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"No God in Common:" American Evangelical Discourse on Islam after 9/11
Author(s): Richard Cimino
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"NO GOD IN COMMON:"
AMERICAN EVANGELICAL DISCOURSE ON ISLAM
AFTER 9/11
RICHARDCIMINO
NEWSCHOOLFOR SOCIALRESEARCH
REVIEWOF RELIGIOUSRESEARCH2005, VOLUME47:2, PAGES 162-174
After the September11 terroristattackson the U.S., evangelical leaders emergedas
strongcritics and even antagonistsof Islam. This rhetoricis reflectedin evangelical
books and articles thathave beenpublishedin the last decade, butparticularlysince
9/11. Througha contentanalysis of evangelical bookson Islampublishedbeforeand
after 9/11, this articlefinds that therewas a noticeable change of emphasisandperspective on Islam after the attacks. Most of the post-9/11 literaturedraws sharper
boundariesbetween Islam and Christianityand asserts that Islam is an essentially
violent religion. Thispolemic against Islam takes threeforms: apologetics to prove
the truthof Christianityagainst Islam;propheticliteraturelinkingIslam as the main
protagonist in end-timesscenarios; and charismatic literatureapplying "spiritual
warfare" teachings to Islam. Thearticle concludes that the greaterand morevisible
pluralismin Americansociety is challengingevangelical identity,leading to the erection of new boundarymarkersbetweenevangelicalismand otherreligions.Suchnew
boundariescan strain interfaithrelations,yet they also function to strengthenevangelical Protestantidentityin the U.S.
INTRODUCTION
ihile the numberof Muslims in the U.S. is in dispute,their very presence in the
U.S., like the earlierpresenceof Jews, challengesolderestablishmentsand ways
of doing things.A Diversity Survey conductedby RobertWuthnowfound that
48% of the public claimed to have had at least some personalcontact with Muslims, and
eight percenthave attendeda Muslim mosque.Wuthnownoted that these figures are considerablylargerthan the percentagesof Americans in the 1970s who experimentedwith
Easternnew religions. "Inshort,thereis a kind of culturalawareness,undoubtedlyforged
as much by television and motion picturesand by internationaltraveland culturalmixing
as by recent trendsin immigration,which far exceeds and transcendsthe actualnumbers
of Muslim,Hindu,or Buddhistadherents"(Wuthnow2003). A growingsymbolicinfluence
of Muslims in Americansociety could be seen in the appointmentof a Muslim chaplainto
the Senate and even in the fact that a Muslim led the benediction duringthe Republican
Conventionin 2000.
But it took September11, 2001 (referredto throughoutthis articleas 9/11) to bringthese
changes home to many otherAmericansand to evangelicalsin particular.In the years following the terroristattacks,evangelicalProtestantshave shownthemselvesto be amongthe
W
162
No God in Common
most caustic critics and antagonistsof Islam in the U.S. In 2002, evangelistFranklinGraham called Islam a "verywicked and evil religion,"while Pat Robertsonand JerryFalwell
criticized Islam as essentially violent and sympatheticto terrorism.In a similar manner,
SouthernBaptistleaderJerryVines createdheadlinesby preachingthatMohammedwas a
"demon-possessedpedophile"(Plowman2002). These commentswere ridiculedand criticized by more liberalChristiansand otherreligious and political leaders.The Bush administrationon severaloccasionsdistanceditself fromthese anti-Islamicstatements,maintaining
its public stancethatIslam is a religion of peace.
But the publicstatementsrevealeda patternof anti-Islamicpolemicsthatis foundin much
of the literatureof evangelicalsandcharismaticChristiansin the periodafter9/11. This article examinesthe recentanti-Islamicpolemics in the light of the evangelicals'encounterwith
the new pluralismthathas developedwithinAmericansociety duringthe pastdecade.I also
attemptto relatethese polemics to evangelicalstatementsand writingsaboutsyncretismand
relativismthat have appearedsince 9/11. These concerns have led evangelicalsto reassert
and sharpenthe differencesbetween the teachingsof Christianityand Islam.
Thereis considerabledisagreementin the sociological literatureas to the effects of interreligious conflict and pluralismamongevangelicals.Hunter(1987) arguesthatthe conflict
associatedwith religiousandculturalpluralismerodesevangelicalidentity,leadingeitherto
an isolationist stance or to a gradualbargainingaway of essential teachingsand practices.
In contrast,Smith (1998:115) assertsthat "conflictwith ideological and subculturalcompetitorsthatreligious groups may confrontin a pluralisticsociety . . . can strengthenreligious beliefs andpractices."The presentarticleis not so muchaboutactualconflictsbetween
evangelicalsand Muslims as abouthow Americanevangelicalsare reassertingtheirdifferences with Islam as a way of battlingwhatthey see as the more pervasiveculturalforces of
relativismand syncretism.In such a conflictwith moder Americansociety,I arguethatsuch
anti-Islamicpolemicsfunctionto strengthenthe subculturalidentityof evangelicals.Throughout this article,I use the term "evangelical"in the broadsense to include both non-charismatic and charismaticconservativeProtestantswho adhereto the threebasic tenets of this
movement:stressinga personalrelationshipwith Christ,the authorityandinspirationof the
Bible, and the importanceof evangelizingothers(Marsden,1991). When specificallyreferring to charismaticsand fundamentalists,I will use those terms.
