In
a quest to learn more about Islam since it’s constantly in the news, I picked
up this book. I especially liked that it’s
written for Catholics. Indeed it relates
Islamic concepts against Catholic concepts, so that a Catholic can understand
the similarities and contrasts. But I
think almost any non-Catholic Christian would get much if not all the same out
of this book. As I read it, there is way
more contrast than similarities. The
full title is Inside Islam: A Guide for
Catholic, 100 Questions and Answers and it’s written by Daniel Ali, a
convert from Islam to Catholicism, and Robert Spencer, a Melkite Greek Catholic
and is a well-known though controversial expert on Islam. You can read Daniel Ali’s conversion story at The Coming Home Network,
here.
The
book is organized in the form of questions that a Catholic might have and then
follows an extended answer. That makes
for casual reading where you can put it down and pick it up at your leisure
without missing the general flow. I read
the book over the course of several months but you could read the entire book
in a day or two.
Not
surprising the very first question is, “What is Islam?” Then follows a series of questions that gets
into the heart of Islam. “What is the
difference between the terms “Muslim” and “Islam?” “What are the basic tenets of Islam?” Here is how the authors answer that question:
In sharp contrast to the
complexities of Christian theology, Islam is a religion of simplicity. It’s primary beliefs are summed up in the Shahada, or Confession of Faith: “There
is no god but Allah, and Muhammed is His prophet.”
When trying to win
converts among Christians, Muslims frequently make use of this simplicity as a
key selling point. They compare the
length of the Nicene Creed to the brevity of the Shahada and point to the
Trinity as a sign that Christianity is not only hopelessly complicated, but
illogical—and a sharp contrast to Islam’s noble simplicity…
Of course there is no compelling
reason why the truth should be simpler than error. In fact, it is often the other way around, as
men unwisely try to tame divine truths by simplifying them. We need to remember that God is radically
transcendent and omniscient—that is, He exists eternally distinct from His
creation and knows everything as eternally present. He remains, then, an inexhaustible mystery to
man, His finite creature. Indeed, He is the Mystery. Thus, it should not be surprising if His
revelations to us is full of profound mysteries….
As
you can see the authors contrast Islamic theology with that of Christian. If I may add to that explanation above, most
understanding of nature turns out to be more complicated than the surface. At one time physics was fairly simple, but
then we learned of thermodynamics, electromagnetism, quantum theory, relativity,
and now string theory. To requote the
authors, “there is no compelling reason why the truth should be simpler than
error.”
From
the theological questions, the book moves to questions of foundation,
especially that of its prophet, Muhammed.
“According to Muslim belief, how did Muhammed receive Allah’s revelations?” “Is it true that Muhammed was an army leader
or general?” “Did Muhammed write the
Koran?” “How is the Koran different from
the Bible?” That is worth quoting the
answer.
In content, the closest
books to the Koran in the Bible are the five books of Moses—Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The
Muslim holy book has the same mix of laws and narratives about God’s dealings
with His people. But the Loran is unlike
any book of the Bible in that there is only one speaker throughout: Allah
(although there are a few exceptions to this that bedevil Muslims to this day).
While the Pentateuch
presents a more or less continuous narrative from the creation of the world to
the Israelites imminent entry into the Promised Land, the Koran makes no
attempt at linear history. Though the
Koran is shorter than the New Testament, a surprisingly large amount of what it
says is repeated. Nevertheless, the reader
often cannot figure out what exactly is being said, or why, without reference
to the Hadith. We will examine this
later.
The
Hadith is explained in a subsequent question, “Is the Koran the sole rule of
faith for the Muslim?”
Not precisely. Muhammed’s Tradition, the Hadith, is the
second source of Islamic faith. In
Muslim theory and practice, the Hadith is virtually equal in importance to the
Koran. Indeed, since Allah refers to
many matters with which Muhammed is familiar but we are not, the Koran is often
unintelligible. Muslims, however, are
not free to interpret their sacred book in any way they please, for “whenever
Allah and His apostles have decided a matter, it is not for the faithful man or
woman to follow a course of their own choice” (Sura 33:36).
Muslims can find Muhammed’s
own authoritative explanations of passages of the Koran in a number of
voluminous collections of Ahadith
(Ahadith is the Arabic plural of Hadith).
The Koran also commands every Muslim to follow Muhammed’s example,
obeying all that he did, said, commanded, or prohibited (see Sura 33:21).
Other
questions pertain to Jihad, Islam’s cultural norms, and Islam’s views of other
cultures. So without more quoting, Muhammed
is “the perfect” man in Islam, where by all Muslims are supposed to
emulate. Now that presents itself many
problems. Muhammed was, among other
things, a military leader and by the force of his sword mustered the
polytheistic Arabic tribes into religious unity. He killed people. He had people killed. He accumulated wealth and women. He had 800 Jews beheaded. There is no parallel between Christ and Muhammed. A shorthand comparison between Christianity
and Islam (this is not in this book, I picked it up elsewhere) can be
summarized in this way: Christ died to start Christianity; Muhammed killed to
start Islam. The difference is
critical. Christians are supposed to
emulate Christ; Muslims are supposed to emulate Muhammed. So when you see Islamists beheading in Jihad,
they are emulating Muhammed.
The
book is incredibly fair. It really is
not a rag on Islam but presents the religion fairly but in contrast to
Christianity. For my conclusion here, I
wanted to present two stories the authors of Inside Islam use to contrast the two faiths.
Consider the difference
in the following two stories, first from the Gospel of John and the second from
Hadith. In the Gospel narrative, we read
about the woman committing adultery. Not
Jesus’ response:
Then each went to his own
house, while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning He arrived again in the temple area, and all
the people started coming to Him, and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a
woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was
caught in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test Him, so that they
could have some charge to bring against Him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger. But when they continued asking Him, He
straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be
the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again He bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders. So He was
left alone with the woman before Him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn
you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin
any more” (Jn 7:53-8:11).
The following episode is
from the Hadith. Note how Mohammed’s
actions are in sharp contrast with those of Jesus:
There came to him [the
Holy Prophet] a woman from Ghamid and said: Allah’s Messenger, I have committed
adultery, so purify me. He [the Holy
Prophet] turned her away. On the
following she said: Allah’s Messenger, Why do you turn me away?...By Allah, I
have become pregnant. He said: Well, if
you insist upon it, then go away until you give birth to [the child]. When she was delivered she came with the
child [wrapped] in a rag and said: Here is the child whom I have given birth
to. He said: Go away and suckle him
until you wean him. When she had weaned
him, she came to him [the Holy Prophet] with the child who was holding a piece
of bread in his hand. She said: Allah’s
Apostle, here is he as I have weaned him and he eats food. He [the Holy Prophet] entrusted the child to
one of the Muslims and then pronounced punishment. And she was put in a ditch up to her chest
and he commanded people and they stoned her.
Khalid b Wahlid came forward with a stone which he flung at her head and
there spurted blood on the face of Khalid and so he abused her. Allah’s Prophet heard his [Khalid’s] curse
that he had hurled upon her. Thereupon
he [the Holy Prophet] said: Khalid, be gentle.
By Him in Whose Hand is my life, she has made such a repentance that
even if a wrongful tax-collector were to repent, he would have been
forgiven. Then giving command regarding
her, he prayed over her and she was buried.
(Muslim, Vol 3, Book 17, No. 4206)
At
least the “holy prophet” prayed for her.
Next time you hear about of the “most merciful” Muhammed, think about one
who brings true mercy, Jesus Christ.
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