Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross

by Norman L. Geisler, Abdul Saleeb

Answering Islam evaluates the claims of orthodox Islam from a Christian point of view, appealing especially to the Qur'an and the Bible. The authors, a Christian apologist and a former Muslim, provide apologetic answers to prepare Christians for ministry in the Islamic context. This second edition contains two new appendices, a new preface written in light of September 11, 2001, and updated information throughout.
"This book is a theological masterpiece, the most lucid and comprehensive theological analysis and critique of Islam from a Christian perspective I have ever seen. It is invaluable as a tool for understanding the most serious religious challenge to Christianity in the modern world." R. C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries

Genres: Islam, Religion, Christian, Theology, Nonfiction, Christianity, Cultural

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1993

About the author

Norman L. Geisler (PhD, Loyola University of Chicago) taught at top evangelical colleges and seminaries for over fifty years and was a distinguished professor of apologetics and theology at Veritas Evangelical Seminary in Murrieta, California. He was the author of nearly eighty books, including the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics and Christian Ethics. He and his wife lived in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I read on Islam (I refer to the first edition). I thought it was a very helpful introduction and critique, from a Christian perspective. Having studied Islam more extensively since then, there are plenty of subtleties and nuances to Islamic thought that this book ignores. But still, as a general critique, this book is solid. Its defense of historic Christianity at the end is very helpful, especially for the new Christian (with the caveat that the discussion on the Trinity gets into some problematic views on the matter). Like everything else, the Christian should not just use or resort to this book for his understanding of Islam. Both Islamic scholars and secular Islamic scholars should be read, as well as the (terribly boring) Koran and (utterly hilarious) Hadiths, if you want to love your neighbor in critiquing him. Loving your neighbor applies in the apologetic realm I think applies most to doing his position justice. Giving his position the most charity you can. Christians ought not fall into the trap of thinking that, for some reason, whenever a Christian critiques another religion or view point we nail it, but whenever another view critiques us they automatically misunderstand us. It is true that the vast majority of criticisms against Christianity are based on misrepresentations, so why is it a stretch to think that we don't do the same to other religions? Humans are sinful and lazy, and often, especially with Americans, we want the quickest and fastest refutation of a position. In fact, what matters is that it "works" in giving us cognitive rest, pragmatists that we are, not so much that it is careful and accurate.

As a shameless plug, for any interested, I critique Islam here . In the comments that follow there are links to an extended exchange with a Muslim that read my critique. I don't pretend that my critique is the paradigm of what I wrote on above, but I did my best in the short time allotted.

Anyway, I would recommend this book by Geisler as a helpful addition to your "Islam" section of your library.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah!! Finally a well written well edited book about comparative religions that uses primary sources and is still readable. This is one that I would recommend far above all the others I've read.

[Daniel Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this book and all I can say is, "wow." I feel like I knew practically nothing about Islam before reading this. Now I feel I have a pretty good grasp on fundamental muslim beliefs (and a Christian response to them). Highly recommended reading during these days, especially if you go through it with a copy of the Qur'an.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today, Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with over one billion adherents. That is one out of every five persons on earth. Islam is now reputed to be the fastest growing religion in the world. This text evaluates the claims of orthodox Islam and examines the evidence for the Christian counterclaim.

[Reader2007 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book for anyone wanting to understand the problems with Islam. It was pretty hard to get through, though. There are lengthy portions of the Koran quoted, which is helpful, but makes the book a hard read. It took me a couple months to get through. :-/

[Marti Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book I read for my Master's program. An exposition and evaluation of Islam from a Christian perspective, but one that avoids (and points out) some of the logical fallacies and cheap shots often made on both sides of this divide.

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for personal research - found this book's contents helpful and inspiring.
A good book for the researcher and enthusiast.

[Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

All around, this is a good introduction and response to Islamic doctrine, but it isn't without its issues.

One, the emphasis is very much on doctrine, while Islamic practice is relegated to an appendix. In my understanding, this emphasis is the reverse of Muslim thinking, which prioritizes the prayers and law-keeping over theologizing.

Two, there are a couple of brief theological issues -- neither of which were even relevant where they came up. First, Geisler and Saleeb define the persons of the Trinity as "centers of consciousness," which implies more than one will in the godhead. Second, they include a paragraph on the human Christ's peccability, which implies that Jesus' human nature was fallen. Neither of these issues really affect the book in a meaningful way, but they bugged me.

