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ISLAMIC EYES
(Continued from page /8)
freedom to wear short skirts. To
many of these young women it
represents a rejection of Western
concepts of femini nity and is not
based on religion at all.
Mohammed actually advanced
the status of women significant–
ly, affording them greater honor
than most societies of bis time.
"O men, respect women who
have borne you," the Koran
admonishes. Moslem women
were given civil and property
rights-a revolutionary step in
the Arab world. Men, however,
are still considered "a degree
above" women.
Finally, the practice of polyga–
my has not been as general as is
commonly thought by the West.
Few Moslems have more than one
wife, despite the fact that the
Koran allows four- if the hus–
band can afford them and treat
them without partiality.
Moslems Look at the
Judeo-Chrlstlan World
lt
is important, too, to understand
how Moslems see Christianity
and Judaism. Moslems have
many misconceptions about these
two faiths. In one respect, howev–
er, it is not the Moslems who are
to be blamed.
Moslems, for example, see the
virtual "acceptance" by Western
nations of porno movies, alcohol,
drugs, illicit sex, acid rock, grow–
ing crime and so on. Yet these are
supposedly Christian societies!
To a Moslem, who views reli–
gion as a
way of lije,
this is
indeed a paradox. How are these
rampant evils, he asks, to be rec–
onciled with the teachings of
Christ?
The simple answer, of course,
is that they
cannot be reconciled,
for they represent out-and-out
rejection
of Christ's teachings!
Many Moslems simply do not
realize that most Western
"Christians" only
profess
that
faith, not
practice
it. Other Mos–
lems regard Westerners as a spe–
cies of "pagan."
When it comes to doctrinal
26
questions, Moslems are especially
dismayed over the Christian wor–
ship of "the triple God." This is a
reference to the "Trinity," which
Moslems view as bordering on
polytheism and sacrilege. The
Catholic veneration' of Mary is
also conceived as idolatry by
Moslems.
Here Moslems make the same
mistake that Westerners do when
they
view the veil as a Koranic
requirement. Having generally
never read the New Testament
for themselves, Moslems fail to
realize that the Trinity doctrine
was
never
taught by Christ or the
apostles, that it is nowhere to be
found in the Bible, that it actually
has its roots in ancient paganism,
which was later absorbed into
professing Christianity! (Request
"The God Family and the Holy
Spirit" for a clear understanding
of the Bible teaching.)
Moslems, for the most part,
have never encountered the true
Christianity of the Bible!
In general, however, the Mos–
lem attitude towards Christianity
and Judaism is not inherently
hostile. Mohammed called Chris–
tians and Jews "the People of the
Book," and accorded them special
status and treatment. Islam also
permits marriage with Christians
and Jews.
What the Blble Saya
Many Western readers will rec–
ognize that the Moslem attitude
toward religion as a way of life is
actually much closer to the atti–
tude Jesus Christ and the apostles
intended for true Christians to
have towards the Holy Bible. The
Bible often refers to true Chris–
tianity as "the way" (Acts
18:25, 26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; etc.).
Doctrinally, of course, Islam
diverges from Christianity in as–
pects too numerous to detail with–
in the scope of this article. First
and foremost is Islam's rejection
of Jesus as the incarnate Son of
God, of His crucifixion and resur–
rection, and of forgiveness and
salvation through Him.
The apostle Peter left no room
for compromise on this point:
"Neither is there salvation in any
other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved"
(Acts 4:12) .
In view of the central nature of
this point to Christianity, the
strict monotheism of Islam ren–
ders any hope of eventual concil–
iation between t he two faiths
impossible.
What, then, does the Bible say
of the future of Islam?
The New Testament of the
Bible was completed more than
500 years before the birth of
Mohammed. Yet the Bible does
not ignore the future of Islam!
Bible prophecy reveals the
coming emergence of an Arab–
Moslem confederation in the
Middle East.
It
is referred to in
prophecy as "the king of the
south" (Daniel 11 :40). This con–
federation will play a crucial role
in end-time events.
At the prophesied return of
Jesus to this earth at that criti–
cal juncture in history to save
mankind from self-destruction
(see Matthew 24:22) and usher
in a millennial rule of peace and
prosperity, God's government
will be established over the en–
tire earth. All nations will sub–
mit to Him. Church and State
will be united under His rule.
There will be
one Church-one
God-one re/igion-ONE
su–
PREME GOVERNMENT! (Revela–
tion 19: 16.)
Many Sunni Moslems look for–
ward to this very event- but they
believe that Jesus will descend to
Damascus, not Jerusalem as the
Bible declares in Zechariah 14.
Shia Moslems also look forward
to the return of a Messiah or
Mahdi- though not Jesus- in
the near future.
Religious confusion will forev–
er come to an end. All eyes will
be opened to the truth.
Al/
nations and
al/
peop1es will come
to recognize Jesus as the t rue
Messiah- the Messiah whom, by
a variety of names in many reli–
gions, they have all long antici–
pated in ignorance.
This is the clear testimony of
Bible prophecy. The events of the
years just ahead in the Middle
East will bear witness to its uner–
ring accuracy!
o
The PLAIN TRUTH