Islam

Islam represents the 2nd largest religion in the world - with around 1.6 billion adherents worldwide (roughly 23% of the world's population), though many only follow a loose folk type version.  To many outsiders, they associate Islam with a radical Muslim version of it, though this represents a minority view.  Though many think of Muslims as living in the Middle East, only around 20% do so.  The rest largely live in Southern Asia or Africa.

In a religious context, the word Islam roughly means voluntary submission to God. Its monotheism roughly reflects both the Jewish and Christian faiths, though it holds a distinctive view.

Given the events since September 11, 2001, many tend to think of Islam as representing an open warfare against the West, against America, and especially against Christianity, as well as against the Jews.  I want to address these issues by answering some basic questions about this religion, using a format set forth by James Sire in the latest version of his book, "The Universe Next Door: A Worldview Catalog."

1. What do Muslims consider prime reality - the really real?  For Muslims, Allah (the Arabic word for God) represents the prime reality.  Allah is far above everything else, as well above any other views about God.  For most Muslims, Allah remains a distant figure.  They tend to be offended by any concept of having a close relationship with God (and especially calling God the Father - Abba - an Aramaic term for Father similar to Daddy) as repugnant which they usually reject as degrading God (a notable exception are Sufis, who call God a friend)
2. What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us?
   For Muslims, God created the world out of nothing (which Jews and Christians agree with).  But for most Muslims, it's unclear if humans have free will, or are simply subject to the divine decrees of God.  In contrast, most Christian traditions emphasize the free will of mankind (though to varying degrees).
3. What is a human being?
   For Muslims, human beings stand as the pinnacle of God's creation, above the angels.  Thus, they must submit to God.  Muslims have no conception of original sin.  Instead, they believe all humans are born in a state of purity and innocence.  They only need redemption if they specifically disobey God's law (as set forth in the Quran and the Hadiths).
4. What happens to a person at death?
   For Muslims, everyone will be judged by their deeds.  They have no conception of God's grace - God might be merciful, but they have no guarantee of this, even for Muslims who receive commendations died very worried if they would reach paradise.  Three exceptions exist: (1) Children before puberty; (2) the mentally impaired; and (3) martyrs, including those engaged in a holy jihad.  Radical Muslims interpret the Quaran and Hadiths to mean those who kill Christians and Jews meet this exception.  (Most Muslims do not.)
5. How is it possible to know anything?
   Most Muslims believe rationality can distinguish truth from error, though they assert rationality needs help from revelation.  They believe humans have distorted the revelations God (Allah) delivered through many prophets, including Jesus.  For Muslims, Mohammed is the seal of the prophets, so the Quran is preserved free from error.  Those who do not recognize the truth of the Quran do so because God prevents them from doing so.
6. How do we know what is right from wrong?
   For Muslims, we can only know right from wrong from the Quran.  However, since the Quran can be ambiguous, we also should look to the Hadiths (a collection of actions and sayings of Mohammed).  However, many Hadiths exist, and Muslims do not agree which ones should be followed.  Therefore, while Muslims agree they must follow Sharia (the religious law), they adhere to different Sharias since they tend to follow various Hadiths.  They also acknowledge Christians and Jews follow their own sharia.  (But for radical Muslims, their interpretation of the Qumran and the Hadiths they follow means the eradication of Christians and Jews.)
7. What is the meaning of human history?
   For Muslims, human history is like a long final exam - we have to get it right to be accepted by Allah.  Part of this goal is to set up an Islamic community (an umma), a political community as well as a community of believers.  Most Muslims believe this can be achieved by peaceful means, though radical Muslims believe this can only be achieved through violent force.
8. What personal life-orientating core commitments are consistent with this worldview?
   Devout Muslims strive to follow the divine law, as they best understand it, for even the smallest parts of their lives.  While they do this out of gratitude, this gratitude does not derive from sins forgiven, or out of any notion of a close, personal relationship with God.

      The close personal relationship we as Christians believe we can have with Jesus Christ, with God the Son, through grace, likely presents a tension for Muslim believers, who tend to view their relationship with God as distant.  As Christians, we have a challenge to present the gospel to our Muslim friends in a manner they can grasp and understand.  It helps if we understand their worldview to begin with.