Islam and Muslims

The religion of Islam is one of today’s hot button issues. Dealing with it and its implications poses both political and religious pitfalls, particularly for Christians. Between political correctness, non-discrimination regulations, an extremely litigious society, Christ’s injunction to love our enemies and so forth it is a tough subject to navigate. To help wade through all of it I will take a two faceted approach to dealing with the subject. There is a specific reason why I mention Islam, and then Muslims separately. It is really easy to get caught up in what is done in the name of Islamic faith and get so angry, and at times that includes me, that you overlook the human element: the Muslim. In a long term approach to dealing with Islam we have to separate the individual from belief structure that is used to perpetrate downright evil acts so that we can attain the ultimate goal of reaching the individual Muslim.

I will start with Islam as a belief structure. Although there may be peace-loving Muslims, Islam is not a religion of peace. Take the time to read the Quran and you will see that it is far from being a peaceful religion. Islam means “submission”, literally. Throughout the Quran submission is taught, it is the ultimate, worldwide goal of Islam. One way or another you will submit. You can submit of your own accord having read their scriptures and believed them. If that does not work then they will seek to overpower in any number of ways. One of the ways they are currently using is to literally saturate the population of an area by having numerous children and squeezing out the indigenous population. There are currently places in Europe where the European authorities dare not tread and the only laws enforced are Islamic in nature including cutting off hands, honor killings and so on. If that doesn’t work, there is always Jihad, or Holy War. To deal with Islam we have to use a particular ‘language’: force. It can take many forms ranging from forcefully standing up to the encroachment of Islamic tradition and law, to outright military retaliation. Islam is a belief system that relies on intimidation and fear to achieve its goal of submission and it teaches its adherents to use any means to that end. One example that comes to mind is that they are free to lie, so long as it is to an ‘infidel’. That is why I would not want an Islamic individual to be on a jury, a witness in a trial or anything else that requires and oath to tell the truth, since they can get around the oath with the simple justification that it was made to an ‘infidel’. One of the reasons I advocate the use of force toward Islam is that it does not play well with others. Almost every other religious belief structure on the planet allows for coexistence with others to one degree or another. This is not the case with Islam; again, its end game is universal submission. They may tolerate others in a culture where they are not the majority, but as soon as they are the majority they forcefully impose their will to the exclusion of everyone else. As an example: here in the United States we tolerate Muslims proselytizing others, in my opinion to our own detriment. The same courtesy, however, is not extended in Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Afghanistan where you can be imprisoned or executed for doing so. That being said, the point is that the only way to keep Islam from encroaching and taking over is to forcefully stop it or at a minimum contain it.

As a further example, if you examine the history of the Marines it is intertwined with what might be called the early stages of our war on terror. The Marine Corp. anthem reads “From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli”. The shores of Tripoli are where the Barbary Pirates were defeated by the marines sent by Jefferson. Previously in 1785, Muslims captured two American ships. Jefferson met Tripoli’s envoy in France and subsequently reported to Congress: “The Ambassador answered us that it was…written in their Quran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged Islam’s authority were sinners, that it was their…duty to make war upon them…and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners.” That behavior does not reflect a ‘religion of peace’ and is as good a reason as any to stop it in its tracks. It is the antithesis of the ideals on which our country was built.

Now I will deal with Muslims. Particularly as a Christian I have to make that distinction. Even in the Old Testament when Israel was dealing with the surrounding idolatrous nations there was a two faceted approach. The other nations were not to be tolerated on a political and religious level, although those were usually one and the same; and there were wars waged to that effect. However, there was also a moral code given in which the “alien” was to be treated fairly. Here are some examples:

Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt. Exodus 23:9 (NIV)

Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed. Exodus 23:12 (NIV)

You are to have the same law for the alien and the native-born. I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 24:22 (NIV)

In the same light I believe that although we are not to give way to Islam, we need to deal with individual Muslims on a different level. We should treat them with respect, fairness, hospitality and so on. We as individuals should give them no reason to hate Christianity and/or America. Sadly we as Christians and Americans, and I will indict myself as well, fail to demonstrate a lifestyle that would attract those of other belief systems. They typically want nothing to do with us because of all of the garbage that we put up with in our society. To some degree I can see why they would not want the influence of western cultures and their negative effects (e.g. pornography, abortion, homosexuality, divorce, etc.). We as individuals have

to rise above those things and do our best to exemplify a godly life to them so that they can be reached, whether it is culturally or religiously. Make no mistake, I am a Christian and therefore I believe even Muslims need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to avoid eternal damnation, but the principle still applies regardless of whether you are a Christian or not.

The truth of the matter is that the best individuals to reach Muslims are Muslims. Although the effectiveness of going to their home territory could be disputed, some have come to us, and I believe reaching the Muslim population here is paramount, so that they can then take the message to their own people in a way that fits into their cultural context. With that in mind we should not be afraid to interact with those in our midst that are Muslim. Talk to them, engage them, befriend them, and above all go out of your way to be hospitable!