How does Islam compare with Christianity?  How are they similar, and how are they disimilar?   There are currently over a billion Moslems in the world, and it is one of the fastest growing religions in this country, I thought I would be beneficial to put together an abbreviated FAQ sheet.   More specific details are available at request. 

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What Moslems commonly think of Christians:

Christian theology is based on adoption of pagan trinities.  Their scriptures are polluted, evidenced by the numerous translations and claims of scholars that many verses were added or altered.  Deity of Christ is tantamount to idolatry.   Christians can’t explain the Trinity without having to resort to calling it a “mystery”.   Christian theology was the result of political expediency in Roman Empire in 4^th century and it was propagated by force, as evidenced by the Crusades.   Christians are morally lax, and have little spiritual discipline.   Incidents of ethnic cleansing and atrocities in the Balkans by Serbs is merely an extension of the ongoing crusade against Islam that was started by Trinitarians in the Middle Ages. 

What Christians commonly think of  Muslims:  

Muslims are a war-like people who are prone to violence and see no shame in committing acts of terrorism.   They fanatically follow their leaders, with no regard for the consequences of their actions.   Their theology has helped keep many Islamic nations in third world status, and civil rights (particularly the rights of women) are suppressed as a matter of policy. 

Where the Truth Resides

As in most things in life, debated and contested issues usually are filled with “half-truths” and misunderstandings of opposing opinions.  Mohammed rightfully reacted to the paganism around him, consisting mostly of polytheistic Arabian religions, by condemning it and stressing monotheism.   He misunderstood the nature of Christianity, apparently thinking that the Christian trinity was God the Father, Jesus the Son, and Mary.    Likewise, he seems to have adopted the Gnostic view of Christ’s crucifixion, were only a phantasm of Christ was crucified. 

The criticism of the Old and New Testament by Moslems, does have some standing.  There are variations in the numerous codices, comparing the thousands of Greek manuscripts with the early church fathers for example.  The faulty assumption that many Moslem apologists make, however, is that “scripture” rises or falls on perfect typographical transmission.  It does not.   This insistence creates a huge problem for Islam, in that the Qu’ran itself had many redactions, emendations and changes.  The text of the Qu’ran was gathered from the memory of those close to Mohammed after his death.   There is plenty of documentation that there were tremendous amounts of contradictory fables, surahs and sayings that had to be sifted through.  Even after the Qu’ran was compiled, several versions were still being circulated.  Uthman, the Caliph, actually had to round up the variant versions and burn them to achieve conformity in text.  There is recorded a substantial amount of resentment by those who had been  close to the  Messenger, since they recognized that the text of the accepted Qu’ran was different from the surahs that they had heard and memorized in the presence of Mohammed while he was alive.

As far as the idea that Christians are morally lax, unfortunately, we have all contributed too much to that perception.  Other than what is communicated in state papers, radio and TV in Moslem nations, the only other measure that a typical Moslem would have is our TV programs that are picked up for syndication in other countries.  Enough said there.   There are huge parts of the world that think that when Americans are not bowing down to their three gods, they are indulging themselves on a California beach with the Bay Watch crew.      

Regarding Moslems being “warlike” one has to remember that out of a billion muslims, there are not a whole lot blowing up car bombs and the like.   It’s not really fair to use that stereotype, unless we want to accept that white men are serial killers and latino men typically carry knives and loiter on street corners.   The early days of Islam was dominated by in-fighting and war, but the zeitgeist of the world at that time seemed to be so everywhere.  During the middle ages, much of the culture from the classical Greek world was preserved from the “barbarian” west by Arabic scholars.    Other scientific advances from the Arabic culture are too numerous to even begin recounting.    Moreover, when it comes to being “warlike” most Moslems are keenly aware of the butchering throngs of European soldiers that invaded Palestine during the Middle Ages.   Based on what they view as Western Imperialism today, most middle Eastern Muslims would see very little difference between the policy of western Christianity then, and now. 

What we have in Common:

Christians, Jews and Muslims have in common the parameters of sacred scripture.    Although our books are different, and we view the others scriptures in a non-canonical status, having a written “measure” allows for a point of contact that is non-existent when compared with many other beliefs, such as New Age, Agnosticism, Atheism, and most polytheists.    The absolute in truth, morality, and world-view actually gives us more in common philosophically with Moslems in the Middle East than we might have with our non-Christian next door neighbor.