One of the most striking things about Islam is that sincere conversion doesn’t matter to Allah, Inc. Muhammad himself taught that a captive only needed to speak the words of the shahada to avoid enslavement or death. Faith didn’t enter into it. Making submission (Islam) to Muhammad was your ticket into the club.[1]
This is 180 degrees removed from the teachings of Jesus. He taught His disciples that it wasn’t the rules they followed that saved them, but His grace offered to those who believed that He died for their sins, rose again on the third day, and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.[2]
Killing or enslaving people who wouldn’t convert wasn’t part of the Great Commission, either.
In its approach to the faith, Islam reflects the legalistic spirit that was attributed to the ancient sun-god, called Utu in Sumer, Shamash in Babylon, and Shemesh in Hebrew. As we noted previously, although the neighboring Canaanites called the solar deity Shapash, he was a she in Canaan for reasons we don’t know.
The great Amorite king Hammurabi of Babylon recorded his famous law code on a stela that features an inscription of Shamash handing the law to Hammurabi. Now, society need laws; besides making it possible for citizens to lead peaceful lives, a legal authority that enforces contracts is critical to economic growth and prosperity. Investors don’t like to risk money where they can’t bank on returns.
But building a bridge between this world and the next is different. Alone among the world’s religions, the followers of Christ have been taught that there is nothing we can do to cross the divide that separates us from an eternal reward. Salvation is by faith alone, because “none is righteous; no, not one.”[3] In a revolutionary departure from the Jewish origins of the faith, first-century Christians, most of them Jews, were taught that even the Law given to Moses was powerless to save them.
Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek [i.e., Jesus], rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.…
For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.
Hebrews 7:11–13, 18–19 (ESV)
The 613 mitzvot, or commandments, derived from what Christians call the Old Testament by learned rabbis like Maimonides, a twelfth-century Torah scholar, were summed up by Jesus of Nazareth in just two.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:36–40 (ESV)
Paul emphasized the point:
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14 (ESV)
Keeping the Law has no power to save us from our sins, but keeping the commands of Allah and belief in his “oneness,” a practice called tawhid, is the only hope of salvation for Muslims. Even then, they can’t be sure of their eternal destination.[4]
Sadly, since legalism is the bedrock of Islam, Muhammad and Islamic legal experts over the centuries have gone to disturbing lengths to justify bad behavior like theft, killing, and slavery, which, after all, was the whole point of caravan raids and the wars of conquest after Muhammad’s death.
The Quran does forbid unlawful sexual intercourse, but men are allowed four wives and married women captured in war.[5] Then there is the odd solution scholars in the Twelver Shiia sect devised that allows men to satisfy their lusts outside of marriage—the nikah mut’ah, or “pleasure marriage.” It’s a short-term contract to have sex for pay without committing fornication, justified by a single verse in the Quran.
And [also prohibited to you are all] married women except those your right hands possess. [This is] the decree of Allah upon you. And lawful to you are [all others] beyond these, [provided] that you seek them [in marriage] with [gifts from] your property, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse. So for whatever you enjoy [of marriage] from them, give them their due compensation as an obligation. And there is no blame upon you for what you mutually agree to beyond the obligation. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.
Surah 4:24 (Sahih International)
Sunnis dispute with Twelver Shia over this verse—not whether it allows pleasure marriages, but whether Muhammad later rescinded his permission for “pleasure wives.” Sunnis say yes, Twelvers say no.[6] (One Sunni imam from Manhattan told a reporter that mut’ah marriages are “prostitution with a religious stamp.”)[7] But either way, why was it allowed in the first place?
The answer seems obvious: to give a “holy” rationale for the pursuit of carnal pleasure. Hey, that’s what made Islam popular in the first place.
Another disturbing aspect of the legalistic spirit who sits on the board of Allah, Inc., is that it persuaded Muhammad to teach that deception, trickery, and outright lying is a holy calling as long as it’s in the service of Islam. The practice is called taqiyyah.