Recent surveyshave foundthatAmericanevangelicalsare more likely thanotherAmericans to be opposed to Islam and to believe thereis little common groundbetween the two
faiths. In a Pew Surveyshortlyafter9/11, 62% of evangelicalssaid they believed theirreligion to be very differentfrom Islam,as comparedto 44% of non-evangelicalswho held this
view (Pew 2001). A Beliefnet/Ethicsand Public Policy survey in 2003 found that 77% of
evangelicalleadershad an overall unfavorableview of Islam. Seventy percentalso agreed
thatIslam is a "religionof violence."Yet 93% said it was either"veryimportant"(52%) or
"of some importance"(41%)to "welcomeMuslims into the Americancommunity."Seventy nine percentsaidit was veryimportantto "protectthe rightsof Muslims"(Beliefnet,EPPC
2003). This seeming contradictionbetween condemningIslam while acceptingMuslims in
the U.S. suggests that much of the anti-Islamicrhetoricis based on issues of religion and
valuesratherthanon racialandethnicprejudice.Anotherstudyby Pew in Julyof 2003 found
that most Americanscontinueto rate Muslim-Americansfavorably,thoughthe percentage
is inchingdownward.A decliningnumberof Americanssay thattheirown religionhas a lot
in commonwith Islam:22%in 2003, comparedwith 27%in 2002 and 31%shortlyafterthe
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terroristattacksin the fall of 2001. White evangelicalChristiansandpoliticalconservatives
hold more negativeviews of Muslims and are more likely thanotherAmericansto say that
Islam encouragesviolence among its followers (Pew 2003, IslamOnline2004).
The DiversitySurveyconductedin 2003 found that47% of respondentsagreedthatthe
word"fanatical"appliedto the religionof Islam,and40% said the word"violent"described
the religion.Nearlyone quarter(23%)said they favoredmakingit illegal for Muslimgroups
to meet in the U.S. for worship(Wuthnow2003). Aside fromsurveyresearch,however,there
has been little qualitativeresearchabout evangelical attitudeson Islam. A recent content
analysis (Hoover2004) of the two primaryevangelicalmagazines,ChristianityTodayand
the newsweekly World,does reveal the growthof anti-Islamicattitudesafter9/11, at least
among a segmentof evangelicals.ChristianityTodaymagazine,representingmore moderate or "mainstream"evangelicals, was found to downplay the idea of inevitable conflict
betweenIslam and the West in its coveragein the two years after9/11. Articles aboutevangelizing Muslims and religiouspersecutionof missionarieswere the most prominentkinds
of articlesin the magazineduringthis period.In contrast,World,whichmoreclosely reflects
the positions of the ChristianRight, adopteda harderline, stressing the violent natureof
much of Islam and criticizingnews coveragethatthe magazineviewed as favorablybiased
towardthe religion (Hoover2004).
The presentarticlefinds thatthe evangelicalstancetowardIslam is even more complex
and diverse.I divide the evangelicalpositions on Islam, as reflectedin theirliterature,into
four categories:apologetic,prophetic,charismatic-spiritual
warfare,and contextualist.
METHOD
In this article,evangelicalanti-Islamicdiscourseis examinedthrougha contentanalysis
of popularevangelicalliteraturefromthe ten yearperiodbefore September11, 2001, andin
the threeyears following thatevent. The 10-yearspan priorto 9/11 was chosen in orderto
have a large enough sample to analyze (therewere very few evangelicalbooks writtenon
Islambefore 2001). The impactof 9/11 on evangelicalattitudeson Islamis most evidentin
the apologeticbooks;the anti-Islamicthemesin the propheticandcharismaticliteraturehad
alreadyemerged a decade earlier,althoughpopularizedand intensified after the terrorist
attacks.
The books selected for analysisin this studywere takenfrom the online listings and catalog of the FamilyChristianBookstores,one of the largestevangelicalChristianbookstore
chainsin the U.S. An attemptwas made to collect all of the evangelicalbooks on Islamthat
have been publishedanddistributedto these bookstores.FamilyChristianBookstorestends
to exclude scholarlyevangelical publishersand books, althoughI located several of such
titles and have includedthem in the analysis and comparisons.This articlethus analyzesa
total of 18 books, 13 of which were writtenor reissuedafter9/11. Accordingto criteriadiscussed at the beginningof this article,each book was analyzedfor its discourseon the nature
of Islam (which is relatedto the questionof whetherthe religionis inherentlyviolent), and
for its explanationof the relationshipof Islamto ChristianityandJudaism(which is related
to the questionof whetherMuslimsworshipthe same God as Jews and Christians).
