Notes on Islam

By Rev. Dr. Frederic W. Baue

Our country is experiencing a new revival of interest in religious things. This new spiritual society will not be friendly toward Christianity. Islam is not friendly toward Christianity. That is because it knows nothing of the Gospel—it has no atonement by a savior, no forgiveness of sins. But our society is becoming friendly with Islam— September 11 notwithstanding.

Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 A. D. In 610 he supposedly saw the angel Gabriel and was given a prophetic revelation. The holiest place was the Kaaba, a very ancient building which they say was built by Abraham and Ishmael. Muhammad’s prophetic utterances were later written in the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam. The word Qur’an means “recite”. Many Muslims can recite the entire Qur’an.

Islam is monotheistic. Muslims will say, “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.” Muslims believe that there were many prophets, such as Abraham and Moses and Jesus. They teach that Jesus did not die on the cross to take away our sins. He never rose from the dead. He was a prophet, but not the Son of God.

Whenever a man claims to have received a new word from God, only one thing results—more law. Yet legalism is one thing about Islam which gives it an advantage over the Christian faith. It is doable. You pray toward Mecca five times a day. You go to the mosque once a week. You recite the Qur’an. The word Islam means “submission” and a Muslim is “one who submits” to the rule of Allah in obedience to his laws.

Islam has spread widely. Today, it is the second largest world religion with over a billion adherents. Muhammad went into his native city and began to preach. He met with persecution. Finally Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina. This escape, known as the Hejira, was to mark the turning point in the fortunes of Islam. The Muslim calendar marks its beginning from this event in 622 A.D. Within a short period of time, Muhammad gained many new converts.

Essential to the teachings of Muhammad—and key to the spread of Islam—was the concept of jihad. Usually translated “holy war”, the term actually means “exertion”. The higher jihad is spiritual, the striving of the individual against sin.The lesser jihad is military action for the spread of Islam. Islam promises great reward and immediate entrance into paradise for men killed in battle for the faith.

For example, here is a passage from the Qur’an, “This is the recompense of those who fight against God and His Messenger…they shall be slaughtered, or crucified, or their hands and feet shall alternately be struck off” (V.35). Compare that with the words of Jesus, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 7:44).

Muhammad returned to Mecca with 10,000 followers in 630. He destroyed the idols in the temple, but himself worshiped Allah at the Kaaba.

Then, in 632, Muhammad died unexpectedly. He left no successor, creating a power vacuum that has divided Islam to this day. The largest sect of Islam is the Sunni, a moderate faction. They believe that religious leaders should come from the descendants of Muhammad or his tribe. The second-largest group, the Shiites, is a strict faction. They believe that leaders should come from descendants of Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law. Of the first four caliphs who succeeded Muhammad, three were assassinated.

Nevertheless, Islam continued to expand. The many heretical Christians in the Middle East accepted their Muslim conquerors initially. Jerusalem welcomed Uthman, the third caliph, in 638. Finding the old temple area on Mt. Moriah deserted, he cleared away some rubble and made himself a simple mosque—the beginning of what was to become the present-day Dome of the Rock.

In time, Muslim conquerors took the faith to Spain in the West and to India and beyond in the East. Today, most Muslims live in Asia, not the Middle East. The Muslims would have conquered Europe, but were defeated at the Battle of Poitiers in 732, and turned back to Spain. Still, Muslim ambition centered on the Christian West, especially after the eight Crusades (1096-1277), which tried to reclaim the Holy Land for Christianity by military means. Finally, in 1453, Constantinople fell to Muslim forces. The Turks entered the city, slaughtered its inhabitants, and converted the magnificent Church of the Hagia Sophia (“holy wisdom”) into a mosque.

From there it was a straight run up the Danube and into the heart of Europe. They surrounded Vienna and laid siege in 1529. This military threat forced Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to deploy forces that otherwise might have been used to stamp out the nascent Protestant Reformation that had begun with Luther’s 95 Theses in 1517. Fortunately, the Turks were defeated.

At its height, Islam built magnificent civilizations and contributed many things to Western culture. For one thing, we all use Arabic numerals. During the period of European ascendancy in world affairs beginning in the 16th century, Islamic civilization fell into disarray. Arabia and India came under colonial rule.

In the 20th century, petroleum wealth flowed into the Arabian peninsula, and with it, increased political power for Islam. We all know what happened on September 11, 2001. But in fairness it must be noted that the mainstream of Islam is moderate in tone. The terrorist groups are an anomaly.

We have today a resurgent Islam, particularly in the United States. It is similar, but opposed to Christianity. As America becomes more “spiritual”, it will become more friendly to Islam and less friendly to Christianity. We find in Islam a religion that emphasizes spirituality, obedience to divine law, and a way to bring religious precepts into the arena of public affairs. No wonder Islam is on the upswing. It’s just close enough to Christianity to lead many astray. All that’s missing is the Gospel.

The Rev. Frederic W. Baue, Ph.D., is an editor at Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Missouri. This article is adapted from his book, The Spiritual Society (Crossway, 2001).