CIM Briefing Papers

C.I.M. Outline #21 
                      The Religion of Islam 
                                 
I.  Introduction 
 
    A.  "Islam" means "submission".  A follower of the religion 
        of Islam is called a "muslim" which means "one who is in 
        submission to the divine will". 
 
    B.  Islam is the youngest of the 5 major religions of the 
        world.  According to the best estimates, there are 
        800,000,000 to 1 billion muslims world-wide.  At 
        present, over 20 million muslims reside in Europe.  
        There are now over 2000 mosques in England!  The 
        U.S.S.R., the 4th largest muslim nation in the world, 
        has 53 million adherents representing 1/5 of the total 
        population.  After ethnic Russians, muslims are the 
        largest population group but are growing 4 times as 
        fast, and may out-number them in less than 20 years.  
        Currently, there are 48 nations where adherents of Islam 
        are in the majority. 
 
    C.  The current resurgence of Islam began with the oil 
        cartel following the Yom Kippur War of 1973.  Millions 
        of dollars from enormous foundations are being spend to 
        fuel the worldwide expansion of Islam.  There are now 
        more adherents of Islam in the U.S. than Episcopalians! 
 
    D.  Nota bene:  The greatest threat to world peace and 
        stability in the next decade or two, may be the result 
        of the religion of Islam.  Almost every controversy in 
        the Middle East can be traced to this religion, either 
        through intra-party squabbles, or Islam verses non- 
        Islam. 
 
II.  Historical Background 
 
     A.  The religion was founded by Muhammad who was born in 570 
         A.D. in a small village (Mecca) along a caravan route 
         in what is today known as Saudi Arabia. 
 
     B.  The young Muhammad, an orphan at an early age, had an 
         inquiring mind and an intense interest in religion.  
         The prevailing religion at this time in Arabia was one 
         of polytheism and animism.   He inquired of both 
         Judaism and Christianity.  The Christianity that he 
         came into contact was of a very heretical sort.  
         Christianity at this time was losing its vitality and 
         was about to enter the Dark Ages.  
 
     C.  At about 25 years of age Muhammad married a wealthy 
         widow 15 years his senior.  Due to the ensuing economic 
         security, Muhammad turned the more to religious 
         contemplation often retiring to caves in the wilderness 
         for long periods of time.  He practiced fasting and was 
         prone to dreams.  He had a profound dissatisfaction 
         with the polytheism and superstition of his day.  He 
         received his first of many "revelations" at 40 years of 
         age, and thought at first he was possessed of a demon.  
         Later he claims he was visited by the angel Gabriel who 
         informed him to warn the people.  This marked the 
         beginning of his prophetic office. 
 
     D.  The response in Mecca to his claims was small and 
         limited mainly to family members.  Soon he and his 
         followers (around 200) were forced to flee.  This 
         flight to Medina occurred in 622 A.D. and is known as 
         "The Hegira".  In Medina, Muhammad became a leader and 
         theocratic head of the town.  Muslims reckon time from 
         the Hegira.  622 A.D. = the year 1 A.H. 
 
     E.  In less than a 100 years Islam spread from the Atlantic 
         Ocean across central Asia deep into India.  This empire 
         lasted over a 1000 years.  Only a handful of countries 
         have ever reversed themselves after becoming an Islamic 
         nation in 14 centuries of history! 
 
III. The Belief System of Islam 
 
     A.  Islam is a religion of rigid monotheism and an all- 
         encompassing law.  It is a belief system, i.e a world 
         and life view.  Everything is seen from an Islamic 
         perspective. 
 
     B.  Islam's five fundamental articles of faith: 
 
         1.  There is no God but God.  "Allah" is the Arabic 
             word for "God".  This god is the sovereign Lord of 
             the universe.  Everything that occurs is according 
             to his will.  He is also the source of both good 
             and evil.  The Koran assigns 99 names to Allah.  
             The 100th name is secret and is known only to the 
             camel! 
 
         2.  God gave prophets (the Koran mentions 28) to every 
             age from Adam to Muhammad.  Muhammad, the last and 
             greatest prophet, was sinless as were all the other 
             prophets.  Jesus was the prophet of the previous 
             age.  They affirm that Jesus was born of a virgin 
             and performed many miracles, but they vehemently 
             deny that he was God, was crucified, or rose from 
             the dead. 
 
         3.  Islam believes that each age was given a book 
             through its prophet, but all have been lost except 
             portions of the Old Testament and the Gospel of 
             Jesus which was corrupted by Christians.  The Koran 
             ("Quran") was given to Muhammad and supercedes all 
             other revelations.  The Koran is divided into 114 
             Suras (chapters) and was given directly to 
             Muhammad.  To the Muslim, every word of the Koran 
             is the Word of God and is of an eternal nature.  In 
             otherwords, it existed in heaven prior to being 
             dictated by the angel Gabriel.  The Koran governs 
             every area of the life of a Muslim, from how to 
             prevent crime to the proper use of a toothpick!  It 
             is often the only constitution of some Muslim 
             countries. 
 