Three, the book gets to be fairly redundant by the end. Some of that is due to it's three part structure, in which Muslim beliefs are first defined, then addressed from a Christian perspective, before concluding with a section defending Christian beliefs against Islamic polemics. Each section repeats an amount of material from the last, which was tiresome.

All in all, this isn't a bad book. But I'm not sure it's what I would recommend.

[Jonathan Washburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduction
Islam is the world’s second largest religion, boasting more than one billion followers. The events of September 11, 2001, and the fact that there are currently more Muslim Americans than Methodists combine to make Islam even more “relevant” to today’s American Christians. In Answering Islam, Norman Geisler and Abdul Saleeb outline Islam’s fundamental beliefs, respond to them, and prevent a positive case for the Christian counterclaim.

The Basic Doctrines of Orthodox Islam
Though there are many rival sects within Islam orthodoxy, most Muslims agree on six basic doctrines.

Understanding Islamic Monotheism
“The strength of Islam is neither in its rituals nor in its ethics, but in its grasp of one great idea: monotheism.” The Arabic term “Allah” simply means God. The foundation of all Muslim belief is the absolute unity and sovereignty of God. Because of its “uncompromising emphasis on God’s absolute unity,” shirk – the act of assigning partners to God – is the only unforgivable sin. The Qur’an lists over ninety-nine descriptive names of Allah, but traditional Muslim teaching focuses on the following thirteen characteristics: Existence, Eternity, Perpetuity, Dissimilarity, Self-Sustenances, Unity, Might, Will, Knowledge, Life, Hearing, Sight, and Speech. God wills each of these characteristics, thus providing a unity to his character and actions.
Since God is utterly transcendent and incapable of being known, the starting points for reflection upon him are the order of nature and the order of life. “God’s creation of nature and man, and of nature for man, is his most primordial mercy.” God’s absolute control over every aspect of his creation leads the Muslim to a strong belief in determinism. Indeed, God even “willeth also the unbelief of the unbeliever and the irreligion of the wicked.” Though God’s mercy, power, and self-existence are important aspects of the Islamic view of God, his transcendent sovereignty is the cornerstone of Muslim theology.

The Islamic View of Creation and Man
Islam clearly acknowledges God as the creator of all things. According to The New Encyclopedia Britannica, “The universe is viewed … as autonomous, in the sense that everything has its own inherent laws of behavior, but not as autocratic, because the patterns of behavior have been endowed by God and are strictly limited.” Importantly, God’s creation is not limited to just the material universe. Belief in angels is vital to the Islamic faith. Muslims believe in four archangels and numerous lesser angelic beings. In addition to angels, Muslims believe in spiritual beings called jinn, a collection of good and evil beings that “seem to be halfway between men and angels.” Many Muslim theologians believe that Satan belongs to the jinn species.
While Muslims believe that God created humans, their view of humanity is strikingly different to Christianity. The Qur’an not only views humans as superior to angels, but also claims that sin is “not an irradicable part of human nature.” While Adam and Eve’s sin caused them to be ejected from the Garden, Islam teaches that humans are born innocent and sinless. Though humans are weak, finite, and prone to forgetfulness, all humans are born as true Muslims with a pure and free human will. As such, the purpose of man is not to know God and become more conformed to his character, but rather to “understand his will and become more obedient to his commands.” In order to aid in this process, God sends prophets to humanity with the call to submit to his sovereign will.

Prophets
Prophets are necessary because God cares for frail humans. Islam specifically recognizes five prophets among many to be the highest in rank: Muhammad, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Throughout history, God has raised different prophets which all encouraged his people to worship the one true God. The Islamic doctrine of progressive revelation helps to relieve the obvious tension between the messages of these five prophets. On the Islamic view, the Qur’an “fulfills, and even sets aside the previous, less complete revelations.” Any contradictions can be solved by the corruption of the sacred texts which reveal the messages of the pre-Muhammad prophets. Crucially, Islam views each of the prophets, including Jesus, to be a human. Many Christian views of Christ are flat-out rejected, including his death on the cross and his resurrection. Chief among all prophets is the founder of Islam, Muhammad.

