The Call for Muslim Evangelism

I was born in a small town in Algeria and into a family with six Children. France occupied my native country. My Parents were unschooled and were Muslims. So I was a Muslim by birth. I was told that as an infant, I was so sick the doctor gave me two days to live but God had other plans for me. No, I did not die. At a very young age, my parents enrolled me in a religious school where I learned to memorize the Koran. As a family and individually, we suffered a lot under the French occupation. My father was jailed many times, even one time when my eldest brother was forced to leave home to serve in the French army for mandatory service, my family spent several months without a provider. We were even forced to leave our hometown and move elsewhere.                              

One day during the Algerian civil war, while I was playing soccer with my friends, we were shot at. Many died but I only suffered a bullet wound. God had other plans for me. While at the hospital, I saw many people suffer and die daily and nightly. I was angry with God and Westerners. However, Algeria became independent and I was very happy. Still serious about my faith as a Muslim and now in High School, I began to devote more time to it. I was an example to many students.                                                    

 Life without the French occupation settled in, yet things did not change. My country was free and so was I but I was unhappy and felt a void in my life. Some people call it an identity crisis. Maybe it was an identity crisis but for me I needed to connect to that one missing thing or a person. I needed to understand why I was born, and when I die, where I will be. Slowly I became a nominal Muslim and later actually thought that God did not exist. I also joined a local communist underground student movement. While still in High School, I started reading, studying philosophers, and also drinking, smoking and doing shameful things too embarrassing to talk about. I felt confused and lost. My major was Mathematics, so naturally I read some writings by Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician. In his so-called “Pascal wager“, Pascal talks about whether God is or God is not. Though Pascal argues from a gambling point of view, I was convinced that for me this was no gamble or coincidence. This latter fact increased my desire to seek God.                                   

I finished School and came to the US to further my studies. I was very skeptical of strangers because of the scars of the French occupation. But God had plans for me. God gave me a Christian host family who befriended me and invited me to their home and to their Church. One day, I heard Dr. Mark Hanna, a Christian Lebanese writer, speak about Jesus Christ. I was not receptive but heard new things about this Jesus from Nazareth.                                             

Later I learned that my mother died. I was very close to her and could not accept her sudden departure from my life. Having lost my mother and having failed in other areas of my life, I was hurting, miserable, tired and fed up. I wanted to end my life. As if someone was talking to me, words came to me saying, “you want to end your life, then consider it done and give your life up to Jesus”. I heard and read in a Bible given to me, who Jesus is and what He did for me on the cross. Someone suggested I start reading from the book of John. I understood I was a sinner and needed God in my life. I turned to Jesus, believing He died for me, was buried, rose again and is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. I prayed inviting Him into my life and I received Him in my heart as my personal savior and Lord.                                 

I came to chapter 6 of the book of Romans and realized I needed to be baptized. After receiving instructions in a class from an elder on Communion and Baptism, I was baptized by full immersion two weeks later. God did it all. It was all His doing and nothing I had done on my own except to seek Him, repent and accept His free gift of salvation.                              

You know, I did not fully realize what happened to me until I came across Ezekiel 36:25-27. God also helped me deal with many other issues and things I could not understand on my own. Knowing who God is and who I am, my desire has been to live for Christ by loving Him, obeying Him and serving Him. It is my prayer to be used by Him “Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” 1 Timothy 2:4 (NKJV).I also came across Jeremiah 29:11 (NAS) where God says: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. You see He has given me hope and a future. He had plans for me. Friend, God has plans for you too. My prayer for you is that you seek Him with all your heart. This is for your sake not mine and certainly not for God’s sake. He is waiting for you. Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me” John 14:6 (NKJV). The Bible says: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23 (NKJV). Jesus also says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16 (NKJV). I urge you to turn to God now and give your life to Him. I am here to help you, please do not hesitate to write.…May God bless you today.

Kader.

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Vision Baptist Church of Alpharetta, Georgia, has set the pace for churches across America to begin making an impact for Jesus Christ on a global scale. Under the leadership of their pastor, Austin Gardner, they have already reached hundreds of people in the Atlanta area with the gospel including Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Chinese, Hispanics, North Americans and several other ethnic groups hungering for the Word of God. Their vision and their outreach extend beyond “the corner of Elm and Maple” and ventures into the darkest regions of the world where the light of Christ has not shined in centuries.

Click here to check out the Vision News blog and see what is going on in the area of world evangelism through one church with a large “vision.”

“I am convinced that in any given, dominantly Muslim city there exists a large number of Muslims who deeply desire to be acceptable to God and who are not satisfied with the status quo.”     -Greg Livingstone, Frontiers 

Casablanca, Morocco 

Khalid was born in 1966 to a Muslim father and mother. His parents were Berbers from the city of
Agadir in the southern part of
Morocco. Berbers take a lot of pride of being the original inhabitants of
Northern Africa. They are poor mountain people separated by many different languages. Khalid grew up speaking one of these Berber languages in their home. When he went to school he was taught in French and when he played soccer with his friends in the streets or did anything else he spoke Arabic. Khalid’s parents are part of a migration of Berbers who were looking for a better life in the major cities. This better life eluded his father. King Mohammed VI was corrupt and Khalid’s father would quickly tell you about it. Though he was a dedicated Muslim he was also a communist and was involved in an ongoing struggle with the established Arab government. Besides Khalid, he had three other children but yet had never found contentment in life. Khalid, like most intensely observant children, was always keenly aware of his father’s constant search for meaning and happiness.             Everyone Khalid had ever known was a Muslim. His country was Muslim. His friends were Muslim. His life was Muslim. He heard its teachings and saw its effects every day. In
Morocco, children like Khalid are taught from the Koran (Islam’s holy book) in school 8 hours per day, 5 days per week. Islam is life and there is no other.             Khalid described his childhood like this:            ” I was born and raised in an Arabic Muslim culture. I never wanted to be anything in my life except a great Muslim in word and deed. I tried to learn more about the Koran and Islam at early age. I never liked any other religion. All other religions, to me, were nothing but devilish. As a young boy I was told that God favored his Arabian people above all others and in addition to that God loved his prophet and messenger Mohammad above all others including Moses and Jesus. I loved the thought that God favored Arabs more than any other race and I fell in love with Islam and especially Mohammed.” 

