Dr. Keith Small is our teacher. He is from Michigan, but has lived in England for the last 20 years with his family. He is a RZIM scholar and a visiting lecturer and associate research fellow at London School of Theology. He is a member of Avant Ministries and has 20 years of ministry among Muslims. His book we are studying is called Holy Books Have a History.
I will just review briefly some of the points we learned:
* Muhammad is their Prophet par excellence. They do not view him as God.
* They view Jesus as a prophet, but Muhammad is greater because he came after Jesus.
* The Qur'an is held to be the perfect revelation from God (Allah). It is held to be God's direct speech dictated to Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel.
* Muslims are taught that if they question either Muhammad or the Qur'an, they will go to hell.
* Shariah is the law of Islam, based on the teachings of the Qur'an, the sayings of Muhammad, etc. It is held in its essence to be revealed by Allah. This law gives the pattern of daily life for the Muslim. It covers every area of life from worship rituals and beliefs, personal hygiene, dress, marital relations, family, civil,criminal, commercial and international law. Obedience to it is held to be a divine requirement. They of course are trying to bring this law to the West.
* You are not to 'know' Allah, but rather do his will and obey as a good 'slave'.
* The public reputation of the family, tribe, community, or religion is more important than individual freedoms.
* Two of the most dishonorable things are immorality among Muslim women and conversion to another religion.
* They believe in honor killings for committing the above. It is not enough to just banish them; the shame has to be removed by killing
* Favor with Allah is obtained by rule-keeping and repentance and good works.
* Outward religious identity is very important to them such as headscarves for women, prayer caps for men, standards of dress, beard length for men............
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* Non-Muslims are viewed as inferior morally, religiously, and culturally. Muslims believe Islam was sent to replace, correct and subdue all other religions.
* Christians are seen as needing correction, believing perverted doctrines and a corrupted scripture.
* Most Muslims cannot read the Arabic version of the Qur'an. Instead they are encouraged to recite passages.
* Muslims are taught many inaccurate things about Christians and Christianity. Their conviction of the truth and superiority of their views leads them into a conflict of ideas and truth at the outset of any conversation with Christians.
* In Islam, you are given a 'package of laws'. It is more important to keep these laws than to know Allah.
* They are taught not to engage or question their beliefs or beliefs of other religions.
* Christianity is a religion of profound beliefs with simple duties, Islam is a religion of simple beliefs and extensive duties.
* Their Allah is not portrayed as a God of love. There is no "God is love" statement in the Qur'an.
* The Day of Judgment is their motivator for correct behavior.
* Their aim is to spread political dominance, not conversions.
* Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca. One of the five pillars or requirements of Islam.
* Muslims believe that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection never happened.
* There has never been a better time for evangelism to Muslims. More Muslims are coming to Christ than ever before in the history of the Church. We are having a window of opportunity.
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