There is no substantial relation between Islam and Christianity. Although both faiths claim their origins from the montheistic belief in the God of the Old Testament, neither are compatible. Islam traces its roots to Ishmael, Abraham's firstborn son of his servant Hagar (Genesis 16:3-4). God's covenant was promised through the Jewish lineage of Abraham's second son, Isaac (Genesis 17:19-21, 21:12). According to Galations 4:21-31, God's inheritance is through Isaac, not Ishmael (also Genesis 21:10). Jesus was a descendant of Isaac through the lineage of Judah (Matthew 1:1-16, Luke 3:23-37, Romans 9:5), who said in John 4:22 that salvation comes from the Jews (Hebrew yehudi, member of the tribe or kingdom of Judah). Muhammad, who appeared about six centuries after Jesus, claimed to be a descendant of Ishmael. According to Galations 4:29-30, the descendants of Ishmael serve to persecute those born of the Spirit and will never share in the inheritance of Isaac (also Genesis 21:10). Regardless, Muslims believe that they are those whom Jesus spoke about in Matthew 21:43, to whom he would give the kingdom of God after supposedly taking it away from the Jews. Although Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet of God who performed miracles, it denies that Jesus was the Son of God or the Savior of the world, nor does it accept that he was God incarnate. The Qur'an regards Christians as infidels, belief in the Trinity as false, polytheistic religion, and that Muslims will ultimately sit in judgement over Christians.

History

      Islam was founded in the seventh century A.D. (circa A.D. 570-632), by a camel driver from Mecca named Muhammad ("the one who is praised") during a time when Arabs in the Middle East had no fundamental religion or defined countries. Muhammad was influenced by a religious group called the Hanifs ("penitents"), who practiced asceticism, meditation, and consecration of life in preparation for the Day of Judgment, and who themselves were influenced by Judaism, Christianity, and the Essenes of Arabia. Their primary teaching was salvation through "islam," or submission to the will of one god, Al-Ilah ("the god"), the far and distant God and ruler of the lesser gods. (The two words Islam and Muslim are forms of the Arabic word salama, "to submit." Islam, therefore, means "submission," while a Muslim is "one who submits.") According to tradition, during a time of fasting and meditation, Muhammad was visited by the angel Gabriel in a vision brought on by a seizure, later to be revisited several times over the course of his life, and told to restore his people to the true Semitic religion of Abraham. Muhammad preached strict adherance and unconditional obedience to Allah, along with threats of vengeance from Allah to those who did not accept him as Allah's prophet, which initially brought few converts and much persecution among tribes that traditionally believed in many lesser gods. In A.D. 622, Muhammad and a small group of close followers called Muslims ("those who submit") made an exodus to the town of Medinah, where Islam was embraced and Muhammad quickly became both a religious leader and a ruler of a theocratic kingdom to be spread peacefully if possible, but by the sword if necessary. (This is known as the year of Hegira - migration - the beginning of the Muhammadan era in the Muslim calendar.) Although Muhammad had united local Arabs under Islam, after his death a series of wars broke out due to a lack of clear and accepted leadership. These wars also spread throughout other Arab regions in the process of forcefully converting others to Islam, which became known as jihads, or holy wars.

      After the death of Muhammad, Islam was forcefully spread throughout the Arabian world by a succession of Caliphs (Khalifat rasul Allah, "Successor of the Messenger of Allah") and, by the early eighth century, had covered much of the Middle East, Asia, Asia Minor, and was encroaching Europe as Christianity's primary foe. By the Middle Ages, the Muslims had taken control of much of the Byzantine Empire, comprising Eastern Christendom, and, in the ninth century, attacked Rome. The Crusades, the four largest of which began in the eleventh century and lasted through the thirteenth century (1095-1291), were a series of military expeditions by Western Christian armies in an attempt to win back lost territory and free the Holy Land of Jerusalem from Muslim control. Ultimately, the Muslim forces held out and dominated the countries of the Middle East after the Crusades and throughout the Mongolian invasion of the thirteenth century. Today, Islam as a major religion comprises about 1/6 of the world's population, dominating over fifty countries, including the following: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Jordan, Sudan, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Malaya, and Albania. Islam is also continuing to expand rapidly in China, India, Central Asia, the Pacific islands, and Africa. Only about 20% of the Muslim population is in the Middle East and Africa. Islam is the second largest religion in Europe.

Beliefs

      There is no god but Allah, who has no associates, no parents, and no children. This is known as the Tawhid (or Tawheed), the Divine Unity or Oneness of Allah. Allah, who created man from clots of blood, is the one God and is all-seeing, all-hearing, all-speaking, all-knowing, all-willing, and all-powerful. Although omnipresent, he is far and reaching from mankind. The only guarantee of salvation in the Qur'an is the knowledge, and affirmation, that there is no divinity but Allah. Those whom Allah loves are those who believe in the principles of Muhammad, Allah's last and greatest prophet, and who fight for his cause. The worldwide community of Islamic believers consists of all those who, regardless of race, submit solely to Allah, reverence His Prophet Muhammad, believe that the Qur'an is the literal word of Allah, believe in angels as the servants of Allah who reveal his will, and believe in the Day of Judgment: After death, man continues to exist in an intermediate state until the Day of Reckoning, where all will be resurrected either to eternal fire and damnation or eternal paradise and bliss. The only assurance of salvation for a Muslim is martyrdom for the sake of Allah. This guarantees for them eternity in paradise. To become a Muslim, one must recite with conviction, "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur rasoolu Allah," ("There is no true god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God"), undergo a ceremonial washing as a symbol of the washing away of sins and false beliefs, and submit to the teachings of Muhammad. Five times a day, the brotherhood of believers is called to worship Allah together, facing toward the holy land of Mecca in modern day Saudi Arabia. Islam is not merely a religion, it's also a culture -- one primarily defined by seventh century Arabia, with little personal freedom, even fewer civil rights, and no religious freedom. The ash-shari'ah, or Islamic Law, is the sum of the duties of man which are required by Allah. Taken from the Qur'an, the shari'ah makes up both religious and civil law for many Islamic countries.

      The basic tenets of the Islamic faith are summed up in the Five Pillars:

1. Shahada, which is the daily recital of the creed, "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."
2. Salat, or prescribed prayer and worship, after ritual washing, five times daily facing towards Mecca (and in a mosque on Fridays). Prayers are recited at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. Daily Muslim prayers (Fard As-salat) are spoken in Arabic, the only language of Allah, and must be recited accompanied with prescribed bodily positions. Those who don�t participate will be painfully tormented at death, in the grave, at judgment, and in hell.
3. Siyam, the complete abstinence from food, drink, and sexual activity from dawn to dusk during the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, Ramadan, during which Muhammed received the first of his revelations from Allah.
4. Zakat, or almsgiving to the needy (generally about 2-1/2 percent of annual income and possessions).
5. Hadj, which is at least one pilgrimage to Mecca (or Makkah) to worship at its religious center, the Ka'aba, a black building traditionally believed to have been built by Abraham and Ishmael, now housed in the center of the Haram mosque.

      There are various factions in Islam (Muhammad is believed to have said that Islam would be divided into 73 sects, only one of which would survive and unite the Muslim world). The two primary sects of Islam are the Sunnites and the Shiites. Sunnites, who constitute about 65% of the Muslim population, hold the Qur'an and Sunnah ("Way of the Prophet") to be the primary authority of Islam, although they also recognize the authority of the Ijma, or concensus of the Muslim community, through the teachings and practices of its political and religious leaders (caliphs), beginning with Muhammad's father-in-law, abu-Bakr. Shiites and the individual Shiite sects, which constitute about 10% of the Islamic population (mostly concentrated in Iran), claim as spiritual leader Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali ibn-abi-Talib (since he had no sons), and his ancestral line of successors (imams) as divinely guided and the only authority for the interpretation of Muslim law. The last of the imams, Mohammad, disappeared late in the ninth century and is believed by Shiites to reappear one day as a divinely guided leader (Mahdi) who will purge Islam of its Sunnite distortions. Other prominant Islamic sects include the mystical and poetic Sufis, the fundamentalist Wahhabis, the literalist Kharijites, the apologetic Ahmdiyans, and the Ibadites of Oman. Bahaism is an offshoot of Islam that became popular in Europe and America in the mid-ninteenth century.