            Khalid’s  name in Arabic means “Everlasting” but because of the guilt he felt he knew that he wasn’t good enough to be everlasting. As a teenager God began to work in Khalid’s life:                        “In 1979, I was listening to a band  who always sung against the poverty and dictatorship we had in
Morocco caused by the King Hassan, and his rich buddies that dominated us. I loved this group because regardless of what may have happened to them by the king and the dictator government, they always sang against the King. One of their songs helped me to start seeking God in a different way or at least it helped me to start thinking differently. A line in the song said, “If all men are from Adam then why so many religions?” That line made me question my prejudice I held.             I thought Mohammed was the sinless One. I watched several Islamic movies that showed the fighting of the believers (Muslims) and non-believers (non-Muslims) and enjoyed them all. The thing I never liked is how someone could invade another and force him to accept Islam or be killed. I always thought about it as negative thing. If I am going to be forced to be something I do not want to be, God knows the heart. If I accept Islam only because I don’t want to die, God who made me knows my heart.              If I were raised in a culture that worships Satan I would worship Satan as well unless God intervened. If I were raised Jew and that is all I had been exposed to, I would be Jewish and worship in the Jewish way. If I were raised in
India where the Hindus worship, I would be Hindu just like everybody else.             I began then to think about things in Koran and Islam twice. At first, I tried to block the thought and resist what I thought was the Devil. I thought that if these thoughts continued that I would be cursed. I didn’t want to be a partaker of the Devil and his ways. All I ever wanted since I was a little kid, and as long as I can remember, was to know God in all of his ways. I wanted to follow Mohammed’s steps closely because he was the favored prophet and messenger of God. I prayed and fasted even though my family never forced me to do so. I walked miles and miles just to hear certain sheikh, but never my soul was satisfied. I voluntarily performed all the practices of Muslims faith. I wanted to worship God and imitate his followers like Omar Beb Khattab, Abou Bakersaddik, and Ottman Beni Aafran. It seemed, though, that the more I prayed and practiced Islam, the worse I got. I was frustrated. I didn’t understand how it was that the Koran states that God hears, but yet I never got one answer from him. I was very miserable. God never communicated with me then, never talked to me, never answered me.             In frustration I stopped practicing Islam for a while but nothing seemed to change in my life. I was still miserable when I practiced Islam and miserable when I renounced the Islam.            In 1984, I was going to school with a neighbor of mine and his friend. My neighbors friend had a cross on his neck and I didn’t like the idea of an Arab Muslim man having a cross on his neck. If I could have gotten away with a murder, I would have killed him that day. In a hateful way I asked him this question, “How can you, an Arab, Muslim, and Moroccan carry a cross on your neck?”  That same school year my history teacher told us that Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. I became furious. I don’t think I have ever hated Christians in my life, like I did that day. Now, I believe that the teacher he was trying to plant the seed for Christ in our hearts. It worked. You see, I began to hate Christianity more than I ever had before.  I remembered saying “these people are very stupid and very devilish. From that point on everything I touched went wrong”.            When Khalid’s friends would ask him how he was doing he would say, “I’m still alive but dead inside.” At times Khalid would even discuss his denial of Allah with his dad. Surprisingly enough, this didn’t anger his father. He became curious and they would often sit for hours in conversation both trying to determine what the truth was.        

Yet, no matter where Khalid turned he saw Islam. He saw pain, emptiness, and religious ritual. He was tired of it. Very tired. He cried out to God, “Allah, if you exist, get me out of this country. Take me anywhere just not another Muslim country.” He had made his decision. He was leaving. 

Escaping
Morocco            Khalid didn’t want his family to try to stop him so he told only his brother and headed for the port where ships from around the world came in and out. His friend, Abdul Latif and he, at the age of 23, held fake fishing poles over the water as their disguise just waiting on their opportunity. At the soonest possible opportunity, they snuck on one the massive boats and hid in the dark, cold engine room. For 3 days they waited after the ship had left port surviving on only water and humus (a common Moroccan food). Fear pounded in his chest as he they emerged from that engine room. Moroccans caught as stow-aways are often cast into the ocean and never heard from again. His desire to leave was greater than his desire to live so out they came.             On the 4^th day they emerged and began working with the deckhands of the boat hoping to lay low until they reached their destination. No such luck. The authorities found them and intensely pressured them for answers, “Who are you? Where are you from? Why are you here?” They did what most would do: they lied. They told how they had been orphans traveling on boats as long as they could remember. They had no parents and no home country. Their American captors didn’t believe them but left with the options of turning around, killing them, or letting them stay, they chose to let them stay and work on the ship until they reached their destination: The United States of America.  