In additionto these issues, the propheticandthe spiritualwarfare-charismatic
books were
more
the
role
of
Islam
in
the
times
and the
end
criteria,
analyzed using
specific
including
in
of
warfare"
the
of
Islam.
of
the
cona
content
concept "spiritual
critique
Finally,
analysis
164
No God in Common
servativeevangelicalnewsweekly Worldwas conductedbetween the years of 1996-2002 to
explorethe contextof anti-Islamicdiscourseandhow it is relatedto concernsover interfaith
involvementand pluralism.
EVANGELICAL APOLOGETIC LITERATURE ON ISLAM
BEFORE AND AFTER 9/11
Withinthe evangelicalapologeticmovementone finds a distinctivelyanti-Islamicthrust.
The idea that evangelical Christianitycan be reasonablydefendedagainstcritics and rival
philosophiesor worldviewshas long been a stapleof the movement,with hundredsof books
comparingChristianitywith rivalthoughtsystems- from Mormonismto the New Age - to
show where they are in error.Until the late 1980s and early 1990s, the literatureon Islam
was very sparseand those books thatdid treatthe religion includedlittle on the new Islamic resurgenceexpressedin the rise of the AyatollahKhomeini. Since apologeticbooks are
usually aimed at the ordinarylayperson in their everydayencounterswith those of other
faiths, the need for this literaturewas not especially pressing priorto Islam's greatervisibility and growthin the 1990s.
One of the most popularof these apologetic books was Answering Islam by Norman
GeislerandAbdul Saleeb (1993). The book is still used by manyevangelicalseminariesand
colleges in theirapologeticscourses,thoughthe morerecentanti-Islamapologistshave criticized it. The book is a straightforward
polemic againstIslam, distinguishingIslamic from
Christiandoctrine.Islam's disavowalof the Trinity,the incarnationof Christ,andthe sufficiency of the Bible as God's word,as well as its teachingson the importanceof performing
good works in attainingsalvationare all critiquedfrom a standardevangelicalperspective.
Althoughwrittenwell afterthe growthof Islamic fundamentalismandthe religion'sgeneral resurgencein much of the world,thereis surprisinglylittle involvingterrorism,violence,
jihador Islamicmilitancyin general.Most importantlyfor the purposesof this article,Geisler
and Saleeb statethatthe God thatMuslims addressand worshipas "Allah"is the same God
of the Old andNew TestamentsthatJews andChristiansinvoke.Of course,the authorshold
thatthe Islamic view of God as taughtin the Quar'anis seriously distortedand marredby
non-biblicalsources,but they do give, if grudgingly,a place to Muslims in the monotheistic family of Jews and Christians.This is not to say thatall otherpre-9/11 apologeticliterature takes a moderate approachtowardIslam. One of the books that foreshadows many
elementsof the morerecentpost-9/11 literatureis IslamRevealed(1988) by Anis Shorrosh.
But while this book sees armedJihadand violence as centralto Islam, it also views Muslims as fellow monotheistsalong with Christiansand Jews, a view thatstandsin contrastto
the post-9/11 literature.
It shouldalso be notedthatthose with a morefundamentalist
orientation(forwhom apoloin
assume
a
more
central
role
their
have
faith)
getics
long expressed negative views concerningIslam.Apologists such as Dave Hunt and RobertMorey virulentlyattackIslam on
theirweb sites, with the latterusing the imageryand languageof the Crusadesto battlethe
Islamic threat(Hunt2003; Morey 2003). Popularradio broadcasterand prophecyteacher
JohnAnkenberg'sbookletTheFacts On Islam (1991) is a fiery expose of the religion,touching on the familiarnerve points of Islam's essential violence and evil nature.It is not only
fundamentalistsand evangelicalsthat hold anti-Islamicviews: fairly similarpositions can
be found in the conservativewings of RomanCatholicismandEasternOrthodoxy(Spencer
2002, Trifkovic2002).
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The books and articlesthat were published- or re-issued- after September11 sharea
numberof similarcharacteristics.Like the Shorroshbook, they areoften writtenby ex-Muslims who convertedto Christianity(usuallyaftera periodof living in the West).The books
are usually publicized as revealing the "real truth"about Islam that has been hidden or
obscuredby the media and otherelite segmentsof Americansociety. But the two principal
themesthatdistinguishthese books from thatof the pre-9/11 literatureis the dual emphasis
on Islam'sinherentlyviolent nature,a fact revealedby the September11 attacks,and, most
importantly,the assertionthatMuslimsworshipa false god distinctlydifferentthanthe God
of ChristianityandJudaism.One of the mostpopularof these books is UnveilingIslam,written by ex-MuslimsErg and EmirCaner(2002), which was the sourceVines cited when he
made the remarkaboutMuhammad.The book is reportedto have sold over 100,000 copies
and seeks to dispel the position of Geisler and Saleeb thatAllah is the same God (Jehovah)
that Christiansand Jews worship, arguingthat Muhammadhimself viewed followers of
Moses and Christas "childrenof Satan,not separatedbrethren."The Canersalso assertthat
violent jihad and armedconflict is an "essential and indispensabletenet"of Islam. "The
[September11] terroristswere not some fringe groupthatchangedthe Koranto suit political ends. They knew the Koranquite well and followed the teachingsof jihad to the letter."
