What is Islam?

Good morning, Bereans. I want us to spend our time this morning looking at this question: What is Islam? Each week we hear about the persecuted church, and we hear that the predominant religion in many countries is Islam. We also learn that the Christian's greatest threat in many countries is Islamic persecution.

So, we hear the term "Islam" almost every week in our service and we hear much about it from the MSM news, but how many of you understand what Islam teaches. Because Islam is the main persecutor of Christianity, I think we should know what it teaches.

If you don't know what Islam teaches, you will fall prey to the lies we hear repeated ad nauseam by our politicians and the media. They portray Islam is a religion of peace. We hear that groups like ISIS and other Islamic terrorists do not represent Islam. Are we being lied to? Is Islam really a religion of peace? In seeking to find the answers to these questions, let's begin with a brief History of Islam.

Muhammad, who was the founder of Islam, was born to a widowed mother on the Arabian Peninsula in the town of Mecca around A.D. 570. She died just six years later. He grew up poor and orphaned on the margins of a society controlled by tribal chiefs and trading merchants. He worked as a camel herder for his uncle, Abu Talib. Although his uncle had some standing in the community, Muhammad himself did not rise above his lowly position until he was 25 and met and married a wealthy widow, Khadija, who was 15 years older.

His wife's trading business gave Muhammad an opportunity to travel and acquire knowledge that was not as accessible to the local population. He would later use this to his advantage by incorporating the stories that he had come across into his "revelations" from Allah, particularly the tales from the earlier religions, Judaism and Christianity.

Having attained a comfortable lifestyle and the idle time that wealth affords, Muhammad would wander off occasionally for periods of meditation and contemplation. One day, at the age of 40, he told his wife that he had been visited by the angel Gabriel in a dream. Thus began a series of "revelations" which lasted almost until his death 23 years later.

The Quran is a collection of words that Muhammad attributed to Allah. The Hadith is a collection of narrations of the life and deeds of Muhammad. The Sira is his recorded biography. The Sunnah is said to be Muhammad's way of life, on which Islamic law (Sharia) is based.

With his wife's influence and support, Muhammad proclaimed himself a prophet in the same "lineage" as that of Abraham and Yeshua and began trying to convert those around him to his new religion. He narrated The Quran to those who believed him, telling them that it was the word of Allah, and it was heard only by himself.

According to early Muslim historians, the Meccans did not mind Muhammad practicing his religion nor did they feel threatened by his promotion of it. This changed only after the self-proclaimed prophet began attacking their religion. This included the customs and ancestors of the people (Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 167).

At first, Muhammad was only successful with friends and family. After thirteen years, "the street preacher" could boast of only about a hundred determined followers who called themselves "Muslims."

The death of his uncle, Abu Talib, in A.D. 619 left Muhammad without a protector against the Meccan leadership who were gradually losing their patience with him. Muhammad's search for political alliance led him to make a treaty of war with the people of Medina (another Arab town far to the north [ibn Ishaq 299-301]) against the Meccans. This was the last straw for the Meccans who finally decided to capture Muhammad and put him to death.

Muhammad fled Mecca for Medina in A.D. 622, marking the beginning of the Muslim calendar. Muhammad's message quickly became more intolerant and ruthless—particularly as he gained power. Islam's holiest book clearly reflects this contrast, with the later parts of The Quran adding violence and earthly defeats at the hands of Muslims to the woes of eternal damnation that the earlier parts of the book promises those who will not believe in Muhammad.

It was at Medina that Islam evolved from a relatively peaceful religion borrowed from others into a military force that was intended to govern all aspects of society. During these last ten years of Muhammad's life, infidels were evicted or enslaved, converted upon point of death, and even rounded up and slaughtered depending on expediency.

To fund his quest for control, Muhammad first directed his followers to raid Meccan caravans in the holy months when the victims would least expect it. This was despite the fact that the Meccans were not bothering him in Medina (see MYTH: Muhammad and his Muslims were Persecuted by the Meccans at Medina).

