A guest professor from American University (taught Geopolitics) came to church today for men's ministry. He's an avid Islamic believer, but came curious about the doctrines of the Bible. He escaped Afghanistan from Taliban due to his specific Islamic beliefs and various religious studies.
1. Shahada: Faith - faith in one God (Allah) and that Muhammad is God's messenger or prophet. "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God."
2. Salat: Prayer - must pray five times daily. During Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (noon), 'Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (evening), and 'Isha' (night).
3. Zakat: Charity - practice charity through accumulated wealth.
4. Sawm: Fasting - seek nearness and to look for forgiveness from God.
5. Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca - pilgrimage that occurs during the Islamic month.
For reasons, we'll refer to the professor as Bob.
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Bob: ... Second is to pray five times a day and then give part of your wealth to proof.. Help them..
Friend: Hajj and ...
Bob: Yes and sacrifice for..
Friend: The difference I was going to say for Christianity is that we cannot do enough. We are so sinful and there's nothing we can do to save ourselves. That basically, through Christ, he's done everything that needs to be done and we just need to believe in Him. That's the difference between in Islam and Christianity.
Bob: Yes we believe that Jesus is a prophet. As a man. We don't believe that he's the Son of God. He's like prophet Muhammad, but he was before Muhammad. And we believe Islam is the last religion and Quran is the last book. It's closed. The faith and religion is Islam and Quran. It completes all the other predecessors. In terms of practice, it is different; we practice differently. In terms of principles and fundamentals; for example, today, we talked about marriage.
Friend: We agree with a lot of principles, yes. It's like the OT.
Bob: It was interesting, for example submission (in context of "submit" from Ephesians 5:22-23). Submission, there's misinterpretation; leadership, there's misinterpretation. Islam, so many misinterpretation. Like, these fundamentalist Muslim, who are now beheading people and announcing themselves as Muslims, they are not. And part of my fight with the Taliban was this.
We had an argument especially about politics. On a political level, I knew how to defeat them, and therefore, it became very dangerous for me. I was the spokesperson for the government of Afghanistan. I was always on TV and radio. I was making counter-narratives of let's say strategic communications for the government of Afghanistan to counter the extremists' ideologies. Not only in Afghanistan but in the region. So, that was counter-terrorism, counter-narrative. I wanted to beat them in the ideology, so proof them wrong, "This is not Islam. This is not what Islam terrorists to practice." Islam doesn't say nowhere, in the Quran, or in other books to kill people or behead people.
How do you do it? This is the Arab politics. The Arabia, Iran, and all these Muslim countries, they have their own politics and they included religion.
Friend: Have you read the Quran?
Bob: Yes, I always do.
Me: So, you say there's different interpretations even within the Muslim family. So, what would you say is the major heated topic that is misinterpreted often. Or what is the reason why there's so many disagreements.
Bob: It's complicated...
Me: I'm pretty sure there's a lot.
Bob: Yes, it depends on Muslim countries. For example, Pakistan, they misinterpret the Quran often. They are the only Islamic scholars who are interpreting from Arabic to other languages. Iranian do the same. Arabs do for their own benefits. Everybody focus on different topics, but definitely one of the things, which is in general.. so, people promoting Islam trying to bring other religion to other people to become Muslims. Or look at ISIS, they are trying to bring Islamic power. What does it mean? It means to control other people; which is nowhere in our holy book. Respect other religions and to be respected by others. This is the first thing we read, respect others and other to be respected.
If you force, if you behead, if you kill people to join you and become Muslim. Is it possible? No.
Friend: Is it like in Iran, if you're born Islamic and you change to Christianity, you'll be killed. Is that true?
Bob: Yes.
Friend: In other countries? Afghanistan? Saudi Arabia?
Bob: Yes. Saudi Arabia is the head leader.
Friend: So, if you're born Islamic, in Saudi Arabia, and you converted to Christianity, then you would be killed?
Bob: Yes. This is in all constitution. This is not in Quran. This is in Sharia. We made Sharia, people like me. And they (ISIS) include such thing, and it's not freedom.
I say if you want to be Christian, go ahead. If you want to be Muslim, go ahead. This is your personal issue. It does not relate to Islam, Christianity, or to any other religion. If you believe that, Christianity is "better" than Islam, then go become a Christian.
Friend: Do you believe there's one way into heaven or more than one way?
Bob: I think there are more ways into heaven (because you cannot have a narrow view, but a wide view. He gestured with his hands.)
Friend: The Islams say that's the way into heaven. The Jews say that they can go to heaven because they are Jewish. Everybody has their own way into heaven. Even the Christians, we say that there's only one way into heaven too.
Bob: Well, this is, again misinterpretation in Islam. Islam says to do good things, have good moral, high moral, help people. In every aspect, issue, which is mentioned in Islam, for a Muslim and other to do that, guarantee him or her to go to heaven. It's a contradiction, now, if you say, be a good man, be respectful, have high moral, and help people but behead others if they are not becoming Muslim. It's a contradiction to me. It's a complex of issues. If a few issues come together and make you go to heaven.
For example, you're a very good person helping poor people, but you're not going along with your wife. You have some problem with your wife, always fighting, creating problem at home, making everybody sad and worried at home. Is that the way to heaven? No. I don't believe this.
So, for a Muslim, we say to be a perfect one, you don't have to follow only one thing. If I say this in Afghanistan, they'll kill me. Hajj. I believe God doesn't need me to go to his house, to Hajj.
Friend: A lot of people die going to Hajj.
Bob: Yes! This is Saudi Arabia economical problem to me. If I say this to an Arabian, Iranian, Pakistani, Afghan, to a Muslim, they will behead me. But this is my belief. I spent so many years studying Islam. It depends on people who study Quran, how they interpret, how much they get, misinterpret, translate. Totally different.
For me if I have $4000, which is the cost of Hajj. If you want to go to Hajj you have to spend four or five thousand dollars. The ticket and expenses, you bring for the people. If I have $5000, and have 5 poor people, my neighbors, around me, they're dying for food. I spend it for my tickets to go to Hajj. Should I help these five people or spend it on my tickets? Which one's good? Definitely help. Help and feed those people who doesn't have food to eat.
Now if I say this, and others say, "No, this is Hajj! This is Faars! Faars mean this is the order of God. You have to do it, but I don't believe it. So, this is Shariah Allah, and Shariah Allah is made by Arabs, by Pakistanis, by Iranians, by Iraqis...
Friend: It's kind of like the Jewish laws. Pharisees had 600+ laws...
Bob: Yes, those laws I can make a lot. For my benefit and group of people. So many laws have been made so long time ago, and have been practiced by billions of Muslims. It's kind of Quran, part of our holy book. You cannot change or separate them. It needs some time. And I believe for a very long time, it depends...
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Bob will continue coming to our church. Please pray for him:
1. Residency issue. He is not a US citizen and cannot go back to Afghanistan since he was followed by Taliban - he will get killed.
2. Job issues because he is not a US citizen. He's having a hard time living in America.
3. Pray that as he comes, he will find the Gospel attractive. Discover the Triune God as the true authoritative figure. Find Christ beautiful. Come with contrition. Fall in love with Christ.