This polemic against Islam is not only directedat Muslims; a good partof the book also
takesaim at liberalAmericansociety itself. Thus, the Canerswritethatestablishingthe differencebetween the trueGod of Christianityand the false God of Islam is "neitherpopular
nor welcome [in a] politically correct,politically charged,postmodernculture.... But [it]
is essential to an effective witness."A concern about syncretism,which is the blendingof
faiths,andrelativism,holdingthatno one particularfaithis rightor wrong,framesmuch of
the Caners'andthe otherpolemicists'arguments,a point thatwill be returnedto laterin this
article(See also Schmidt2004: 232-258).
Throughoutmuch of the post-9/11 evangelicalliterature,thereis a rethinkingof formerheld
views in the light of new realities.A vivid exampleof this is foundin the book Secrets
ly
the
Koran
of
by popularevangelicalmissionaryDon Richardson(Richardson2003, Staub
is
who
most well-knownfor his book Peace Child.The book is an accountof his mis2003),
sionaryexperiencein Indonesiawhere he developed what he calls the "redemptiveanalogy" thesis. This is the idea thateach culturehas some story,ritual,or traditionthatbe used
to teachor illustratethe Christiangospel message.After9/11, Richardsonstudiedthe Koran
to see if the redemptiveanalogycould be used to buildbridgesto Islambutcame to the conclusion thatit would not work.He writesthatIslam has so redefinedbiblicalteachingsand
concepts (such as heaven,Christ,and God) thatit is impossibleto find commonground.In
an interview,Richardsonsays thatthe KoranandIslamareessentiallyviolent,claimingthat
if Mohammedwas alive today he would supportOsamabin Ladenratherthanmoderates
becausehe wantedto createa theocracyon earth.Even in the more moderatepopularbook
AnsweringIslam, the updatedpost 9/11 edition (2002: 328) leaves its strictlytheological
approachbehindto include a section on "Islamon Violence."Geislerand Saleeb also write
that there is a "religiousfoundationfor violence deeply embeddedwithin the very worldview of Islam.... Such violence [goes] to the very roots of Islam, as found in the [Koran]
andthe actionsand teachingsof the prophetof Islamhimself."In anotherco-authoredwork
with evangelicaltheologianR.C. Sproul,Saleeb reiteratesthe view thatthe violence present amongcontemporaryMuslimsand in Islamicsocieties has its roots in the Koran(Sproul
and Saleeb 2003:83-100).
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No God in Common
It shouldbe addedthatthese writersattemptto avoidthe chargeof anti-Islamicprejudice
by statingthat most Muslims in the U.S. are not violent and that one should not engage in
stereotyping.For instance, in his new book Islam and the Jews, MarkGabriel (2003), an
Egyptianand formerMuslim professor,writes thatmost AmericanMuslims are "ordinary
Muslims,"meaningthatthey do not reallypracticeIslam as laid down in the Koranand are
Muslim because of their cultureand tradition.It is the "committed"and "fanatical"Muslims who are most likely to supportor engage in terrorism,accordingto Gabriel.
Islam as a Player in the End-Times
Anotherareawhere evangelicalanti-Islamicpolemics have flourishedin recentyearsis
in the biblical prophecymovement.This movementgatherstogetherpre-millennialevangelicals and fundamentalists,who interpretthe Bible as providinga blueprintof the endtimes andthe returnof Christ.An importantpartof the premillennialprophecyis the strategic
role thatIsraelwill play in gatheringtogetherthe Jews of the worldand rebuildingthe temple, therebyhasteningthe returnof Christto earth.The significantplace given to Israelin
such propheticscenarioshas influenceda significantsegmentof the evangelicaland fundamentalistcommunitiesto become steadfastfriendsand supportersof Israel.The tilt toward
Israel,at least in contemporarytimes, implies a criticaland at times adversarialview toward
the IslamicPalestiniancommunity,which occupies much of the historicalbiblicalterritory.
But it is actually only in the last decade that Islam has assumed a centralrole in biblical
prophecy.
In his book The Last of the Giants (1991) charismaticmissions strategistand futurist
George Otis, Jr. writes that since the fall of communismIslam has become the main protagonistin the invasionof Israelfrom neighboringcountriesto the north- the "mostimportantend-timeevents"allegedlyprophesiedin the Bible. The "standardassumption"in early
propheticliteraturewas that this invasion would be communist-ledor inspired,but it had
always been a puzzle why communists would be in alliance with the Arab nations to the
northof Israel.The fall of communismsolved thatproblem,leaving Islam (especially now
thatthe religion is active and growingin formerSoviet republics)as the main antagonistin
propheticend-timescenarios.Otisgoes on to speculatethatan ultimate"jihad"will be waged
againstIsraelby the Islamicnations.While these nationswill be defeated,therewill emerge
a miracle-workingfalse prophetknownas the anti-Christ,who Otis identifiesas the "Mahdi,"
a messiah-likefigurein Shi'ite Islam.The rise of the Mahdiwill signal the beginningof the
war of Armageddon,the last battlethatwill usherin the final returnof Christ.