Muhammad provided his people with convenient revelations "from Allah" which allowed them to murder innocent drivers and steal their property (Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 426). The people around him gradually developed a lust for things that could be taken in battle, including material comforts and captured women and children. (See also MYTH: Muhammad Raided Caravans to Retrieve Stolen Property).

Often the people captured in battle would be brought before the self-proclaimed prophet. They would plead for their lives, arguing, for example, that they would never have treated the Muslims that way. The traditions are quite clear in portraying Muhammad as largely unmoved by their pleas. He would order their deaths anyway, often by horrible means. In one case, he ordered that a man be slain, telling him that "Hell" would take care of the poor fellow's orphaned daughter (Ishaq 459). (See also MYTH: Muhammad Never Killed Captives)

The raids on caravans preceded the first major battle involving a Muslim army—the Battle of Badr. This was the spot where the Meccans had sent their own army to protect their caravans from Muslim raiders. Although Muslims today like to claim that they only attack others in self-defense, this was clearly not the case in Muhammad's time. In fact, he had to compel his reluctant warriors with promises of paradise and assurances that their religion was more important than the lives of others. (See also MYTH: The Battle of Badr was Defensive).

When Muhammad defeated the Meccan army at Badr, he became emboldened to begin dividing and conquering the three local Jewish tribes at Medina. From Medina, Muhammad waged a campaign of terror to which he openly attributed his success (Bukhari 52:220). His gang of robbers launched raids in which hapless communities were savaged, looted, murdered, and raped. The tribes around the Muslims began to convert to Islam out of self-preservation.

The excuse for these military campaigns began to shrink to the point that it hardly existed at all. Muhammad told his followers that Muslims were meant to rule over other people. Supremacist teachings became the driving force behind Jihad (see also MYTH: Muhammad Waged War Only in Self-Defense) and Jihad became the driving force behind Islam.

Islam became centered completely around its founder. New converts are required to affirm only the legitimacy of the one true prophet—Muhammad. The Muslim leader even shares the Shahada with Allah ("There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger"). To this day, every Muslim must bow down five times a day "toward" Muhammad's birthplace.

By the time Muhammad died of a fever in A.D. 632 at the age of 63, his violent religion had spread over most of Arabia. Over the next fourteen centuries, the bloody legacy of this extraordinary individual would be a constant challenge to those living on the borders of the Islam's political power. The violence that Muslim armies would visit on people across North Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and into Asia as far as the Indian subcontinent is a tribute to a founder who practiced and promoted subjugation, rape, murder, and forced conversion.

In his 1996 book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Harvard's Samuel P. Huntington warned us of deluding ourselves about the true nature of the Islamic threat. "Some Westerners, including President Bill Clinton, have argued that the West does not have problems with Islam but only with violent Islamist extremists." Huntington wrote. "Fourteen hundred years of history demonstrate otherwise."

In Muhammad's words: "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them…" (Bukhari 8:387)

As Indonesian cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, recently put it, "If the West wants to have peace, then they have to accept Islamic rule." So, does Islam sound like a religion of peace? Does it even sound like a religion? The Quran states: "Mohammed is Allah's apostle. Those who follow him are harsh to the unbelievers but merciful to one another" [Quran 48:29]

Last week in our Persecuted Church segment we learned of some of Islam's more recent contributions to peace. Sharon informed us about how in Burkina Faso in April of 2019 in West Africa Islamists attacked 5 churches and killed 70 Christians. Since then, more than 200 churches have reportedly closed in Burkina Faso because of threats of further attacks. As many as 10,000 Christians have fled their homes. While slightly more than half of Burkina Faso's population is Muslim, the militants seek to force everyone to convert to Islam, and those who refuse face brutal consequences.

