A Biblical View on Islamic Fundamentalism
(Nov. 2004 version. posted with minor typo corrections)
With the recent rise of Islamic terrorism, it is important to discover its root cause. Is it primarily due to hunger, poor, or economic despair in many Muslim countries? Maybe social inequality or repressive regimes are to blame. Is the Israelis-Palestinians conflict a major factor? Are mistakes of the US Middle East policies to blame? All these do play some role. However, the same or similar problems appear in other parts of the world but do not cause terrorism. Thus, there are other reasons for Islamic terrorism. Professor Bernard Lewis, an expert on Middle East history, has written two excellent books, “What went wrong?” [1] and “Crisis of Islam”[2]. These books put current problems facing Islam and Islamic countries in a historical perspective. Under the pressure of modernization, many Islamic countries have tried many remedies in the last few centuries with little success. Terrorism is related to Islamic fundamentalism. The ideology of terrorism is based on interpretations of Koran that deviate significantly from the traditional interpretations of Koran. Thus, terrorism distorts Islam and many Muslims are peace-loving people. However, these books regard Christianity and Islam as rival religions but have not considered some key differences. In this article, I plan to examine Islam and Islamic fundamentalism from a biblical viewpoint, which provides insight somewhat different from these books. Facing with humiliation, failures, and frustrations in Islamic societies, many Muslims turn to their religion for solutions, which causes the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the last fifty years. However, it is unlikely that Islam will provide solutions for them.
I would like to quote Isaiah 55:9-11.
9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
The Word of God is still valid today and can serve a guide to current affairs.
I will begin by showing that Christianity is a religion from God while the same cannot be said about Islam. The book of Koran is inconsistent with earlier God’s revelations and historical facts. Some basic Islamic doctrines are self-contradictory. The parable of weeds taught by Jesus in Matthew 13 may be used by Christians to deal with heresies, cults, and other religions, including Islam. The key is to separate the relationships into the spiritual realm and the social/political/moral realm. Then, I will review the historical background on the rivalry of Christianity and Islam and the crisis facing Islamic societies. In this context, Islamic fundamentalism is a natural development. There is a tendency for Islamic fundamentalists to become militant because of the historical role of jihad in Islam. Some widely suggested solutions to the crisis in Islam are democracy and the separation of religion and state. There are difficulties to realize these in Islamic societies because they are incompatible with basic Islamic laws. .
1. Judaism and Christianity
It is well known that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are three widely followed monotheistic religions in the world. A superficial overview seems to indicate that Christianity and Islam are offshoots of Judaism and they are equal in status. However, a close examination shows that there are crucial differences.
First, these three monotheistic religions have a common root: the Ten Commandment and the first five books of the Bible. Some basic common believes are as follows. God is the creator of heaven, earth, and all other things, including mankind. There is only one God. God is also a spirit and invisible. It is forbidden for believers to make an image of God (Deuteronomy 4:15-19). At that time, this differs greatly from other religions/faiths. There are many similarities or look-likes and one may get confused if one starts from knowledge (Genesis 2:17). A better approach is to examine key events chronologically. Since God is one, He must be consistent throughout the ages. Christianity started in the first century while Islam began in the seventh century. So we should consider Christianity first.
Christianity is really a sect of Judaism. This is a historical fact. The split occurred sometime after the destruction of Jerusalem of 70 C.E. Some may have doubts about whether both Judaism and Christianity are God’s religions. One may say why there are two religions from God since there is only one God. In fact, God did a lot work before the birth of Jesus to indicate that He would start a new covenant, i.e., a new religion. There are many verses in the Old Testament for this purpose. Jeremiah 31:31-34 below is probably the most pertinent one.
31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
These are very powerful words. The word covenant is not used lightly in the Bible. The old covenant is the one God made with Israel in the first five books of the Bible. Does this mean that God has revoked the old covenant and abandoned Jews completely? Not so if you read the Bible carefully. There are many places in the Old Testament to indicate that this will never happen. This should be also clear in the New Testament, especially in Romans and Revelation.
The second important point concerns the Word of God, i.e., the Bible. Note here the Word is singular, as in John 1:1-14 and many other places in the Bible. It means that although there are many books but all are regarded as one and they are consistent. For Christians, The Word of God includes both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Note also that the Word here is recursively defined. There are several important terms are recursively defined in the Bible (cf. Revelation 22:16). The New Testament was hinted by Jesus in Matthew13:52. He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."
The third important point is about the Messiah. Based on the Old Testament, Jewish teachers had predicated the coming of Messiah. The difference between Christians and Jews is whether Jesus is the Messiah. The gospel (the first 4 books of New Testament) spends a great deal of time to show that Jesus is the Messiah.
The fourth point is about proselytizing. Initially, Jesus preached gospel mainly to Jews, mostly pure Jews (cf. Matthew 15:21-28). Samaritans were descendants of intermarriage of Jews with locals. Although Jesus did preach gospel to them, he chose all 12 apostles among Jews only. Proselytizing was new at the time. Judaism was a religion largely by descent, although others may be converted to Jews if they chose. However, proselytizing was not an active practice among Jews. Acts provides a history of the early Church. Through it, we know that Paul was set aside by God to preach gospel to Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Since proselytizing was so important and unconventional at the time, God gave Peter visions and signs for preparation. In Acts 10 to 11:18, we clearly see the mercy and love of God to spread gospel to other races and cultures. Chapter 15 of Acts dealt with this issue again.
The fifth point is the continuity of the Faith. Chapter 11 of Hebrew addresses what is the Faith and the examples are from the Old Testament. This implies that the Christian faith is the same as the faith of ancient godly Jews. This point can also be found in many other places in the New Testament.
Thus, both Christianity and Judaism are religions from God. Salvation of Jews is a difficult topic for Christians. Paul addressed this issue in Chapter 11 of Romans.
2. The Divinity of Jesus Christ
One crucial difference between Jews and Christians is the divinity of Jesus Christ. The Trinity, God being the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is perhaps the most important doctrine of Christianity. But it is also a difficult one for many to understand or accept. I will give some points on this below.
The Old Testament offers some clues. 1) Even in Genesis, 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." Note the words, ‘us’, ‘our’, are plural. 2) A more direct one is Isaiah 9: 6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The child is called Mighty God and Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. 3) Virgin birth. Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
In the New Testament, prophecies in the Old Testament are fulfilled. 4) In gospel, e.g., Matthew 1: 16 “and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." 5) Mathew. 16: 13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” 6) Check the meaning of words Jesus, Christ, Messiah, Immanuel. God does fulfill His promises.
The Bible shows that all persons are sinners, even Abraham, Moses, David, and other prophets. That is, all except Jesus because he is the Son of God.