The close connectionmade betweenIslam and the unfoldingof biblicalprophecyis evident in other evangelical propheticworks, though not always to the extent found in Otis'
writings. Since 9/11 there have been several propheticworks that are based almost completely on the centralrole of Islamin end-timeevents.Hal Lindsey,authorof the 1970s bestseller The Late Great Planet Earth, recently wrote The EverlastingHatred: The Roots of
Jihad (2002:10), wherehe chroniclesthe ancientenmity betweenMuslims andJews thatis
leading up to the end-times,and adds that"Islamrepresentsthe single greatestthreatto the
continuedsurvivalof the planet."In MarkHitchcock'sTheComingIslamicInvasionof Israel
(2002), the "finaljihad"between Israeland the Islamic nationstakes center stage. WarOn
Terror:UnfoldingBible Prophecy (Jeffrey2002) has a photo of the burningWorldTrade
Centeron its coverandfocuses moreon how terrorismitself - fromthe TalibanandAl Queda
to even SadaamHusseinin Iraq(in restoringthe biblicalempireof Babylon)- ushersin the
end-times.
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Charismatic-Spiritual Warfare Literature and the Demonization of Islam
The next groupingof charismaticandPentecostalanti-Islambooks andarticlesaresomewhat similarto the apologeticbooks, but they are even more extreme,and tend literallyto
demonizethe religion.In this literature,thereis an emphasison whatPentecostalsandcharismaticscall "spiritualwarfare"- thatis, battlingdemonicinfluencethroughthe use of deliverancepractices(similarto exorcism) and performing"signs and wonders"or miraclesto
demonstratethe power of God over such forces. This perspectivehas been evident in the
decade before 9/11, thoughit has gained a much largerfollowing since 2001. The spiritual
warfareperspectiveanimatesmuchof Reza Safa's (1996) popularbook InsideIslam, which
was updatedand reissuedafter9/11. Safa touches on all of the familiarthemeslisted above
- thatIslamis inherentlyviolentandthatthereis a wide chasmbetweenthe God of the Bible
and Allah - but he also introducessome new elements. He writes thatAllah is not only a
false god distinctfrom the trueGod of the Bible, but thathe is actuallya pre-Islamicpagan
deity who is identifiedwith worshipof the moon. The associationof the occult with Allah
and Muslim worshipand practicesis prominentin most of the charismaticand Pentecostal
literature.Safa, a convertfrom a "radicalShi'ite"background,writesthatIslamis morethan
a religious and a political system; it is a "spiritualforce, an antichristspiritmanifestedto
oppose the workandthe plan of God."Islamopposes God's planby hinderingan "end-time
revival"of the world (especially since Muslim countriesare closed to Christianmissionaries) as well as by opposingthe Jewishpeople and takingover "theirGod-givenland."Safa
concludesthatonly way to conquerIslamis throughtakingauthorityoverthis spiritualforce
throughprayerand fasting.
Spiritualwarfareteachingshave become entrenchedin charismaticchurchesand teaching centers, and this anti-Islamicpolemic seems to be spreadingthroughthese same networks.Settingmuchof the tone is C. PeterWagner,a formerFullerseminaryprofessorwho
trainspastorsandmissionariesin propheticand spiritualwarfareteachingsthrougha school
operatedin his name and throughhis organization,Global HarvestMinistries.In a recent
issue of his newsletter,he writes that "one billion Muslims worshipa high-rankingdemon
who has gone by the name of 'Allah'since long before Mohammedwas born,"and thatthe
"deeperdimensionof the waron terrorismis not Talibanvs. America,butAllah vs. God the
Father"(Wagner2002:4-5).
To understandwhy Islam is so enmeshed in spiritualwarfareteachings among charismatics, it is necessaryto returnto a sourcethatmany of the above authorsand leaderscite:
George Otis Jr.'sbook, The Last of the Giants (1991). Aside from its propheticteachings,
the book soughtto devise a new map and strategyfor worldevangelization.A new map was
necessarybecause"Asthe spiritualbalanceof powerin the worldshiftedsteadilyawayfrom
in the 1980s, it becameincreasinglyclearthata new orderof powerfulcomMarxist-atheism
was
petitors
vying for preeminence."Otis identifies Islam as the most serious challenge,
since Muslimsmake up much of the 95% of the world'snon-Christianswho reside in what
is called the "10/40 window"- a missionarytermmeaningthe geographicalregionbetween
the tenthand fortiethlatitudes,includingNorthAfrica, the Middle East, as well as partsof
India,Chinaand CentralAsia. Otis sees the 10/40 Windowas the "primaryspiritualbattle
groundof the 1990s andbeyond"andidentifiestwo of the region's"powerfulstrongholds"Iranand Iraq.This tendencyto view demonic and even Satanicforces as influencinga territory,a group of people, a government,or an institutionwas conceptualizedby C. Peter
Wagneras a way to locate and then expel influencesthatmay block the receptionof Chris168
No God in Common
tianityby an unreachedpopulationin a new region.The anti-Islamicpolemic in the charismatic literatureis closely connected to global competition for influence and dominance
betweenChristianityandIslam.This is most closely seen in a countrysuch as Nigeria,where
Pentecostalshave demonizedIslam in a similarmannerto that of theirAmericancounterparts,althoughthey face the actualthreatof the impositionof Islamic Sharialaw.
