INTRODUCTION

  A. A long list of atrocities committed by Islamic extremists has created
       great interest in this major world religion.

        1. The September 11, 2001, attacks on the Twin Trade Towers in 
            New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC, will not soon be
            forgotten.

        2. Suicide bombers in Israel and other places keep Moslems in the
            news.

        3. Such evil and irrational behavior can only be understood in the
            context of the Islamic faith.

        4. Contrary to what some think, such deeds are not isolated acts of
            misguided zealots, but of Moslems being true to their faith. 

    B. Islam presents the single greatest challenge to the Christian faith in our
        world today.

    C. In this lesson, we shall contrast the Christianity of the New Testament
         with the Islam of Mohammed and the Koran.

    D. We shall do this under three main headings:

        1. Allah, god of Islam, compared to Jehovah, the God of the Bible.

        2. The Koran, holy book of Islam, compared to the Bible.

        3. Mohammed, founder and prophet of Islam, compared to Jesus
             Christ.

DISCUSSION

  I. ALLAH COMPARED TO JEHOVAH.

    A. Allah was the high god who was worshipped by pagans at Mecca.

        1. He was one among 360 others worshipped at the Ka’aba.

        2. Mohammed proclaimed Allah to be the one true god, the creator
            and ruler of the earth.

    B. Moslems are strict monotheists – they believe in one supreme being.

        1. Allah is not only the god of all Moslems, he is the god of all.

        2. He was not created, and has not begotten other gods.

        3. He is the sustainer of man.

        4. He is the judge of man and is strict in justice.

        5. One Moslem author wrote:  “Allah is the essence of existence…He
            is the first and the last.  He is unique and nothing resembles Him in
            any respect.  He is One and the One.  He is self-sustained, does
            not need anything, but everything needs Him” (Answering Islam by
            Geisler and Saleeb, p. 19).

        6. Allah wills all things and knows all things; nothing happens apart
            from his will.

        7. Mohammed said: “There are ninety-nine names of Allah and
            whoever recites them will enter Paradise.”

            a. The lists of these names vary greatly.

            b. Twenty-six of these names are not found in the Koran.

    C. Since Allah causes everything that happens, he is the author of both
         good and evil.

        1. Moslems do not see the inconsistency in this; they simply say the
            divine will is beyond the comprehension of man.

        2. According to one source: “…Allah is the One who leads astray, as
            well as the One who guides.  He is the One who brings damage, as
            also does Satan.  He is described by terms like the Bringer-down,
            the Compeller, or Tyrant, the Haughty – all of which, when used of
            men have an evil sense.  In the Unity of the single will, however,
            these descriptions co-exist with those that relate to mercy,
            compassion, and glory” (Answering Islam, p. 26).

    D. The Bible presents Jehovah as the creator and ruler of all things and
         the judge of all the earth (Genesis 1:1; 18:25; Psalm 66:7).

        1. He is omniscient {all knowing} (Proverbs 15:3; Matthew 10:29, 30;
            1 John 3:20).

        2. He is omnipresent {everywhere} (Psalm 139:7-10; Jeremiah 23:24;
            Acts 17:27, 28).
 

        3. He is omnipotent {all powerful} (Jeremiah 32:27; Matthew 19:26;
            Revelation 19:6).

        4. He is infinitely just, holy, and righteous and cannot abide the
            presence of evil (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Samuel 2:2; Psalm 5:4;
            Habakkuk 1:13; James 1:13).

        5. He is also loving, compassionate, merciful and forgiving (Exodus
            34:6,7; Deuteronomy 4:31; Psalm 107:1; 145:8; Micah 7:18; John
            3:16).

    E. The Bible teaches the doctrine of the Godhead {“Trinity”} (Matthew
        3:13-17; 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

        1. There is one God {Theos – Divine Nature} (Deuteronomy 6:4;
            James 2:19).

        2. There are three Persons Who Possess the Divine Nature:

            a. The Father (Ephesians 4:6).

            b. The Son (John 1:1-3, 14; 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:16).

            c. The Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3,4).

        3. Moslems angrily deny the doctrine of the Godhead: “People of the
            Book, do not transgress the bounds of your religion.  Speak nothing
            but the truth about God.  The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, was
            no more than God’s apostle and His Word which He cast to Mary:
            a spirit from Him.  So believe in God and His apostles and do not
            say: ‘Three.’  Forbear, and it shall be better for you.  God is but
            one God.  God forbid that He should have a son! His is all that the 
            heaven and the earth contain” (Sura 4:171).

  II. THE KORAN COMPARED TO THE BIBLE.

    A. Moslems believe the Koran has been preserved free from error.

        1. The perfect original is in Heaven and the ones on earth are perfect
            copies, according to Moslems.

        2. The truth is that the Koran was not written until after Mohammed’s
            death; it was collected from sayings of the prophet which had been
            memorized by some of his followers, and from scraps of paper,
            skin, cloth, and wood on which others had written them down.

