The True Face of Islam (Part 3)
I’m aware that the content of this article may be controversial, and certainly perceived as politically incorrect. At the outset, I want to stress that I have nothing against the Muslim people themselves. Do not misunderstand me; please hear me clearly. I love the Muslim people. I grieve for them because they have fallen prey to a grave deception. They need Jesus as much as I do. We must always remember that our struggle is not against men. (Ephesians 6:12)
The Muslims are precious to God, yet they are demonically deceived and believe a lie. We as Christians are called to love them and pray for them. We must pray that the Lord would reveal to them the great deception behind Islam, and that they would see the truth, embracing their Savior, Jesus Christ.
What I write today, I write not out of any hatred, scorn, or contempt for the Muslims. On the contrary, I write all this out of compassion to see them not only saved for all eternity, but also liberated in this world by the power of Christ.
Historical Overview of Islam
Having summarized the pillars of Islam, let us now take a brief tour through history, highlighting the origin and development of Islam, as well as its influence in world history.
570 Mohammed is born into the Quraish tribe, which claims direct descent from Abraham through Ishmael. His father, Abdullah, dies near the time of his birth. His mother, Amina, dies when Mohammed is six years old. Mohammed is cared for briefly by his grandfather, the Chief of Mecca and keeper of the pagan shrine. He is then raised by his uncle, Abu Talib, the head of the prominent Hashim clan in Mecca. Mohammed becomes familiar with Judaism and Christianity while traveling with his uncle along Middle Eastern trade routes.
610 On the 17th of Ramadan, the angel, Gabriel, supposedly calls Mohammed to be a prophet of God. But Mohammed meets fierce resistance in polytheistic Mecca.
620 Allah allegedly confirms Mohammed’s status as a prophet, taking him by night to Jerusalem, where he talks with Jesus, Moses, and Abraham. He then ascends by ladder to the seventh heaven.
621 Meccans still reject Islam. Mohammed flees to Medina.
622- 630 Unable to peacefully persuade his fellow Arabs to follow his new religion, Mohammed turns to violence. He battles his Arab enemies, finally taking Mecca in 630.
Initially Mohammed shows tolerance for “people of the Book” – that is, Christians and Jews. He is convinced that both groups will soon recognize the purity of his revelations and convert to Islam. But as the Jews prove resistant to Mohammed’s persuasion, he once again turns to violence. He forces out of Mecca two Jewish tribes who reject his prophetic claims. When a third tribe, the Qurayza, refuse to confirm his call, he murders them. Mohammed’s military campaigns against fellow Arabs, the massacre of the Qurayza, and his raid into Syria late in his life, lay the foundation for future persecutions of Christians. The polemical nature of the Qur’an also provides religious justification for jihad against Christians, as the Muslim empire prepares to spread west toward Spain, north toward Constantinople, and east toward Asia.
638 The Caliph Umar defeats the Byzantines in Syria as well as the Persians. He takes Damascus and Jerusalem, as well as the Persian capital. Umar makes an agreement with the Christian and Jewish peoples living in the territories he conquers. The Pact of Umar establishes Jews and Christians as “dhimmi,” or “protected persons.” As such they must pay extra taxes to qualify for certain rights and guarantees of protection under Islamic law. However, in reality this “protection” actually translates into 2nd or 3rd class status, with rules guaranteed to gradually eradicate all religions but Islam. Under these laws, Christians are not allowed to:
- Build new churches.
- Repair old churches.
- Manifest their religion openly or evangelize Muslims.
- Wear Muslim garments.
- Ride horses or bear arms.
- Display crosses or Christian books along the roads or in the marketplaces of Muslims.
- Marry Muslim women and raise children as Christians. (Muslims, of course, are free to marry Christian women and raise the children as Muslims.)
By 711 Muslims control all of North Africa.
By 712 Muslim invaders conquer much of Christian Spain.
717 Muslim forces threaten “Christian” civilization in the East, invading southeast Europe, and besieging Constantinople. (If Constantinople had fallen, the Muslims might have overrun the entire continent, effectively Islamicizing Europe.)
732 Charles Martel, the grandfather of Charlemagne, halts the Arab advance in the West at the Battle of Tours in France. (Once again, if the Muslims had not been defeated here, they likely would have conquered Europe and Islamicized it.)
846 Muslims attack the suburbs of Rome, the center of Christianity in the West. (This attack would be comparable to Christians raiding Mecca or Medina, which they have never done.)
1000 Muslim ruler Hakim severely persecutes Jews and Christians in the Holy Land.
1009 Hakim orders the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The Christian population greatly declines due to the cruelty of Hakim’s tyrannical rule.
Mid 11th Century The Seljuk Turks conquer the Arabs but convert to Islam as they do so. The Turks turn out to be more tyrannical than the Muslim Arabs.
1071 The Emperor Romanus Diogenes is defeated in the eastern Byzantine Empire. He loses all the territory that had been recovered in the 9th and 10th centuries. Succeeding Byzantine emperors appeal to the West for aid.
1071 The Seljuk Turks capture Jerusalem from the Shiite Fatimid dynasty of Egypt.
1091 The Turks expel Christian priests from Jerusalem.
1095 In the West, Pope Urban II launches the First Crusade in response to the dire straits of Eastern Christians.
1099 The Crusaders conquer Jerusalem, massacring Jews and Muslims in the city.
1099-1291 A “Christian” kingdom controls much of the Holy Land.
By 1187 Famed Muslim ruler, Saladin, unites the Muslims of the Middle East and initiates a jihad against Christian rule in the Holy Land. In 1187, Saladin conquers Jerusalem.
1291 All of the Holy Land is once again under Muslim control.
14th Century A new Muslim force arises: the Ottoman Turks. Once again a Muslim power launches an assault against Europe (through the Balkans).
1389 The Turks defeat Prince Lazar of Serbia.
1393 Bulgaria falls to the Turks.
1448 John Hunyadi of Hungary is defeated while trying to come to the aid of the Byzantines.
1453 Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire in the East, falls.
Over the next two centuries, Western European strength grows to equal and then surpass that of the Islamic world.
1529 The Ottoman Turks besiege Vienna but are unable to take the city. (If Vienna had fallen, the Turks might very well have overrun Europe, effectively murdering the Reformation in its cradle. The Reformation had begun only twelve years earlier in 1517.)
1683 The Muslim Turks once again invade Western Europe, besieging Vienna for the second time. On the verge of collapse, Vienna is delivered by the Poles, led by Jan Sobieski.
For 1,000 years – from the seventh to the seventeenth centuries – Christianity was under virtually continuous pressure from a militant Islamic advance. With the final defeat of the Turks in 1683, Islam retreated into seeming oblivion as a world force for 300 years. Then in 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini led Islam out of her centuries-old identity crisis. The Islamic Revolution in Iran unleashed once again the threat of a revived, militant Muslim faith. Khomeini began to mobilize energized Muslims on a quest to destroy the “Great Satan,” the United States of America, and the “Little Satan,” the state of Israel. The ultimate goal of this jihad is the subjection of the entire world to Islam and the dictates of Sharia law. As the Ayatollah Khomeini said, “The purest joy in Islam is to kill and be killed for Allah.”
Islam is a religion bent on world conquest and domination. Since its inception almost 1,400 years ago, Islam has advanced primarily by force – from the Arabian Peninsula to the far reaches of the globe. Its origins, practice, and history all testify to the true face of Islam.