3. Islam
Let us now turn to Islam. First, we consider the five points in section 1. (1) If someone thinks that Islam is a religion from the true God, he/she needs to show that it was foretold in the Bible, either in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, or in both. No one has shown this, except for some verses of the Bible taken out of context in some Islamic books or web sites. (2) Since Islam came after Christianity, to show that their Holy book, Koran, indeed was from God Muslims must prove that Koran is consistent with the Bible, at least with the Old Testament. In addition, they should append it to the Bible, just as Christians did to the Old Testament, not as an independent book. (3) This is probably irrelevant since Islam does not claim Muhammad to be Messiah. But this leaves a hole and would not complete the Old Testament. (4) & (5) Muhammad was not a Jew. There is no continuity in the faith.
One of the fundamental doctrines of Islam is that there are many prophets from God, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, as well as Ishmael and Mohammad, and Mohammad is the last and the greatest prophet. What is a prophet in the biblical sense? The web site [3] contains a good description of prophets in the Old Testament era. Some relevant verses are Deuteronomy 18:18-22 (also Chapter13). Muhammad did not satisfy two basic requirements. First, he was not a Jew. Second, he worshiped Allah. Although God revealed Himself in several names in the Bible and each name had a meaning, Allah is not one of them.
In addition, there are problems with other prophets of the Islamic faith. Many would agree that Noah, Abraham, Moses are prophets. But the Bible is not positive about Ishmael. Genesis 16, especially 11-12 "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." Genesis 20:9-13 especially verse 12 “…because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” (cf. Galatians 4:21-27).
Since Jesus is a prophet from God, what he said must be true (Deuteronomy 18:18-22), that is, he is Son of God. This shows that the Koran is logically inconsistent. Koran acknowledges that Jesus is a prophet but denies that he is Son of God. Koran 5:73-75 says “Indeed, they disbelieve who say, God is the third of three (in a trinity), when there is no god but one God. If they desist not from what they say, truly, a painful punishment will befall the disbelievers among them. Would they not rather repent to God and ask His forgiveness? For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a messenger…” Furthermore, the claim by Muslims that Muhammad is greater than Jesus is really blasphemy. Not only Jesus is sinless, unlike other prophets, there are many more verses in the Bible that showed Jesus is higher than any person. For example, transfiguration (Matt.17:1-9, Mark 9:1-9, Luke 9:28-36) showed that Jesus is greater than Moses and Elijah. Another example is resurrection.
It is useful to understand the meaning of biblical prophets further. In the Old Testament era, divine revelations were given not through priests but through prophets (Deuteronomy 18:14-22). Prophecies throughout the ages gave us many books of the Old Testament. To Christians, these prophecies prepared for the coming of Jesus. After the coming of Jesus, there would be no more prophets in the sense of the Old Testament. Jesus said in Luke 16: 16"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.” (Also Matthew 11:13) This implies that after Baptist John, there would be no prophet in the sense of giving new prophetical books. This is important since heresies, cults, and false religions often claim new prophet(s) and produce new sacred books.
Critics may question the above assertion. For example, one may point out, e.g., Acts 2:17-18, I Corinthians 12:28-30, or I Corinthians 14. We should distinguish prophets in the New Testament from earlier prophets (cf. Matthew 11:11 and John 1:13). A lot more must be done to explain these, which is left to the future. The main point is that prophets in the new covenant era are different and no new books will be added to the Bible. God is living, thus, God speaks everyday in many ways. However, the Word of God in written form is special. For Christians, Jesus came and fulfilled what were prophesied in the Old Testament. No more books may be added to the Bible and the Word of God in the written form is complete.
Muslims claim that Judaism and Christianity were precursors of Islam, with holy books deriving from authentic revelations from God, but incomplete and corrupted by their unworthy custodians, therefore superceded by the final and perfect revelations of Islam. This claim confuses two separate things, the Holy books and the people who followed them. We know that Jews and Christians often commit sins, thus deviate from the Bible. But studies of the history of the Bible show that the Bible had been meticulously preserved since antiquity and is the most accurate book in ancient time. One example of authenticity of the Bible is that sins by people, kings, even prophets had been faithfully recorded. In addition, to me it is harder to revere one person and one book than to believe the sacredness of many books from generations and by a number of authors yet consistent.
It should be clear now that Islam is a false religion. The word false is opposite to true. John 14:6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " So He is true and anything contradicts the truth is false. In theory, there can be a religion from God that is different from Christianity but such a religion must be at least self-consistent. The above shows so many inconsistencies in the basic doctrines of Islam. Hence, Islam cannot be such a religion.
4. The Parable of Weeds and Relationship among Religions
One question is how to deal with a false religion such as Islam. The Bible does have verses concerning false faiths in the new covenant era. Jesus taught the parable of weed in Matthew 13.
24Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 28" 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 29" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
Although simple, this parable has many implications, which have not been well understood for centuries. The good seed here is the Word of God, i.e., the Bible. Besides the Bible, others (if regarded as the Holy Book) are seed of weeds. Note verse 29 specifically admonished not pulling the weeds out. This means that we cannot and should not eradicate the weeds (false religions/faiths). How to put this teaching into practice is not obvious. In order to do this, it is important to differentiate the social realm from the spiritual realm.
It is well known that a person has three parts: spirit, soul, and body. In early Christianity, Origen introduced an interpretation method of Bible that considers three levels of meaning: literal, moral, and spiritual. I would like to generalize this to a method to analyze many things such as polities, social issues, progress, etc. There are three realms to consider: (a) material, (b) mental/moral/political; (c) spiritual. The spiritual realm is the highest while the mental realm is the next. A higher realm can influence a lower realm while a lower realm reflects the status of a higher realm. An object can be mainly one, two, or three-dimensional. Often it is difficult to separate the mental realm from the spiritual realm. Hebrew 4:12”For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double- edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” A nonbeliever is largely a two-dimensional person that cannot understand spiritual things (cf. I Corinthians 2:14; Mark 4:12). All real things in the spiritual realm, such as faith, prophecy, salvation, grace, spiritual knowledge, etc., are gifts from God. If a faith is not from God, i.e., weed according to the parable of weeds, then it has nothing to offer in the spiritual realm. Deuteronomy 12:28-13:11 specifically admonishes godly persons not to investigate false religions. On the other hand, Christians can and should interact with people of other faiths if done in the moral/political realm.
The separation of church and state, an important pillar of modern democracy and part of secularism, is often attributed to Matthew 22:21 “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s”. Such an interpretation is too shallow. Although money (tax) is important, it is in the material realm and should not be the center of societies. The parable of weeds is more relevant to the separation of church and state. Two contrasting views may be considered on secularism. One is that religion is outdated and new ideas and laws are needed. Another is that secularism is a practical solution to difficulties when implement teachings in the New Testament. To see the need of secularism, we should consider the differences between the old covenant and new covenant and between worldly kingdoms and the kingdom of God. For example, a true Christian must be reborn (John 3:1-15, 1:13). One natural question is what about if someone is born of a Christian family but follows a cult, becomes heretic, converts to a different religion, or simply has yet to believe. As another example, when gospel is preached to a non-Christian community some may believe while others not. Such challenges were not central to Jews since they just follow the laws and regulations in the Old Testament. Secular laws are necessary so that crimes (not sins) committed by individuals and/or groups may be punished and proper social orders may be established. A polity needs a government for both believers and nonbelievers. The separation of church and state and secular laws permit this. This is not easy and has taken fifteen centuries for Christians to understand this and additional centuries to develop laws and social infrastructures.
