In Australia there is a large and growing Muslim population with ovre than 100 centres of Islam established around the country! Many Australians are succumbing to the Muslim and his proselytising (Da'wa) and are converting to the Islam. This is not unique to Australia only as Islam is today the fastest growing religion in many Western nations!

Beginnings: Muslims claim that the Islamic religion began in the 7th Century, when Jesus Christ was God, whose real name is Allah, gave mankind a new religion through the man Muhammad, who is now revered by millions as being a Holy Prophet.

Islam is thought of by its followers as 'the perfect religion' which they say combines the basic truth of all religions and enjoins it with new truths, thus making it, as they claim, the most complete faith system. It is regarded by its followers as 'The Universal Religion'. The name Islam means 'peace', therefore 'peace with God'. A follower of Islam is called a Muslim, which means 'obedient to God and peace-loving'. Obviously, to the non-Islamic reader this is an absolute contradiction in light of what has been occurring in the Middle East in the latter half of the last century and the ghastly and horrific terrorist acts being carried out this century!

Central Teaching: The core of Islam is found in Muslim's statement, "THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH AND MUHAMMAD IS THE MESSENGER [or prophet] OF ALLAH". To acknowledge the so-called  'truth of this statement', and then to profess it publicly is to enter into the religion of Islam and become a Muslim.

Beliefs: The following is a short list of the main teachings of Islam:

• Allah is God and is one and everlasting

• Angels are Allah's agents, working at his command and that the angel Gabriel is the Holy Spirit

• Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Confucius, et al were all sinless prophets in their time

• The chief of all prophets was Muhammad

• The Bible books of Moses, the Psalms and part of the Gospels; also other religious texts like the Vedas, the Zend-Avastas, etc., they say were all inspired by Allah. These writings are said to be originally pure, but they are no longer intact. Many of the basic teachings of these writings have been incorporated into the Quran - which some call the "Muslim Bible", although in the West it is more commonly known as the Koran.

• The Quran is claimed by Muslims, as being 100% the Word of Allah - but only if it has been written in Arabic! Any other language translation of the Quran are not acceptable to the Muslim. They say that the true meaning has been lost in the translating.

• There is life after death and a Day of Judgment for all people

• There is a Heaven, which is called Paradise, and there is a Hell. Hell is said to be a reformatory, for in the end all will be with Allah in Heaven.

Duties of a Muslim:

• There are five times in each day that certain prayers are required to be said by the faithful.

• It is a requirement to fast and not eat food during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan each year, for it is the Islamic Holy Month.

• Moslems are required to give alms to the poor. The legal requirement is to give one-fortieth of their income.

• To undertake to journey to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, as a pilgrim at least once in their lifetime, to engage in ceremonies and rituals around the Ka'ba Shrine, the most sacred shrine in the world for Muslims . The pilgrimage to Mecca is an essential part in gaining, or obtaining salvation for a Muslim.

Features of Islam

• Islam teaches equality of all races believing that all men are equal in the sight of God.

• Islam believes that it has the solution to the world's economic problems.

• Islam prohibits its followers from gaining interest on capital that is invested, thereby facilitating the equalising wealth

• It is a religious duty for both males and females to acquire knowledge of their faith.

• Islam does not allow the partaking of alcohol, drugs, or anything that may cause addiction. The only exception to the rule is for medication given to treat illness.

Sin and Salvation: Sin is punishable, but Allah forgives it. A sinful deed can be atoned for by a good deed. Therefore the Muslim sees himself as being righteous if he feels his good deeds far outweigh the bad.

Jesus Christ: Islam teaches that Jesus Christ was born fatherless like Adam. Some Muslims say Jesus did not die on the Cross, that someone else died in his place. Others say he only fainted. Some say that he recovered and left with his mother and travelled through Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, and took final refuge at the city of Kashmir, India, where they claim he died at the age of 110 years!

Jesus Christ, for the Muslim, is just another great prophet. They acknowledge that he was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles such as giving sight to the blind, healing lepers, and raising the dead. Some Muslims believe that Jesus is called the Messiah and that he will return to earth to fully establish Islam. Some call Jesus 'the Word of God' and, 'the Spirit of God'. However, Jesus is not seen as the Son of God, or as the Saviour of mankind. For someone to equate anyone with Allah, to the Muslim, is blasphemy, which is the unforgivable sin, with the claimant being worthy of death.

The Second Coming: Jesus' second coming was promised by Muhammad. Since Jesus died (which is a contradiction of some of the previous statements) the Messiah can only be another person coming in the power and spirit of Jesus. To add to their confusion the Ahmadiyya Movement, a small sect of Islam, believes that the Messiah has already come and that his name was Ahmad, who was born in 1835 at Qadian, in India, !

THE MAIN SECTS OF ISLAM

The Sunnis: After the death of Muhammad, a power struggle developed, as different factions within Islam vied to be Muhammad's successor. Four schools of thought emerged from that time which were;

• The Malikis

• The Hanafis

• The Shafi'is

• The Hanbalis

• Each of these schools accepted the Quran, the Sunna (or, the practice of the Prophet), and the four bases of Islamic Law, or Shari'a, which are:

• the Quran

• the Hadith

• the Ij'ma (the consensus of the Muslim community)

• the O'yas (the use of logical reason)

Those who accepted these four schools of thought came to be called Sunnis, who make up about 90% of today's Islam world of around 900 million people.