Literature

Qur'an (or Koran): Muhammad's teachings, which were originally transferred orally by himself, his immediate companions, and their second generation successors, were eventually recorded in the Qur'an (Arabic Al-Qur'an, "reading" or "recital"), consisting of 114 chapters (surahs) of revelations, each beginning "In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful." To the orthodox Muslim, the Qur'an is more than just divinely inspired, it is itself divine, uncreated, the voice of Allah, and the supreme authority of Islam. The Qur'an -- the last revealed word of Allah -- as a printed book is held to be only a replica of an eternal, heavenly original. The fact that it was originally composed in Arabic lends to the reason the Arabic dialect has remained undivided. The first official, written copy was the codex of Medina, under Caliph Uthman between A.D. 644-56. An authorized version was compiled in the tenth century in Baghdad. English translations were begun in the ninteenth century. Although Islamic theology believes that it is untranslatable, Islamic law does not prohibit translation of the Qur'an into other languages, however, only the use of the original Arabic is allowed for liturgical purposes. Along with revelation, the Qur'an also contains devotional regulations, rules for worship, enactments for everyday living, and laws of family and society.

Sunnah ("Way of the Prophet") are the collected sayings and practices of Muhammad by initial followers indicating the path (sunna) of his righteous living and considered the second most important source of Islamic doctrine. Hadiths are the traditions originally taught by Muhammad to the first generation of Muslims, many of which are contained in the Sunnah, written as narrations and compiled for the purpose of educating the Islamic masses. Although Muhammad originally discouraged the written recordings of his own words, hadiths were later written and compiled as a means of officially documenting the authentic traditions of Muhammad, as opposed to those that were being circulated which were not his. Hadiths are often passed on orally and taught by recitation. Some of the more popular collections include the Sahih by Al-Bakhair in the ninth century and The Forty-Two Traditions of An-Nawawi.

Taurat: Muslims also hold the Taurat (Torah or Pentateuch) and the Psalms of David to be divinely inspired scripture. The Torah (Hebrew, "law" or "teaching") consists of the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), in which are found the Law and are generally attributed to the writings of Moses (Arabic Musa). Although part of the gospel of Jesus and some of his prophetic sayings are regarded by Muslims as revelation, his disciples are considered to have been mistaken about his persona as the Messiah. The remainder of the Old and New Testaments are considered falsified scripture belonging to the corrupt and misguided religions of Judaism and Christianity.

What does the Bible say about Muhammad and Islam?

      For proof that the Bible has been corrupted, Muslims point to Jeremiah 8:8, "How can you say, 'We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD,' when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?" Muslims therefore accept from the Bible only what agrees completely with the teachings of Islam, while rejecting the parts that don't. The Apostle Paul considered all Scripture God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Jesus, when rebuking the Pharisees, accused them of not knowing the Scriptures (Matthew 22:29), however, he is never once recorded as denying the validity of the Scriptures. On the contrary, the Scriptures testify about Jesus Christ (John 5:39, Acts 18:24-28, Romans 1:2-3, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4), who himself was the fulfillment of the Scriptures (Luke 24:25-32, 44-47). Peter warned that people would distort the meaning of Paul's writings, as they do the Scriptures (2 Peter 3:15-16). The following biblical prophecies are used to support the rise of the Muslim nation:

Deuteronomy 18:18, "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him." Muslims believe that Muhammad was more like Moses than Jesus, however, Moses said that the prophet would come from their brothers, which couldn't have been a reference to Ishmael's descendants. This is a re-iteration of Deuteronomy 18:15, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers," of which Stephen referenced in Acts 7:37 regarding Jesus. Therefore, it is likely that "brothers" was a reference to the descendants of Isaac, since these verses are addressed to the Israelites, who were at the time made up of the twelve tribes of Jacob's sons, of which Jesus was a descendant of Judah (Matthew 1:2, Luke 3:33).

Deuteronomy 33:2, "The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shown forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes." Mt. Paran is considered present day Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Muhammad's home town from which he was forced to flee due to initial hostility to Islam. He later returned with his followers (about 10,000) from nearby Madina and converted Mecca. This verse is supposedly referenced in Jude 14-15.

Isaiah 29:11-12, "For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say to him, 'Read this, please,' he will answer, 'I can't; it is sealed.' Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, 'Read this, please,' he will answer, 'I don't know how to read.' " According to Islamic tradition, the Angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad and commanded him to read from a scroll, to which he replied that he was unlearned. Again the angel commanded him to read and once more Muhammad replied that he didn't know how to read, to which the angel put the words into his mouth. From then on, Muhammad received the messages of Allah from revelation. According to the Qur'an, this is what the angel told him: "Read in the name of your Lord Who created. He created man from a clot. Read and your Lord is Most Honorable, Who taught (to write) with the pen, taught man what he knew not. Nay! man is most surely inordinate, because he sees himself free from want. Surely to your Lord is the return. Have you seen him who forbids a servant when he prays? Have you considered if he were on the right way, or enjoined guarding (against evil)? Have you considered if he gives the lie to the truth and turns (his) back? Does he not know that Allah does see? Nay! If he desist not, We would certainly smite his forehead, a lying, sinful forehead. Then let him summon his council, We too would summon the braves of the army. Nay! obey him not, and make obeisance and draw nigh (to Allah)" (Surah 96). Unfortunately, if the vision of Isaiah is the one described in the previous verses and chapters of Isaiah prior to verses 29:11-12, then it has nothing to do with what was attributed to the scroll presented to Muhammad.

Isaiah 42:1-4, "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit upon him and he will bring justice to the nations..." Muslims view this as a prophecy of Muhammad, whereas Christians view this as a prophecy about Jesus (Matthew 3:16-17, 12:17-21). Muslims further point out Isaiah 42:8, "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols," as proof that Jesus could not have been God. Jesus himself said that he did not accept praise from men (John 5:41), nor did he seek glory for himself (John 9:50), although he did say that his Second Coming would be in the Father's glory (Matthew 16:27, 24:30, 25:31, Mark 8:38, 13:26, Luke 9:26, 21:27), the glory he entered after his resurrection from the dead (Luke 24:26), which shown forth while he was a man (John 1:14, 2:11, 11:4), which he had from the Father before the world began (John 17:1-5, 24), and of which Isaiah foresaw (John 12:41). In John 8:54, Jesus says, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me." It is this glory that he also shares with those who believe (John 17:22, Romans 8:17, 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, Colossians 1:27, 3:4, 1 Thessalonians 2:12, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, 2 Timothy 2:10, 1 Peter 1:7, 5:1, 10). God did not give his glory to Jesus, rather, it is through Christ that God is glorified (Romans 16:27, Jude 25) and praised (1 Peter 4:11).

Isaiah 42:11-17, "Let the desert and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops. Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands. The LORD will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies. For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant. I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools. I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. But those who trust in idols, who say to images, 'You are our gods,' will be turned back in utter shame." According to Genesis 25:13 and 1 Chronicles 1:29, Kedar was the second son of Ishmael, the descendants of whom were Arabian merchants (Ezekiel 27:21). According to Psalm 120:5-7, they hated peace and, according to Jeremiah 2:10-11, worshiped idols. Along with Israel, they were destroyed by the Babylonians (Jeremiah 49:28-32). Various passages throughout Isaiah chapters 43-54 are also used to support the coming of Muhammad, particularly 48:6-9 ("...From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you...") and verses that warn of Israel's potential destruction, such as 43:28.