Once the separation of church and state and secular laws are established, people of different faiths and religions can coexist peacefully. The relationships among them and among religions are social and political in nature. Secular laws and other social infrastructures may vary in different cultures and may change in time. In my opinion, for a specific polity the Law in the Old Testament and the teachings in the New Testament should serve a guideline while the history and cultural heritages may serve as references when common laws are enacted. This topic itself needs much study and is left to the future. In the spiritual realm, Christians and Christian churches can fellowship with each other based on the Bible and their faith. One notable is Judaism. One should understand that Judaism is the original religion from God and deserve due respect. No one should step over the sovereignty of God. This should be clear from Romans and Revelation.
Now let us summarize what we have discussed so far. (1) Judaism and Christianity are two religions from God. (2) A key belief of Christianity is that Jesus is the Son of God. Both Judaism and Islam do not accept this. (3) Islam is not consistent within its basic doctrines or with Christianity. Islam is not a religion sanctified by God. (3) The separation of church and state is useful for peaceful coexistence among different religions and faiths. Secularism is a practical way in a Christian society to implement the teachings in the New Testament.
5. Historical Background
It is essential to know the history of the conflict between Christendom/Christianity and Islam [1,2]. Some key points are reviewed below. Christendom and Islam are two sister civilizations, both drawing on the shared heritage of Jewish revelation and prophecy and Greek philosophy and science, and both nourished by the immemorial traditions of Middle Eastern antiquity. Both regard itself as the guardian of the Word of God and both take the responsibility to spread the light into the world. The method of proselytizing, however, is fundamentally different, Christianity by testimony while Islam by jihad. From an Islamic viewpoint, Christendom is different from other religions and polities since it was only the serious rival to Islam as a world faith and a world power.
For many centuries and in several ways, the world of Islam was the leading civilization and achievement in the world. Militarily, Islam expanded from Arabia to Syria, Egypt, North Africa, Iran, Turkey, and even to parts of Europe. On social and political issues, in the Middle Age there were corruptions, persecutions, and suppressions from time to time in the Roman Catholic Church, and Christendom was mired in the fight of orthodoxy and heresies. On the other hand, Islam had the reputation of an egalitarian religion. It was against privileges by descent, by birth, by status, by wealth, or even by race. Indeed, during that time many Jews and Christian minorities who had different doctrines from the orthodoxy found refuge in Islamic societies. In the Middle Age, the Islamic Empire was also strong in economy, education, philosophy, and sciences. Modern mathematics and sciences have a lot to thank Muslims for their contributions in the Middle Age, some original and some as intermediaries. Muslims regard Europeans as barbarians, not much to offer except waiting to be conquered and to be Islamized. To Muslims at that time, military victories and cultural superiority reinforced the notion that Islam was the final, perfect revelation from God and superceded prior revelations, i.e., Judaism and Christianity. It is striking to see that brilliant ancient civilizations prior to Islam were largely neglected or ignored in their original countries during that period [2]. To them, everything was considered in the framework of the Koran and Islam. This mindset still strongly influences Muslims even today.
In the medieval time, Muslims did not even bother to study languages and cultures of Europeans and since to them these barbarians had nothing to offer. Renaissance, the Reformation, and Industrial Revolution passed virtually unnoticed in the lands of Islam. Things began to change first in the military front. The defeat of the second siege of Vienna in 1683 was the turning point to many Muslims. Subsequent defeats in the military fronts became a crisis in Ottoman Empire. They began to question: “What did we do wrong?” and “How do we catch up with them, and regain our rightful primacy?” This started reforms first in military and later involved many areas, such as sciences, politics, social equality, and economy. The modern time has been an extremely painful and frustrating era for Muslims. True, impacts by Western civilization are not unique to Islamic societies. Other civilizations also have suffered similar fate. But this is especially hard for Muslims since, unlike other civilizations such as China, they had close contact with Christendom and history had proven their superiority earlier, or at least it seems to them. During the last half-century, the agony and frustration of Middle Eastern Muslims become more acute. After many attempts and different approaches to catch up with Western civilizations, many Islamic nations have fallen further behind. Even new comers such as East Asian nations have now surpassed them in economic output, scientific research, industrialization, political reforms, and social equalities. Islam and Islamic societies are in crisis.
It is important to understand the word jihad and its role in the history of Islam. Professor Lewis gave a good comparison on jihad and crusade in his books (as well as clear explanation of other important terms, e.g., secularism, civil, church, nationalism, modernization, etc.). Crusade is not a biblical term (it does not appear in the Bible); it is a geopolitical term. Nowadays the word crusade has lost its original meaning and is often used to describe a moral movement. On the other hand, jihad appears in Koran and played important roles since the beginning of Islam. The conflicts of Muslims with Jewish tribes in Medina were the early examples. In the past, jihad means military expansion while in more recent times it also has the meaning of internal, moral struggle. Koran 9.29 “Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.” In other words, it calls to fight all religions and communities until they subjugate to Islam. This is in sharp contrast with Jesus' teaching (the parable of weeds). This is a serious problem. It is perhaps not just a coincidence that the majority of recent conflicts between civilizations involve Muslims [4]. Many faiths and civilizations claim superiority. The difference here is that Islam considers that God gives its power to expand to the whole world by jihad and this is explicitly stated in their Holy book. On the other hand, to spread the gospel Christians are called to be testimony to others. Here lies a profound difference.
6. Islamic Fundamentalism
Facing challenges of modernization, two questions are often asked by Muslims. “Who did this to us?” This question implies the blame on someone else, i.e., someone did something to us so that the primacy of the Islamic Empire is usurped. The scapegoat has been changed over the ages. First, it was thought to be Mongols. During the period of nationalism, it was other ethnic groups in the Islamic Empire. Then, the problem was due to Western imperialism. Now it is the United States. Because the US is the leader of Western civilizations, it becomes the enemy by default. A different question is “What went wrong?” Many Muslims attribute the problems to deviation from the true Islamic faith, by their rulers or by those who try to reform through imported ideas. They think that the current problems are because people are not as pious as before and deviate from the true Islam. Islamic fundamentalism is a movement that tries to find solutions in their religion. Because many remedies, such as military reforms, nationalism, independence, socialism, have been tried and failed in most Islamic countries, it is understandable that Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise.
