Alex C.
Senior Projects
Islam Religion

Islam is a fast growing religion today, growing even faster than Christianity. It’s not the most dominant religion yet, but is expected to be so at about 2022 at this rate of growth. What is Islam and what does it have to offer – hope, reassurance? Or does it come with a price much higher than most people are willing to pay?

What is Islam and what do the Muslims believe? The word “Islam” means surrender or submission, and in this case, it means to submit to the will of God. The religion of Islam originated at 622 AD by the supposed last prophet of God (or in Arabic, called Allah) – Muhammad. Muslims believe fervently that there is only one God, who is indivisible and doesn’t exist within a Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). They believe that Jesus was nothing more than a prophet, and definitely not the Son of God. In Islam, all Muslims are considered to be equal, despite nationality or race, and exist in a community or “umma”. They also believe that man is born without a sinful nature, and is only corrupted by his parents into sin. To become a Muslim, you can either be born into a Muslim family and automatically receive the status or just proclaim to be a Muslim. To remain a Muslim, one must do the five pillars of Islam. The first is a profession of faith where a Muslim must say “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger” several times during a typical day. The second is the five daily prayers (or salat) that must be said at different intervals of the day, preceded by ritual cleansings. The prayers must be said while facing towards Kaaba, an ancient shrine in the city of Mecca, and while standing, bowing, or prostrating. The third pillar is almsgiving which requires the Muslim to take one-fortieth of his accumulated wealth and give it to the needy or the poor (or buy them something with it). They also have to give a tenth of their harvest to the needy at the end of harvest time. The fourth pillar is sawm, or fasting, which happens during the month of Ramadan when it is said that the first revelation of the Koran occurred. During this entire month, every Muslim must fast from daybreak to sunset by restraining from food, water, and sex. Those who are sick or have another physical condition preventing them from fasting can choose not to participate but must make up for the days they missed when they are able to. In a certain sense, this pillar works with the third one in the way that one remembers about the poor or needy when they are fasting and becomes more sensitive to their needs. At the end of the fasting, there is a three day feast. The fifth pillar is a pilgrimage (or hajj) to Mecca at least once in a person’s lifetime, providing that one is physically and financially able to travel. In Mecca, a Muslim is to perform many rituals around the Kaaba and must slaughter an animal as a sacrifice for the final ritual.

Muhammad – who is he and what exactly happened with him? Muhammad was said to receive the revelation of God when he took a retreat to a cave, where he met an angel that he thought was Gabriel. This angel gave him the revelation and Muhammad turned it into a book, the Koran (or Qu’ran). Muhammad believed that he was demon possessed or insane because he had foamed at the mouth and rolled around on the floor when he met Gabriel, but his wife reassured him and encouraged him that it was God’s message. It seems that all the other times in the Bible, when an angel of God appeared to a person, the person would be fearful because of reverence – the case of Muhammad and his experience seems more like an angel of a darker nature, with a slightly different agenda than that of God’s. Some Muslims say that the Koran did come from an angel of God because it contains information that was yet to be uncovered by man, such as the earth being egg-shaped. But it could also be explained by the fact that a demon knew that information as well and just delivered it to Muhammad as such. For further support of this point, the Koran has no mention of anything prophetical or revelational – only simple information that could be obtained from “another” perspective. Muhammad is said to be the last prophet of God – “Mohammad… is the messenger of God and the Khatam [seal, closure, end, or last] of the prophets…” (Koran 33:40) How very convenient for him.