God Begins to Work            Once out of the religious oppression of his home country he began his true search for God. At a Salvation Army in
North Carolina he met a kind Christian woman named Mrs. Jeffers. She had compassion on him and took him in, helping him find a job. Not speaking much English, he was given an Arabic Bible by a missionary traveling through town:            “In the
United States, I decided to study Jewish faith and Christianity since I couldn’t fully accept Islam. Somebody gave me a New Testament in Arabic and I began to read it.  At first I wanted to read it to make fun of Christians since they believe that God has a son. My thought was to find funny things in it to make fun of those ignorant people. As I began to read it, however, the idea that Jesus is the Son of God began to work in my heart. I had never read anything like that about any man in the whole world. All I ever knew about Islam is fight, fight, fight, kill, kill, kill, hate, hate, hate. But Christianity is built on love with no fighting, no stealing, and no hate. One of the very first verses that the Lord Jesus used to get my attention is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave the only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish but have everlasting life.”  It was written in the Bible that was given to me in many languages at the front page, and as I began to read it, I stopped at the very first phrase “For God so loved the world” until that day I never thought God loved me. I had prayed, fasted, and helped people without charging them but yet lived miserably. I thought God hated me. He had given us commandments that I could not fulfill. I had prayed and asked him things and never heard from him. “For God so loved the world” got me to thinking for the first time about God’s love. I couldn’t figure it out. I was so enamored with the statement that God loved me that I wasn’t bothered at all by the next sentence that states that God had sent me his only Son that I may have everlasting life.             Until that time I had never thought about his love.  I began to read the bible and began to fall in love with Jesus. There was no hate in Jesus. I wanted to be a Christian more than anything. But there was one thing that Jesus wanted from me, I couldn’t let go of it. I would let go future, money if I had any, but I never could let go of my family. I loved my family so much than anything else in the world. And Jesus says in his Word, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37 

             His search led him to the only Arabic congregation which was Orthodox. He went every week, always walking 6 miles one way to hear more about Christ. When he told the priest that he wanted to be a Christian, the priest told him he needed to confess.             So he began: “I am an illegal alien. I have falsified my papers. I don’t…”              The priest interrupted him in frustration. “Wait, wait, wait! That’s not what I’m talking about! Just come to get baptized next week.”            So the next week he came ready and was baptized as a Coptic Christian. He received his new Christian name: David. Along with his name he expected his life to change. It didn’t happen. He still had a problem with drinking and other things. So, he quit church altogether. From there his search led him in and out of the Mormon church and down to
Georgia where he met a young girl from a Baptist church named Amy. He went with her to her church in
Cumming, GA where he heard the gospel and came under such heavy conviction that he refused to go back. They were soon married and had 2 children they named Adam and Sarah. With children came more problems, more drinking and drugs, and more fighting.  

The Turning Point            Khalid and his family moved back to
North Carolina for reasons of work but God had other reasons. There Khalid, needing money for drugs, robbed hundreds of vending machines landing him in prison for the first time with 22 felony charges.             Life had come to a halt. No drugs now and no drinking. Just hour upon hour of reading that Arabic Bible he had received years before. He compiled tracts and as much literature as he could get his hands on. Then came the news in the mail that changed the way he looked at himself: Amy was filing for divorce. “What?” he thought. After all I have done for her?! I don’t deserve all this!” But the Holy Spirit began to convict him of his sin.             “In Jan. 1997, after so many years of living a very miserable, disappointing life, I prayed and asked God to forgive all my sin and to save me from going to hell. I remember I said “Lord I don’t want to die and go to hell. Please save me.” And I heard the Holy Spirit of God speak to me about my family saying, “Do you love me more than these.” I responded to the Lord, “I just want you. My family can go. I just want you. Please save me.” I immediately felt peace in my heart like I never felt before. I thought about the verse “Peace I give unto you not as the world giveth, my peace I give unto you.” (Jn 14:37) 

            All he would do from the time he got up to when he went to bed was read the Bible and witness of Christ to his fellow inmates. He even started an inmate Bible study that is still going on today. He had never been happier in his life. With an excitement he had never known before Khalid thought in his heart there in that prison cell, “Now I know why God let me be named Khalid! I am everlasting in Christ Jesus!” He had never been happier in all of his life. In fact, when his parole was up from prison he was a little sad to leave as he had learned to love the hours he spent with God in His Word every day.            Amy had moved back to
Georgia so Khalid called and wrote her. He promised her he had changed. He was released on Saturday morning and headed straight for his family in
Georgia. He was back at that same church,

Common
Peoples
Baptist
Church in Cumming on Sunday morning. God began to fix his marriage and his family. He was learning more and more about Christ and His Word. His wife, seeing the change in his life, also accepted Christ as her Savior and saw her own life drastically change.  

A Unique Testimony for Christ            After a number of years of faithfulness to church and bus ministry God called Khalid to preach and reach his Muslim brothers and sisters in
Morocco. Currently Khalid is in training and involved in discipleship at

World
Vision
Baptist
Church and the Our Generation Training Center. Now Khalid can share his testimony of Christ and the Bible with millions of his own people still in the darkness of Islam through Satellite TV and with your help. He is one of only a small handful of Moroccan converts who has a heart to share his story of salvation with his people.            God is preparing hearts. The Holy Spirit is working. The veil of Islam can’t block out the Holy Spirit. Men and women who are searching for God just like Khalid fill the countries of the
Maghreb. Many will hear and accept Christ. We have a powerful God who is opening up doors of opportunity and you can have a part. We need your help to contact, win, and disciple the men and women seeking for God and truth in these Muslim countries. They should not have to leave their countries and learn a new language like Khalid had to in order to be saved. We have a responsibility to get the gospel in their language inside their homes. Will you help?

