Across the globe today, Christians are increasingly being forced underground, barbarically tortured and killed by the tens of thousands – 100,000 per year according to a Vatican report – by Muslims who claim they are waging Jihad in the name of Allah in order to impose Sharia (Islamic Law). The words and deeds of a large number of Christian leaders, especially in America, reveal an ignorance of the true teachings of Islam and an unwillingness to boldly lead the disciples of Jesus forward in a way that follows what Jesus taught.
When Jesus said “Love thy enemy” he meant it – including the barbaric Muslim hordes across continents beheading children, raping women, and crucifying innocent people of many nationalities and faiths. However, this command comes with the logical and reasonable imperative that you KNOW your enemies, and respond accordingly. This is the same Jesus, after all, who admonishes His disciples to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. It appears far too many leaders of the flock of Jesus’ disciples are stuck on the “gentle as doves” part and may be forgetting the “wise as serpents.”
As has been detailed on many occasions at Understanding the Threat (UTT), Islamic doctrine is clear, and there is unanimous consensus by Muslim scholars from the very beginning of Islam regarding the definition of “Jihad” and its obligation to be waged until the entire world is under Islamic rule (Sharia/Islamic Law). Elementary and Junior/Senior high school Islamic text books across the globe teach what Al Qaeda, ISIS, and all the jihadi organizations say Islam commands. The most popular 7th grade text book in Islamic schools in America (What Islam is All About, written by Muslim Brother Yahiya Emerick) states jihad is one of the three “duties” of Muslims and “The word jihad is most often associated with the act of physically confronting evil and wrong-doing…If anyone dies in a Jihad they automatically will go to Paradise (p164).” It further states “There is no separation of Masjid and state for the object of the Islamic state is the establishment of the Deen of Allah (Sharia)…The basis of the legal and political system is the Sharia of Allah (p381).”
Al Azhar University, the most prominent and oldest school of Islamic jurisprudence in the world, has always taught the purpose of Islam is to wage jihad until the world is under Islamic rule. There is no authoritative Islamic text on the planet that states otherwise. That is the starting point for this discussion.
The Sharia (Islamic Law) also has unanimous consensus of Islamic scholars that lying to non-Muslims is obligatory in the pursuit of obligatory goals. Jihad is obligatory and 100% of all Islamic Law only defines jihad as “warfare against non-Muslims.”
In Islam, Mohammed is considered the “insan al kamil” or “the perfect man.” Mohammed himself said, “I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and perform the prayer, and pay zakat (agreed upon by Al-Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Ibn `Umar).” Then Mohammed waged war against non-Muslims.
Christians were, and are, commanded by Jesus to love God and their neighbors (Mark 12:30-31). No such proclamation exists in Islam. Islamic teachings state the only reasons Muslims “build bridges” with non-Muslims is to bring them to Islam. While Christians are called to bring the gospel to all people, they must do so with the knowledge and understanding of Islam so they can be “wise as serpents.” Today, Christian leaders are befriending Muslims naively and in ignorance of Islam, and the enemy is having his way with the Christian community because of it.
When the leadership of the global Muslim community published “A Common Word” it was a part of an international campaign to deceive and fabricate common ground between the teachings of Islam and Christianity that do not exist. Christian leaders who use this “common ground” as a base from which to open discussions with Muslim leaders do so at their own peril, the peril of their flocks, and at the peril of their faith.
Most frequently, Christian leaders meet Muslim leaders around the person of Jesus and the belief that we all worship the same God.
Islam teaches “Allah has no son nor father and Allah has no partners.” (Sura 112/Sura 19:35-36) Islam further teaches: (1) at the end of days Jesus will return and break all crosses and cast all Christians into hell for not converting to Islam; and (2) all Jews must be holocausted so that Muslims can enter paradise. These are universal teachings from Bukhari, the most authoritative Hadith scholar in Islam, and has unanimous consensus from Islamic scholars. [Sahih Bukhari Volume 3, Book 43, Number 656; Volume 4, Book 55, Number 657]
For instance, Sahih Bukhari Volume 3, Book 34, Number 425 states “Allah’s Apostle said, “By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, son of Mary (Jesus) will shortly descend amongst you people (Muslims) as a just ruler and will break the Cross and kill the pig (Jews) and abolish the Jizya (a tax taken from the non-Muslims, who are in the protection of the Muslim government).”
