Being deployed to Iraq, I have a lot of exposure to Islam. Now is the time of Ramadan and it is pushed on us to make sure to respect their religions. A culutural advisor was brought in to give us a brief about a week ago. He said, "The Bible and Koran are pretty much the same book and the two religions are pretty much the same." I was pretty upset by that statement, but not having all the knowledge on Islam, I decided to research it. The book I read is called Secrets of the Koran written by Don Richardson (who also wrote Peace Child). As I had suspected, the two religions are nowhere near the same. I have my own opinions on Islam and the Koran but I'll hold those to myself. So I was wondering, what your opinions are about Islam? Do you think the two religions are "pretty much the same"? I am interested in what you all might have to say. I would like to hear other christians opinions on this.
Peace.
Hello Brother. I have also had my questions about Islam and what its about. I have many Muslum friends, my two best friends of over 15 years insist that we are all Muslums from the day that we are born and that we are born perfect geniouses and that we learn sin as we go along in life. Well...... its pretty obvious to me that I canot agree with this because no one told me how to lie or to steel money from my moms purse when I was a kid so hey, thats just an example, but there is alot more to it.
They believe in certain parts of the old Testament such as the ten commandments (Moses), Abraham and that the helper that Jesus refers to as the holy spirit in John, Muslums refer to as Mohammad. But then they say they do not take the New Testament in to consideration??
Well there is alot to cover on this topic but here is something that I posted not to long ago in the Christian History forums based on recent events, scriptures from the Quron, and talking to Muslums, I hope it helps.
Several scholars hold that Muhammad’s ideas developed gradually: Some traditions were taken from the Bible (some apocryphal) and included in the Qur’an in order to win over followers from Christianity and Judaism.
In Islamic law (sharia), the consensus view is that a male apostate must be put to death unless he suffers from a mental disorder or converted under duress, for example, due to an imminent danger of being killed. A female apostate must be either executed, according to Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali schools of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), or imprisoned until she reverts to Islam as advocated by the Sunni Hanafi school and by Shi'a scholars.[9]
Most Islamic scholars agree that the appropriate punishment for apostasy is beheading. However, according to hadith, apostates sometimes were tortured to death. The caliph Umar II had apostates tied to a post and a lance thrust into their hearts. Mamluk sultan Baybars II also practiced torture of apostates. A case is recorded when a woman who had apostatised was led through the streets of Cairo on an ***, then strangled in a boat in the middle of the Nile and thrown into the river. In modern times, followers of the Ahmadiyya sect in Afghanistan were stoned to death. The execution for apostasy was abolished in most Muslim lands in the 19th century either through European pressure or through the direct European rule; however, cases of imprisonment and deportation of apostates still occurred. Nevertheless, even nowadays renegades are not sure of their lives, as their Muslim relatives frequently try to kill them.[9]
Ideally, the one performing the execution of an apostate must be an imam.[9] At the same time, all schools of Islamic jurisprudence agree that any Muslim can kill an apostate without punishment
Christian convert faces death penalty in Afghanistan
Daniel Cooney in Kabul
Monday March 20, 2006
The Guardian
A man could be sentenced to death after being charged with converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under Afghanistan's shariah laws, a judge said yesterday. The trial is thought to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and highlights a struggle between religious conservatives and reformists over what shape Islam will take four years after the fall of the Taliban.
Abdul Rahman, 41, was arrested last month after his family accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada told Associated Press. The accused was charged with rejecting Islam.
During the one-day hearing on Thursday, the defendant allegedly confessed to converting to Christianity 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, Judge Mawlavezada said.
"We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is against the law," the judge said. "It is an attack on Islam." He will rule on the case within two months.
O YOU WHO BELIEVE! DO NOT TAKE THE JEWS AND THE CHRISTIANS FOR FRIENDS; THEY ARE FRIENDS OF EACH OTHER; AND WHOEVER AMONGST YOU TAKES THEM FOR A FRIEND, THEN SURELY HE IS ONE OF THEM; SURELY Allah DOES NOT GUIDE THE UNJUST PEOPLE. (Surah 5:49-51) Quote from the Quran!
Dosent this contradict the teachings of Mosses! 6th commandment: You shall not murder! Which Muslums except as one of there Prophets.
Its hard to look at the teachings of Islam with an open mind when so much violence sufaces from what is suppoesd to be the true teachings of God. I have been in many chat rooms and debaits with Muslums over our differences and have not been convinced that Islamic teachings are of Gods words. I tried to understand Islam and am still trying too, but I will not give up the true teachings of Christ for a religion that justifies killing through God. Johns teachings are as plain as day.
John 5,22: For not even the father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the son.
John 5,23: So that all will honor the son even as they honor the father. He who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him.
John 5,24: Truly, I say to you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
And as for all the converts to Islam from Christianity:
1 John 2:19
They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
There are versions of Muhammad's life favoring different traditions within Islam. There are also significant differences between Sunni versions of Muhammad's life and Shi'a versions. It is impossible to present one Muslim version. Bernard Lewis states that "the collection and scrutiny of Hadiths didn't take place until several generations" after Muhammad's death and that "during that period the opportunities and motives for falsification were almost unlimited." In addition to the problem of oral transmission for over a hundred years, there existed motives for deliberate distortion. The Muslims themselves at an early date realized that many Hadiths were fabricated and thus developed a whole science of criticism to distinguish between genuine Hadiths and pious or impious frauds.
I know where I stand now and am very gratful to God that he chose me to be of true faith as a follower of Christ.
I suggest that you research for your self though for I am no expert on all that the Quron has to offer or the full meaning that it represents on a scholars level. This is just how I feel and what I have come to understand from my research. Take it as you will. May God guide you and give you understanding and love even if we dont agree with others.
God bless!