Muhammad
Muhammad was born around A.D. 570 in Mecca. While he grew up like most other children, he avoided the polytheistic pagan activities that were common in Mecca. After receiving a prophetic call, which he initially feared was a Satanic vision, he converted his wife Khadija, his cousin Ali, and his best friend Abu Bakr.
Meccans initially rejected Muhammad’s message, and he was forced to flee to Medina to find new converts. In Medina, Muhammad took advantage a culture that was friendlier to monotheism, and gradually consolidated power. After the stunning victory at the Battle of Badr, Muhammad grew thirsty for more power and was eventually able to return to Mecca as a conquering hero.
Muhammad’s place of importance in Islam is undeniable. His biographical life impacts the routine of Muslims across the world as they seek to replicate his actions which were recorded in the hadith. While Muhammad’s divinity is rejected, he is viewed as superior to all other prophets for five reasons:
1. The Old and New Testaments both contain clear prophecies about him.
2. The language and teaching of the Qur’an are without parallel.
3. His miracles are a seal set by God Most High on his claims.
4. His life and character prove him to have been the last and the greatest of the prophets.
5. The rapid spread of Islam shows that God Most High sent it as his final revelation to man.
Muhammad’s prominence notwithstanding, the ultimate foundation of Islam is the Qur’an, which Muslims view to be the uncreated and eternal Word of God.

The Qur’an
A proper understanding of Islam is impossible without a proper understanding of the Qur’an. Muhammad gave these revelations orally to scribes which faithfully recorded its message. It is divided into individual chapters called suras which are generally arranged in order from longest to shortest. Importantly, any perceived contradictions within the text itself can be solved by the principle of abrogation – the belief that later passages render earlier passages irrelevant.
Suras written during the Meccan period had a “marked simplicity of concept” as Muhammad served to simply warn his audience of polytheism. Its focus on the oneness and transcendence of God the Creator prevailed. During the Medinan Period, Muhammad’s message changed as he became the “beautiful model” for all Muslims. Islamic ethics, law, and jurisprudence finds its basis in this period as well.
It is hard to overstate the importance of the Qur’an on an Islamic worldview. “Whereas in Christianity in the beginning was the Word and the Word became flesh, in Islam in the beginning was the Word and the Word became a Book!” The Qur’an should not be compared to the Christian view of the Bible, but rather to the Christian view of Christ Himself. It is not only divine revelation, but it is also viewed as a divine miracle. The book further laws down the best rules relating to “social life, commerce and economics, marriage and inheritance, penal laws and international conduct, etc.” Most importantly, the Qur’an reveals just how a human can escape eternal damnation.

Endtimes and Salvation
The core of the Qur’an focuses on the doctrine of eternal salvation. Though the details of Muslim eschatology are open to interpretation, most theologians agree on a main outline: humans die, endure various amounts of torment and punishment in the barzakh, rise from the dead and give an account of their sins, and then pass either into paradise, thanks largely to the intercession of the prophet Muhammad, or fall into the “Blazing Fire.” Most scholars agree that the majority of mankind will enter into paradise, and that God will only exclude humans guilty of shirk.
In contrast to Christianity, there is no such thing as conversion in Islam, since all humans were originally born Muslims. Rather, “the greatest challenge upon this earth is not so much to explore God as to remember that there is one.” The means to salvation are belief (iman) and action (amal). True saving faith has three aspects: “belief in the oneness of God, belief in the prophecy of Muhammad, and belief in life after death.” Essentially, Islam teaches that one can attain heaven through good works. However, assurance of salvation is elusive to the Muslim. This reality typically motivates the Muslim to continue in his obedience to God.

A Christian Response to Basic Muslim Beliefs
The Christian worldview offers a variety of logical and evidential responses to Muslim theology. Though Islam and Christianity seem to share some similar traits, the two are too disparate to provide any sort of ecumenical union.