The Koran is accepted by all Muslims as the inerrant and divinely inspired book from God. They also believe in the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible, but believe that it has been altered and is now corrupt in some ways. So they take what verses are consistent with the Koran and the Bible and say that the other verses got corrupted. It’s like taking an already put-together jigsaw puzzle or painting and ripping parts off that you don’t like. Furthermore, the Bible is historically accurate, highly prophetical, revelational, consistent, and the meaning has not been altered whatsoever as seen by the Dead Sea Scrolls. That much cannot be said about the Koran, as it is not prophetical, not revelational, not consistent, and many various textual variations of the Koran are used today. Here are a few examples of inconsistencies that were found:
Creation: The biblical Genesis account says God created all in six days (see Genesis 1:1 – 2:2). The Quran, however, has a real problem here as Surah 41:9, 10, 12 have a total of eight days of creation (4+2+2=8) Meanwhile, Surah 10:3 gives the total number of days of creation as six. This is a problem of self-contradiction. Pharaoh: According to the Quran (Surah 7:120-125) Pharaoh used crucifixion in dealing with the sorcerers – a practice which historical evidence gives no precedent to before the Babylonian Empire. This is once again a problem of historical compression. The Golden Calf: According to the Quran (Surah 20:90-100) a Samaritan helped the Israelites build the golden calf, and it mooed after coming out of the fire. In reality, Samaritans did not exist as a people until at least 1000 years after the time of the Moses and the Israelite exodus from Egypt. Again a problem of historical compression. Judaism: According to the Quran (Surah 9:30) the Jews believe that Ezra is the Son of God – the Messiah. This never has been a tenet of Judaism. This is a clear problem of distorted knowledge of other religions and historical fact. According to the Quran (Surah 18:89-98) Alexander the Great was a devout Muslim and lived to a ripe old age. Historical records however show that Alexander the Great died young at 33 years of age (b. 356 B.C. – d. 323 B.C.), and believed he was divine, forcing others to recognize him as such. In India on the Hyphasis River (now Beas) Alexander erected twelve altars to twelve Olympian gods. Once again the Quran shows errors in historical and religious fact. According to the Quran (Surah 5:116, 5:73-75) the Christians believe in “three Gods” – Father, Mother, and Son. This shows the influence of heretical ‘Christian’ sects in central Arabia at the time of Muhammad. In contrast, Christianity has always distinctly stated that the Trinity is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The teaching of the Quran on the Trinity has undoubtedly led to confusion among many Muslims on what the Bible (and thus Christianity) teaches about the Triune God. Mary: According to the Quran (Surah 19:28, 3:33-36), Mary, the mother of Jesus, was the daughter of Imran or Amram, the father of Moses and Aaron. Mary is also said to be the sister of Moses and Aaron. Clearly Muhammad confused Mary with Miriam. (Rim.org)

Islam seems right in a lot of areas, but when you get down to the core of the religion, you can see it for what it really is – hate, murder, and fear. By the strict interpretation of the Koran, a Muslim is to make war with unbelievers, Jews, Christians, and anyone else who is not Muslim. “Make war on them until idolatry is no more and Allah’s religion reigns supreme.” (Koran 8:37) “Seize ye him, and bind ye him, And burn ye him in the Blazing Fire. Further, make him march in a chain, whereof the length is seventy cubits! This was he that would not believe in Allah Most High. And would not encourage the feeding of the indigent! So no friend hath he here this Day. Nor hath he any food except the corruption from the washing of wounds, Which none do eat but those in sin.” (Koran 69:30-37) “For them (the unbelievers) garments of fire shall be cut and there shall be poured over their heads boiling water whereby whatever is in their bowels and skin shall be dissolved and they will be punished with hooked iron rods.” (Koran 22:19-22) Any true Muslim who says that they are peaceful is either lying or they haven’t bothered reading their own book. Others say that a Muslim has to be a true fanatic to make jihad and kill unbelievers, and that there are fanatics for each religion who hurt people. “Believers, when you encounter the armies of the infidels do not turn your backs to them in flight. If anyone on that day turns his back to them, except it be for tactical reasons, or to join another band he shall incur the wrath of Allah and Hell shall be his home: an evil fate.” (Koran 8:12-17) “A so-called Christian who bombs an abortion clinic or shoots an abortionist and says God told him to do it does that act against the Bible…but the Muslim who commits acts of violence in jihad does so with the approval of Muhammad.” (WorldNetDaily.com)

