Islam

As one of the major world religions, with more than a billion followers, Islam is a powerful force in the world.

As Christians, we need to know what Muslims believe and what the Qur'an says.

Following the attacks on the World Trade Centre, some people have promoted the belief that Islam is a 'religion of peace'.

As Christians, we need to discern the truth.

We need to love Muslim people and seek to reach out to them in love - but also with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Islam denies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and denies that he died on the cross and rose again. Islam also denies the existence of the Trinity and says that Christians worship three gods, hence, the most fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith are blasphemies in Islam. Jesus Christ said that the only way to God is through Him (John 14:6) - any religion that denies this truth is unable to lead people to salvation since salvation is only found on Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).

Christians accept that all people have the right to believe whatever they want to believe. Sadly, a clear reading of the Qur'an suggests that Muslims do not believe that other people have this right.

Although the Qur'an says there is 'no compulsion in religion', the Qur'an and hadiths also say that those who are conquered by Islam have three choices - to convert to Islam, to submit to Islam as dhimmis and pay a poll tax, or to be killed.

This is borne out by the activities by some Muslim groups around the world where they are actively persecuting people who hold a contrary belief to their own. We must ensure that this does not happen in Australia and that true religious freedom (not that prescribed by governments and 'inter-faith' activists) is preserved.

The following are articles that explain some of our concerns about Islam:

The Qur'an - the key to understanding Islamic militancy by Elizabeth Kendal.
This article considers the question of jihad based on an analysis of the statements on this topic from the Qur'an.
(Article printed in our April 2002AD Journal)

The truth about the Islamic jihad
An article by Dr David Phillips, BSc, PhD, ThA
National President, Australian Festival of Light
"The big unanswered question about the 11 September 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre is: Why did they do it?
What motivated nineteen educated Muslims to commit suicide and kill thousands of innocent men, women and children in New York and Washington?
To understand such questions we must understand the Arab-Islamic concept of jihad, which is so different from Western-Christian thought and culture."

Website for further research

Answering Islam is an organisation which provides information and articles on Islam from a Christian perspective.