As Christians around the world celebrate Good Friday and then Easter, it behooves them to understand what the Koran, the book held sacred as the word of God (Allah), says about Christianity, Judaism and all other faiths.
This is particularly pertinent in an era in which Islam, the religion of more than a billion people throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and in increasing numbers, Europe, has entered upon a period of terrorism and warfare to advance its domination of the peoples of the Earth. Suffice to say Islam is not about tolerance.
In 2001, Diane Drew wrote a comparison of Christian scriptures with the teachings of Muhammad as found in the Koran, as well as a collection of his sayings, the Hadith. Ms. Drew makes no claims to being anything other than a Christian. She knows her Old and New Testament, and the Koran. Her website provides a clarity that is a gift to Christians who should make the effort to understand a religion that divides humanity between Dar es Islam and Dar es Harb, the world of Islam and the world of War.
I have taken the liberty of quoting from her exegesis—interpretation—that reveals not just the deep differences between Christianity and Islam, but the threat it poses to Christians, Jews, and all other “infidels”.
“Islam rejects the concept of the Trinity. The Koran misrepresents the teaching of Christianity regarding the Godhead, claiming Christians believe in ‘three gods’—Father, Mother, and Son.” (Sura 5:116, 5:73-75;cp. – Koran 5:114)
“Islam regards Jesus a prophet just like Moses, Abraham, and Noah” whereas, at the heart of Christianity is the belief that “Jesus was more than a prophet. He is God.” (Matthew 17.5; Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35; Philippians 2.6; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 4:15). “Islam rejects the divinity of Jesus Christ.” Other religions share this view, but they do not call for the death for those who refuse conversation or death for Muslims that convert to other faiths.
“Islam rejects the doctrine of original sin” citing Muhammad’s assertion that “Every human being is born in a state of a pure nature; but through the influence of his parents, he may become non-Muslim.”
Islam denies the crucifixion of Jesus. “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 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).
Of particular concern for Christians and Jews is the way that “Islam both allows and forbids murder and violence, depending on who is the recipient of the act,” says Dew, noting that the Koran calls on Muslims to “Make war on them until idolatry is no more and Allah’s religion (Islam) reigns supreme, (Koran 8:37)
“The Koran instructs not to make friendship with Jews and Christians (Koran 5:51), but to war against them: ‘When the Sacred Months are over, kill those who ascribe partners to God wheresoever ye find them; seize them, encompass them, and ambush them; then if they repent and observe prayer and pay the alms, let them go their way’.” (Koran 4:5)
More to the point, the Koran instructs Muslims to “…kill the disbelievers wherever we find them” (Koran 2:191) and “murder them and treat them harshly” (Koran 9:123), and “Strike off the heads of the disbelievers” (Koran 8:12, cp. 8:60).
What Ms. Dew’s scholarly comparison of the texts of the Old and New Testament with the Koran reveals is less a religion than a battle plan for the conquest of the world. It is not the religion of love that Christianity professes, but of hatred for the unbeliever (the infidel) who must either convert or be killed.
Islam’s holy scriptures are regarded by Muslims as the word of God (Allah) and Islam regards Muhammad’s life as a guide to the practice of Islam.
I can make no claim to any great knowledge of Judaism, Christianity or Islam, but like anyone else, I can read and compare their holy scriptures. You can, too.
Islam is a religion divided by two sects, Sunni and Shiite, the members of which do not hesitate to kill each other, attacking each other’s mosques, murdering those attending funerals.
No one, not Jew, nor Christian, nor Buddhist, nor Hindu, nor atheist, is safe from Islam.
Americans and others around the world learned that afresh on 9/11. As Christians gather for Good Friday and for Easter, they must absorb, understand, and gird themselves against this harsh and dangerous reality.
© Alan Caruba, 2011
9 comments:
If I download a copy of the Koran and than delete it will there be a fatwa on me?
@Art: I don't know, but I wouldn't recommend it. :-)
Many Christians say that the God of the Old Testament is the same god as Allah. I guess that in spite of what the Bible and the Koran say, they must have been indulging in wishful thinking, hoping to pacify Muslims ("Hey, we worship the same god, so let's not fight among ourselves").
Nothing could be farther from truth. Neither the Jewish nor Christian god requires committing murder of all non-believers on behalf of "the faith", whereas the Muslim god (as invented by Muhammad) does exactly that.
Being a non-believer in any god, it is quite obvious to me that Allah is completely different in basic concept.
@Larry: Allah was a local Meccan Moon god. To this day Muslims circle a piece of rock, presumably a meteorite, in the main mosque in Mecca. It is an utterly pagan religion and the Koran reflects that, plus the 7th century attitudes and behavior in which it was conceived.
@Alan:
Another well written and factual article by The Master of Them That Know.
I've often called Islam, "An ancient totalitarian ideology of mass murder, rape, looting, slavery and conquest created by the psychopath Mohammad for lesser psychopaths bent on world domination."
If I had the power, Islam would be defined as a clear and present danger to the national security and banned for all time in the United States of America.
Furthermore, I would order the closure of Mosques and Islamic "religious" schools in this country. All Mullahs and Islamic teachers would be immediately arrested by the FBI and sent to "Re-education" camps above the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Ordinary Muslims would be given the chance to renounce Islam and sign a loyalty oath to the Republic. Those refusing to do so would be subject to immediate deportation to their countries of origin.
Then on the second day....:-)
Did I ever tell you one of my ancestors was Oliver Cromwell of English Civil War fame who executed King Charles The First and arrested the Parliament?
Radicalism and revolution runs in my genes...
Excellent article, and always a timely topic these days. I started researching the "religion of peace" after 9-11. An eye-opening book for me was The Prophet of Doom by Craig Winn. One thing that was clear (echoing LarryOldtimer) is that Allah is clearly different from the Judeo-Christian concept of God, and I would never use the two names in any way that would make them equivalent (e.g., your first paragragh, Alan). Allah equates much closer to Satan.
@Ronbo: Why am I not surprised to learn you are a distant relative of Cromwell? :-)
@Bob: I was not equating Allah with God, but merely quoting Ms. Dew, who presented her data in that fashion. I doubt either of us regards Allah as anything more than a pagan Moon god of the ancient Meccans.
Have a look at www.jesus-is-lord.com/islam.htm.
This website exposes passages of the Quran, the Hadith, the Suryas, and Jihads. There is a comparison of the teachings of Islam with the teachings of Christ on page 15 and 16 of "What is Islam? What Do Muslims Believe?" Very enlightening.....
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