An Evaluation of Islamic Monotheism
Muhammad’s view of God was clearly juxtaposed against his perception of the Christian’s view. God’s fundamental unity and absolute sovereignty are essential to Islamic theology, and his transcendence renders him to be unknowable. However, this understanding is not only philosophically flawed, but is also based off of a misunderstanding of Christian theology. It also leads to voluntarism; Allah becomes a victim of the famous Euthyphro Dilemma, and the Muslim view of ethics is crippled. As a result, many Muslims practically live as agnostics, since they are unable to relate to God in any real way. Further, the belief in God’s absolute sovereignty renders the Muslim an extreme determinist, a worldview with moral, theological, and metaphysical absurdities.
Logically, determinism forces the Muslim to acknowledge that God performs contradictory actions. In fact, the Qur’an honestly admits that God could have saved all, but simply chose to abandon some. This forces the Muslim to conclude that God is the author of evil, a moral contradiction that would seem to be unfitting of the definition of “God.” This extreme determinism has even caused some Muslims to deduce that God is the only agent in the entire universe, a deduction that leads to an awkward pantheism that feels out of place within proper Muslim orthodoxy.

An Evaluation of Muhammad
A prophet, though a mere human being, must have impeccable character. Islam argues for Muhammad’s impeccability, and gives five arguments for his superiority over previous prophets. First, the Old and New Testaments contain clear prophecies about him. Second, Muhammad received a miraculous call to be a prophet. Third, Muhammad, though illiterate, wrote the Qur’an, a miraculous holy book whose inspired words are without parallel. Fourth, God sealed Muhammad’s ministry with miracles. And fifth, his life and character validate that he was, indeed, the final and greatest of prophets.
However, the Islamic use of Scripture in support of these claims is both arbitrary and flawed. At best, the fulfilled prophecies are vague and speculative. More likely, they are completely misinterpreted. Further, the miracle claims attributed to Muhammad are dubious. None of the miracles fulfill the nine Islamic criteria for authenticity, and most of them were originally passed down more than two centuries after Muhammad’s death, likely in response to Christian and Jewish claims against Muhammad’s propheticity. “The evidence that Muhammad possessed a truly supernatural gift of prophecy is lacking.”
Even if Muhammad had fulfilled prophecies and performed miracles, his moral example was hardly perfect. His teachings on polygamy, and his own practice of it fly in the face of natural and moral law. He also devalued women, asserting that the majority of hell consisted of the fairer sex. Numerous times, Muhammad retaliated against enemies in a morally reprehensible manner, and his teachings concerning the general treatment of slaves, women, and children are quite shocking.

An Evaluation of the Qur’an
Muslims believe the Qur’an is divinely inspired, errorless and eternal, and the final revelation to mankind. Their defense for their holy book is premised on its miraculous nature. This defense consists of several planks: its unique literary style, Muhammad’s illiteracy, its perfect preservation, fulfilled prophecies, and the unity and scientific accuracy of its contents.
But is the Qur’an really a miracle? In the first place, even if the Qur’an were the most eloquent Arabic book ever written (and many Arabic scholars object to this claim out of hand), this would hardly prove that it is a miracle. If so, then are not the works of Shakespeare and Homer miraculous too? There is simply “no logical connection between literary eloquence and divine authority.” Further, many scholars are dubious to the fact that Muhammad was actually illiterate. Most Meccans of his day possessed a measure of literacy which would have rendered Muhammad to be entirely unusual. Even if he completely lacked formal training, his scribe could have easily stylized his language. Perhaps the most devastating argument to Muslim claim is the Qur’an’s suspect preservation. Less than two centuries after Muhammad had died, numerous divergent copies of the Qur’an existed across the Arabic peninsula. Uthman was able to destroy and consolidate the texts into one canon, but the fact remains: “while it may be true that no other work has remained for twelve centuries with so pure a text, it is probably equally true that no other has suffered so drastic a purging.” Similarly to Muhammad, the Qur’an’s prophetic claims are vague and speculative. Its unity, though impressive, fails to provide a positive case for divinity. And even if the Qur’an were proven to be scientifically accurate (again, the case is far from convincing), it would not necessarily be divinely authoritative.

A Positive Defense of the Christian Perspective
It is not enough, for the Christian, to simply present a negative case against Islam. It is important to juxtapose its falsehood against the truth of Christianity.