Fundamentalism is often used in the West to distinguish a movement among Protestants whose theology differs from the liberal theology or biblical criticism. In this sense, Islamic fundamentalism is quite different since it is not about theology [2]. However, the Reformation represented by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others may be regarded as fundamentalism in a broad sense since it called to return to basics of the Bible when compared with the practice and theology of the Roman Catholic Church at that time. So in a broad sense Islamic fundamentalism is not a misnomer. The problem of this approach is that Koran is inherently inconsistent, unlike the Bible. There are a great many topics and possible interpretations of the Koran, ranging from religious rituals, peace, social justice, to jihad. In view of its history and the role of jihad, it is not surprising that a significant number of Islamic fundamentalists become militant Islamists who resort violence to achieve their goals. Terrorists are militant Islamists who depart further from the traditional interpretations of Koran. They target civilians and innocents. There are many good books on militant Islamism, e.g., [5]. The militant Islamic movement is alarming. It not only poses severe threats of terrorism to many nations but also has the potential to throwback progress made in social, political, and human rights during the last few centuries worldwide.
Some widely mentioned solutions to the crisis facing Islamic countries include religious reforms and democracy. One might see some parallels of Islam and Christianity but we should also take into account their fundamental differences. For example, religious reforms are unlikely to work in Islamic countries. The problem is that the Bible is Word of God and ultimately it is consistent, even though it may take centuries to interpret some teachings correctly and to find feasible ways to follow the teachings. On the other hand, the Koran is inconsistent in nature. In fact, different theologies had been explored and heatedly debated among Muslims in the early centuries of Islam. It has since been widely accepted by most Muslims that the Koran is uncreated and eternal, divine and immutable. This has become the central tenet of Islam. Open discussion on religious issues is an essential step to religious reforms. Since apostasy is a capital offense, how can religious reform ideas be discussed freely among Muslims? Furthermore, the separation of church and state is not in the teachings of the Koran. For the start, there is no such an Islamic institution comparable to church in Christianity. Considering that historically sharia (Holy law of Islam) has been the Law and the Koran is included in the constitutions of almost all Islamic countries, how can the separation of church and state be possible?
Democracy has a better chance. However, there are still serious obstacles. This is a big topic itself so I only outline a biblical view on democracy and a brief discussion of the obstacles to realize democracies in Islamic countries. Democracy is not a biblical word and it was originated from ancient Greek. (And Muslims had known the Greek heritage all along.) Modern democracies differ greatly from the original Greek democracy. Let us see what is the governing form that God wants. In the history of most civilizations, dynasties were quite common. Modern democracies became reality only after the Reformation. Although ancient Israel had a dynastic era, this was not what God had in mind. I Samuel 8:6But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. …” So all along God had the new covenant in mind. But in the contemporary world some secular government is needed as discussed earlier. Universal suffrage is often regarded as a key to modern democracy. Before one can elect or be elected, participants must have equal social status, in the political realm not necessarily in the material realm or in the spiritual realm. My conjecture is that social equality is more advanced in Christian societies because it was explicitly stated in the New Testament and was inspired by the new covenant.
In Galatians 3:28, Paul said “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ.” (cf. Colossians 3:11; I Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 2:14). Paul clearly knew the biblical base of slavery (Genesis 9:18-27). But inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul was sure that the new covenant essentially removes this obstacle. The new covenant speaks of everyone being children of God. Of course, Paul addressed largely in the spiritual realm. But equality in the spiritual realm eventually will lead to equality in the social/political realm. If you examine the history of slavery, it was Christian societies abolished slavery first. It was under the urge of Western imperialists that slavery was finally abolished in Islamic countries. Here is an example that the Word of God leads to advancement in the moral/political realm. Even though Islamic societies were more advanced in social equality in the Middle Age, Christian societies eventually surpassed them in this aspect. It is interesting to note that the three areas of social equality considered in Chapter 4 of [1], believers and non-believers, masters and slaves, and men and women, correspond directly to Galatians 3:28 above. In the spiritual realm, men and women are not exactly the same which is why women are not mentioned in I Corinthians 12:12-13 or in Colossians 3:11. This is beyond the topic of this article. The new covenant also gives the power to self-rule under God, which forms the legitimacy of democratic government. There are many other important conditions for a healthy modern democracy, such as basic freedom of expression, protection of minority rights, etc. Otherwise a free election may provide a one-way ticket to repressive regimes.
Although modern democracy is originated in Christian countries, it is largely secular and can work in other civilizations. There are many such examples in the world. However, the universality of human rights and equality of all citizens must be truly respected and religious laws or ideologies cannot override these. Some Islamic laws do contradict them. For example, freedom of religion is a basic human right. Although the Koran does say 2:256 “Let there be no compulsion in religion…”, a Muslim abandons the Islamic faith is an apostasy and faces a death sentence. Freedom of expression is essential to a modern society but violence and death are often applied in the name of Islam to Muslims with different religious views [5]. Similar crimes occurred in Christendom prior to or during the Reformation but, as discussed above, this was against the teachings of the Bible. Although a prosperous, democratic country does not need a true religion, false religions or ideologies can severely hinder the development of democracy. Most Middle East Islamic countries except Turkey have the Koran in their constitutions. It is not surprising that among them only Turkey is democratic.
Of course, each country or state has the right of self-determination. The form of government it chooses is within its sovereignty, although democracy has been shown to be beneficial both internally and externally. One problem with Islam is that it used violence (jihad) for expansion and its Holy book justifies jihad. In today’s world, if a country wants respect and prosperity, it must coexist and compete peacefully with other countries. A cause resorts to violence will not succeed. Former communists tried and failed. Militant Islamists will also fail.
7. Possible Solutions
It is sorry to see that the Middle East, a cradle of world religions and civilizations, to fall so far behind in terms of freedom, democracy, and prosperity. Furthermore, it becomes the breeding ground for militant Islamists and terrorists. It could become the slum of the world. Much needs to be done. Most have to be done by Muslims, especially scholars and media. They may either provide proofs that Islam was from God or acknowledge that it is a false religion. In the political realm, they need to see that sharia is outdated. Below are a few things I suggest.
They should recognize the problems with the central tenet of the Islamic faith --- that is, the Koran is uncreated and eternal, divine and immutable.
They must change the mindset based purely on Islam and Koran.
They may choose, or at least allow those among them to choose, other religions.
They may stay with Islam but recognize that although it played a progressive role in the past, it must be reexamined. In particular, laws that guarantee the freedom of religion and the universality of human rights must take precedence over Islamic laws and the Koran.
They should openly renounce violence and force. Instead, they should seek peaceful coexistence with peoples of other faiths. Although Islam will not regain past glories, it still can be a faith of high moral values and make positive contributions to the world.
They need to establish laws for civil societies. Islamic laws are not suitable for modern societies.
For the reset of us, I suggest the following.
Recognize the fundamental differences among the religions. It is not just religious fanaticism that induces terrorism.
Open channels of dialog with Muslims, especially Islamic scholars. All need to understand the challenges and may work together to find the solutions. It is also important for all Muslims to understand that their problems are ideology in nature and violence will not provide a lasting solution.
Educate the public on the cause of Islamic terrorism. The fight against terrorism should unite not divide us. One should take a close look what Bin Laden wants in his letter to American in November, 2002 [2]. It attacked the very foundation of modern societies and sought to return to the old Islamic Empire. A case that appeasement does not work is given in [6]. Dialog with Muslims should be pursued but giving in terrorist demands only encourages them.