Read other articles like this one on our website at www.projectna.com

Over the years, a number of Muslims and some non-Muslims have asked me why I had problems defending my Islamic faith. While a Muslim in the late 1980’s, and seeking the truth within Islam and also desiring to invite others to Islam, I was faced with a number of challenges to defending my faith. On many occasions while interacting with Christians, I claimed the Bible was corrupted and that the Quran supercedes it. But these Christians claimed that this argument was simply a Muslim position without proof and that the Bible was the word of God and it was not corrupted. Since I had not studied the topic myself, but simply repeated what I was taught, I decided to investigate the trustworthiness of the Bible, and focused my attention specifically on the Injeel, the New Testament of Christians. During this time I realized that I knew very little about how the Quran came into being. Growing up, I was taught by Muslim teachers that the Quran of today is the same as the Quran revealed to Mohammad, the Prophet of Islam and its wording is exactly the same letter for letter, even down to the dots and vowel marks as that which was recited to Mohammad by the angel Gabriel. I was also taught that Allah had guaranteed that He would protect the Quran from human tampering.

The purpose of writing this three-part response is to share with my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters the discoveries I made at that historical point in my journey of faith. During this time I was seeking to find the truth in defense of the Quran, and to prove the Injeel corrupted. In trying to grapple with this topic, I was armed primarily with the Quran, Hadith and Bible, along with supporting works by Muslim and non-Muslim authors. To that end, my first challenge was to determine how I was going to judge if the Quran is un-corrupted and that the Injeel is corrupted. The topics to address this include archeology, science, numerology, history, textual criticism, prophecy, etc. Many eminent scholars have spent years addressing them and others continue to do so. During that time, I did not have the time or the inclination to address the whole field. My goal was limited to making an assessment between the two – was the Quran or the Injeel more trustworthy? To that end, I restricted my study to the following three topics regarding the Quran and the Injeel:

• First, to understand what the Quran and the Injeel teach about what God says about communicating and protecting his message.
• Second, to investigate the history of how the early Quran and Injeel were compiled into the books that became the authoritative collection of God’s message from Mohammad and Isa.
• Third, to review what scholars say about the transmission of the Quran and Injeel manuscripts over the years, since their authoritative compilation.

In this article I will address only the first topic of the study. The other topics are covered in the second and third segments of the study.

Is there support within the Quran and Injeel that clearly state that God has spoken?

I started to check first into what the Quran and Injeel taught about God communicating and protecting his message. From the Quran it is clear that it claims that Mohammad was Allah’s messenger.

O Mankind! The Messenger hath come to you in truth from Allah: believe in him: It is best for you. But if ye reject Faith, to Allah belong all things in the heavens and on earth: And Allah is All-knowing, All-wise. Surah 4:170

This was my understanding as that is part of the Shahada, the confession of faith — that Mohammad was Allah’s messenger and has brought to us his words. So next I started to look at what Allah said about inspiring other messengers. I was aware of the Muslim teaching that Moses and Isa were also inspired by Allah. That just as Mohammad received inspiration, the previous messengers were also inspired to express the words of God. This is confirmed in the ayah (verse) below.

We have sent thee inspiration, as We sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him: we sent inspiration to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and to David We gave the Psalms. Of some messengers We have already told thee the story; of others We have not;- and to Moses Allah spoke direct; Surah 4:163-164

However I was very surprised to find that Allah states that he makes no distinction among these messages from him. That was a big surprise to me as I was taught that the Quran was superior to all of the other messages and that is why it was also the last and final revelation to come to mankind. But from the ayah below, Allah clearly states that all of them are equal.

We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the Prophets, from their Lord: We make no distinction between one and another among them - Surah 3:84

When I started to study the Injeel to determine what it says about God’ message, I discovered that Isa said that the Jewish scriptures had full authority as the words of God. Note what Isa says about the message the Jews had in their possession. These words were spoken during the time when Isa was fasting in the wilderness and Satan came to tempt him. Note Isa’s response to Satan as he quotes from the Taurat (Torah):

‘But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”’ Matthew 4:4

The words in upper case above are referencing the bolded ones below in the Torah.

He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8:3

Regarding the Injeel, Isa makes the claim that his own words are God’s words and they are truth.

“…The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does his work.” John 14:10

I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ….Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 17:14,17

Also note that in the Injeel, we see Apostle Peter bearing witness of what the Jewish and Christian scripture teach regarding the word of God. The words in upper case refer to quotes from the Jewish scripture.

for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.  And this is the word which was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:23-25

From this portion of my investigation, it became clear, both from the Quran and the Injeel that God had inspired messengers to speak on his behalf and the message they gave are to be considered to be from him. Since the Quran came later, it even goes further and states there was no distinction to be made between the Quran and the previous messages.

Are there claims in the Quran and Injeel that they contain the written words of God?

Next area of importance for me was if God has spoken to us through messengers, has this message been written down? Being a Muslim, I believed this of the Quran. Nevertheless, I checked the Quran to see what claims it makes regarding this.

This Quran is not such as can be produced by other than Allah; on the contrary it is a confirmation of (revelations) that went before it, and a fuller explanation of the Book - wherein there is no doubt - from the Lord of the worlds. Or do they say, “He forged it”? say: “Bring then a Sura like unto it, and call (to your aid) anyone you can besides Allah, if it be ye speak the truth!” Surah 10:37-38

Hence not only does the Quran make the claim that it is from Allah, but also challenges others to create a Surah of similar caliber. What surprised me though was that Allah states he has inspired other books – which implied these previous scriptures were written down. Therefore the Quran does acknowledge other written scriptures as can be seen below.