A Defense of the Bible
Islamic claims against the authenticity of the Bible are often arbitrary, inaccurate, and unconvincing. Most such claims fit into one of two categories: first, the Biblical text has been corrupted; second, doctrinal errors now permeate the text. Unfortunately for the Muslim, these claims are both inconsistent with their own view of the Qur’an, and contrary to the factual evidence.
To begin, Muhammad would not have asked his followers to accept a distorted version of the New Testament, but the New Testament of his day is substantially identical to that of today. The Muslim claims that the Bible is the Word of God, but he also claims that God’s Word cannot be altered. Therefore, the argument that the Bible has been corrupted is inconsistent with the Muslim worldview on divine revelation. While Muslims claim that there are many inconsistencies within the Biblical text itself, each claim is arbitrary and ultimately ineffective.

A Defense of the Deity of Christ
Muhammad argued that Jesus was not divine, and today’s Muslims assert that Jesus never claimed to be God himself. Yet, these Islamic claims are based off of both a misunderstanding of the Biblical text, and the names which Christ used for himself. When Jesus referred to himself as “I am,” the Jews immediately moved to stone him for blasphemy. A first century Jew could make few other more obvious claims of divinity than what Christ made in John 8:28. Even the Qur’an recognizes Jesus as the Messiah; since the Old Testament asserts that the Messiah would be God himself, the Islamic argument fails.
They further deny Jesus’ death on the cross, his burial, and his resurrection. Unfortunately, the evidence for Jesus’ death on the cross far supersedes any evidence to the contrary. The New Testament documents have proven to be reliable concerning this famous event, and the Muslim must stand against the majority of scholarship to make this claim. Indeed, “if the same critical bias accepted by Muslim scholars against the Bible were applied to the Qur’an, they would have to reject the Qur’an as well!” Ultimately, the evidence for the resurrection far outweighs the evidence for the Islamic view.

A Defense of the Trinity
The Islamic attacks against the Trinity are unwarranted, and are based off of a misunderstanding of the Biblical data. Muslims believe that Jesus was the literal, sexual offspring of God the Father and Mary the mother. Indeed, most Christians would likely object to such a belief. Yet, “the phrase ‘only begotten’ does not refer to physical generation but to a special relationship with the Father.”
Further, there are philosophical problems with the Islamic defense of God’s unity. “At the heart of the Muslim inability to understand the Trinity is the Neo-Platonic concept of oneness.” Despite the Muslim’s protests, it is possible to have unity without singularity, and many such analogies have been given to support the Christian concept.

A Defense of Salvation by the Cross
Muslims reject the Christian view of salvation for several reasons: Islam plainly denies that humans are depraved; Islam rejects Jesus’ death on the cross as an atonement for mankind; and Islam disbelieves that God would ever allow his son to be crucified. Yet, none of these claims hold merit.
As outlined above, the evidence for Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is overwhelming. Islamic disbelief is premised off of two theological concepts: sovereignty and depravity. Yet, the argument that “God would not kill Jesus in this way” is humanly devised intention for God that goes against the Muslim concept of God’s sovereignty. Further, Muslim arguments for what really happened to Jesus have all been debunked. “There is not a shred of first-century testimony to the contrary by friend or foe of Christianity.” Geisler concludes, “There is nothing contradictory or incredible about salvation by substitution. The Muslim mind should not have any more difficulty with this concept than any other mind. This concept is in accord with a virtually human practice.”

Conclusion
Islam simply fails to stand up against the claims of Christianity. Most Muslim claims to the contrary are based off of a faulty understanding of Biblical claims. The Qur’an actually urges doubters to go to the Scriptures in search of answers: “If thou wert in doubt as to what we have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading The Book [the Bible] from before thee: The Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt.” An objective study of the Bible would lead many Muslims to convert to Christianity.

[Nelson Banuchi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geisler and Saleeb provide a basic yet thorough introduction to the theology of orthodox Islam and its challenge it presents to orthodox Christianity.

As explained in the introduction, part one examines the Islam's fundamental beliefs, part two offers challenges to the claims of Islam; and part three provides evidence for the Christian claims against Islam. At the end of the third part, we are given five appendixes from covering Muslim sects and practices, the Gospel of Barnabas often cited by Muslims, common Muslim objections to the New Testament, violence taught in Islamic theology, and, finally and in particular, the Nation of Islam movement in America. Afterwards, is a glossary of Islamic terms and their meanings.

This is an informative read for those interested in understanding Islam, especially it's relation with the Christian faith. As we read in the introduction: "Since both orthodox Islam and Christianity claim to be the true religion, it is incumbent upon thinking persons to examine carefully the evidence offered by both and to make their own decision in view of the evidence" (p.12).