        3. Caliph Uthman had an official copy made; then he had the other
            fragments destroyed.

        4. Since the eighth century, the Koran has been generally kept true to
            the eighth century model, but there are textual variants among older
            manuscripts.

        5. Uthman’s copy no longer exists; all we have are copies of copies.

    B. Moslems ridicule the Bible and distort textual variants in an effort to
        show the Bible is unreliable.

        1. The Bible is the best attested book of antiquity.

            a. Instead of a few manuscripts from the eighth century, we have
                5,300 manuscripts of the New Testament dating as early as the
                second century.

            b. The variants affect less than one percent of the text, do not affect
                any vital area of doctrine, and mostly have to do with such minor
                things as variation in spelling, punctuation, etc.

        2. The Koran itself called the Bible the Word of God and urged
            Moslems to believe it (Sura 5:46,47, 65-70,78).

  III. MOHAMMED COMPARED TO JESUS CHRIST:

    A. Mohammed claimed to be the last and greatest of the prophets, yet he
         admitted he was only a man and a sinner.

        1. “Say, ‘I do not tell you that I possess God’s treasures or know
             what is hidden, nor do I claim to be an angel.  I follow only what is
              revealed to me” (Sura 6:50).

        2. Jesus never harmed anyone nor could a charge of sin rightly be
            sustained against him, but Mohammed was a man of lust (he had
            more than a dozen wives with one being only a child of 7 to 9
            years), and  he was also a man of violence and plunder as seen by
            his looting and wars of aggression (John 8:46; Luke 23:4, 41, 47; 2
            Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 1:19; 2:22).

    B. Moslems deny Jesus was the Son of God.

        1. “They say: ‘God has begotten a son.’ God forbid!  Self sufficient is
            He.  His is all that the heavens and the earth contain. Surely for this
            you have no sanction. Would you say of God what you know not?”
            (Sura 10:68).

        2. The Bible teaches that Jesus was the Son of God Who was
            conceived in the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit
            (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:26-35; John 3:16).

    C. Moslems deny Jesus was crucified on the cross.

        1. “They denied the truth and uttered a monstrous falsehood against
             Mary.  They declared: ‘We have put to death the Messiah, Jesus
             the son of Mary, the apostle of God.’  They did not kill him, nor
             did they crucify him, but they thought they did” (Sura 4:157).

        2. Many Moslems believe Judas was crucified in the place of Jesus.

        3. The Bible teaches Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world
            (Isaiah 53; Matthew 16:21; John 1:29; Acts 2: 22, 23; 8:32-35; 2
            Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; Revelation 1:5).

    D. Moslems deny Jesus is the only Savior of the world.

        1. They do not understand how God can be just and the Justifier of the
            sinner (Romans 3:26).

        2. They do not understand that a price must be paid for sin (Romans
            3:23; 6:23; Matthew 20:28). 

CONCLUSION

    A. The goal of Moslems is to conquer the world for their faith and to
        bring all in submission to it.

        1. Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind Moslem cleric convicted of the
            attempt to blow up the Trade Center in New York in 1991 called
            on his fellow Moslems to “conquer the land of the infidels.”

        2. Siraj Wahaj, the first Moslem imam to offer a prayer at the US
            House of Representatives, urged his fellow Moslems to unite to
            elect a Moslem president: “Take my word, if six to eight million
            Moslems unite in America, the country will come to us.”

        3. Farouk Kaddoumi, chief of the PLO Political Department, said:
            “Attack US interests.  Conflict with the US is the only way to reach
            our goals.” 

        4. Jihad is commanded in the Koran: “Believers, make war on the
            infidels who dwell around you.  Deal firmly with them.  Know that
            Allah is with the righteous”(Sura 9:123).

    B. Moslems are lost in sin along with all other evildoers and false
         religionists.

        1. The Gospel must be preached to them (Mark 16:15,16).

        2. They must obey it from the heart in order to be saved (Romans
            6:16-18).

    C. Even though Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion, we must
         remember that growth is not to be equated with truth!

    D. Some helpful works on Islam are:

        1. The Koran, translated by N. J. Dawood, published by Penguin
            Books.

        2. Answering Islam by Norman Geisler & Abdul Saleeb, published by
            Baker.

        3. Christ or the Qur’an? by Evertt L. Huffard published by Hester
            Pub.

        4. Man’s Religions by John B. and David S. Noss, published by
            Macmillian.

        5. Understanding Non-Christian Religions by Josh McDowell and 
            Don Stewart, published by Campus Crusade for Christ.

        6. Early Islam by Desmond Steward, published by Time-Life Books.
 
 

Rod Rutherford
4700 Gold Mine Drive
Sugar Hill, GA  30518