Matthew 21:43-44, "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." While Muslims consider this passage as a prophecy of the Muslims and Muhammad, respectively, Christians see it as the conversion of the Gentiles and Jesus, respectively (1 Peter 2:4-8). Although Muhammad converted the Gentiles of his day to Islam, the apostles Peter and Paul were converting them to Christianity nearly 600 years prior (Acts 11:18, 13:46-47, 14:27, 15:7, 18:6, 22:21, 28:28, Romans 11:13, 15:15-19, Galations 1:16, 2:2, 7-9). As Paul reveals in Romans 11:11-24, the kingdom was not completely taken away from Israel, rather, the Gentiles were grafted into it. "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and shareres together in the promise in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 3:6). Muslims also point out the seeming contradiction of Matthew 21:43-44 with Isaiah 54:10, " 'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the LORD, who has compassion on you." Going back to Isaiah 51:6 ("the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and it inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail."), it can be seen that the covenant of peace is salvation through the word of God, as revealed in the new covenant of Christ in remembrance of the old covenant (Luke 1:72, Acts 3:24-26, Romans 11:25-27), who himself said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Matthew 24:35). Even the old covenant was a promise of the new covenant (Isaiah 45:17). Paul explained this covenant with the Jews concisely in Romans 11:28-29 when he wrote, "As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable." According to 2 Corinthians 3:14-16, the old covenent now serves as a veil over the hearts of the Jews, which "has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away." In Galations 3:15-25, Paul further expounds on the relation between the old and new covenants by basically saying that they are both reconciled and fulfilled in Christ, now to be made available not just to the Jews, but to all who believe in Christ. This new covenant, according to Hebrews 8:6, is superior to the old and founded on better promises, thus making it obsolete and soon to disappear (Hebrews 8:13).

John 16:5-14, "...Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you... I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth..." Muslims claim the Counselor to be Muhammad. The reason for this is that the Greek word for Counselor, parakletos, is similar to the Greek word used for Muhammad, Paraklytos, which means "comforter." Counselor and Comforter are often used interchangeably in different Bible translations (also in John 14:16, 26). Christians understand the Counselor to be the Holy Spirit, which is confirmed in these passages. The Greek word used for Spirit is pneuma, which, according to Luke 24:39, does not have flesh and bones, which Muhammad had. The Spirit was breathed on the apostles before Christ's ascension (John 20:22) and at Pentecost (Acts 2:4), nearly 600 years before the appearance of Muhammad.

      There is also a prophecy in the Gospel of Barnabas (chapter 55) that references Muhammad by name as a prophet of God. Originally attributed to Barnabas, Paul's travelling companion, this gospel was believed to have been first accepted by the Churches of Alexandria in the first and second centuries, but condemned by the Council of Nicea in C.E. 325, due to its denial of Jesus as the Son of God. Iranaeus (A.D. 130-200) supposedly referenced the Gospel of Barnabas often in defense of monotheism and in opposition to the teachings of the Apostle Paul in regards to the deity of Christ.

What does the Qur'an say about Jesus and Christianity?

      Muslims believe that the apostles of Jesus injected their own ideas into the gospels and epistles of the New Testament, which were supposedly influenced by Greek and Roman paganism. These include the Christian claims that God had a Son, Jesus, who was one with God and who died and was resurrected. Here are some of the scriptures from the Qur'an regarding Jesus and Christianity. These were taken from the M. H. Shakir translation, published by the Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc. The Arabic name for Jesus is Isa, Abraham is Ibrahim, Ishmael is Ismail, Isaac is Ishaq, Jacob is Yaqoub, Moses is Musa, Mary is Maryam, Ezra is Uzair, Gospel is Injeel, Torah is Taurat, Muhammad is Ahmed, and God is Allah. Surah is a division of the Qur'an, similar to the chapter and verse references of the modern Bible. The Torah in the Qur'an is referred to as the Book. Although the New Testament scripture that follows each may be considered false to Muslim believers, Christians may want to be aware of the passages from the Qur'an which oppose basic Christian doctrine as taught by Christ's apostles.

"Say: We believe in Allah and (in) that which had been revealed to us, and (in) that which was revealed to Ibrahim and Ismail and Ishaq and Yaqoub and the tribes, and (in) that which was given to Musa and Isa, and (in) that which was given to the prophets from their Lord, we do not make any distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit." (Surah 2:136) This says that Muslim prophets taken from the Old Testament stand on equal ground with Jesus and that they believe what was revealed to these prophets, including Jesus. Of the 28 prophets listed in the Qur'an, Islam claims the following biblical individuals as Muslim: Adam, Enoch, Methesulah, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, Zechariah, John the Baptist, and Jesus. According to John 17:6-19, what was revealed to Jesus was revealed to his disciples: "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them... I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world." According to Matthew 16:16-19, it was Jesus' apostles to whom he gave the keys of heaven to build his church on earth.

"And when Allah said: O Isa, I am going to terminate the period of your stay (on earth) and cause you to ascend unto Me and purify you of those who disbelieve and make those who follow you above those who disbelieve to the day of resurrection; then to Me shall be your return, so I will decide between you concerning that in which you differed." (Surah 3:55) This passage denies the resurrection of Christ. As predicted in Matthew 27:62-64, Muslims claim that Jesus' disciples took his body from the tomb in order to deceive everyone into falsely thinking that Jesus had risen from the dead. They believe that Allah spared Jesus from death on the cross at the hands of men and raised his spirit to heaven before his death (some Muslims even believe it was Judas Iscariot's body that was crucified). It was this kind of denial about his death and resurrection to which Jesus harshly rebuked his own disciples (Matthew 16:21-23). On many occasions Jesus warned his disciples about this event: "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." (Mark 9:31)

"Surely the likeness of Isa is with Allah as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, Be, and he was. (This is) the truth from your Lord, so be not of the disputers. But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come to you of knowledge, then say: Come... let us be earnest in prayer, and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars. Most surely this is the true explanation, and there is no god but Allah; and most surely Allah--He is the Mighty, the Wise." (Surah 3:59-62) According to Muslim belief, Jesus was not God incarnate. Jesus was a man just as Adam was a man, created alike from dust. According to Romans 5:14, Adam was a pattern for Jesus. This is further explained in 1 Corithians 15:45-49, where Paul says that the first man Adam was a living being, but the last Adam, Jesus, was a life-giving spirit. "The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven." We who are of the likeness of Adam and believe in Jesus will also become like he is (also Romans 8:29).

"Say: We believe in Allah and what has been revealed to us, and what was revealed to Ibrahim and Ismail and Ishaq and Yaqoub and the tribes, and what was given to Musa and Isa and to the prophets from their Lord; we do not make any distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit. And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall one of the losers." (Surah 3:84-85) Islam teaches that Jesus was just another prophet of Allah, a man called by Allah just like those before him. Christianity is a distinct religion from Islam, upholding Jesus as more than just a prophet of God, but as the sinless high priest (Hebrews 4:14-16), the redeemer of mankind from the curse of the Law (Galations 3:10-14), the revealer of the secrets of God (Matthew 11:25, Mark 4:11, 1 Corinthians 2:6-16), the minister of reconciliation between God and man (2 Corinthians 5:16-21), the living bread that gives eternal life (John 6:47-58), Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5), the image of God (John 12:45, 14:8-11, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Hebrews 1:3), the only way to the Father (John 14:6), the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13), the name above all names (Philippians 2:9-11), the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and the Savior of the world (John 4:42, 1 John 4:14), just to name a few.

"And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the apostle of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure. Nay! Allah took him up to Himself; and Allah is Mighty, Wise. And there is not one of the followers of the Book but most certainly believes in this before his death, and on the day of resurrection he (Isa) shall be a witness against them." (Surah 4:157-159) Like the claims of many of the gnostic gospels of the first and second century, the Qur'an teaches that Jesus didn't really die on the cross, but was taken up to heaven by God in spirit before his physical body was crucified. Supposedly, Jesus himself will testify at the Last Judgment against those who consider him to be their personal savior. Traditional Christian doctrine, however, holds that it was absolutely necessary for Jesus to die on the cross. As Philippians 2:6-11 attests of Christ Jesus: "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

"O followers of the Book! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Marium is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him; believe therefore in Allah and His apostles, and say not, Three. Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only one God; far be It from His glory that He should have a son, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His, and Allah is sufficient for a Protector." (Surah 4:171) This denies the existence of the Trinity -- the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three distinct persons of the one true God. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says that the Lord is the Spirit. Galations 4:6 identifies this same Spirit as of the Son. It is this Spirit who descended from the Father to the Son at his baptism (Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:22). Jesus said that he and the Father were one (John 10:30). John 1:1 says that the Word was God, which became flesh (John 1:14), and who was Jesus (Revelation 19:13). It is scriptural passages such as these which unite the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit into one and the same person.

"Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely, Allah -- He is the Messiah, son of Marium." (Surah 5:17) Christians accept Jesus as the Messiah of God (Hebrew Moshiach, "Anointed One"), which in Greek is the Christ (Greek Christos, "Anointed One") -- if they didn't, they wouldn't be called Christians. "Christ" is used over 500 times in the New Testament in relation to Jesus. Not only was Jesus the Anointed One, but he claimed to be God by attributing his unspeakable name ("I Am") of Exodus 3:14 to himself (Mark 14:62-63, Luke 22:70, John 8:58, John 18:4-6).

"O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people." (Surah 5:51) Jesus said, "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." (Luke 10:16)

"Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah, He is the Messiah, son of Marium; and the Messiah said: O Children of Israel! serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Surely whoever associates (others) with Allah, then Allah has forbidden to him the garden, and his abode is the fire; and there shall be no helpers for the unjust. Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah is the third (person) of the three; and there is no god but the one God, and if they desist not from what they say, a painful chastisement shall befall those among them who disbelieve." (Surah 5:72-73) Muslims do not believe in the Christian Trinity. To them, Allah stands alone, far apart from any man or spirit being. Christians believe, for the most part, that the God of the Old and New Testaments (plural, Elohim) is comprised of three distinct personages -- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This belief to Muslims is blasphemy and those who share in it will go to hell.

"And had they believed in Allah and the prophet and what was revealed to him, they would not have taken them for friends, but most of them are transgressors. Certainly you will find the most violent of people in enmity for those who believe (to be) the Jews and those who are polytheists, and you will certainly find the nearest in friendship to those who believe (to be) those who say: We are Christians; this is because there are priests and monks among them and because they do not behave proudly. And when they hear what has been revealed to the apostle you will see their eyes overflowing with tears on account of the truth that they recognize; they say: Our Lord! we believe, so write us down with the witnesses (of truth). And what (reason) have we that we should not believe in Allah and in the truth that has come to us, while we earnestly desire that our Lord should cause us to enter with the good people? Therefore Allah rewarded them on account of what they said, with gardens in which rivers flow to abide in them; and this is the reward of those who do good (to others). And (as for) those who disbelieve and reject Our communications, these are the companions of the flame." (Surah 5:81-86) Those who turn from their belief in Jesus as Lord and convert to Islam will enter eternal paradise with the Muslims. Jesus said of his followers, "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me" (Luke 10:16). He also said, "The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (John 3:35-36).

"The Messiah, son of Marium is but an apostle; apostles before him have indeed passed away; and his mother was a truthful woman; they both used to eat food. See how We make the communications clear to them, then behold, how they are turned away." (Surah 5:75) "And when Allah will say: O Isa son of Marium! did you say to men, Take me and my mother for two gods besides Allah he will say: Glory be to Thee, it did not befit me that I should say what I had no right to (say); if I had said it, Thou wouldst indeed have known it; Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I do not know what is in Thy mind, surely Thou art the great Knower of the unseen things." (Surah 5:116) This is in opposition to both Jesus as God and Mary as the Mother of God. By the time of Muhammad, the Catholic doctrine of Mary as the Queen of Heaven was relatively established. While most Christians believe Jesus to be the Son of God and born of the virgin Mary, not all believe in the veneration of Mary as the Mother of God.

"Wonderful Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could He have a son when He has no consort, and He (Himself) created everything, and He is the Knower of all things." (Surah 6:101) The answer to this is in Luke 10:22, "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

"Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and his Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection. And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away! They have taken their doctors of law and their monks for lords besides Allah, and (also) the Messiah son of Marium and they were enjoined that they should serve one God only, there is no god but He; far from His glory be what they set up (with Him)." (Surah 9:29-31) In other words, fight the Jews and Christians until they have been converted to Islam. Jews reverence their teachers of the law and Christians reverence their saints, but none should be reverenced but Allah. Christians have made Jesus out to be the Son of God and therefore one with God and worshiped as a single deity, however, it was Jesus himself who said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30) and "the Father is in me, and I in the Father" (John 10:38), to which the Jews tried to kill him for claiming to be God (John 10:31-39). When ordered by the Jewish high priest, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God," Jesus plainly replied, "Yes, it is as you say" (Matthew 26:63-64).

"They say: Allah has taken a son (to Himself)! Glory be to Him: He is the Self-sufficient: His is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth; you have no authority for this; do you say against Allah what you do not know?" (Surah 10:68) Although Muslims count John the Baptist among their prophets, it was he who testified that Jesus was the Son of God. "Then John gave this testimony: 'I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.' " (John 1:32-34)

"And say: (All) praise is due to Allah, Who has not taken a son and Who has not a partner in the kingdom, and Who has not a helper to save Him from disgrace; and proclaim His greatness magnifying (Him)." (Surah 17:111) The Apostle John says according to his vision in Revelation 5:11-14, "Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!' Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!' The four living creatures said, 'Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshiped."

"What! do then those who disbelieve think that they can take My servants to be guardians besides Me? Surely We have prepared hell for the entertainment of the unbelievers." (Surah 18:102) Contrary to this, Jesus asked God that he would protect those who believe in him by the power of his own name (John 17:11-15). 1 Corinthians 4:15 says that we have 10,000 guardians in Christ.

"Such is Isa, son of Marium; (this is) the saying of truth about which they dispute. It beseems not Allah that He should take to Himself a son, glory to be Him; when He has decreed a matter He only says to it "Be," and it is." (Surah 19:34-35) "And they say: The Beneficent God has taken (to Himself) a son. Certainly you have made an abominable assertion. The heavens may almost be rent thereat, and the earth cleave asunder, and the mountains fall down in pieces, That they ascribe a son to the Beneficent God. And it is not worthy of the Beneficent God that He should take (to Himself) a son." (Surah 19:88-92) Since Muslims assert that Allah had no son, then this either means that the God of the New Testament is not Allah of the Qur'an, or that the Christian faith is a hoax, since it rests on the belief that Jesus was the Son of God. Since this belief is also the foundation of all of the New Testament scriptures, then it also stands to reason that either Jesus' disciples were wrong in their understanding of who he was (which would then void all New Testament scripture) or that Jesus ultimately failed as a prophet of God. Although Muslims accept Jesus as a prophet of Allah, they still have to rely on New Testament scriptures which recorded his prophecies. It is these scriptures which claim that Jesus taught that he was the Son of God, of which Muslims pick and choose small bits and pieces to support prophecies of Muhammad, while regarding the majority as erroneous. The Apostle John said that anyone who denied the Father and the Son was the antichrist (1 John 2:22-23) and that "everyone who loves the father loves his child as well" (1 John 5:1).

"Never did Allah take to Himself a son, and never was there with him any (other) god -- in that case would each god have certainly taken away what he created, and some of them would certainly have overpowered others; glory be to Allah above what they describe!" (Surah 23:91) According to Matthew 3:16-17, at the baptism of Jesus heaven was opened, the Spirit descended upon him, and a voice spoke from heaven and said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Both Matthew 17:5 and Luke 9:35 record the event of the transfiguration, where God again said to more than one witness, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

"He, Whose is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and Who did not take to Himself a son, and Who has no associate in the kingdom, and Who created everything, then ordained for it a measure. And they have taken besides Him gods, who do not create anything while they are themselves created, and they control not for themselves any harm or profit, and they control not death nor life, nor raising (the dead) to life." (Surah 25:2-3) This states that not only does God not have a son, but he alone created everything. Contrary to this is John 1:1-3, which reveals that Jesus, the Word, is one with God and was with God in the beginning and that "through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." It also claims that Jesus has no claim to the resurrection. According to John 11:25-26, Jesus told Martha regarding the death of Lazarus, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." According to the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:4, Christ Jesus "was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead." Jesus is "the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy" (Colossians 1:18). It is Christ Jesus "who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10). Paul also wrote that "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18)

"And do not dispute with the followers of the Book except by what is best, except those of them who act unjustly, and say: We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you, and our God and your God is One, and to Him do we submit." (Surah 29:46) Basically, do not dispute with those who believe in the Bible, primarily Jews and Christians. Although Allah is the God of the Old and New Testaments, he is not the God which the Jews and Christians worship.