Koran 3:28 is one of the primary verses that sanction taqiyya: “Let believers [Muslims] not take infidels [non-Muslims] for friends and allies instead of believers. Whoever does this shall have no relationship left with Allah—except when taking precaution against them in prudence.” Al-Tabari (d. 923), author of a mainstream Koran commentary, offers the following exegesis of 3:28: “If you [Muslims] are under their [non-Muslims’] authority, fearing for yourselves, behave loyally to them with your tongue while harboring inner animosity for them…[know that] Allah has forbidden believers from being friendly or on intimate terms with the infidels rather than other believers—except when infidels are above them [in authority]. Should that be the case, let them act friendly towards them while preserving their religion.”[8]
So, according to their holy book, it’s perfectly okay for Muslims to lie, as long as it’s to non-Muslims—although, because of the long, bitter rivalry between Sunni and Shia, the minority Shia have often relied on taqiyya to hide their faith in Sunni communities to avoid persecution.[9]
Remind me again—why is Muslim immigration into Europe and the Americas a good idea? I don’t mean to spread fear or distrust without cause, but seriously, when this is a mainstream interpretation of verses in their holy book, how can any promise of loyalty or goodwill be believed?
Look, all of us rationalize to some degree. Every day, we do things we know we shouldn’t or could have done better, or we fail to do things we should. We constantly rewrite the script of the movie playing inside our heads to make ourselves worthy of the starring role. It’s easier to get through the day when we can picture ourselves as heroes.
In the same way, patriotic Americans want to see our nation as a force for good in the world, even though a lot of places would be better off if we’d left them alone.
Likewise, Islam has established a legal system that allows its adherents to claim that it’s a religion of peace and ethics, built on law. A close examination of its moral code says different. Whereas the Bible forbids adultery, lying, stealing, and coveting your neighbor’s stuff, Muhammad and the Islamic scholars who interpreted his revelations have crafted a legal framework that allows all these actions and attitudes while maintaining a pretense of holiness.
According to Jesus, even harboring thoughts of lust or hatred breaks the commandments against adultery and murder—an impossible standard, which is why His atoning sacrifice on the cross was necessary. Muslims, on the other hand, are free to fantasize all they want. By not acting on their dreams fueled by lust, hatred, or jealousy, they’re believe they’re doing good and earning the favor of Allah.
There is no way around this conclusion: By following the teachings of Islam, Muslims are freely and openly sinning in the eyes of God.
It can be disheartening to realize how radically different Islam is from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Think of the billions of Muslims who have been led to destruction by Allah, Inc., over the last fourteen hundred years. Jesus died and rose from the dead for them, too—although, sadly, Muhammad rejected both the death and Resurrection of Christ.[10]
The principalities and powers behind Allah, Inc., have been playing a long game of taqiyya on the Islamic world. Sadly, “I was misinformed,” will not be an acceptable excuse in front of the Great White Throne.
[1] Ibrahim, op. cit., 1–2.
[2] Ephesians 2:8–9; 1 Corinthians 15:1–4.
[3] Romans 3:9.
[4] Dr. Timothy Furnish. Sects, Lies, and the Caliphate: Ten Years of Observations on Islam (Kindle Edition, 2016), 1540.
[5] Sura 4:3, 28.
[6] “Temporary Marriage in Islam Part 1.” Al-Islam.org. https://www.al-islam.org/shiite-encyclopedia-ahlul-bayt-dilp-team/temporary-marriage-islam-part-1, retrieved 1/20/19.
[7] Betwa Sharma, “Islam’s Sex Licenses.” The Daily Beast, April 29, 2009. https://www.thedailybeast.com/islams-sex-licenses, retrieved 1/20/19.
[8] Ibrahim, op. cit, 203.
[9] Raymond Ibrahim, “How Taqiyya Alters Islam’s Rules of War.” Middle East Quarterly (Winter 2010), 3–13.
[10]. Sura 4:157–158.