Just got back from Part 2 of the study on Islam at South Canyon Baptist Church tonight. Dr. Richard Wells, when he saw that so much was left uncovered or hastily covered, promised to try and schedule a third installment on this subject sometime this summer.
The main theme tonight was on six threats to the modern Western world from Islam. Wells said he wanted to make it clear that he didn't want to paint all Muslims with the same brush, and that there were moderate Muslims, but these threats were from the dominant forces in Islam today.
1. The nature of Islam itself. Wells said the nature of the teachings of the Qur'an itself are such that it tends to foster the kind of violence we see today. He said that what Osama bin Laden teaches is not inconsistent with the teachings of the Qur'an, and that many in Islam agree with these teachings.
2. It's historical memory. Westerners are terrible with history, Wells said, and we're woefully ignorant of it. Islam, however, has an acute historical consciousness. They haven't even gotten over the Crusades. Wells said it was "interesting" that the second, unsuccessful siege of Vienna ended on September 11, 1683. (What other significant event occurred on September 11?) Wells also said that the fact of Muslim success for their first 1000 years has been equated with divine approval, and this became a part of their worldview. After the failed effort to conquer Vienna, however, the next 300 years brought Islamic decline. Wells said that the Islamic world is made up of about 33 countries and 500 million people, yet their combined economic output is roughly equivalent to Finland. Islam believes it is superior and deserves to dominate the world, so their current state is a bitter pill to swallow.
3. The threat of Qur'anic literalism. Wells said that in Islamic teaching, there is no legitimate translation of the Qur'an into languages other than Arabic. They view the Qur'an as not merely inspired, but believe it was dictated by Allah himself to Mohammed. However, Wells said he's read the Qur'an and, partly because it's surah's or chapters are ordered shortest to longest, without any regard for chronology or topic, it is nearly incomprehensible. Wells also said part of the difficulty in understanding it is cultural, but mainly because it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And despite the different sects of Islam such as the Wahabi Sufi, Shiite Sunni and others, Muslims say the Qur'an isn't open to interpretation.
In this section, Wells also touched on the Five Pillars of Islam: the confession that there is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet; the five daily prayers (interestingly, Wells said Mohammed originally called for prayers to be directed toward Jerusalem, until Jews in Medina rejected him, then he switched the direction to Mecca); the haj or pilgrimage to Mecca; the alms, though Wells says it's not the charitable giving we think of with alms, but a tax that has its roots in the Judeo-Christian tithe; and the fifth is the fast of Ramadan, which Wells said bears similarities to the Jewish fast days.
4. The communal identity of Islam. Wells there is almost no concept of individual salvation in Islam. They tend to believe that salvation lies in being a Muslim, rather than ones personal relationship with Allah, as Christians believe. Wells cited a figure from a Pew survey which found 28% of young, U.S.-born Muslims say suicide bombing is an acceptable method of advancing Islam.
5. The Muslim Reformation. Wells said that since the 1800s, this reformation has been building in response to the perceived insults to Islam. Muslims believe their civilization has stagnated because they departed from Qur'anic literalism, so they seek to purify their religion and bring it back to what it was...presumably before the defeat at Vienna in 1683. Wells said actually we Westerners insult Islam just by our existence, and by the fact that we are so obviously superior technologically and economically.
Wells read from the cover of one of the books he used as a reference for this study: The Truth About Mohammed by Robert Spencer, which was written using Islamic sources. An "endorsement" by an Islamic group of Robert Spencer said, "May Allah rip out his spine from his back and split his brains in two, and then put them both back, and then do it over and over again...Amen."
6. The reinterpretation of jihad. Wells said the current phase of "reinterpretation of jihad" started roughly 100 years ago when the Jews started returning to Palestine. At first their efforts were aimed at the Israelis up until the 70s and 80s when it turned to moderate Muslims, such as in the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. And in the 90s it turned to Christians and Jews everywhere.
Osama bin Laden took it to the next level in February of 1998 when he issued a fatwa calling for Muslims everywhere to kill infidels by any means available anywhere in the world. Wells said this was especially significant since fatwas are normally issued by mullahs and kalifs, and bin Laden was just a layman. Wells said the plot which was uncovered yesterday to blow up JFK airport and the fuel lines was a response to bin Ladens fatwa.
HOPE
Wells concluded by saying there were five hopeful signs in the face of the current onslaught from militant Islam.
1. The weakening effects of the modern world itself. Basically this means that Muslims who enter the Western world are often attracted to the "American Dream" and the prosperity of it, thus tempering their jihadist inclinations.
2. Weakening effects of totalitarianism itself. He pointed out how often the tighter tyrants make their grip, the more the people slip away from them.
3. The role of women in Islam. Wells said that despite the second-class status of women in the Islamic world, they often have a tempering effect on the cultures around them (remember the female prime minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan?).
4. The existence of moderate Muslims. There are those Muslims who, while holding to some of the basics of their faith, do not follow the Qur'an closely.
5. An awakening Western world. Wells said the influence of radical Muslims and their attacks even against countries who try to appease their way out of the sites of Muslims is causing some to wake up to the danger.
Wells pointed to the reformation that was started in Christianity when God moved in a radical way in the life of Martin Luther, and within 150 years Islam faced its first major defeat. Wells said he hoped God might grant the mercy that the West would again embrace Christianity, to become strong once more in the face of this threat.
The way we'll do that, Wells said, isn't simply through military strength or resolve, but through the example of 2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Watch for more on that third installment of the study of Islam from South Canyon Baptist sometime this summer...
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