O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Apostle, and the scripture which He hath sent to His Apostle and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denieth Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Apostles, and the Day of Judgement, hath gone far, far astray - Surah 4:136

When I started checking the Injeel, it claims that all written scripture, has been inspired by God.

“…and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17

When looking specifically at the Injeel I found Isa claimed that his word is God’s word. In addition, he said that God’s word will be brought to the memory of the apostles, which are written in the Injeel.

“…and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.” John 14:24

“But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” John 14:26

My understanding was Mohammad had received revelation from Allah and that was directly made part of the Quran, while the other Scriptures were similar to the Hadith (Mohammad’s words or deeds), as it contained historical facts and quotes from other than Allah. But from the study of the Quran and Injeel, I was surprised that all scriptures have been written down and are from God, regardless of the format, whether in direct command form as most of the Quran is or multiple forms as in the Injeel and the Jewish scripture.

Is there support in the Quran or Injeel that the written scriptures are or can be corrupted?

This was an area of much discussion that I used to have with Christians. In the past, I understood from Muslim teachers that Allah had guaranteed to protect the Quran from human tampering, but the protection of the other Scriptures were given to Jews and Christians and that they had corrupted it. So I started again checking into the Quran regarding this topic, and it became very clear that Allah says that no one can change the words of God.

“There is none that can alter the words of Allah.” Surah 6:34

“No change can there be in the words of Allah.” Surah 10:64

The question was do the above ayahs restrict the protection only to the Quran? It became clear that this protection included the previous scriptures since Allah makes no distinction among them from Surah 3:84. But what about the Muslim teachers that kept telling me the Injeel and the Torah are corrupted. Where was that in the Quran? I kept looking and only found this type of teaching that says some Jews and Christians were hiding what was in their books. Note the following ayah:

“O people of the Book! There hath come to you our Messenger, revealing to you much that ye used to hide in the Book, and passing over much (that is now unnecessary): There hath come to you from Allah a (new) light and a perspicuous Book,” Surah 5:15

I was very disappointed. I was looking for the strong claim to corruption that I had been taught. But the above ayah does not claim that the Jewish or Christian scriptures are corrupted, only that the Christians and Jews were hiding things from the Muslims and that God has now revealed them in the Quran. I continued to look further, but did not find much to support corruption. Though, I was surprised to find that the Quran supports the authority of the Injeel by commanding the Christians to judge by what they have in their scripture. That is, from what they currently posses with them – which implied these are not corrupted, else Allah would not ask them to judge by it.

“We sent Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him. We sent him the Gospel… Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein, if any do fail to judge by the light of what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel…” Surah 5:46-47

So, I turned my attention to see what was being said about corruption in the Injeel. Were perhaps the Jewish scriptures corrupted? Looking at the Injeel, it claims all Jewish and Christian scriptures will stand, even if heaven and earth pass away.

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Matthew 5:17-18

Note also the reference by Prophet David to God’s word and their relation to heaven and earth in the Psalms (Zabur),

Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the earth, and it stands. They stand this day according to Your ordinances, For all things are Your servants. Psalm 119:89-91

Further, Isa who speaks God’s word says the same about his words in the Injeel.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Matthew 24:35

At this point, I was satisfied that the Quran and Injeel clearly state that the words of God will stand.

Conclusion

Therefore from study of the Quran and the Injeel I was able to come to the following conclusions:

• The Quran claims that it is the word of God given by inspiration.
• The Quran also claims that the previous scriptures given to Moses, David, Isa and other Messengers are the words of Allah and inspired by Him.
• The Quran challenges the Christians to judge by what is the Injeel during the time of Mohammad and makes no mention of them being corrupted.
• The Injeel gives the Jewish scriptures complete authority to be the word of God and that it stands forever.
• The Injeel also claims that all of Isa’s words are the words of God and that they will never pass away.
• The Injeel also claims that God’s Spirit will teach the apostles and bring to their memory all of Isa’s words. Thereby affirming the Injeel, though written by apostles to be inspired of God.

I had begun with the belief like my other Muslim brothers and sisters that Allah had guaranteed that He will protect the Quran from human tampering, but not the other scriptures. For that reason, I was surprised to learn that Allah had always taught the incorruptibility of scripture even in the Injeel. Protection by God of his message was not new to the Quran. The claim that no human can change the words of God is one made by both the Quran and the Injeel. In addition, nowhere did I find any warning in the Quran that the former Jewish or Christian scriptures had been corrupted. Instead the Quran clearly states that the Jewish and Christian scriptures are authoritative inspiration from God. Regarding the claim that the Injeel was more like the Hadith and contained non-inspired words was not supportable either from the Quran or from the Injeel. I was able to accept that God’s message and teaching can come to us in different forms; it does not always have to come in direct command or quotes from God. Hence based on the ayahs and verses from the Quran and Injeel, it was clear that each of the scriptures speak to itself as being God’s words and to be protected from change.

At this point I was satisfied that I had unjustly denied myself a serious study of the previous scriptures due to fear of corruption. I was now ready to take a serious look at them. It now made sense to me why the Christian Bible not only contains the Injeel but also all of the Jewish scriptures – they are all words of God. This caused in me a desire to study all of the words of God, not just what Mohammad had taught.

** This article was first posted at the Answering-Islam website by the author Farooq Ibrahim. Copyrighted by Farooq Ibrahim and used by permission. For comments or feedback, please contact him or The Abraham Connection.