"If Allah desire to take a son to Himself, He will surely choose those He pleases from what He has created. Glory be to Him: He is Allah, the One, the Subduer (of all)." (Surah 39:4) In other words, Jesus was not begotten, as John 3:16 says. If God wanted a son, he would simply have chosen someone from among the inhabitants of the world. This is in contradiction to John 3:18, which warns that those who do not believe in God's only begotten Son stand condemned. In John 3:31-36, John the Baptist explains that Jesus came from heaven and is above all, and furthermore: "He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." In contrast to Jesus, Muhammad was just a man, of which the passage above also says, "the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth."

"And when a description of the son of Marium is given, lo! your people raise a clamor thereat. And they say: Are our gods better, or is he? They do not set it forth to you save by way of disputation; nay, they are a contentious people. He was naught but a servant on whom We bestowed favor, and We made him an example for the children of Israel. And if We please, We could make among you angels to be successors in the land." (Surah 43:57-60) This is another passage which again asserts that Jesus was not the Son of God. The last sentence could be understood in one of two ways -- either that angels could have sufficed as saviors for mankind, or simply that angels could be sent to replace the human race. Hebrews 1:4-14 explains that Jesus is above all angels -- who would not be suitable for the calling -- and ends by stating, "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" As for the concept of angels succeeding mankind on earth, this was already attempted in Noah's days, according to Genesis 6:1-4.

"And when Isa son of Marium said: O children of Israel! surely I am the apostle of Allah to you, verifying that which is before me of the Taurat and giving the good news of an Apostle who will come after me, his name being Ahmad, but when he came to them with clear arguments they said: This is clear magic." (Surah 61:6) Here, Jesus is portrayed as an apostle, prophesying of the coming of Muhammad, his successor. Muslims look to John 14:26 as proof from the New Testament, however, Christians consider the promised "Counselor" to be the Holy Spirit (also John 15:26 and 16:7-10). Muslims consider all references to the Holy Spirit (or Paraclete) to actually be of Muhammad, such as John 16:12-15, where the Spirit of truth is seen as Muhammad (al-amin, one of his titles as "trustworthy") revealing the truths contained in the Qur'an which Jesus' disciples could not bear. Since Muhammad was a visible man, however, then it stands to reason that he could not have been the invisible Spirit (John 14:17), nor could he have been God, because the "Lord is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:17), since this would violate many of the passages of the Qur'an listed above.

Is the god of the Qur'an (Allah) the same god as the god of the Bible (Elohim)?

      The Muslim view is that Allah (al-ilah "the God") is the Arabic name for the God of the Bible and that Muslims, Jews, and Christians worship the same Supreme Being -- albeit Jews and Christians do not worship God appropriately. The Arabic name for God Allah, Aramaic name for God Alaaha, Mesopotamian name for God Ilu, and Hebrew name for God Elohim all originate from the same Semitic word El, meaning "God." This single, Supreme Being has the same eternal qualities in both the Bible and the Qur'an. Traces of ancient Arabian tradition reveal a monotheistic religion. Although Islam may have arisen out of a polytheistic environment, Allah was still seen as the all-powerful Creator, Lord of the Ka'aba (Baitu'llah, "House of Allah"), and the One True God of Abraham and Isaac. Any pagan attributes given to Allah by earlier Arabic tradition were misguided and have been rightfully eradicated. Allah is above all and none other deserves worship but him, unlike the polytheistic view of Jesus being worshiped by Christians as God.

      Christian scholars who disagree that Allah is the same God as Elohim have often attempted to unveil the origins of Allah in ancient pagan religions. In pagan pre-Islamic Arabia, religion was basically polytheistic, with 360 lesser gods (one for each day of the lunar calendar) all under one supreme god, Allah ("a god"), who was the moon god (Hubal or Hu-Baal), and was married to the sun goddess with whom he had three demigod daughters. Muhammad's clan of Qurayash worshiped this supreme moon god, who was represented by a black stone that was supposedly sent from heaven (possibly a piece of meteorite), and kept in the pagan religious temple in Mecca, the Ka'aba --originally a Babylonian place of worship called the Beit-Allah (�House of Allah�) -- along with hundreds of other stones representing the other gods. Once converted to Islam, Muhammad also converted the Ka'aba to an Islamic religious center and cast out all but the black stone, which remains to this day -- a remnant of the pagan view of Allah. (The crescent moon of the Meccan Allah also remains a Muslim symbol.) Regardless, the Qur'an claims that the sun and the moon are not to be worshiped, but only Allah, who created them (Surah 41:37).

      Whether or not one can be convinced that Allah is one and the same with the biblical Yahweh ("I Am" of Exodus 3:14), if Muslims believe this, then that's what matters to them. The fact remains that there are three different religious systems all claiming to worship the same God and each claims the right path. From the outside, it would seem that all paths lead to the same God, however, according to the orthodox teachings based on the holy scriptures of each faith, only one is the true path and all others lead to eternal damnation. The Old Testament teaches that there is one true God (referenced by different titles, such as Elohim, Adonai, and Yawheh) and that the Israelites are his chosen people, through whom comes salvation to the rest of the world. The New Testament teaches that Christ is the Son of the God of the Old Testament and that he is the only Savior of the world. The Qur'an teaches that Allah is the God of the Old Testament (at least the first five books), but that both Jews and Christians have perverted the scriptures and reverence God erroneously. It teaches that Jesus, as a prophet in a succession of prophets, was not the Savior of the world, not the Son of God, and that he was not resurrected from the dead. From within each faith, then, comes adherence to only one path, believed to be the only way to God. Regarding this, the Qur'an plainly states, "Say: O unbelievers! I do not serve that which you serve, nor do you serve Him Whom I serve: Nor am I going to serve that which you serve, Nor are you going to serve Him Whom I serve: You shall have your religion and I shall have my religion" (Surah 109). Because Christianity is derived from Judaism, Islam treats both with the same condemnation. To the Muslim, Islam is a return to pure and untainted devotion to Allah, of which the Jews and Christians are the primary source of corruption.

      On this topic, it should be pointed out that nowhere in the Qur'an is Allah referred to as a god of love. The love of Allah is partial and conditional. He does not love the unbeliever (Qur'an 30:45), he does not love the sinful (Qur'an 4:107), he does not love the unfaithful (Qur'an 22:38), nor does he love those who transgress (Qur'an 7:55), whom he sends away (Qur'an 14:27). Unapproachable by sinful man, Allah accepts only those who purify themselves by their own will and effort -- and even then at Allah's own whim. In contrast to this, 1 John 4:7-21 teaches that God is love and loved us before we ever loved him. "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10). It is only through Jesus that God's love is complete. God earnestly seeks those who have wandered away and rejoices when they have been found (Matthew 18:10-14, Luke 15:1-7). It is not of our own efforts that we earn grace and mercy from God, but through acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ (Galations 3:1-14). "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit" (Galations 3:14). Allah is given the title of �Khayrul-Makereen� (�Chief of Deceivers� - Surah 3:54) and �Al Maker� (�The Deceiver� - Surah 13:42). Revelation 12:9 also refers to Satan as the deceiver of the whole world (KJV, ASV).

What is Chrislam?

      Chrislam is a worldwide interfaith movement to unite Christianity with Islam in an attempt to reconcile the two ideologies and bring peace between the two religions. In 2006, a group of Muslim scholars wrote a joint letter to Christians living in the U.S. entitled �A Common Word Between Us and You� in which they tied Christianity with Islam through a common love of God and neighbor. A response to this invitation came in 2008 from the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, which was signed by 500 Christian leaders and included an agreement to seek peace and reconciliation, to ask forgiveness from God (referred to as �The All Merciful One�), an atonement for the Crusades, and an apology for the War on Terror. The basic tenets of this accord include:

• Both the Bible and the Qur�an are divinely inspired books to be held in equal regards.
• Jehovah of the Bible and Allah of the Qur'an are one and the same god.
• Abraham is the father of both faiths.
• Adherents to one religion will not try to fully convert those from another.

