Dear Church Family –
The anniversary of 9/11 Monday has reminded us again of the problem of militant Islam.
Recently, two major U.S. cities, Minneapolis and New York City, have changed their noise ordinances to allow Muslim Mosques to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer over loudspeakers.
The problem is, it’s not just a call to prayer, it’s a declaration of Muslim dominance.
A.S. Ibrahim was born and raised in Egypt. He holds two PhDs with an emphasis on Islam and its history, and he is a professor of Islamic studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He reports for World magazine online that “there is nothing neutral about the adhan (the Muslim prayer call). It is an Islamic theological declaration with loaded and exclusively Muslim religious claims.”
He further reports that the decision of Minneapolis and NYC to allow the adhan to be broadcast “reflects not only the persistent attempts of political Muslim groups to advance exclusive Islamic elements into American society, but also the appalling ignorance of many politicians—especially on the cultural left—of what the ideology of political Islam actually entails.”
Which leads to the question, are Allah and God simply different names for God?
Consider the observations of Nabeel Qureshi in his book, “No God But One: Allah or Jesus?”
The God of the Bible is Triune. Allah is monad (only one).
The God of the Bible views all sin as separating us from God. Allah has a “scale” of sin—a few small sins are nothing to worry about.
The God of the Bible has revealed Himself to us and desires a relationship with us, even to the point of pursuing us. Allah has no interest in seeking a relationship with people.
The God of the Bible is like a father to His children. The Quran denies that God is a father and teaches Muslims to castigate anyone who says they are a child of God.
Jesus teaches us to turn the other cheek when attacked and to do good to our enemies. Mohammed advocated violence.
Islam is not seeking mere freedom of religion in America. They are seeking dominance.
The thought occurred to me this morning to use this news about the Muslim prayer call as a different kind of prayer call—a call to pray for missionaries and ministries in Muslim areas.
Sat-7 broadcasting Christian programming to Muslim countries.
Missionaries and Christians in Niger and Burkina Faso and Central Asia.
Christians and churches in Minneapolis and NYC.
I’m thankful to know and worship a God who loves me and cares about my life. And I’m thankful that many Muslims are turning to the true God through faith in Jesus Christ.
“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life — and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us — what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:1-7)
Because of Christ – Pastor Tim