Christians are not the only ones who desire to saturate the world with their message. In fact, and most unfortunately, the children of God are often not as determined to fulfill the greatest command of their Savior to evangelize the world as Muslims are about taking the message of Muhammed to every nation. Islam has a plan to propigate itself on a world scale and they have already begun to put it into action. How will we respond?

 Below is an article from a key mosque in the Cincinnati area as they outline their desire and strategy to flood the United States and the entire world with their religion.

Taking Islam to Doorsteps

Creative outreach can generate greater goodwill and a better understanding of Islam. By: Sheikh Abdul Rahman. Published in Islamic Horizons November/December 2001.

The program, which reached out to 400 schools in a population of about 500,000 people at a cost of about $10,000, allowed every child to be exposed to some Islamic values.

Muslim Americans anxious to share the message of Islam have invited their neighbors to masjids for tours and talks, joined interfaith dialogues, and made presentations at churches, synagogues, and universities.

The Islamic Association of Cincinnati, OH, (lAC), considering that it was time to take Islam to the public, has formed a dawah outreach program committee that can be replicated elsewhere in North America. The organizers were guided by the Qur’anic advice: “Invite all to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and discuss with them in ways that are best and most gracious, for your Lord knows best those who have strayed from His Path and those who receive guidance” (16:125).

The committee plans to educate children at all levels as future leaders and citizens. By the time they reach college, their beliefs and actions already have been consolidated. At that age, even those with a good religious background may pass through various phases of belief, disbelief and confusion, ignorance and arrogance. However, before we educate them, we must educate teachers to teach Islam impartially and help their students avoid prejudice.

The pilot project was carried out in the Greater Cincinnati area, which includes northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana. All private and public schools were contacted and sent a gift package of Islamic books and videos suited for various grade levels. The program, which reached out to 400 schools in a population of about 500,000 people, cost about $10,000. This well-spent money allowed every child to be exposed to some Islamic values.

As a follow-up, the committee invited teachers to participate in free or minimum
expense education seminars conducted by Audrey Shabbazz, author of the well-respected Arab World Notebook, and other scholars. Participants received lunch, a pre and post-test, and evaluated the workshop. The workshop’s booth displayed Islamic books and videos. An essay competition on subjects related to Islam is planned, and a $300-$500 prize will be provided.

Muslims should involve themselves in school activities. For example, children winners of spelling bees and other contests may be given awards ranging from $30 (school level), $50 (state level), and even $300 (national level). Valedictorians can get a college scholarship gift of $300.

Muslims can sponsor best-teacher awards-$500 for each district’s best teacher. Children nominate the teachers, while judges use Islamic criteria. Sponsors should be in the schools at the time of the awards. Once a year, all champions, valedictorians, and best teachers should attend an award recognition ceremony at the masjid. This can be combined with an open house, such as an Eid dinner or a Hajj celebration.

However, before all of this, better coordination can be affected by establishing a curriculum, and having each committee member obtain 8 hours of continuing education credits in Islamic education.

Media outreach: In order to provide cultural and Islamic education to the media, Muslims must invite them to such events as weddings, Ramadan dinners, and Hajj activities. Muslims need to establish a speaker’s bureau and a writer’s guild composed of people who can write about Islamic views.

Public Outreach: Muslims are to be good and caring neighbors, and such conduct is the best da’wah. Masjids should arrange fundraising events for fire and police departments, homeless shelters, and other worthy undertakings. Local Islamic associations may arrange a neighborhood or community picnic. Election booths can be set up at Islamic centers, as this will allow many people to visit the center and learn that it is just like any other place of worship.

Muslim physicians can play a vital dawah role by setting up specialty booths for quick consultation on such issues blood pressure, screening, blood sugar, blood donation, and organ donation education. Local Islamic centers or associations could organize a tasteof-the-world picnic or outdoor events, where low-priced ethnic foods can be tried. Islamic literature can be made available, and Islamic manners and hospitality displayed.

Some large airports have interfaith chapels for 50-60 people. Local Islamic centers also can provide materials and work with authorities to acquire a reserved area for salat. Centers can donate hijabs, prayer rugs, and copies of the Qur’an. Centers also can request larger hotel chains to set up chapels where people can pray, meditate, and find peace. Active national Islamic advocacy organizations can help here, as well as with similar projects in large shopping malls and theme parks. The Muslim community must cooperate by using these facilities if such programs are to succeed.

Until this happens in shopping centers, a bookstore can sell Islamic and other moral books, provide free Islamic literature, and a small area for prayer. Books can be bought or donated by Islamic publishing companies. Such a program could be run as a charity by dedicated volunteers or as a profit-making venture. A non-profit organization could operate a franchised coffee shop with religious books on every table, and trained waiters could answer the customers’ questions.

The American public is generally ignorant of, and thus hostile to, Islam. Therefore, Muslim Americans are obliged ta provide Islamic guidance by presenting the message and living Islam, for Muslims are ambassadors of Islam in this country. Muslims shouId understand that dawah is a slow process- but that the rewards are eternal. Therefore, a lot of prayer and patience is needed.

The school outreach is a three-faceted effort requiring self-education, following a defined curriculum (books videos, audios. special Seminars), and fundraising. This da’wah effort may be difficult, but if Muslims do not undertake it, America will continue to suffer and Muslims will continue to disappear into this materialistic society. The project outlined here will cost between $30,000-70,000 per year for a city the size of Cincinnati or lndianapolis, and will require 20-30 hours a week of dedicated and knowledgeable people to conduct tours, seminars, and workshops. However, this does not include maintenance or other usual program costs.

