terrorist”
of violence against non-Muslims?
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“Fight against such of those to whom the
Scriptures were given...and do not embrace the
true Faith, until they pay tribute out of hand and
are utterly subdued.” (Qur’an 9:29)
The Dangers of Islam
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Muslims believe their acts are done out of
vengeance for years of those who have
oppressed them.
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Regarding the Western world: Hussein Massawi
(former leader of Hezbollah) – “We are not
fighting so that you will offer us something. We
are fighting to eliminate you.”
Hamas Parliament speaker calls for Muslims to
kills Jews/Americans.8
Nancy Perkins (American school teacher in Saudi
and Kuwait): “I couldn't wait to get out of there daily the Imam called out for prayers saying
"Allah Akbar - Death to Americans.”9
The Error of Islam
 Summary
 When
Jesus Christ is lessened by one
iota, the gospel becomes false. Cp. Gal.
1:6-10
 Anyone bringing a different teaching has
no fellowship with God. 1 Jn. 4:2-3; 2
Jn. 9
Conclusion
To accept the Islamic faith is to totally
reject Jesus as the way to God.
 Let our faith be solely in Christ and no
other… no matter what. 1 Pet. 4:16
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(John 8:24) I said therefore unto you, that ye
shall die in your sins: for except ye believe
that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (ASV)
 (Acts 4:12) And in none other is there
salvation: for neither is there any other name
under heaven, that is given among men,
wherein we must be saved. (ASV)
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References
World Religions Made Easy by Mark
Water. (Pages 14-17)
 Websters’ Ninth New Collegiate
Dictionary.
 Resources and Outline by Mitch Davis
 BELIEFS OF ISLAM EXAMINED By
Kevin Cauley
 Comprehensive study by Mark Copeland
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References on Internet
1.
2.
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6.
7.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claims_to_be_t 8.
he_fastest-growing_religion#Islam
Religions of the World Ranked by Number
of Adherents, 2005,
http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_A
dherents.html.
American Religious Identification Survey, 9.
Summary Report, March, 2009:
http://livinginliminality.files.wordpress.com/
2009/03/aris_report_2008.pdf.
10.
Major religious groups:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_religious
_groups
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_history
#Origins
Reading Islam:
http://www.readingislam.com/ (site no
longer working).
Text:
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/index.ht
ml#Attacks
NewsBusters.com, Media Ignore Hamas
Parliament Speaker’s Call for Allah to Kill
Jews and Americans:
http://newsbusters.org/node/12463;
http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=
214&ar=1426wmv&ak=null
Nancy Perkins, To Veil or not to veil,
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2
007/11/16/470834.aspx
Jihad Watch, Why are you doing this,
http://www.jihadwatch.org/spencer/.