Improve communications with other countries and peoples of other civilizations. Terrorism is a threat to all civilizations. In fact, it should be clear that Muslims have been under the threat of terrorism since at least 1960s and have suffered the most [5].
I feel that to eradicate terrorism the spiritual front must be won first. Then, the ideological and political front can be won. If possible, military confrontations should be avoided.
Let the Light shine. May God bless us with His wisdom (Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 1:9).
I would like to quote Isaiah 55:9-11.
9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
The Word of God is still valid today and can serve a guide to current affairs.
I will begin by showing that Christianity is a religion from God while the same cannot be said about Islam. The book of Koran is inconsistent with earlier God’s revelations and historical facts. Some basic Islamic doctrines are self-contradictory. The parable of weeds taught by Jesus in Matthew 13 may be used by Christians to deal with heresies, cults, and other religions, including Islam. The key is to separate the relationships into the spiritual realm and the social/political/moral realm. Then, I will review the historical background on the rivalry of Christianity and Islam and the crisis facing Islamic societies. In this context, Islamic fundamentalism is a natural development. There is a tendency for Islamic fundamentalists to become militant because of the historical role of jihad in Islam. Some widely suggested solutions to the crisis in Islam are democracy and the separation of religion and state. There are difficulties to realize these in Islamic societies because they are incompatible with basic Islamic laws. .
1. Judaism and Christianity
It is well known that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are three widely followed monotheistic religions in the world. A superficial overview seems to indicate that Christianity and Islam are offshoots of Judaism and they are equal in status. However, a close examination shows that there are crucial differences.
First, these three monotheistic religions have a common root: the Ten Commandment and the first five books of the Bible. Some basic common believes are as follows. God is the creator of heaven, earth, and all other things, including mankind. There is only one God. God is also a spirit and invisible. It is forbidden for believers to make an image of God (Deuteronomy 4:15-19). At that time, this differs greatly from other religions/faiths. There are many similarities or look-likes and one may get confused if one starts from knowledge (Genesis 2:17). A better approach is to examine key events chronologically. Since God is one, He must be consistent throughout the ages. Christianity started in the first century while Islam began in the seventh century. So we should consider Christianity first.
Christianity is really a sect of Judaism. This is a historical fact. The split occurred sometime after the destruction of Jerusalem of 70 C.E. Some may have doubts about whether both Judaism and Christianity are God’s religions. One may say why there are two religions from God since there is only one God. In fact, God did a lot work before the birth of Jesus to indicate that He would start a new covenant, i.e., a new religion. There are many verses in the Old Testament for this purpose. Jeremiah 31:31-34 below is probably the most pertinent one.
31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
These are very powerful words. The word covenant is not used lightly in the Bible. The old covenant is the one God made with Israel in the first five books of the Bible. Does this mean that God has revoked the old covenant and abandoned Jews completely? Not so if you read the Bible carefully. There are many places in the Old Testament to indicate that this will never happen. This should be also clear in the New Testament, especially in Romans and Revelation.
The second important point concerns the Word of God, i.e., the Bible. Note here the Word is singular, as in John 1:1-14 and many other places in the Bible. It means that although there are many books but all are regarded as one and they are consistent. For Christians, The Word of God includes both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Note also that the Word here is recursively defined. There are several important terms are recursively defined in the Bible (cf. Revelation 22:16). The New Testament was hinted by Jesus in Matthew13:52. He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."
The third important point is about the Messiah. Based on the Old Testament, Jewish teachers had predicated the coming of Messiah. The difference between Christians and Jews is whether Jesus is the Messiah. The gospel (the first 4 books of New Testament) spends a great deal of time to show that Jesus is the Messiah.
The fourth point is about proselytizing. Initially, Jesus preached gospel mainly to Jews, mostly pure Jews (cf. Matthew 15:21-28). Samaritans were descendants of intermarriage of Jews with locals. Although Jesus did preach gospel to them, he chose all 12 apostles among Jews only. Proselytizing was new at the time. Judaism was a religion largely by descent, although others may be converted to Jews if they chose. However, proselytizing was not an active practice among Jews. Acts provides a history of the early Church. Through it, we know that Paul was set aside by God to preach gospel to Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Since proselytizing was so important and unconventional at the time, God gave Peter visions and signs for preparation. In Acts 10 to 11:18, we clearly see the mercy and love of God to spread gospel to other races and cultures. Chapter 15 of Acts dealt with this issue again.
The fifth point is the continuity of the Faith. Chapter 11 of Hebrew addresses what is the Faith and the examples are from the Old Testament. This implies that the Christian faith is the same as the faith of ancient godly Jews. This point can also be found in many other places in the New Testament.
Thus, both Christianity and Judaism are religions from God. Salvation of Jews is a difficult topic for Christians. Paul addressed this issue in Chapter 11 of Romans.
2. The Divinity of Jesus Christ
One crucial difference between Jews and Christians is the divinity of Jesus Christ. The Trinity, God being the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is perhaps the most important doctrine of Christianity. But it is also a difficult one for many to understand or accept. I will give some points on this below.
The Old Testament offers some clues. 1) Even in Genesis, 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." Note the words, ‘us’, ‘our’, are plural. 2) A more direct one is Isaiah 9: 6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The child is called Mighty God and Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. 3) Virgin birth. Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
In the New Testament, prophecies in the Old Testament are fulfilled. 4) In gospel, e.g., Matthew 1: 16 “and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." 5) Mathew. 16: 13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” 6) Check the meaning of words Jesus, Christ, Messiah, Immanuel. God does fulfill His promises.
The Bible shows that all persons are sinners, even Abraham, Moses, David, and other prophets. That is, all except Jesus because he is the Son of God.
3. Islam
Let us now turn to Islam. First, we consider the five points in section 1. (1) If someone thinks that Islam is a religion from the true God, he/she needs to show that it was foretold in the Bible, either in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, or in both. No one has shown this, except for some verses of the Bible taken out of context in some Islamic books or web sites. (2) Since Islam came after Christianity, to show that their Holy book, Koran, indeed was from God Muslims must prove that Koran is consistent with the Bible, at least with the Old Testament. In addition, they should append it to the Bible, just as Christians did to the Old Testament, not as an independent book. (3) This is probably irrelevant since Islam does not claim Muhammad to be Messiah. But this leaves a hole and would not complete the Old Testament. (4) & (5) Muhammad was not a Jew. There is no continuity in the faith.
One of the fundamental doctrines of Islam is that there are many prophets from God, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, as well as Ishmael and Mohammad, and Mohammad is the last and the greatest prophet. What is a prophet in the biblical sense? The web site [3] contains a good description of prophets in the Old Testament era. Some relevant verses are Deuteronomy 18:18-22 (also Chapter13). Muhammad did not satisfy two basic requirements. First, he was not a Jew. Second, he worshiped Allah. Although God revealed Himself in several names in the Bible and each name had a meaning, Allah is not one of them.