A. Rahman, MD, is Chairman of the Outreach Education Committee of the Islamic Association of Cincinnati, OH.

An Analysis of Muhammad’s Scientific Blunders

By David Wood  

Due to renewed interest in Islam in the West, the historical Muhammad is finally starting to come into public view.  Muhammad was an extraordinary man, but he was nevertheless flawed.  He was often ruthless towards his adversaries, he commanded his followers to assassinate those who insulted him, and he beheaded hundreds of Jews.  Although his revelations permitted other men to have only four wives, Muhammad had at least nine wives at one time, and more than thirteen throughout his life.  One of these wives was a nine-year-old girl; another was the divorced wife of his adopted son.  He also allowed men to beat their wives.  Further, Muhammad showed signs of mental and spiritual instability.  His first impression of his encounter with the angel Gabriel was that he was under demonic attack.  Even after he became Allah’s Apostle, Muhammad believed that he was the victim of magic spells.[1]   

All of these facts call Muhammad’s reliability into question.  Muslims can no longer turn to Muhammad’s “flawless” character as evidence for their faith, for history shows that Muhammad had numerous flaws.  Hence, Muslims must defend their religion by other means.  The most popular method is currently to argue for the “miraculous” scientific accuracy of the Qur’an.  Muslim reverence for Muhammad’s scientific brilliance can hardly be exaggerated: 

It was [Muhammad] who turned the course of human thought away from superstition, the unnatural and the unexplainable, towards a logical approach illustrating a love for truth and a balanced worldly life. . . . It was he who, in the place of baseless speculation, led man to use logic and reasoning on the basis of observation, experimentation and research.  He was the one who clearly defined the limits and functions of sense perception, reason and intuition.[2] 

[I]t is inconceivable that many of the statements in the Qur’an which are connected with science could have been the work of a man.  It is, moreover, perfectly legitimate, not only to regard the Qur’an as the expression of a Revelation, but also to award it a very special place on account of the guarantee of authenticity it provides and the presence in it of scientific statements which, when studied today, appear as a challenge to human explanation.[3] 

Muhammad’s supposed scientific precision is notorious for being singularly unimpressive to anyone who isn’t already a committed Muslim.  The tactic employed by Muslim apologists is (1) to read a simple verse from the Qur’an, (2) to twist and stretch the interpretation as far their imaginations will take them, (3) to insert a bunch of scientific terminology into the interpretation, and (4) to proclaim that there is absolutely no way an illiterate, seventh-century leader could have revealed all these scientific insights without the help of God.  After hearing such arguments, Muslims typically stand in awe.  Others stand there wondering, “Where did the verse say that?” 

The purpose of this article is not to respond to the many supposed instances of scientific accuracy in the Qur’an.  Instead, I hope to show that the Muslim approach is unpromising, for the argument from scientific accuracy cuts both ways.  That is, one cannot reasonably point to Muhammad’s scientific insights while at the same time turning a blind eye to his numerous scientific inaccuracies.  As it turns out, this is exactly what Muslims do.  Yet such a method could be used to prove the prophetic authority of people throughout history.  

For instance, Thales of Miletus was able to predict a solar eclipse in 585 B.C.  One could use this to argue that he must have been inspired by God.  However, Thales also proclaimed that everything is composed of water, an idea that now seems absurd.  Similarly, in the fourth century B.C. Democritus correctly suggested that everything is composed of atoms.  Yet no one considers this to be evidence of divine inspiration, for the atomic theory of Democritus was almost completely inaccurate. 

We run into a similar problem when we come to Muhammad.  While Muhammad’s proclamations aren’t nearly as impressive as the atomism of Democritus, Muslims have put forth a number of arguments for Muhammad’s scientific intuitions.  However, the following examples of Muhammad’s scientific blunders should be sufficient to convince an unbiased examiner that Muslims have overstated their case. 

I must note here that I do not believe that it is necessary for all of a prophet’s statements (i.e. statements not intended as revelation) to be in line with modern science.  Prophets are, after all, human, and as humans they may believe in superstitions and fables.  However, when a prophet proclaims a message from God, it must be accurate.  Thus, some of the popular critiques of Muhammad are somewhat misplaced.  For example, consider the following claims, which have provided Islam’s critics with much ammunition…

Click here to read the rest of this article

God instructs us in his Word to test the prophets and we find in scripture not only clear criteria for this testing but also reports of many true and many false prophets so that we have examples that help us in this evaluation.To test whether a prophet is from God or a false prophet we have to look at both, his message and his life. Muslim theology itself acknowledges the importance of the lives of the prophets as an essential part of the criteria to evaluate the legitimacy of a prophetic claim so much so that it has created the doctrine of the sinlessness of the prophets which goes much further than the Biblical criteria.

There have been many people claiming prophethood both before and after Muhammad. Muslims easily reject the prophetic claims of Joseph Smith (founder of the Mormons, no relation to Islam), Baha’ullah (Bahais, acknowledging Muhammad as true, but moving on to further revelation) and the Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (Ahmadiyya, understanding himself to be a reformer of Islam, not with new revelation) based on the “easy” criterion that Muhammad said there will be no prophet after him.

Even though Muslims will certainly not be pleased by the material linked from this page, nor might they agree with us on the criteria for this test, we hopefully can agree that claims to prophethoood need to be tested whether the claimant’s message truly comes from God or not, and this includes theclaims of Muhammad about himself and his message. We will provide references to Muslim sites and their view about Muhammad and why he is a true prophet. But in those presentations a number of issues are regularly left out. A true evaluation has to deal with all the facts and cannot be satisfied with a selective presentation.