      Although this movement seeks a form of armistice, it is one-sided and requires Christians to concede that their beliefs are in error and they are to be held accountable for a history of violence between the two religions. While Christian pastors are encouraged to allow Muslim Imams to speak in their services, nowhere are Christians invited to speak in mosques. The only way to be at peace with Islam is to fully accept Islam. The Qur�an encourages both Jews and Christians to converse with Muslims, albeit with the intent to come to an understanding that all should worship none but Allah (Surah 3:64). It is difficult, if not impossible, to trust Muslims because they practice Taqiyya (Surah 16:106), whereby they are allowed to lie to non-Muslims in order to deceive them. 2 Corinthians 4:2, on the other hand, says that Christians do not use deception, but share the word of God plainly. The Qur'an also says that Muslims are not to associate with Christians or Jews: �O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.� (Surah 5:51)

      Islam denies that Jesus is the Son of God and curses those who teach this (Surah 9:30). One of the daily prayers includes reciting �In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Say, he is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal. He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none comparable to Him.� There is no compromise between Christians and Muslims unless Christians renounce Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

      For more online information about Islam, visit the following websites. The acronym PBUH means "peace be upon him," a term of respect used each time the name of a Muslim prophet is mentioned.

Al-Islam.org
"Welcome to Al-Islam.org. We invite you to begin a journey of clicks to explore this site thoroughly. We hope that this journey is a source of education and enlightenment. If you are not a Muslim, then let this site serve as a means of introducing Islam to you, and provide you with options for exploring the beauty of this religion further. If you are a Muslim, then let this site serve as a repository for advancing your knowledge about Islam further."

AnsweringIslam
"A Christian-Muslim Dialog -- We want that Muslims come to faith because they become convinced of the truth of the Gospel through the soundness of the material we present, and we want our Christian brothers and sisters to develop their convictions about their own faith and about Islam for the same reasons: Because it is true. The sad thing is, not everything that evangelical Christians write about Islam is true (not even everything they write about the Bible and the Christian faith). We would not doubt their Christian faith, but we cannot agree with their statements about Islam. We cannot recommend their writings just because they are Evangelicals, and to remain consistent we do not want others to believe us, just because we wear that label. The same holds for the question of academic qualifications. Some of our authors are teaching Theology, Religious Studies or even Islamic Studies at Universities. But there are too many professors of Islamic Studies who spread false information about Islam, while some self-taught laymen have a much deeper understanding. Evaluate the quality of our writings for yourself, and do not fall into the fallacy of appeal to authority."

Ask A Muslim
"We are a group of Muslims based in Columbus, OH, USA. We are dedicated to educating you about Islam, giving you a chance to hear about Islam from practicing Muslims. We invite people to have an open discourse with us. All we ask you to do, is ask us whatever questions you have about Islam, and we'll gladly and honestly answer them. We believe that clearing up the many misconceptions about Islam will make this world a better place. A place with less violence and hatred, filled with mutual respect and understanding."

A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam
"This Islamic guide is for non-Muslims who would like to understand Islam, Muslims (Moslems), and the Holy Quran (Koran). It is rich in information, references, bibliography, and illustrations. It has been reviewed and edited by many professors and well-educated people. It is brief and simple to read, yet contains much scientific knowledge. It contains the whole book, A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, and more."

Crescent Project
"Crescent Project's mission is to inspire, equip and serve the Church to reach Muslims with the Gospel of Christ for the Glory of God. It is our vision to see a day when fear is replaced with love and millions of Christians are actively sharing the truth of Christ with millions of Muslims for the glory of God. We do this through prayer, training, local outreach, and short-term trips."

Fontiers
"With love and respect, inviting all Muslim peoples to follow Jesus. God loves all people of every tribe, nation, and tongue. We�re all made in His image and all are capable of knowing, and receiving God�s love and grace. No matter what tribe or nation you come from."

Holy Qur'an Resources on the Internet
"In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful... The Qur'an comprehends the complete code for the Muslims to live a good, chaste, abundant and rewarding life in obedience to the commandments of Allah, in this life and to gain salvation in the next. It is the "chart of life" for every Muslim, and it is the "constitution" of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth... The Holy Qur'an says that no man will be able to forge even a part of it and that no corruption shall touch it from any side. It is a miracle that the Holy Qur'an has remained unchanged and unaltered during all these 1400 years and it shall remain so till the Day of Resurrection, for Allah, has taken it on Himself to protect it... For easy dailiy recitation, the Qur'an is divided into thirty equal parts. One part takes only twenty-four reading minutes, and the whole Book requires twelve reading hours. There are 114 chapters, and 6,226 verses, containing 99,464 words made up of 330, 113 letters."

Investigating Islam
"Why Should I Investigate Islam? Because if you fail to do so you could be sinning by deliberately keeping yourself ignorant. It's a big sin in Islam. Even if other religions regard it as a virtue they are wrong and God will take you to account for not making proper use of the mind He gave you. Why haven't you done so yet? Could it be that you have only ever got your information about Islam from the sensationalist media? Well maybe it's time to take your information from somewhere else. Could it be that you simply can't be bothered to look into religion? Well maybe you are just generalising your negative impressions of religion without any good justification. All religions are not the same. If you have any interest in the future of this planet you should find out about Islam. Islam is not only the fastest growing religion in the world but is now also the second largest religion in Europe and in the USA. Islam is the only serious alternative to the current amoral ideologies dominating the current world 'order' and it is to those who know about it the strongest moral force on Earth."

Islam.com
"islam.com is a humble effort to serve the spiritual, commercial, informational, communication, cultural, educational, economic, political and social needs of the worldwide Islamic community in the 21st century. We are dedicated to make islam.com an information portal site on the internet that is pure, clean and "worthy of its name", InshaAllah. Three "i"s, "islam", "information" and the "internet" are going to have a profound and global impact on society in the 21st century. We believe that the future of the Muslim world is dependent upon educating and training our youth according to the true teachings and values of Islam. We are dedicated to the goal of encouraging them to use their God given talents in pursuit of scientific and technological breakthroughs to become the future architects of the new global community. We also believe that we can help businesses all over the world in promoting and selling their products on a global scale. This will raise the standard of living in many developing and underdeveloped nations. islam.com is dedicated to promoting understanding of Islam and Muslim people by providing accurate, unbiased and balanced information."

Islamic Academy
"Islamic Academy is dedicated to increase Islamic knowledge to the Muslims all over the world. Knowledge is a very powerful tool to understand and practice Islam. Proper knowledge and practice helps to create fear of ALLAH in a Muslim's heart, leads to ALLAH Ta'ala's favors, and finally the most desired destination of Akherat, the Jannat. Islamic Academy teaches Islamic ways of Ahelsunnat wal jamat, by books & audio publications, local Islamic Centers and through this website."

The Islamic Garden
"Death is the inescapable reality that hovers over the head of each one of us. The things that motivate the human soul like children, the oppressed, the pursuit of eradicating poverty and building up fractured families, as well as the many issues surrounding woman; her rights and duties are explored on this site. We can strive on the path of knowledge all our lives through, and never complete our learning. If sought with a pure intention to seek the pleasure of Allah, seeking knowledge will be a means of reward for us in this life and the next. May Allah bless this site for all those who sincerely seek knowledge of Islam, for His sake."

Islamic Interlink
"The Islamic Interlink project is at present an attempt to catalog and index Islamic content on the Internet and to make it easily accessible to all. It is our hope that this will be a useful resource for Muslims everywhere, as well as a useful tool for anyone trying to access Islamic materials. Alhamdulillah, the current site is the product of months of development, and all entries are carefully reviewed. We hope to continue to improve this site by expanding the index, improving the search functionality, and working with maintainers of Muslim sites everywhere."

Islamic Server of MSA-USC
"In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful, The Muslim Students Association at USC welcomes you! The MSA of USC is a student organization comprised of Muslim students attending USC. It is part of a nationwide network of MSA's distributed across hundreds of universities, colleges, and even high schools. The first MSA's were established in the East and northern Midwest back in the 1960's. The idea spread rapidly, and eventually found its way to southern California, where in 1969, the MSA of USC was formed, serving not only USC but the entire Los Angeles area as well (yes, even our brothers and sisters at UCLA)."

Islam101.com
"Islam 101 is an educational site on Islam, its way of life, civilization and culture. It includes an introductory course on Islam and presents Islamic views on contemporary issues."