         4.  There are good and bad angels.  The chief good 
             angel is Gabriel.  The chief fallen angel is 
             Shaitan (Satan). 
 
         5.  There will be a day of judgement in which all the 
             dead will be resurrected.  Allah will be the judge 
             and each person will be sent either to heaven, a 
             place of sensual pleasure, or hell, a place of 
             torment.  Hell is for those who opposed Allah and 
             his prophet, Muhammad.  Salvation is attained by 
             the quality of a person's obedience to the law as 
             determined by Allah.  Muhammad is seen as a 
             mediator who helps a person attain salvation.  The 
             bridge to paradise is likened to a razor-sharp 
             sword; Muhammad awaits to assist in crossing. 
 
     C.  Each Muslim has six obligatory duties: 
 
         1.  Reciting the creed.  "There is no God but Allah".  
             The word "quran" in Arabic means "to recite". 
 
         2.  Pray five times a day facing Mecca. 
 
         3.  Tithe to the poor and for the furtherance of Islam.  
             It varies from 2 to 10 per cent. 
 
         4.  Fast for one month each year during the 9th month, 
             the lunar month of Ramadan.  This month of fasting 
             is during the day only.  Feasting takes place after 
             sundown. 
         5.  Make a pilgrimage to Mecca a least once during a 
             lifetime.  A male who makes a pilgrimage to Mecca 
             is called a "Haji" a title of honor similar to the 
             english "Sir". 
 
     D.  The concept of "Jihad" ("holy war") is sometimes 
         referred to as a 6th pillar.  Jihad is also a religious 
         duty of all adult males who must commit to any summons 
         of war against infidels.  Any who die in such a war are 
         assured paradise.  Today there is controversy as to who 
         in the Arab world can legally declare a Jihad.  In the 
         past, this has been a most successful form of 
         "evangelism".  Polytheistic cultures have been given 
         the option of submission or death.  Historically, Jews 
         and Christians, since they were considered "people of 
         the Book" were given a choice of submission or paying 
         tribute (taxes). 
 
IV.  Other Muslim beliefs 
 
     A.  The unforgivable sin to a Muslim is to attribute deity 
         to anything other that God himself.  To claim that 
         Jesus is God or the Son of God is blasphemy to a 
         Muslim.  They believe that God is unbegotten and begets 
         not. 
 
     B.  Most Muslims believe Jesus predicted the coming of 
         Muhammad when He said that He would sent "another 
         Comforter"  in John 14:16.  Muslims even refer to 
         Muhammad as the "Holy Spirit". 
 
     C.  Muslims are very anti-trinitarian.  The Koran teaches 
         that Christians believe in a Trinity of God, the 
         Father, Jesus, the Son, and Mary the Mother! 
 
     D.  Most Muslims believe Judas died on the cross, not Jesus.  
         God caused Jesus to be ascended into heaven. 
 
     E.  Most Muslims do not separate church and state, i.e. 
         politics and religion. There is no such thing as 
         secular and sacred.  This is a cause of some of their 
         intra-mural conflicts.  Occasionally a ruler attempts 
         to secularize the state.  For this Sadat was 
         assassinated.  Turkey gets away with it, but it is 
         resented in much of the Muslim world. 
 
     F.  The Koran allows a man to have up to four wives if he 
         believes he can treat them equally! 
 
     G.  The Koran teaches that if a Muslim soldier kills another 
         muslim soldier in an unjust war he will go to hell!  In 
         the recent war, many Iraqi soldiers did not believe it 
         was just war, hence they deserted in large numbers  
         (and probably for other reasons as well!). 
 
     H.  Muslim soldiers can declare a victory in battle even 
         though they were stomped by the enemy, because to a 
         Muslim, win or lose, it is the will of Allah.  So if 
         you lose, you win, because it is the will of Allah. 
     
     I.  The Koran teaches that Muslims should take up arms 
         against infidels.  The following quote from the Koran 
         should give insight into Saddam's behavior: 
 
          "When ye encounter unbelievers, strike off their heads 
          until ye have made a great slaughter among them, and 
          bind them in bonds; and either give them free 
          demission afterwards or exact a ransom...  Verily if 
          God please he could take vengeance on them, without 
          your assistance, but he commandeth you to fight his 
          battles...  And to those who fight in defense of God's 
          true religion, God... will lead them into paradise..." 
 
V.  Reaching Muslims for Christ 
 
    There is no more needy field today than Muslim countries.  
    We need to pray fervently that the Lord of the harvest will 
    send forth laborers.  Most specialists in Muslim evangelism 
    say to be successful in this field, one must be patient, be 
    loving, establish relationships, understand Islam, and be 
    given to much prayer.  
 
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