The same God who calls the Jews his “chosen” people cannot be the same God who calls for them to be holocausted so that all Muslims go to paradise. Nor can the God who calls Jesus his “son” and savior of the world have him return at the end of time to cast all Christians to hell for not believing he was just a prophet and not converting to Islam. Logic and reason do not allow these to exist coessentially.
The teaching in Islam is that no original Jewish or Christian texts exist, so all Torahs and Bibles are fraudulent. According to Islam, the Jewish and Christian scholars omitted, changed, and distorted the portions of the Old and New Testament which identified Mohammed as the final prophet of Allah. Furthermore, in Islam all prophets from Adam to Jesus are Muslim.
Entering into “Interfaith Dialogue” with Muslims without understanding the aforementioned information is to walk into a lair of wolves believing they are lambs. Since all of the interfaith dialogue in the U.S. is organized by Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas organizations – Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) – this further highlights the folly of American Christian leaders who enter blindly into these relationships.
Across American colleges and universities many Christian leaders are increasingly supporting Muslim Student Association (MSA) interfaith events, which may be the reason anti-Semitism is growing on college campuses. As a reminder, the MSA was the first national Islamic organization in America and was created by the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood in 1963. There are over 630 MSA chapters in all 50 states. Their purpose is to recruit jihadis and support jihad.
The effect of these outreach programs has proven disastrous.
Best selling author and internationally aclaimed Christian pastor Rick Warren is a good example of a naive Christian leader who has been duped by terrorists. Mr. Warren speaks at Hamas fundraising events for groups like the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). ISNA was identified by the U.S. Department of Justice as a fundraising source for the terrorist group Hamas. Muslim Brotherhood historical documents identify ISNA as the “nucleus” for the Islamic/Jihadi Movement in America in the largest Hamas trial ever successfully prosecuted in U.S. history (US v Holy Land Foundation, Dallas, 2008). When Mr. Warren invoked the Muslim prophet “Isa” (Jesus) during a prayer at President Obama’s first inauguration, he equated the biblical Jesus to the Islamic prophet Jesus and not only blasphemed the name of Jesus, but acted as an agent of a designated terrorist organization to spread their disinformation.
Josh McDowell, another well-known Christian author and speaker produced a video entitled “Sharia Love” in which he praised Arab Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan for being “nice” because they acted nice when they spoke to him. He neglects the reality that Dearborn has one of the highest concentration of jihadis in America. While there are individuals who self-identify themselves as “Muslim” yet do not adhere to Sharia, it is condescending to assume the “vast majority” of muslims do not follow the very thing to which they say they subscribe – Sharia. This type of touchy-feeling Christianity which disconnects itself from reason and logic has no place among the disciples of Jesus.
Recently, I had an exchange with a leading Christian leader and author who flatly denied Islam teaches the things that have been detailed above, and followed it with “My best friends are Muslims.”
This may explain why this “Christian leader” is pro-Palestinian and ignorant of true Islamic doctrine. What is also noteworthy is that a large number of Christian leaders respond to the truth about Islam by immediately stating “there is violence in the Bible” or they brush it off and state we must just come together around the person of Jesus. While Jesus can do anything and heal anyone, one must go into these relationships with Muslims from a knowledge of what Islam is and who Jesus is to them.
Islam understands language the way Sharia defines it. Peace is the condition that exists when the entire world is under Islamic rule. Justice is the justice obtained under Sharia. And the Jesus of the Quran is not the Jesus of Sacred Scripture.
In a recent trip to Arizona, my presentation was met with strong public outcry from known Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas organizations. Standing with them were many of the prominent Christian leaders in Arizona!
Across America we see numerous assaults on America’s Christians while Christian leaders, to a great extent, stand silent. The fact that the Veteran’s Administration is being ordered by the White House to cover all symbols of Christian faith in all of their offices is just one example.
In his seminal work, Strength to Love, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. admonishes Christians to be tough minded, incisive thinkers, and discerning in their approach to evil. “This prevalent tendency toward soft mindedness is found in man’s unbelievable gullibility…Soft mindedness often invades religion…Soft-minded persons have revised the Beatitudes to read, “Blessed are the pure in ignorance: for they shall see God.”
It is time for the flock to demand that their pastors, priests and rabbis speak the truth about Islam no matter what the cost. We must do so in love, but we must also understand that love is not the mushy feeling in our bellies, but a decision and an attitude to take the actions of love. Sometimes that means defending your home from the invader who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.
John Guandolo has years of unique experience helping local, state, and federal leaders identify and deal with real threats. Primarily, he trains citizens, local leaders, and police how to fortify their counties.
9 Responses