The Shi'a: The Shi'a Muslims regard themselves as the people of 'appointment and identification' because they differ with the Sunnis over who should be in leadership. Their leader should be appointed by what is called "The Cycle of Initiation" which they claim was introduced by Muhammad. It is their belief that their leader, or Immam, be invested with the qualities of the inspired and infallible interpretation of the Quran. Their first Immam was Muhammad's cousin, an adopted son, later son-in-law, by marriage to his daughter Fatima. The Immamis are said to be in direct descendants from this line.

They believe that the "cycle" will be completed with the "Messianic return of the 12th Immam". He is said to have withdrawn in the 3rd Century of Islam, but still gives 'Guidelines' to his agents on earth. These agents are known as the Mujtahidun, or the doctors of the law. The most respected of these are the Ayatollahs of Iran. They are the only ones who have the right to interpret the law and to make religious rulings.

There are two off-shoots of the Immamis. Firstly, there is the Saudis, who mainly live in Yemen, and do not limit the Immamis to being twelve (12) in number. Secondly, there are the Isma'ilis, who have developed secret teachings regarding the Immam. Within the Isma'ilis are also two smaller groups, vis: the Mizaris, who look to the well known Aga Khan as their Immam, and the Musta'lis, also known as the Bohora Muslims, who believe in a hidden Immam.

The Iraqi and Iranian War: For most of the 1980's a relentless war raged between these two neighbouring Muslim countries. The war was horrific and lasted as long as it did, because in the Iranian's Muslim mind, there could only be one outcome, victory for the SHI'A! The use of conventional weapons and indiscriminant use of chemical warfare resulted in an enormous loss of manpower by both countries - Muslims killing Muslims!

The Iranians claimed that the war was a JIHAD, or a 'holy war', which had to be fought to a conclusion. Peace was non-negotiable and was claimed by both sides. Iran's then Ayatollah Khomeini, now deceased, believed that he was leading a struggle "between Islam and all infidels". All who are not 'true' Muslims are considered to be infidels. He taught his followers, as their Immam, that "...the USA is the mother of all infidels" and is "the Great Satan". That horrendous war is now over with no winner!

Islamic Prophecy: Just as Christianity has its problems in dealing with prophecy, so too has Islam. The Ayatollah Khomeini believed that he alone had the task of bringing to pass the fulfillment of what was an ancient Islamic 'prophecy' which was given about 800 years ago! The prophecy stated that in the time of the end, the SHI'A, would be led by the IMMAM MAHDI (who many Muslims believed was Khomeini) in an uprising in which they would overthrow the less militant SUNNIS, and thus establish the Shi'a as the leaders of Islam in the world.

Incidentally, Ezekiel 38:5 mentions Persia and Libya, along with other nations, as being in an alliance that will come against Israel. It has been interesting to see the Muslims, who are not Shi'a, very concerned about not wishing to be dominated by the 'sabre rattling' of Iran, a Shi'a controlled Muslim country.

Israel, with one of the most efficient and highly trained military machines in the world today, has become the target of the Shi'a. However, if she remains strong she is the hedge that other non-Shi'a Muslim countries believe they need to be able to maintain their independence from the more militant Shi'a pursuasion.

Allah: Unlike the God of the Bible, Yahweh, Allah has done nothing for man that has cost him something. The Islamic religion makes no real provision for the atonement of personal sin. Salvation for the Muslim is never sure, and the product of that uncertainty is a works' emphasis, that motivates the Muslim to always seek to do good deeds in order to cancel out the bad!

On the other hand, Christianity is the revealing of God to man. Islamic theology is revelation from God, but not the revelation of God! Therefore ALLAH, the god of Islam, does not offer the Muslim a personal relationship with himself. The Quran never uses the word 'father' when speaking of God. The God of Islam therfore is an impersonal god and motivates his people by emphasising judgment, to the exclusion of love, thus using fear as the prime motivator, rather than permitting and extending grace as does the God of the Bible.

Muhammad: Islam's founder based many of his teachings on what has proven to be untrue and inaccurate interpretations of the Bible. Much of his teachings in the Quran are based on 'revelations' from Allah through the angel Gabriel.

Conclusion: A note of caution to the Christian who would witness to the Muslim. One should avoid condemning Islam, or speaking badly of Muhammad. Remember, even though the Christian may believe that they are wrongly taught, the Muslim believes in a one true god and in his laws. In the heart of every true Muslim, as stated, is a fear of God. Most Muslims have a sense of sin, but they have no conviction of same.

The Holy Spirit is the chief agent in winning anyone to Christ. In witnessing to the Muslim try to forget their at times militant and un-Christian ways and treat them as the human beings that they are. All who are lost are in need of a Saviour. Your words will be judged by your character, your witness and conduct will speak volumes to them. Build on the truths that they already know and most importantly bear in mind that all Muslims, like most people will respond to love.

Notes

Books of reference used in compiling the foregoing:

The World's Religions, by Lion

So What's The Difference? by Fritz Ridenour, Regal Books, Revised Edition,' 1979

The Cultic Phenomenon, by Daniel Markham, Albatross Books, 1987

Larson's Book of Cults, by Bop Larson, Tyndale, 1982

Introduction to Islam, by Dr Muhammed Hamidullah, IIFSO, 2nd Edition 1983, Malaysia

Islam in Focus, by Hammudah Abdalati, IIFSO, 1983, Lebanon

Islam the Misunderstood Religion, by Muhammad Qutb, Delhi

The Koran, A Translation by N.J.Dawood, Penguin Books 1983

The Koran, A Translation by George Sale, Warne, London