Many will say, "Well these are just radical Muslims. They don't represent true Islam." If you wanted to know what Christianity teaches, where do you go? Do you examine the actions of different Christians? What if people took Westborough Baptist Church as an example of Christianity? They don't represent what Christ taught. If you want to know what Christianity teaches, you must go to the Bible. So, if we want to know what Islam teaches, we must go to The Quran. There will always be people within a group who don't follow the teaching of the group. So, let's look at what Islam teaches and see if the terrorists are a fringe group or if they, in fact, represent true Islam.

The term "Islam" means: "submission—one who is wholly surrendered to the will of Allah (their word for god)." Islam consists in belief and practice. Before we look at what The Quran says about violence, I want to show you what it teaches about our Lord Yeshua the Christ.

Christians believe, fundamentally and of necessity, that there is one true God. This true God is not Allah. This true God is not Krishna. This true God is not the god of Joseph Smith or Buddha or the Jews. This true God is the Lord Yeshua the Christ!

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Yeshua the Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20 ESV

Christianity is all about Yeshua. Apart from Christ, there is no salvation. He is the only true God. So, how does Christianity differ from Islam? There are many ways, but the main issue is what we believe about Yeshua.

Let me give you a couple of quotes from The Quran. Surah 5 states: In blasphemy indeed are those that say that Allah is Christ the son of Mary. Say: "Who then hath the least power against Allah, if His will were to destroy Christ the son of Mary, his mother, and all every one that is on the earth? For to Allah belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between. He createth what He pleaseth. For Allah hath power over all things." (Quran 5:17).

The Quran says that it is blasphemy to say that the creator God is Yeshua the Christ, but this is in fact what the Bible teaches in Colossians 1:16-18.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. Colossians 1:16-18 ESV

The Quran also says: The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be." And he was. (Quran 3:59).

The Quran says that God created Yeshua, but the Bible says in John 1 that Christ created all things.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:1-3 ESV

The Quran also says:

Christ the son of Mary was no more than an apostle; many were the apostles that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food. See how Allah doth make His signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from the truth! (Quran 5:75).

Listen, people, to the words of the Bible.

Who is the liar but he who denies that Yeshua is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 1 John 2:22-23 ESV

To deny that Yeshua is God is to be antichrist. To deny the Son is to deny the Father. This condemns not only Islam, but Judaism as well. So, as you can see, Christianity and Islam are not compatible.

How, then, does one become a Muslim? Every court of Islam is bound to recognize that every adult, male or female, who consciously and solemnly witnesses that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the Prophet of God, is to be recognized as a Muslim. Such persons are also entitled to all privileges and rights of a Muslim and bound by all the duties and obligations of Islamic law.

Some of the things that are required for Muslims to believe are:

• To believe in Allah (God) in His Existence, His right to be worshiped, His Oneness, His Attributes, and His right to legislate.
• To believe in God's angels.
• To believe in the Holy Qur'an and the other Holy Books, (Torah, the Gospel of Jesus, the Psalms of David).
• To believe in God's Messengers, of whom Adam was the first and the Prophet Muhammad was the last.
• To believe in the Resurrection and the Day of Judgment.
• To believe in Divine Pre-ordainment.

This list of the beliefs is accepted as basic to belief in Islam by every sect and school of thought. There are different types or groups within Islam. Sunni Muslims consider themselves to be orthodox Muslims. Eighty percent of Muslims are Sunni. Shiite Muslims define their basic teachings differently than the orthodox. Sufi Muslims gather themselves in brotherhoods and emphasize more matters of emotion and the heart.

