At Contender Ministries we feature an apologetics section on understanding Islam.  We provide this information because we feel it's important for Christians to be informed about the false prophets and religions Christ warned us about in the Bible. 

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."  -- Matthew 7:15

These false prophets will deceive many, but if properly armed with information and the truth of the Bible, Christians can help to prevent those around us from being lost to deception and false gods.  As I sat this morning reading the news and agonizing over the increasing number of articles covering Christian persecution in Muslim lands, I came to the conclusion that Christians need to be aware of the true beliefs of the fastest growing religion in the world today.  We must learn how to witness to those lost to the teachings of Islam.  While it may not be politically correct to study Islamic beliefs for the purposes of evangelism, it is biblically correct to do just that.  How else will we point out the errors of a false prophet to those who are being deceived?  How else can we lead them to Christ?  Muslims will not be saved, if Christians retreat silently from the politically correct thought police. 

Widely unreported by the media, Islamic leaders are speaking out about their plans for the West.  While some would call these leaders extremists, they are actually very much fundamentalists.  Their views and goals are not out of line with their religion.  In fact, they spring from the very fundamentals of Islam!  The Qur'an says the following:

Sura 9:5  “And when the sacred months are passed, kill those who join other gods with God wherever ye shall find them; and seize them, besiege them, and lay wait for them with every kind of ambush: but if they shall convert, and observe prayer, and pay the obligatory alms, then let them go their way, for God is gracious, merciful.”

This is just one of the many Qur’anic passages and writings of Muhammad that instruct Muslims to slaughter en masse any who will not convert to Islam.  Verses such as this are especially troubling in light of an interview done recently with the Syrian-born Sheik Omar Bakri, founder and leader of the Islamic Religious Court in London.  In an interview with the London-based daily Al-Hayat, Bakri predicted that Western civilization and law would eventually succumb to Islam.

When asked how he felt about Muslims integrating into society, Bakri responded, "In my method of education, I am opposed to the idea of integration. We do not believe that it is permitted to integrate into the societies in which we live. I am not a supporter of seclusion from society, and I am not a supporter of integration into it. I am a supporter of interaction with society, by means of my religion and my belief, in order to change the environment, not to be changed by it..."

The interviewer went on to ask Bakri where he thought this life of estrangement would lead.  Bakri replied, "The life of estrangement will lead... to [a] change in the situation of the country in which we live, as the Muslims changed the situation in Abyssinia and Indonesia. Allah willing, we will transform the West into Dar Al-Islam [that is, a region under Islamic rule] by means of invasion from without. If an Islamic state arises and invades [the West] we will be its army and its soldiers from within. If not, [we will change the West] through ideological invasion from here, without war and killing." 

This invasion is under way throughout the United States via our schools and universities.  Muslim Student Associations are being established in every school across the country and, as their website states, their goal is to change the political direction of the United States by training more Muslims to serve in government.  Elementary school children are forced to participate in the study of Islam at their public schools.  Children in seventh grade classrooms in California were required to dress as Muslims, read the Qur’an, pray to Allah, and wage their own Jihad – all in the name of tolerance and diversity.  Most recently, a judge in North Carolina upheld a state university’s practice of compelling incoming freshmen to read a book about the Qur’an.  Of course, the book portrays Islam in a positive light and covers none of the violence and hatred that is being taught in the madrasas (Islamic schools) of many Islamic countries.  As Bakri said, "Either we preach to them [the West] and they will accept [Islam], or we will live among them and they will be influenced by our lives and will accept Islam as a political solution to their problems, not as an ideological solution".

In light of what the Qur’an teaches, I must admit that I would much rather people were influenced by the lives of Christians throughout the world.  There are billions of people in this world who have been conned into believing that Allah, the god of jihad, is going to save them.  There are billions of hardworking, decent, and kind Muslims in this world who need to know that Jesus Christ is the only one who can save them.  If we are to reach them for Christ, it is important for us to understand what they really believe.  Our workload is not getting smaller.  Parents, students, teachers, and citizens who believe that Jesus Christ is the savior of this world must be willing to reach out to these misled people, and fight against any influence on our governments that will limit our ability to do so.  In today's political and cultural climate, it's becoming more difficult to do that.  Satan’s armies are undeterred though, and we must be also.  Gone are the days when being a missionary meant packing your bags and going overseas for a few years.  The mission field is much closer than that.  It's down the street, in your schools, your local government and in the media coverage that shapes so much of our society. 

If you've never been interested in apologetics; if you've never felt the joy of sharing the truth with someone hopelessly lost in a false religion, now might be the time to start.  Don't be afraid to prayerfully seek out information on other religions.  It is through us, the saved of this world, that God will do His work.  Share your faith, and earnestly contend for it.  God is not willing that any should perish, because he loves all of us.  He loves Muslims – even Osama Bin Laden and the terrorists that now threaten our security.  We too, should love our own communities enough to learn about those around us, so that we might lovingly point out the deception in what they've been led to believe, and share with them the truth of Jesus Christ.

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