Jesus, by Islam, was only a prophet and was in no way divine. “And they say, ‘The Most Gracious Has betaken a son!’ Indeed you have put forth a thing most monstrous! At it the skies are bout to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin: That they attributed a son to the Most Gracious. For it is not consonant with the majesty of the Most Gracious that He should beget a son. Not one of the beings in the heavens and the earth but must come to the Most Gracious as a servant. He does take an account of them [all], and numbered them exactly, and everyone of them will come to him singly on the day of judgment.” (Koran 19:88) The verse seems like poorly written propaganda in itself, not to mention how the whole book is written that way (with each 7.9 verses talking about hell). Yet the Bible clearly states that Jesus is not only the Son of God, but He is God as well. “He was God manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16) The “same” angel that appeared to Muhammad happened to drop by Mary first: “The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) Muslims also believe that Jesus never died, but merely ascended into heaven. “They denied the truth and uttered a monstrous falsehood against Mary. They declared: ‘We have put to death the Messiah Jesus the son of Mary the apostle of Allah.’ They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but they thought they did… They have no knowledge thereof but the pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain, but God took him up to Himself.” (Koran 4:154-158) The Bible’s position is clear on this topic: “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.” (Romans 6:9) In Islam, people do not have free will as dictated by the Koran. “Thou causest to err thereby whomever Thou pleasest and guidest whomever Thou pleasest…” (Koran 7:155) Therefore, there is no purpose to life if all you do is dictated and guided. “…so whoever is willing, he may take a path to his Lord. And you do not will unless God wills…” (Koran 76:29, 30) By these terms, if one is going to be “saved”, they’re going to be saved no matter what. There is no choice, and therefore, there is no real reason to live except a hope that you might randomly be chosen out of a group to experience paradise instead of a horrid, painful, and everlasting afterlife.

Then there’s the fact of how Muslim’s treat females. Sure, Muslims believe that all nations and races are equal if Muslim, except if they’re female. “Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the others, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them.” (Koran 4:34) Women who disobey their husband will go to hell. (Koran 66:10) “Thou mayest decline for the present whom thou wilt of them, and thou mayest take to thy bed her whom thou wilt, and whomsoever thou shalt long for of those thou shalt have before neglected; and this shall not be a crime in thee. Thus will it be easier to give them the desire of their eyes… and to satisfy them with what thou shalt accord to each of them.” (Koran 33:51) Basically, the females in the Muslim culture could be considered half of a person and are treated as such. “The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females; then if they are more than two females, they shall have two-thirds of what the deceased has left, and if there is one, she shall have the half” (Koran 4:11) “Good women are obedient…. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them.” (Koran 4:34) This isn’t just some random saying, it is hard-pressed into the Islamic every-day culture.
“It’s simply a matter of quoting [Islamic] sources. If we are wrong in our understanding of the Islamic scriptures, we would be happy to be corrected.” (WorldNetDaily.com) And that is what Islam simply is – a cult filled with prejudice, hate, fear, and an overwhelming sense that things just might get better with a little more violence.

Works Cited
Encarta Dictionary Tools 2006, Microsoft
Encarta Encyclopedia 2006, Microsoft
King James Version of the Bible, March 26, 2006
<www.biblegateway.com>
The Koran, January 7, 2000
< http://www.hti.umich.edu/k/koran/>
Diane Dew, Islam and Christianity, 2001
< http://dianedew.com/islam.htm>
The Sabr Foundation, Islam 101, March 26, 2006
<http://www.islam101.com>
B.A. Robinson, Comparing and Contrasting Christianity and Islam, December 14, 2005
< http://www.religioustolerance.org/comp_isl_chr.htm>
P. Newton, Islam Challenges Christianity, March 26, 2006
< http://debate.domini.org/newton>
Jerry Falwell, Muhammad, a ‘demon-possessed pedophile’?, June 15, 2002
< http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27975>
Rim.org, Quaran Problems Page, March 26, 2006
<http://www.rim.org/muslim/quranproblems.htm>
Speaker Alaa-edin Aamer “Muslims”, March 17, 2006
Speaker Evan Birds “Christian View of Muslims”, March 20, 2006