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A HISTORICAL, THEOLOGICAL, AND PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS OF ISLAM

Norman L. Geisler (1932-2019) was a Christian philosopher, theologian, and apologist, who was a co-founder of Southern Evangelical Seminary, and the Veritas Evangelical Seminary. He also taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Dallas Theological Seminary. He was a former president of the Evangelical Theological Society, but resigned in 2003 (when it did not expel those who advocated open theism). He says that his coauthor, “using a pseudonym, was reared as a Muslim in an Islamic country. His familiarity with Arabic and Muslim beliefs has added a very significant dimension to this book.”

They explain in the Introduction of this 2002 (revised edition; the first edition was published in 1993) book, "In this book we propose to do three things. First… we will attempt to state… the fundamental beliefs of Islam concerning God, creation, prophets, Muhammed, the Qur’an, and salvation. This will be expressed primarily through Muslim sources such as the Qur’an… the Hadith, and Islamic commentators. [Then] we will attempt to respond to basic Muslim beliefs in God, Muhammed, and the Qur’an… Finally… we will examine the evidence for the Christian counterclaim. Here argument offered in support of Christian claims be scrutinized… The appendixes will deal with special topics such as Muslim sects… Islam and violence, and Black Islam.”

They explain, “Despite some general similarities to the biblical version of man’s fall, there are some radical differences between the Christian and the Islamic interpretation of Adam’s transgression. Whereas in Christian theology man’s disobedience is viewed as a fundamental turning point in his relationship to God, according to the Muslim perspective this was only a single slip on Adam and Eve’s part that was completely forgiven after their repentance. It had no further effect on the nature of man and the rest of the creation.” (Pg. 44)

They observe, “In the Meccan and even some early Medinan revelations, we can detect a very friendly attitude toward Jews and Christians… After Muhammed was rejected by Jews and Christians, he took a different attitude toward people of the Book… According to the Qur’an, the reason for such a change of tone … is that the Jews in particular, despite their many blessings from the Lord… consistently broke their covenant with their Lord and repeatedly rejected his messengers… The specific charge against Christians is that they had blasphemously raised Jesus to equality with God. Furthermore, they divided themselves into various sects, and each sect ignored the light of their own common Scripture. Finally, their rebellion reached its limit when they rejected God’s final messenger, even though they secretly felt convicted of the truthfulness of his message.” (Pg. 58-59)

Of the controversial statement in Sura 4:157-159, they note, “orthodox Muslims have traditionally interpreted this to mean that Jesus was not crucified on the cross, but that God made someone else look like Jesus and this person was mistakenly crucified as Christ… Jesus was taken up alive to heaven without dying. As to the identity of this ‘substitute’ and the question of how this substitute was changed into the likeness of Jesus, Muslim commentators are not in agreement. Candidates for this individual have ranged from Judas to Pilate to … one of Jesus’ close disciples… others have insisted that God cast Jesus’ likeness on one of Jesus’ enemies…” (Pg. 67)

They acknowledge, “even though Islamic ‘sunna’ and ‘shari’a’ … play a fundamental role in the cultures of Muslim countries, much of the traditional and religious mores have been broken down in the past century due to the massive influence of Western culture on these lands… Also one can find a great deal of nominal Muslims in Islamic countries whose lifestyles are not in accordance with guidelines set by the Qur’an and the prophet. The same can be said of governmental laws that in many ways follow the more democratic and Western patterns of government as opposed to the strict obedience of Islamic shari’a.” (Pg. 85)

They recount, “during the reign of Utman, the third Muslim Caliph, Muslims were faced with another crisis regarding the Qur’an and it was feared that this uncertainty as to which Qur’anic reading was the correct one might … lead to great doctrinal confusion… [Muhammed’s secretary] Zaid [ibn Thabit] was called to head the new project of editing an official revised version of the Qur’an. After the production of the revised version… all the other copies of the Qur’an were recalled and burned by the expressed order of the Caliph Uthman.” (Pg. 93)