IslamOnline.net
"Welcome to your site, Islam Online, which was created for you and is enriched by your presence and becomes more effective the more you visit. In this site, we strive to provide you with all the information you need about Islam and its civilizations, the universe and its changes, current affairs and their analyses, and general information and services that one cannot do without in the 21st century. This site aims to present a unified and lively Islam that keeps up with modern times in all areas. Our motto is: credibility and distinction. Our goal is for this site to be worthy of your trust. To reach our goal, a committee of the major scholars throughout the Islamic world, headed by Dr. Yusuf Qardawi, was formed. Its role is to ensure that nothing on this site violates the fixed principles of Islamic law (Shar'ia). The committee includes experts in politics, economics, the media, sociology, technology, the arts, and other fields, all of whom are committed to participate in the Islamic Renaissance in all fields and at all levels. The Internet has opened in the opportunities for communication, and we pledge to use them to achieve the highest levels of integrity and precision in content and in creative professionalism in design. We will work for the credibility of the site's contents, information, and ideas and gain the distinction that will make it attractive and acceptable."

Islam Pure & Clear
"All praise is to Allaah, we praise Him, seek His aid, and ask His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allaah from the evils of ourselves, and from the bad consequences of our deeds. Whoever Allaah guides there is none to take astray, and whoever Allaah takes astray there is none to guide. I testify that there is no God except Allaah alone without any associates, and I testify that Muhammad, is His bondservent and messenger, may Allaah's blessings and peace be upon him and upon his family and companions and whosoever follows in his footsteps till the last day. Indeed the best speech is the Book of Allaah and the best guidance is the guidance brought by Muhammad. The most evil of matters is the innovated one. Every innovation is bid'ah. Every bid'ah is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire."

Islam Q&A
"Welcome to Islam Question & Answer! This site aims to provide intelligent, authoritative responses to anyones question about Islam, whether it be from a Muslim or a non-Muslim, and to help solve general and personal social problems. Responses are composed by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid, a known Islamic lecturer and author. Questions about any topic are welcome, such as theology, worship, human and business relations, or social and personal issues... With the spread of Islam world-wide walillah il-hamd and its diffusion into the internet, some sites have been published claiming to serve Muslims and to speak in the name of Islam. However, not all of these sites, which discuss issues relevant to Islam, present accurate and reliable information based on the true beliefs and practices of the Prophet (peace & blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions. Thus, there is a need to increase the number of sites providing resources based on these authentic teachings. It is hoped that this site will be among them. The objectives of Islam Q&A include: to teach and familiarize Muslims with various aspects of their religion; to be a source for guiding people to Islam; to respond to users questions and inquiries to the best of our resources and capabilities; to assist in solving the social and personal problems of the Muslims in an Islamic context. It was decided to make the site all-encompassing, directed towards Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Subject areas include, but are not limited to, Islamic fiqh and jurisprudence, Islamic history, Islamic social laws (including marriage, divorce, contracts, and inheritance), Islamic finance, basic tenets and aqeedah of the Islamic faith and tawheed, and Arabic grammar as it relates to the Quran and Islamic texts... A database organized by subject areas, containing common as well as previously asked questions, is available for exploring, either by browsing the entire contents or specific subject areas, or by searching for specific keywords."

Islam: The True Religion of GOD Almighty
"There are only 10 million Muslims in the total population of the United States of America. I found it very disturbing that the Internet has such a large amount of ANTI-ISLAMIC web sites. I became very disturbed by the overwhelming number of Christians in the United States who openly ridiculed my religion. I came to realize, without any doubt, that Islam is indeed the true religion of GOD Almighty. I made the decision to take it upon myself to defend my religion with the best of my ability. I believe any loyal, good, and faithful person to his religion and people would do the same. I didn't come to the U.S. to battle Christians. When I was back home I didn't even think about Christianity. I found myself thrown into this battle of religions after coming to the United States and I have no choice but to defend my religion. The last thing I want to happen is for our young Muslim brothers and sisters born in the U.S. is to be influenced by information on the Internet that does not present the real truth about both sides: Islam and Christianity."

Islam World
"If anyone has a real desire to be a Muslim and has full conviction and strong belief that Islam is the true religion ordained by Allah for all human-beings, then, one should pronounce the "Shahada", the testimony of faith, without further delay. The Holy Qur'an is explicit on this regard as Allah states: "The Religion in the sight of Allah is Islam." (Qur'an 3:19) In another verse of the Holy Qur'an, Allah states: "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (Submission to Allah), Never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost." (Qur'an 3:85) If a person does not pronounce the Shahada and enter Islaam, we cannot say that he is a Muslim, even if he admired Islaam and recognized that it the best religion, a great religion, and so on. Abu Taalib, the uncle of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died a kaafir (non-Muslim), and Allaah forbade His Prophet to pray for forgiveness for him, even though he used to defend the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said in his poems: "I do know that the religion of Muhammad is better than all other religions of mankind; were it not for fear of blame or slander, you would find me accepting it completely." "

iviews.com
"iviews.com is an interactive publication that focuses upon providing timely reporting and insightful analysis and commentary on issues and events of importance to Muslims. While the publication is written from a Muslim perspective, its focus is not religious. Rather, iviews.com simply strives to add balance and objectivity to an otherwise homogenous media pool. Through expanded news coverage of the Muslim world, in depth analysis of world, national and local issues and enlightened intellectual perspectives, iviews.com works to bring to the fore, issues that might have received only cursory attention from typical media sources."

jannah.org
"A note about Islam and the Internet: Over the course of 7 years and developing this website I have some observations for Muslims and those seeking information about Islam: First, BE CAREFUL about what you read. I've been through hundreds of sites and it is amazing that some will say "TRUE ISLAM" or even have nice Islamic titles, and they turn out to be wack information pages [many written by people against Islam]. You want to read "the other side", you say. Why read a page on Islam by a non-Muslim? Most contain inaccuracies, misconceptions and strategically present Islam in a bad light on purpose without giving the complete explanation and understanding of issues. Learn about Islam with an open mind from the sources of Quran and Sunnah and practicing Muslims and decide FOR YOURSELF what you think about it. The nature of the internet is such that anyone can publically advance their views freely [a good thing] and claim to be anything, but make sure what you are reading is from authentic Muslim sources. The internet should only be used as a resource and anything suspect should be checked out and explored; better sources being your local Imam, knowledgable Muslims, Mosque, Islamic center or Muslim Students Association."

Just Another Qur'an Browser
"Since the Qur'an is in Arabic, Qur'an translations are important for helping non-Arabic speakers understand its meanings. However, each translator brings with it his/her own ideas, prejudices and agenda into each translation, thus having different translations and the original for comparison in an easily accessible manner is a very important tool for uncovering the original intended meaning of each passage. There are many Qur'an browsers on the internet, but the Qur'an Browser by Richard Goerwitz is one of the best. This used to be hosted at the STG at Brown University. Some of the good features of that browser include: the ability to view several passages at the same time; the ability to choose and compare different translations in an easy to read side-by-side manner; it is fast and reliable; it can take your webpage with references and convert all Qur'anic references to html links; it also has many typographical corrections not found in other Qur'an browsers."

Musalman
"Dearest Muslim Brothers and Sisters, We are very pleased to have the opportunity to serve you. We are dedicated to providing an on-line gathering community of Muslims. To this end, we: help Muslim surfers find Islamic sites of interest using our superb search engine; provide a directory with links to excellent sites, making it easy to find information regarding Islam; provide event listings for free, from all areas around the world; offer advertising opportunities for our Muslim Brothers and Sisters; offer timely articles and up to date information. You may wonder why we chose the name Musalman for this important work. Our inspiration comes from the famous poet Alamah Iqbal whose "Mardi Musalman" ("The Man of Belief") poem describes the nature of the "Musalman" or Muslim."