Read about Muhammad and decide for yourself whether or not he truly was a prophet of God.

Sunday November 19, 2006

12:00 p.m. - Lunch at Midtown Church/Ride to Perimeter Church

1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - The Importance of Prayer

They also want people to know that they will meet at 12:00 for lunch and offer a trip to Perimeter church to hear a Muslim from the Istanbul Culture Center and Christian speaker from Perimeter share their perspectives on “The importance of Prayer.” This will be an opportunity for you to contrast and compare the views of Islam and Christianity on an issue of great importance. Find out what the Bible has to say about prayer.

The church is located at 9500 Medlock Bridge Road, Duluth, GA 30097.

If you pan on being there for lunch, please e-mail someone on their staff at shafi_motiwalla@yahoo.com and let them know so that they can prepare enough food. They also need to know how many people will be riding with them to the meeting. They will take a large van, but space is limited.

Personal testimony of How Sami, a Moroccan Muslim, accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. 

It was a question that I had been asked on more than ane occasion after converting to Christianity. I had heard this question from both Christians and Muslims. From the Christians it was a question of curiosity or emotion upon seeing how God had changed my life. As for Muslims, it was a question which was directed at offending and humiliating me. For the Christians, they wanted to know how and when I decided to follow Jesus Christ. But for the Muslims the question was, “You are a Christian?” (MASIHI in arabic). When I heard this question, in the begining it was dangerous and complicated for me, not because it was difficult or incomprehensible, but rather because it put me in the middle of a confrontation between my soul and the challenges around me. And because of this, the question required a sincere decision in order that I might experience my new point of view conscienciously.

…It was in 1976 that I turned 12 years old. That year with my best friend, we bought a Moroccan newspaper in Arabic. At the time I did not know why we bought this newspaper and furthermore at an age so young to read it. But now I understand that God was preparing the way for me to get saved using this newspaper.

What was in this newspaper? Well, my friend and I found an ad in Arabic that said, “If you want to receive a Bible Correspondence course and a Bible, write to this address.” It was the address of a Ministry in France that was focused to North Africa.

The two of us decided to write to the address in Marseilles, France. After waiting about two weeks, the first course about creation came in the mail. Both of us were really happy to receive these lessons in the mail.

But I was especially happy to the point of selfishness over the matter. It made me feel really important. I didn’t want anyone else to discover this address. I only wanted that they write to me and that no one else share this experience. After about two years, my cousin discovered that I was having correspondence with Christians. And he warned me that if the police discovered this, they would throw me in jail. I was just 14 years old and jail was something I feared. So from that moment on I began to ask myself, “Why do the people turn away and don’t accept information concerning Christianity?”

For fear of going to jail, I stopped my correspondence. As time went by, I began to forget it all. But for God, nothing is forgotten. One day I was looking for a radio station and I discovered an Evangelical program in Arabic called NUR AL NUR (”Light Over Light” in Arabic). It was broadcasted from Monte Carlo. I could then listen because no one knew that I was in contact with the “Good News”. And thanks to the radio, I discovered many addresses that offered me the Gospel…

…It was a continiouse battle in my life, both inside of me and outside. Inside I had doubts about what the truth was and I could not rest because I worried about what people would think of me if they knew I was in contact with Christians. And if they discovered that I was studying the Gospel, what would happen to me? Meanwhile I had a battle going on outside of me because it was difficult to deny the religion of my family and my grandparents. And if it came to this, the people would reject me and I would bring shame on my family like a prodigal son, a disobedient atheist. As a consequence of this terrible battle, I decided to stop doing the Bible correspondence courses and stop listening to the Evangelical Radio programs.

But God would not leave me alone…

…In 1983, once again something moved me to listen to a radio program that came from Monte Carlo but was broadcast from Malaga, Spain. In that particular program they anounced an address in Modena, Italy to receive Bible correspondence courses. The person that wrote me was a Moroccan believer. He visited at my own home in Morocco; and one year later, another Moroccan believer visited me too. Both they told me about their faith in Jesus Christ, and about the Bible. I continued to correspond with them. During their visits, I asked them a lot of questions concerning my doubts about Christianity, not in order to humiliate them nor did I want answers to my doubts. Instead I wanted these new friends of mine to see that they were mistaken in being Christians. But they gave me good answers to my doubts…

…During this time one of these Moroccan believers gave me a Bible as a gift and asked me to begin to read it. While I read, I had some discussions with some of my friends im my neighborhood. We discussed issues like whether or not Christianity is true and whether or not the Bible is authentic. And while I was studying the Bible I also read the QUORAN. I made comparisons between the two. And to tell you the truth, during this time I found myself in total confusion with no way to get out. The QUORAN said that it was the last and the only truth inspired by God. But on the other hand, the Bible said the same thing: Jesus said in John 14:6 that he was the only way to salvation. I was perplexed and I asked myself the question, “What is the TRUE way?”

…Before, I practiced the Islamic laws - The “Pillaars of Islam” - without being sure of my celestial future nor did I know how I could fix the matter of my being separated from God because of my sin. But in Christ I found the solution to this problem and I realized that in order to be saved, I needed to accept Christ and follow him as my only Lord and Saviour. I recognized that I was a sinner, that I had broken God’s laws and that by believing in Christ and accepting the price that he paid for me by dying on the cross for my sins that I could receive God’s pardon and forgiveness for my sins, as John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

So, in 1985 I made the decision to accept and follow Jesus Christ as the Lord of my life.

Click Here to Read the Rest of Sami’s Testimony