The Contextualist Approach
It would be inaccurate,however,to view the anti-Islamicpolemical literatureas representing the whole evangelicalcommunity.For instance,the trendof missions amongMuslims has moved away fromconfrontationandcondemnationof Islamas a false religionthat
must be totally forsakenby the potentialconvertto one of contextualization.This approach
teaches thatthe missionarymust meet the Muslims on theirown groundand thattheirculture and religious sensibility should be affirmed,even if ultimately"fulfilled"throughthe
Christiangospel. Forinstance,suchmissionarieswouldspeakof God as Allah anduse Islamic prayerand worshippractices(which, it should be added,Muslim critics view as deceitful).TherehavebeenrecentevangelicalbooksthatargueagainstviewingIslamas an essentially
violent and evil religion,but they are in the minorityand often exist outsidethe mainstream
of the evangelical apologetic movement (Poston and Ellis 2000; George 2002; Mallouhi
2002). Evangelicalmissionarieshave been among those most criticalof these anti-Islamic
views. In January,2003, a groupof missionariesfromthe SouthernBaptistConventionsent
a letterto its churchleaderspleadingfor a cessation of anti-Islamicstatementswhich only
hampermission work among Muslims, not to mentionthreateningthe safety of missionaries themselves (Buettner2003). LynnGreen,the directorof YouthWithA Mission,' called
on WesternChristiansto refrainfrom "collectivelydemonizing"Muslimsafter9/ 1 (Dixon
2002). The leadershipof the NationalAssociationof Evangelicalsjoined with an influential
conservativethinktank, the Instituteon Religion and Democracy(IRD), in issuing a joint
statementof guidelines to calm the evangelical-Islamictensions and initiate dialog. The
guidelinescondemnstereotypingIslamandMuslimsandeven affirmthatboth groupsshare
a concept of "naturallaw" or "commongrace"in morality and theology (Guidelines for
Christian-MuslimDialogue 2003)
THE THREAT OF SYNCRETISM AND RELATIVISM
The differentforms of anti-Islamoutlinedabove revealnew patternsof competitionand
confrontationwith Islam both as a global force and as a presencein the United States.The
fact thatthese anti-Islamicpolemics are frequentlystrongeramongAmericanevangelicals
than among missionaries,or amongArab and Middle EasternChristianswho have extensive contactwith Muslims, suggests thatthis phenomenonhas as much to do with conflicts
andchanges withinevangelicalismas it does with interfaithrelationships.The fearand criticism of religiousrelativismand syncretismin an increasinglyreligiouslypluralisticsociety is common in most of the books and articlesanalyzedin this article.While the concern
with pluralismis most evident in the apologetic literature,the message of the charismatic
andpropheticliteraturealso reflects the theme thatthe truenatureof Islam is obscuredin a
"politicallycorrect"and godless society, as well as in thatsociety's treatmentof the global
competitionbetween Islam and Christianity.
One can understandthe linkage this literatureoften makes between Islam and violence,
especiallysince surveysshow thatotherAmericanshave increasinglycome to a similarposi169
Reviewof Religious Research
tion since 9/11. But the evangelical tendencyto drawa sharpline between Christiansand
Muslims, including the denial of their belief in the same God, requiresmore exploration.
ChristianNews, a conservativeLutherannewspaper,stronglypraisedthe Caners'Unveiling
Islam, andrecommendsit both to leadersof the LutheranChurch-MissouriSynod "andthe
RomanCatholicPope who assertthatJews,Muslims,etc., all believein the sameGod"(Reising 2003). The referenceto the LutheranChurch-MissouriSynod is importantbecause this
churchbody has been embroiledover a controversyinvolvinginterfaithrelations.One of its
leaders,David Benke of New York,participatedin an interfaithprayerservicewith Muslims
and othernon-Christiangroups at YankeeStadiuma few days after9/11 and was immediately disciplinedby the synod for engagingin syncretismand promotinga false unity with
non-Christianreligions.2The incident has served as a case study for evangelicals on the
growthof relativismand syncretismin the churches;even the moderateChristianityToday
magazinetook an editorialposition favoring,with some qualifications,the synod position.