Nation of Islam
"During the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's initial 44 years, he suffered persecution and rejection from the very people among whom he was appointed as a Servant of God. He was rejected and despised by the 10 percent leaders of America and the world because he revealed a Greater Truth and Wisdom that would end the old world of Satan's rule and dominion. He was not self-taught or self-made but ONE MIGHTY IN POWER had taught him what he knew not. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad had never received any more than a fourth grade education, yet his heart was true in what he saw and he saw the greatest of the Signs of his Lord. The more converts that he made in the cities, in the by-ways, and in the highways of this land, along with receiving honor and fame abroad, the powerful leaders and rulers of this world grew in opposition. As the baby Nation of Islam came to birth in America, the world rulers were shaken in their foundation to learn of this miraculous achievement, and are today frustrated in plans to prevent our survival. The theme of the Holy Qur'an and Bible that most clearly defines this struggle is revealed in the history of Pharaoh's opposition to Moses and Aaron in the delivery of Israel in bondage in Egypt. The Nation of Islam was founded on the basis of peace and as an answer to a prayer of Abraham to deliver his people who would be found in servitude slavery in the Western Hemisphere in this day and time... In spite of the controversy and clamor surrounding the Nation of Islam and it's Divine Leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan, we are forging ahead in the Spirit of Almighty God, Allah, to unite with all of humanity in the Oneness of God, where all people of goodwill of every Race and of every Nation may participate in the Universal Expression of the Principles of Peace and the Brotherhood of man. This is the Beautiful Community of the Nation of Islam that is coming to birth in America on this Farthest Western Horizon in fulfillment of the Prophecy that God would meet with Muhammad for a second time and reveal to His servant What He Revealed. Thus the world is witnessing the Sun of Islam arising in the West. Praise the Holy Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful."

Prophet Muhammad
"Welcome to www.muhammad.net - an educational website on the biography, mission and the message of Muhammad (peace be on him), the last prophet of Islam. Islam is the religion, the way of life of Muslims of the world. There are over one billion Muslims spread across the globe in all nationalities, languages and ethnic backgrounds. Islam was the religion of the first couple, Adam and Eve. It was also the religion of messengers of God like Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. The essence of their message was the same: Believe and obey the One true God and obey His messengers. Jesus (peace be on him) was the second-last prophet of God. He foretold the coming of the last Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). While the mission of the earlier messengers was generally limited to their own communities, prophet Muhammad's message and mission is universal and timeless till the end of this world... Muslims are those who declare that there is no deity except Allah (arabic for God) and that Muhammad is His messenger. They submit fully in obedience to Allah and mould their lives according to the teachings of the Holy Quran and prophet Muhammad."

The Religion of Islam
"Islam is a religion based on the surrender to God who is One. The very name of the religion, AL ISLAM in Arabic, means at once submission and peace, for it is in submitting to God's Will that human beings gain peace in their lives in this world and in the hereafter. 'Mohammedanism' is thus a misnomer because it suggests that Muslims worship Muhammad (pbuh) rather than God. 'Allah' is the Arabic name for God, which is used by Arab Muslims and Christians alike. The message of Islam addresses itself to humanity's most profound nature. It concerns men and women as they were created by God--not as fallen beings. Islam therefore considers itself to be not an innovation but a reassertion of the universal truth of all revelation which is God's Oneness. This truth was asserted by the prophets of old and especially by Abraham (peace be upon him), the father of monotheism. Islam reveres all of these prophets including not only Abraham, who is the father of the Arabs as well as of the Jews, but also Moses and Christ (peace be upon them). The Prophet and Messenger of God, Muhammad (pbuh) was the last of this long line of prophets and Islam is the last religion until the Day of Judgment. It is the final expression of the Abrahamic tradition. One should in fact properly speak of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition, for Islam shares with the other Abrahamic religions their sacred history, the basic ethical teachings contained in the Ten Commandments and above all, belief in the One God. And it renews and repeats the true beliefs of Jews and Christians whose scriptures are mentioned as divinely revealed books in Islam's own sacred book, the Qur'an."

The Religious Movements Homepage Project - Islam
"Begun in 1996 in conjunction with a course on new religious movements which Prof. Jeffrey K. Hadden had taught at the University of Virginia for more than twenty years, the Religious Movements Homepage Project has grown into an Internet resource for teaching and scholarship that is widely acknowledged as among the finest in the world."

Sharif.org
"Using the Bible, the Qur'an, other early sources from history, as well as Muslim-Christian dialogue and debate material, this website will enable the truth-seeker to decide the truth... The sole purpose of why I have built this website is to convince the truth-seeker that Islam is the choice for anyone as it has left many converts theologically satisfied than with Christianity."

The Truth In Love Project
"A Christian pastor and former Muslim, Shahram Hadian travels around the nation speaking on critical issues facing us as Americans. The simple mission of The TIL Project is to courageously speak the �truth in love� on issues such as...

• The true goal of Islam and threat of Shari�ah Law in America
• Exposing the lie of Chrislam (false claim that Christianity and Islam have a common god and a common word)
• Restoring our Constitutional Republic
• Revival and restoration
• The need for courageous leadership in the pulpit and in our churches
• Restoring the 10 Commandments in our nation
• Sanctity of life and marriage
• Protecting our Constitution and the rule of law from application of foreign law
• Protecting our 2nd Amendment
• National security
• Standing with the nation of Israel

2Muslims.com Muslims Internet Directory
"Our Site: The Muslims Internet Directory is home for 2Muslims.com, idleb.com and bosra.com. This website was established for the sake of God on Nov/1999 . We are growing up dramatically from less than 10 pages to over 120000 pages now. We have several partnerships to provide you with e-mail, search, community and a lot more. Our site is being updated on a Regular basis. Our site receives over 600,000 hits a month and growing. Our Mission: Is to provide a high quality, Islamic dedicated Islamic search engine for all Muslims to use. Our site is for everyone, we offer Muslims and non Muslims through out the world a collection of a very useful information and contents from all kinds with their ability to review and comment on every things they see on our site."

ummah.com
"Ummah.com is a humble effort to provide services for the Muslim community world wide. As well as anyone looking of information on Islam. We have a team of around 15 all around the world working to keep you up to date with news, articles and information on many aspects of Islam and more. Ummah.com is a new venture part of the Muslim Directory."

Understanding Islam
"This site epitomizes a movement. A movement to reform intellectual stagnation. This is an attempt to go back to the original sources of Islam -- the Qur'an and the Sunnah, in a time when blind acquiescence is in vogue. A movement to harmonize the sectarian disharmony. This is an attempt to ascribe to the term Muslim in letter and spirit in a time when sectarian cacophony is the order of the day. A movement to elucidate the word of God only. This is an attempt to separate the sacred from the profane, in a time when human interpretations have become Divine words incarnate. In our pages you will find us working towards these objectives by explaining Islam from various aspects and by responding to criticisms and queries. This in fact is an academic effort targeted towards understanding of Islam and any abusive or emotional attitude in its response will not be a deterrent. At "Understanding Islam", all our effort are directed toward clearing the path of truth -- as we see it -- from all intellectual hindrances, for the seeking mind. We sincerely hope that our efforts shall not only help in removing doubts regarding Islam from the modern mind, but shall also help in bringing our readers close to their Creator and help them in cleansing their hearts, minds and souls for the sole purpose of achieving the everlasting bliss in the life hereafter."

WhyIslam.org
"The 877-WHY-ISLAM project was launched in 1999 by volunteers associated with Islamic Circle of North America (I.C.N.A.). It derives inspiration from the following Quranic verse: �Invite all to the way of thy Lord, With wisdom and beautiful preaching, And argue with them, In ways that are best and most gracious� (16:125). The project�s foremost aim is to provide accurate information about Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world which is practiced by over 1.6 billion people across the globe. In doing so, it hopes to dispel popular stereotypes and persistent misconceptions about Islam and Muslims."

Reference sources: A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam (http://www.islam-guide.com/); "Chrislam Exposed" DVD by Shahram Hadian and the TIL Project; "Fast Facts on False Religions" by Ron Carlson and Ed Decker, ©1994 by Harvest House Publishers, pp 99-115; Gospel of Barnabas (http://www.barnabas.net/); Islam: The Origins of "ALLAH" by Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi (http://www.sharif.org.uk/allah.htm); "The Kingdom of the Cults" by Walter Martin ©1965, 1977, 1985, chapter 16, Islam: The Message of Muhammed, published by Beathany House Publishers; The Qur'an, translated by M.H. Shakir, 11th U.S. Edition, 1999, published by Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc.; The True Religion of GOD Almighty (http://www.aol40.com/ac.htm); Understanding Islam (http://www.understanding-islam.com/); "World Bible" by The Viking Press, ©1944, edited by Robert O. Ballou, pp 437-450.