They explain, “the important Qur’anic doctrine of abrogation… which is closely connected to the Islamic concept of progressive revelation, arises… The Muslim theologian, Ibn Salam… writes, ‘Abrogation in Allah’s book is of three kinds. One kind is where both text and prescription have been abrogated. Another is where the text has been abrogated but the prescription remains. Yet another is where the prescription has been abrogated but the text remains… The doctrine of abrogation has also worked the other way around, especially among the Sufis… and in some small progressive Islamic circles of modern times. Some have argued that it is in the message of the Meccan period that ‘the primarily “religious” quality of Islam, the “essence” which prior to the political/military order at Medina, is enshrined.’ However, this view has not won any general acceptance among orthodox Muslims.” (Pg. 99)

They point out, “There is no assurance of salvation in Islam. From the very beginning of Islam almost all Muslims have feared for their eternal destiny… To many Muslims the lack of assurance of salvation is not considered a weakness but a reality that can motivate continued obedience… An exception to this is when one fights in a Jihad (Holy War). This gives the devotee direct access to heaven should he so serve in the cause of Allah.” (Pg. 128)

They argue, “there is a basic philosophical problem. In the final analysis for many Muslim theologians God has no (knowable) essence or nature from which one can distinguish his three persons (centers of consciousness)… God is absolute Will, and absolute Will must be absolutely one. A plurality of wills (persons) would make it impossible to have any absolute unity… However, this kind of rigid monotheism is not entirely consistent with some of Islam’s own distinctions… Muslim scholars, following through coqnsistently on certain teachings in the Qur’an, have made distinctions that would allow for some kind of distinctions within God’s unity.” (Pg. 139)

They assert, “Even Muslim commentators are forced to acknowledge that God performs contradictory actions… Many Muslim scholars attempt to reconcile this by pointing out that these contradictions are not in God’s nature (which they believe he does not really have), but in the realm of his will. They are not in his essence but in his actions. However, this is an inadequate explanation for two reasons. For one thing… God does have a knowable nature or essence. Hence, Muslim scholars cannot avoid the contradiction that God has logically opposed characteristics by placing them outside his essence within the mystery of his will… Others attempt to downplay the harsh extremes of Islamic determinism by creating a distinction, not found in the Qur’an, between what God DOES and what he ALLOWS his creatures to do by their free choice…” (Pg. 146-147)

They state, “looking at these [biblical] texts in their literary setting, will readily ascertain how they are wrenched out of their context by Muslim apologists, eager to find in the Judeo-Christian Scripture something that will show the superiority of Islam…. But they are guilty of the very thing they charge. Furthermore, Muslim usage of Scripture is often arbitrary and without textual warrant. Although Islamic scholars are quick to claim that the Scriptures are corrupted.. when they come upon a text they feel can be made to lend credence to their view, they have no problem accepting its authenticity. And this is usually done with total disregard for the textual evidence.” (Pg. 159)

They note that “Many Muslims … insist that there is no way a book with this message could have come from an illiterate prophet like Muhammad. Critics, however, offer the following reasons to the contrary. Some question whether Muhammad was actually illiterate… Furthermore, even if Muhammad lacked formal training in earlier years, there is no reason why an intelligent person such as he could not have caught up on his own later… Even if it were granted that Muhammad was illiterate, it does not follow logically that the Qur’an was dictated to him by God… his scribe could have stylized it… In this event, it is not implausible that even a formally untrained persons would have been the source of the Qur’an.” (Pg. 195-196)

They add in Appendix 5, “After the events of September 11, the issue of violence and religion has once again come into intense discussions and debate. It is our conviction that … we cannot ignore the religious dimension of this violence that goes back to the very heart and origin of Islam… While many Muslims are peace-loving, nonetheless, those who commit acts of violence and terror in the name of God can find ample justification for their actions, based on the teachings of the Qur’an and the sayings and examples from prophet Muhammed himself!... Muslims who take upon themselves to destroy their alleged enemies in the name of God can rightly claim to be following the commands of God in the Qur’an and imitating their role model.” (Pg. 319)

This very detailed and thorough book will be of great interest to Christians studying Islam.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent- I am learning what Muslims truly believe and how it does definitely differ from Christianity.

[Bledar · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want one resource to understand the Muslim doctrine vs the Christian one, provide answers for you and still be readable, this is the one. Enjoy reading it and using it as a resource material.