The evangelicalconcernwas thatthe many of the services held, and of the public religious
voices heardin the media-even the responseof politicalleadersafter9/11 statingthatIslam
is a religion of peace-were close to promotingthe view that Christianityis no different
from otherfaiths and thatall religions shouldbe viewed as equal.
The relationshipbetween the negativecritiqueof Islam discussed above, and the alarm
over religiouspluralismand relativism,is evidentin the coverageof the conservativeevangelical news weekly World,which is one of the evangelical magazines which is the most
criticalof Islam. In analyzingWorld'scoverageof Islam, one finds thatbefore 9/11, references to Islam were generallysparse.From 1996 to 1999, for instance,therewere a total of
25 referencesto Islam in articles,mainly havingto do with the persecutionand restrictions
againstChristiansin Islamic nations.As one might expect, thatnumberincreaseddramatically in 2001, and in 2002 alone, there were 91 referencesto Islam (usually full articles).
Whatis more significantis how these articlesfrequentlyaddressIslamwithinthe framework
of a critiqueof pluralismandsyncretismin Americanreligionand society.This is most starkly seen in a controversialeditorialappearingjust after September11 in Worldwhich laid
muchof the blamefor the attackson the "godsof nominalism,materialism,secularismand
pluralism"(Belz 2001: 5).
The magazinelatergave its annual"Danielof theYearAward"(namedafterthe Old Testamentprophetwho faced a lions' den) to FranklinGrahamfor "tellingthe hardtruths.about
Islam"as well as for standingup for Christianconvictions in the face of a religiously and
culturallyrelativisticsociety."Ina worldof religiousrelativism,the very suggestionthatany
one belief mightbe superiorto anotheris preciselythe kind of heresythatwill get a preacher tossed to the lions of politicalcorrectness,"statedthe article(Jones2002: 1-6). In World's
editorials,MarvinOlaskyfrequentlystatedthatMuslims and Christiansdo not worshipthe
same God and that the violent tendencies of militant Islam are deeply embedded in the
Qu'aran(Olasky 2002). But he often placed these views within a broadercritiqueof the
Americanmedia as being biased againstconservativeChristiansbut tolerantand uncritical
of Islam and othernon-Christianfaiths (Olasky2001, 2003).
DISCUSSION
September11 and the events surroundingit renderedIslam and pluralismin generalan
increasinglyvisible andimmediatepresenceamongevangelicalsthatdemandeda response.
170
No God in Common
It was only afterSeptember11 thatinterfaithworshipand prayerbecame a pressingreality
and concernin most communities.The media and governmenteffortsto portrayIslam as a
peaceful religion and to drawparallelsbetween this faith and othersbecame almost a civic
necessity afterthe terroristattacks.NationalMuslim groupssuch as the AmericanMuslim
Council and the Council on American-IslamicRelations, together with liberal Christian
or
groups, attemptedto popularizesuch termsand concepts as "Judeo-Christian-Islamic"
"Abrahamic"(referringto Abraham)and to include Islam as an Americanreligion in partnershipwith Christianityand Judaism.The changein terminologywas consideredof symbolic importancefor Muslimstryingto find theirrole in the U.S. afterSeptember11 andthe
Iraqwar,yet the strongestoppositioncame from evangelicalgroupsand leaders.
Opponentsviewed these developmentsas a new threatto maintainingthe boundariesof
evangelicalidentity.Pluralismmeans thatthose holding specific truthclaims are regularly
confrontedwith rivaltruthclaims, runningthe risk thatall faithscould be relativizedor that
differentelementsof each faithcouldbe sampledandborrowedby uncommittedconsumers.
Doctrinesandpracticesthathave servedas boundarymarkersin maintainingthe distinction
between theological conservativesand liberals,such as biblical inerrancyand creationism,
have given way to new concernsaboutthe blurringof lines between Christianityand other
faiths. Recent chargesand disciplinarymeasuresagainsttheologiansby evangelical seminariesand theological associationssuggest that such issues as universalism(thatone may
be saved withoutfaith in Christ),syncretism(as demonstratedin the Benke case), and relativism representthe new battlegroundsover heresy as well as the primeboundarymarkers
for evangelicalidentityin today'spluralisticsociety (Hunter1987; Olson 2003).
Of course, Islam is also opposedto relativismand syncretism.On this point, the conservativeevangelicalpolemics areaddressednot so muchtowardAmericanMuslims,butrather
towardsecularistsandreligiousliberalswho are accusedof using religiouspluralismto dismantlenormativeandbiblicalvalues andestablishrelativismin Americansociety.Whathas
been called the "thirddisestablishment,"wherereligious pluralismand personalautonomy
in belief replacesa collective Protestantethic or "Americanway of life," is most keenly felt
truefor thoseof a Reformedor Calvinby theseconservativeevangelicals.This is particularly
ist background,as is shown in publicationssuch as Worldmagazine,where the vision of a
"ChristianAmerica"still retainsa stronghold (Hammond1992;Casanova1994). Justas the
inclusion of Jews and Catholicsinto this once-Protestantsystem generatedearlierconflict,
the entranceof Muslims into the public sphereis a new source of dissonancefor conservative Protestants.But the new pluralismis not necessarilya weakeningand destabilizingfactor in terms of maintainingevangelical identity,even though such a scenariois regularly
cited to sustainthese polemics. As Smith (1998: 107) argues,a "sacredcanopy"of unified,
sharedmeaningon religion is not necessaryto ensurea faith's survival."Inthe pluralistic,
moder world, people don't need macro-encompassingsacredcosmoses to maintaintheir
religious beliefs. They only need 'sacredumbrellas,'small, portable,accessible relational
worlds-religious referencegroups- 'under'which theirbeliefs can makecompletesense."