In addition, there are problems with other prophets of the Islamic faith. Many would agree that Noah, Abraham, Moses are prophets. But the Bible is not positive about Ishmael. Genesis 16, especially 11-12 "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." Genesis 20:9-13 especially verse 12 “…because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” (cf. Galatians 4:21-27).
Since Jesus is a prophet from God, what he said must be true (Deuteronomy 18:18-22), that is, he is Son of God. This shows that the Koran is logically inconsistent. Koran acknowledges that Jesus is a prophet but denies that he is Son of God. Koran 5:73-75 says “Indeed, they disbelieve who say, God is the third of three (in a trinity), when there is no god but one God. If they desist not from what they say, truly, a painful punishment will befall the disbelievers among them. Would they not rather repent to God and ask His forgiveness? For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a messenger…” Furthermore, the claim by Muslims that Muhammad is greater than Jesus is really blasphemy. Not only Jesus is sinless, unlike other prophets, there are many more verses in the Bible that showed Jesus is higher than any person. For example, transfiguration (Matt.17:1-9, Mark 9:1-9, Luke 9:28-36) showed that Jesus is greater than Moses and Elijah. Another example is resurrection.
It is useful to understand the meaning of biblical prophets further. In the Old Testament era, divine revelations were given not through priests but through prophets (Deuteronomy 18:14-22). Prophecies throughout the ages gave us many books of the Old Testament. To Christians, these prophecies prepared for the coming of Jesus. After the coming of Jesus, there would be no more prophets in the sense of the Old Testament. Jesus said in Luke 16: 16"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.” (Also Matthew 11:13) This implies that after Baptist John, there would be no prophet in the sense of giving new prophetical books. This is important since heresies, cults, and false religions often claim new prophet(s) and produce new sacred books.
Critics may question the above assertion. For example, one may point out, e.g., Acts 2:17-18, I Corinthians 12:28-30, or I Corinthians 14. We should distinguish prophets in the New Testament from earlier prophets (cf. Matthew 11:11 and John 1:13). A lot more must be done to explain these, which is left to the future. The main point is that prophets in the new covenant era are different and no new books will be added to the Bible. God is living, thus, God speaks everyday in many ways. However, the Word of God in written form is special. For Christians, Jesus came and fulfilled what were prophesied in the Old Testament. No more books may be added to the Bible and the Word of God in the written form is complete.
Muslims claim that Judaism and Christianity were precursors of Islam, with holy books deriving from authentic revelations from God, but incomplete and corrupted by their unworthy custodians, therefore superceded by the final and perfect revelations of Islam. This claim confuses two separate things, the Holy books and the people who followed them. We know that Jews and Christians often commit sins, thus deviate from the Bible. But studies of the history of the Bible show that the Bible had been meticulously preserved since antiquity and is the most accurate book in ancient time. One example of authenticity of the Bible is that sins by people, kings, even prophets had been faithfully recorded. In addition, to me it is harder to revere one person and one book than to believe the sacredness of many books from generations and by a number of authors yet consistent.
It should be clear now that Islam is a false religion. The word false is opposite to true. John 14:6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " So He is true and anything contradicts the truth is false. In theory, there can be a religion from God that is different from Christianity but such a religion must be at least self-consistent. The above shows so many inconsistencies in the basic doctrines of Islam. Hence, Islam cannot be such a religion.
4. The Parable of Weeds and Relationship among Religions
One question is how to deal with a false religion such as Islam. The Bible does have verses concerning false faiths in the new covenant era. Jesus taught the parable of weed in Matthew 13.
24Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 28" 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 29" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
Although simple, this parable has many implications, which have not been well understood for centuries. The good seed here is the Word of God, i.e., the Bible. Besides the Bible, others (if regarded as the Holy Book) are seed of weeds. Note verse 29 specifically admonished not pulling the weeds out. This means that we cannot and should not eradicate the weeds (false religions/faiths). How to put this teaching into practice is not obvious. In order to do this, it is important to differentiate the social realm from the spiritual realm.
It is well known that a person has three parts: spirit, soul, and body. In early Christianity, Origen introduced an interpretation method of Bible that considers three levels of meaning: literal, moral, and spiritual. I would like to generalize this to a method to analyze many things such as polities, social issues, progress, etc. There are three realms to consider: (a) material, (b) mental/moral/political; (c) spiritual. The spiritual realm is the highest while the mental realm is the next. A higher realm can influence a lower realm while a lower realm reflects the status of a higher realm. An object can be mainly one, two, or three-dimensional. Often it is difficult to separate the mental realm from the spiritual realm. Hebrew 4:12”For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double- edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” A nonbeliever is largely a two-dimensional person that cannot understand spiritual things (cf. I Corinthians 2:14; Mark 4:12). All real things in the spiritual realm, such as faith, prophecy, salvation, grace, spiritual knowledge, etc., are gifts from God. If a faith is not from God, i.e., weed according to the parable of weeds, then it has nothing to offer in the spiritual realm. Deuteronomy 12:28-13:11 specifically admonishes godly persons not to investigate false religions. On the other hand, Christians can and should interact with people of other faiths if done in the moral/political realm.
The separation of church and state, an important pillar of modern democracy and part of secularism, is often attributed to Matthew 22:21 “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s”. Such an interpretation is too shallow. Although money (tax) is important, it is in the material realm and should not be the center of societies. The parable of weeds is more relevant to the separation of church and state. Two contrasting views may be considered on secularism. One is that religion is outdated and new ideas and laws are needed. Another is that secularism is a practical solution to difficulties when implement teachings in the New Testament. To see the need of secularism, we should consider the differences between the old covenant and new covenant and between worldly kingdoms and the kingdom of God. For example, a true Christian must be reborn (John 3:1-15, 1:13). One natural question is what about if someone is born of a Christian family but follows a cult, becomes heretic, converts to a different religion, or simply has yet to believe. As another example, when gospel is preached to a non-Christian community some may believe while others not. Such challenges were not central to Jews since they just follow the laws and regulations in the Old Testament. Secular laws are necessary so that crimes (not sins) committed by individuals and/or groups may be punished and proper social orders may be established. A polity needs a government for both believers and nonbelievers. The separation of church and state and secular laws permit this. This is not easy and has taken fifteen centuries for Christians to understand this and additional centuries to develop laws and social infrastructures.
Once the separation of church and state and secular laws are established, people of different faiths and religions can coexist peacefully. The relationships among them and among religions are social and political in nature. Secular laws and other social infrastructures may vary in different cultures and may change in time. In my opinion, for a specific polity the Law in the Old Testament and the teachings in the New Testament should serve a guideline while the history and cultural heritages may serve as references when common laws are enacted. This topic itself needs much study and is left to the future. In the spiritual realm, Christians and Christian churches can fellowship with each other based on the Bible and their faith. One notable is Judaism. One should understand that Judaism is the original religion from God and deserve due respect. No one should step over the sovereignty of God. This should be clear from Romans and Revelation.