[Rob Marney · Rating 1 out of 5]

The longest and worst of the Christianity vs Islam books I've read. The summary of relevant Quranic verses and hadiths at the beginning is fine, but further in, Geisler drifts into an extended blog post responding to Muslim critics via third hand citations. The defense of Christianity is embarrassing, using the same sophistry and motivated reasoning that he just critiqued. For example, his defense of Genesis 1-2 includes rejecting evolution, recasting "above the surface of the waters" as water vapor, and saying the sun and moon were merely "made to appear" on the fourth day rather than created. When discussing the crucifixion, Geisler intentionally obfuscates the difference between "Jesus was crucified", "Jesus died", and "Jesus was resurrected" to make the incredible claim that the evidence for all three is overwhelming to the same degree, which is simply not supported by scholarship. For a book which trumpets the hypocrisy of Muslim apologists, he uses the same tricks and misunderstandings himself, which is very disappointing. However, his treatment of the Gospel of Barnabas in Appendix C is great.

One star is harsh, but even pop books about this subject will be equally accurate and much shorter and easier to read.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently I was tasked with covering the world religions in my church Sunday school class.   I pulled everything relevant from my shelves, and this one proved the most helpful. 


Notes:

At first Mohammad was deathly afraid of the source of his newly found revelation, believing that he was possessed by A JINN or evil spirit (71) Personal note: starts a pattern. Mohammad could not differentiate between angels and devils

The process of compiling the Koran  is reported by Muslim historians. According to Islamic tradition different fragments of the Koran  were revealed to Mohammad Verbatim by the angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years (90)

Mohammed by his own confession did not perform signs and wonders like Moses and Jesus did (150)

Have Muslims not taken seriously the possibility that Mohammed‘s first impression was the right one, namely, that he was being deceived by a demon? (156)

[Ro Cartes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, but sometimes repetitive. It took me a LONG time to finish (as you can tell) because it is very dense. But, in saying that, it has excellent information, plenty of evidence for Christianity, and a lot to go off. — however, it would be difficult to understand and grasp it all with one read. This is why I highlighted and tagged a lot of the book to be able to go back to in instances where I need those bits of information.

I do highly recommend both Christians and Muslims read this book.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Manipulative and deceitful. I highly recommend anyone reading this review to watch “farid responds” on youtube. He refuted the people behind this manipulative and deceitful book. This book was only made to belittle and lie about Islam in hopes a naive person will choose Christianity over Islam. Religion research should be received from unbiased sources, this book is completely biased and deceitful

[Austen Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

1 Peter 3:15 says always be ready to give an answer for the hope within you in a loving way. Well, this is the best book on understanding how Muslims view Christianity. I’ve been able to share Christ to my Muslim friends with confidence bc of this book! The author is very in-depth and emphasizes love over debate. Very good read.

[Micah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read on this topic, so I have nothing else to compare its accuracy to—but I really enjoyed it. The arguments seemed sound. Of course, my next step is to read all the refutations, then read more apologetics, and so forth...But I think this book helped me better appreciate a bit of Islamic thought.

[Godwin Oware · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so easy to read and very informative. There is a lot that I learned from this book; so much that I didn’t know at first before I read this. I would recommend every Christian to grab a copy of this book as it will definitely equip you to combat the issues that Muslims bring up.

[مریم مګدالین کلیسا · Rating 5 out of 5]

د اسلام اساسي بنسټونو لپاره یو ګټور پیژندنه. د اسلامي عقیدې سره د څه ډول اړیکو څرنګوالی باید د دې کتاب سره پای ته ورسیږي، مګر دا کتاب د پیل لپاره خراب ځای نه دی

[Ike Unger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very comprehensive look at Islam.

[Greg Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! So much vital Information. The book provides an excellent analysis of Islam as well as ways to share the gospel with a Muslim.

[Maegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a challenging, yet informative book. It pushed me to think while reading, and that was what I had been hoping for.

[Nicky Beyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found part 1 by far the most helpful and impactful part of the book. It was both informative and concise which are two things that I feel like don’t always go together in books like this!

[Asa Bondeson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely in depth

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many good points. The author is Arminian, thus I’d disagree on those related points.

[Shep · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful introduction to the basic teachings of Islam. One's study of how to interact with the Islamic faith shouldn't end with this book, but this book isn't a bad place to start.

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book, really digs deeply into Islamic belief and arguments against Christianity. Not a light read.

[ali niazi]

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