In fact, findingand maintaining"enemies"to the faith tend to have the "unwittingresultof
maintainingunityandinternalcohesion."The subculturaltheoryis especiallyhelpfulin this
case because the conflict is not solely aboutone largegroup(evangelicals)battlingagainst
a minorityreligious group (Muslims), but ratherconcernshow evangelicalsare redefining
themselvesin relationto the perceiveddominantculturaland religious forces in a pluralistic society.
171
Review of Religious Research
In conclusion,furtherresearchis neededto determinewhetherthe strengtheningof evangelical subculturalidentityin a pluralisticsettingis necessarilycorrelatedwith interfaithtensions andconflict.The case can be (andhas been ) madethatMuslimssharea consensuson
severalmoral/socialissues with theirconservativeProtestantcounterparts.In the mid-1990s,
there were several calls from Muslim and evangelical leaders and activists to bring both
groupstogetherto work on family and otherconservativemoralissues (TheMinaret1997).
But any such coalitions have been difficultto sustainbecause many of these same Protestantsretaina vision of a Christian(or at least Judeo-Christian)Americaaccompaniedby a
concernto reinforcethe boundariesof theirfaith in an increasinglypluralisticsociety.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authorwishes to thankJose Casanova,as well as the anonymousreviewersand the editor,for theircomments
on earlierdraftsof this article.Earlierdraftsof this articlewere presentedat the meetingsof the Associationfor the
Sociology of Religion in Atlanta(2003) andthe Society for the ScientificStudyof Religion in Norfolk,Va. (2003).
Addresscorrespondenceto RichardCimino, 2869 LawrenceDrive,Wantaugh,NY 11793, relwatch@msn.com.
APPENDIX
Books and publications surveyed through content analysis
Ankenberg,John, and JohnWeldon. 1991. The Facts On Islam. Eugene, OR: HarvestHouse.
Caner,ErgunMehmet, and Emir Caner.2002. UnveilingIslam. GrandRapids,MI: KregelPublications.
Gabriel,MarkA. 2003. Islam and the Jews Lake Mary,FL: CharismaHouse.
Geisler, NormanL., andAbdul Saleeb. 1993. AnsweringIslam. GrandRapids,MI: BakerBook House.
2002. AnsweringIslam. GrandRapids,MI: BakerBook House
George,Timothy.2002. Is the Fatherof Jesus the God of Muhammed?GrandRapids,MI: Zondervan.
Hitchcock,Mark.2002. The ComingIslamic Invasionof Israel. Sisters, OR: MultnomahPublishers.
Jeffrey,Grant.2003. WarOn Terror:UnfoldingBiblical Prophesy.Toronto:FrontierResearchPublications.
Lindsey,Hal. 2003. TheEverlastingHatred.Murrieta,CA: OracleHouse Publishing.
Mallouhi,Christine.2002. WagingPeace On Islam. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsityPress.
Poston, LarryA., and Carl F. Ellis, Jr.2000. The ChangingFace of Islam in America. Camp Hill, PA: Christian
PublicationsCo.
Otis, Geogre. 1991. TheLast of the Giants:Liftingthe Veilon Islam and the End Times.GrandRapids,MI: Chosen Books.
Richardson,Don. 2003. Secrets Of The Koran,Ventura,CA: Gospel Light Publications.
Safa, Reza. 1996. Inside Islam. Lake Mary,FL: CharismaHouse.
Schmidt,Alvin. 2004. The GreatDivide: The Failureof Islam and the Triumphof the West.Boston, MA: Regina
OrthodoxPress.
Shorrosh,Anis. 1988. Islam Revealed.Nashville, TN: ThomasNelson Publishers.
Spencer,Robert.2002. Islam Unveiled.San Francisco,CA: EncounterBooks.
Sproul,RC., andAbdul Saleeb. 2003. The Dark Side of Islam. Wheaton,IL: CrosswayBooks.
Trifkovic,Serge. 2002. TheSwordof the Prophet.Boston, MA: Regina OrthodoxPress.
Worldmagazine, 1996-2002 issues online at http://www.worldmag.com.
NOTES
'A charismaticmissions grouptakinga more liberalposition than otheragencies (as seen in theirclose cooperationwith RomanCatholics).
2Hewas, however,laterclearedby the denomination.
172
No God in Common
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174