Now let us summarize what we have discussed so far. (1) Judaism and Christianity are two religions from God. (2) A key belief of Christianity is that Jesus is the Son of God. Both Judaism and Islam do not accept this. (3) Islam is not consistent within its basic doctrines or with Christianity. Islam is not a religion sanctified by God. (3) The separation of church and state is useful for peaceful coexistence among different religions and faiths. Secularism is a practical way in a Christian society to implement the teachings in the New Testament.
5. Historical Background
It is essential to know the history of the conflict between Christendom/Christianity and Islam [1,2]. Some key points are reviewed below. Christendom and Islam are two sister civilizations, both drawing on the shared heritage of Jewish revelation and prophecy and Greek philosophy and science, and both nourished by the immemorial traditions of Middle Eastern antiquity. Both regard itself as the guardian of the Word of God and both take the responsibility to spread the light into the world. The method of proselytizing, however, is fundamentally different, Christianity by testimony while Islam by jihad. From an Islamic viewpoint, Christendom is different from other religions and polities since it was only the serious rival to Islam as a world faith and a world power.
For many centuries and in several ways, the world of Islam was the leading civilization and achievement in the world. Militarily, Islam expanded from Arabia to Syria, Egypt, North Africa, Iran, Turkey, and even to parts of Europe. On social and political issues, in the Middle Age there were corruptions, persecutions, and suppressions from time to time in the Roman Catholic Church, and Christendom was mired in the fight of orthodoxy and heresies. On the other hand, Islam had the reputation of an egalitarian religion. It was against privileges by descent, by birth, by status, by wealth, or even by race. Indeed, during that time many Jews and Christian minorities who had different doctrines from the orthodoxy found refuge in Islamic societies. In the Middle Age, the Islamic Empire was also strong in economy, education, philosophy, and sciences. Modern mathematics and sciences have a lot to thank Muslims for their contributions in the Middle Age, some original and some as intermediaries. Muslims regard Europeans as barbarians, not much to offer except waiting to be conquered and to be Islamized. To Muslims at that time, military victories and cultural superiority reinforced the notion that Islam was the final, perfect revelation from God and superceded prior revelations, i.e., Judaism and Christianity. It is striking to see that brilliant ancient civilizations prior to Islam were largely neglected or ignored in their original countries during that period [2]. To them, everything was considered in the framework of the Koran and Islam. This mindset still strongly influences Muslims even today.
In the medieval time, Muslims did not even bother to study languages and cultures of Europeans and since to them these barbarians had nothing to offer. Renaissance, the Reformation, and Industrial Revolution passed virtually unnoticed in the lands of Islam. Things began to change first in the military front. The defeat of the second siege of Vienna in 1683 was the turning point to many Muslims. Subsequent defeats in the military fronts became a crisis in Ottoman Empire. They began to question: “What did we do wrong?” and “How do we catch up with them, and regain our rightful primacy?” This started reforms first in military and later involved many areas, such as sciences, politics, social equality, and economy. The modern time has been an extremely painful and frustrating era for Muslims. True, impacts by Western civilization are not unique to Islamic societies. Other civilizations also have suffered similar fate. But this is especially hard for Muslims since, unlike other civilizations such as China, they had close contact with Christendom and history had proven their superiority earlier, or at least it seems to them. During the last half-century, the agony and frustration of Middle Eastern Muslims become more acute. After many attempts and different approaches to catch up with Western civilizations, many Islamic nations have fallen further behind. Even new comers such as East Asian nations have now surpassed them in economic output, scientific research, industrialization, political reforms, and social equalities. Islam and Islamic societies are in crisis.
It is important to understand the word jihad and its role in the history of Islam. Professor Lewis gave a good comparison on jihad and crusade in his books (as well as clear explanation of other important terms, e.g., secularism, civil, church, nationalism, modernization, etc.). Crusade is not a biblical term (it does not appear in the Bible); it is a geopolitical term. Nowadays the word crusade has lost its original meaning and is often used to describe a moral movement. On the other hand, jihad appears in Koran and played important roles since the beginning of Islam. The conflicts of Muslims with Jewish tribes in Medina were the early examples. In the past, jihad means military expansion while in more recent times it also has the meaning of internal, moral struggle. Koran 9.29 “Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.” In other words, it calls to fight all religions and communities until they subjugate to Islam. This is in sharp contrast with Jesus' teaching (the parable of weeds). This is a serious problem. It is perhaps not just a coincidence that the majority of recent conflicts between civilizations involve Muslims [4]. Many faiths and civilizations claim superiority. The difference here is that Islam considers that God gives its power to expand to the whole world by jihad and this is explicitly stated in their Holy book. On the other hand, to spread the gospel Christians are called to be testimony to others. Here lies a profound difference.
6. Islamic Fundamentalism
Facing challenges of modernization, two questions are often asked by Muslims. “Who did this to us?” This question implies the blame on someone else, i.e., someone did something to us so that the primacy of the Islamic Empire is usurped. The scapegoat has been changed over the ages. First, it was thought to be Mongols. During the period of nationalism, it was other ethnic groups in the Islamic Empire. Then, the problem was due to Western imperialism. Now it is the United States. Because the US is the leader of Western civilizations, it becomes the enemy by default. A different question is “What went wrong?” Many Muslims attribute the problems to deviation from the true Islamic faith, by their rulers or by those who try to reform through imported ideas. They think that the current problems are because people are not as pious as before and deviate from the true Islam. Islamic fundamentalism is a movement that tries to find solutions in their religion. Because many remedies, such as military reforms, nationalism, independence, socialism, have been tried and failed in most Islamic countries, it is understandable that Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise.
Fundamentalism is often used in the West to distinguish a movement among Protestants whose theology differs from the liberal theology or biblical criticism. In this sense, Islamic fundamentalism is quite different since it is not about theology [2]. However, the Reformation represented by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others may be regarded as fundamentalism in a broad sense since it called to return to basics of the Bible when compared with the practice and theology of the Roman Catholic Church at that time. So in a broad sense Islamic fundamentalism is not a misnomer. The problem of this approach is that Koran is inherently inconsistent, unlike the Bible. There are a great many topics and possible interpretations of the Koran, ranging from religious rituals, peace, social justice, to jihad. In view of its history and the role of jihad, it is not surprising that a significant number of Islamic fundamentalists become militant Islamists who resort violence to achieve their goals. Terrorists are militant Islamists who depart further from the traditional interpretations of Koran. They target civilians and innocents. There are many good books on militant Islamism, e.g., [5]. The militant Islamic movement is alarming. It not only poses severe threats of terrorism to many nations but also has the potential to throwback progress made in social, political, and human rights during the last few centuries worldwide.
Some widely mentioned solutions to the crisis facing Islamic countries include religious reforms and democracy. One might see some parallels of Islam and Christianity but we should also take into account their fundamental differences. For example, religious reforms are unlikely to work in Islamic countries. The problem is that the Bible is Word of God and ultimately it is consistent, even though it may take centuries to interpret some teachings correctly and to find feasible ways to follow the teachings. On the other hand, the Koran is inconsistent in nature. In fact, different theologies had been explored and heatedly debated among Muslims in the early centuries of Islam. It has since been widely accepted by most Muslims that the Koran is uncreated and eternal, divine and immutable. This has become the central tenet of Islam. Open discussion on religious issues is an essential step to religious reforms. Since apostasy is a capital offense, how can religious reform ideas be discussed freely among Muslims? Furthermore, the separation of church and state is not in the teachings of the Koran. For the start, there is no such an Islamic institution comparable to church in Christianity. Considering that historically sharia (Holy law of Islam) has been the Law and the Koran is included in the constitutions of almost all Islamic countries, how can the separation of church and state be possible?
Democracy has a better chance. However, there are still serious obstacles. This is a big topic itself so I only outline a biblical view on democracy and a brief discussion of the obstacles to realize democracies in Islamic countries. Democracy is not a biblical word and it was originated from ancient Greek. (And Muslims had known the Greek heritage all along.) Modern democracies differ greatly from the original Greek democracy. Let us see what is the governing form that God wants. In the history of most civilizations, dynasties were quite common. Modern democracies became reality only after the Reformation. Although ancient Israel had a dynastic era, this was not what God had in mind. I Samuel 8:6But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. …” So all along God had the new covenant in mind. But in the contemporary world some secular government is needed as discussed earlier. Universal suffrage is often regarded as a key to modern democracy. Before one can elect or be elected, participants must have equal social status, in the political realm not necessarily in the material realm or in the spiritual realm. My conjecture is that social equality is more advanced in Christian societies because it was explicitly stated in the New Testament and was inspired by the new covenant.
In Galatians 3:28, Paul said “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ.” (cf. Colossians 3:11; I Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 2:14). Paul clearly knew the biblical base of slavery (Genesis 9:18-27). But inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul was sure that the new covenant essentially removes this obstacle. The new covenant speaks of everyone being children of God. Of course, Paul addressed largely in the spiritual realm. But equality in the spiritual realm eventually will lead to equality in the social/political realm. If you examine the history of slavery, it was Christian societies abolished slavery first. It was under the urge of Western imperialists that slavery was finally abolished in Islamic countries. Here is an example that the Word of God leads to advancement in the moral/political realm. Even though Islamic societies were more advanced in social equality in the Middle Age, Christian societies eventually surpassed them in this aspect. It is interesting to note that the three areas of social equality considered in Chapter 4 of [1], believers and non-believers, masters and slaves, and men and women, correspond directly to Galatians 3:28 above. In the spiritual realm, men and women are not exactly the same which is why women are not mentioned in I Corinthians 12:12-13 or in Colossians 3:11. This is beyond the topic of this article. The new covenant also gives the power to self-rule under God, which forms the legitimacy of democratic government. There are many other important conditions for a healthy modern democracy, such as basic freedom of expression, protection of minority rights, etc. Otherwise a free election may provide a one-way ticket to repressive regimes.
Although modern democracy is originated in Christian countries, it is largely secular and can work in other civilizations. There are many such examples in the world. However, the universality of human rights and equality of all citizens must be truly respected and religious laws or ideologies cannot override these. Some Islamic laws do contradict them. For example, freedom of religion is a basic human right. Although the Koran does say 2:256 “Let there be no compulsion in religion…”, a Muslim abandons the Islamic faith is an apostasy and faces a death sentence. Freedom of expression is essential to a modern society but violence and death are often applied in the name of Islam to Muslims with different religious views [5]. Similar crimes occurred in Christendom prior to or during the Reformation but, as discussed above, this was against the teachings of the Bible. Although a prosperous, democratic country does not need a true religion, false religions or ideologies can severely hinder the development of democracy. Most Middle East Islamic countries except Turkey have the Koran in their constitutions. It is not surprising that among them only Turkey is democratic.
Of course, each country or state has the right of self-determination. The form of government it chooses is within its sovereignty, although democracy has been shown to be beneficial both internally and externally. One problem with Islam is that it used violence (jihad) for expansion and its Holy book justifies jihad. In today’s world, if a country wants respect and prosperity, it must coexist and compete peacefully with other countries. A cause resorts to violence will not succeed. Former communists tried and failed. Militant Islamists will also fail.
7. Possible Solutions
It is sorry to see that the Middle East, a cradle of world religions and civilizations, to fall so far behind in terms of freedom, democracy, and prosperity. Furthermore, it becomes the breeding ground for militant Islamists and terrorists. It could become the slum of the world. Much needs to be done. Most have to be done by Muslims, especially scholars and media. They may either provide proofs that Islam was from God or acknowledge that it is a false religion. In the political realm, they need to see that sharia is outdated. Below are a few things I suggest.
They should recognize the problems with the central tenet of the Islamic faith --- that is, the Koran is uncreated and eternal, divine and immutable.
They must change the mindset based purely on Islam and Koran.
They may choose, or at least allow those among them to choose, other religions.
They may stay with Islam but recognize that although it played a progressive role in the past, it must be reexamined. In particular, laws that guarantee the freedom of religion and the universality of human rights must take precedence over Islamic laws and the Koran.
They should openly renounce violence and force. Instead, they should seek peaceful coexistence with peoples of other faiths. Although Islam will not regain past glories, it still can be a faith of high moral values and make positive contributions to the world.
They need to establish laws for civil societies. Islamic laws are not suitable for modern societies.
For the reset of us, I suggest the following.
Recognize the fundamental differences among the religions. It is not just religious fanaticism that induces terrorism.
Open channels of dialog with Muslims, especially Islamic scholars. All need to understand the challenges and may work together to find the solutions. It is also important for all Muslims to understand that their problems are ideology in nature and violence will not provide a lasting solution.
Educate the public on the cause of Islamic terrorism. The fight against terrorism should unite not divide us. One should take a close look what Bin Laden wants in his letter to American in November, 2002 [2]. It attacked the very foundation of modern societies and sought to return to the old Islamic Empire. A case that appeasement does not work is given in [6]. Dialog with Muslims should be pursued but giving in terrorist demands only encourages them.
Improve communications with other countries and peoples of other civilizations. Terrorism is a threat to all civilizations. In fact, it should be clear that Muslims have been under the threat of terrorism since at least 1960s and have suffered the most [5].
I feel that to eradicate terrorism the spiritual front must be won first. Then, the ideological and political front can be won. If possible, military confrontations should be avoided.
Let the Light shine. May God bless us with His wisdom (Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 1:9).
References:
"What Went Wrong", Bernard Lewis, Oxford, 2002.
“The Crisis of Islam”, Bernard Lewis, The Modern Library, New York, 2003.
http://www.truthnet.org/
“Clash of Civilizations”, S. Huntington, Simon & Schuster, 1998.
"God Has Ninety-Nine Names" Judith Miller, Simon & Schuster, 1997
“World War IV: How It Started, What It Means, and Why We Have to Win”, Commentary, September, 2004.