The Five Pillars of Islam are the framework of the Muslim life. The Five Pillars of Islam are the five obligations that every Muslim must satisfy in order to live a good and responsible life, according to Islam. These pillars are:

• Shahadah: the "witness," "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
• Salat: ritual prayers (six times a day).
• Zakat: the paying of alms (offerings). This is a mandatory tax levied annually upon the Muslim's possessions. This tax is distributed to the poor (Quran 2:43)
• Sawm: the fast of Ramadan. This obligatory fast commemorates the revelation of The Quran. Muslims fast approximately 29 to 30 days of Ramadhan. The month of Ramadhan is determined by the lunar calendar. From the time of dawn to the end of daylight, Muslims not only abstain from water and food, but also from sexual intercourse, slander, profane speech, and other actions considered uncharacteristic of pious behavior or righteousness (Quran 2:185)
• Hajj: at least one pilgrimage to Mecca in one's lifetime. This is a journey that the Muslim is obliged to take to the site of the Kaba and to other religious sites in and around Mecca. There, Muslims perform certain religious rituals and prayers, as they were first performed by the Prophet Muhammad and his followers. This Pillar is only obligatory upon those who are physically able and have the financial means to afford the costs involved.

  "And complete the Hajj or Umra in the service of Allah but if ye are prevented, (from completing it) send an offering for sacrifice, such as ye may find." Quran 2:196

  None of these seem problematic. They seem like religious observances. But there's one more.

• Jihad—(individual efforts to serve Allah or engage in war against the enemies of Islam). This is a concept so integral to Islam that many Muslims believe it constitutes a sixth pillar of Islam. Some moderate Muslims interpret this as an "inner struggle, a struggle against sin or the difficulties of life. These Muslims will often quote verses from The Quran that teach peace and tolerance, verses such as:

  In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. 1. Say, "O disbelievers. 2. I do not worship what you worship. 3. Nor do you worship what I worship. 4. Nor do I serve what you serve. 5. Nor do you serve what I serve. 6. You have your way, and I have my way." (Quran 109:1-6)

Or they may quote the following:

There shall be no compulsion in religion; the right way has become distinct from the wrong way. Whoever renounces evil and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handle; which does not break. Allah is Hearing and Knowing. (Quran 2:256)

They use these verses as evidence that Islam is a religion of peace. Westernized Muslims pick the verses of the Quran they find most attractive, and they use these verses to sanitize the rest of the Quran. But is this the correct way to interpret the Quran? Unfortunately, the answer is no! The Quran presents its own method of interpretation—the Doctrine of Abrogation.

The Quran is one book, written by one man during his lifetime, whereas the Bible's 66 books were written by over 40 different authors over a period of 1600 years. The Quran is to be taken literally! The Quran has some contradictory statements, but it tells us how to deal with these contradictions. It is explained in the Quran that if you have two passages that contradict each other, the one written later supersedes the one written earlier.

According to the Quran, then, when Muslims are faced with conflicting commands, they aren't supposed to pick the one they like best. Rather, they are to go to history and see which verse was revealed last. Whichever verse came last is said to abrogate (or cancel) earlier revelations.

Whatever verse we shall abrogate, or cause [thee] to forget, we will bring a better than it, or one like unto it. Dost thou not know that God is almighty? (Quran 2:106)

When We substitute one revelation for another—and God knows best what He reveals (in stages)—they say, "Thou art but a forger": but most of them understand not. (Quran 16:101)

In early Islam, wine drinking and gambling were allowed.

They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: "In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit." They ask thee how much they are to spend; Say: "What is beyond your needs." Thus doth Allah Make clear to you His Signs: In order that ye may consider. (Quran 2:219):

The peaceful tolerant passages were written early in Mohammad's career. The more violent less tolerant passages came later and thus supersede the peaceful passages. So, let's look at some of the later passages:

Your Lord inspired the angels: "I am with you, so support those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. So strike above the necks, and strike off every fingertip of theirs." 13. That is because they opposed Allah and His Messenger. Whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger-Allah is severe in retribution. (Quran 8:12-13)

Does this sound like Islam is a religion of peace, or even a religion?

O prophet! Rouse the believers to [kill] battle. If there are twenty steadfast among you, they will defeat two hundred; and if there are a hundred of you, they will defeat a thousand of those who disbelieve; because they are a people who do not understand. (Quran 8:65)

And kill them wherever you overtake them, and expel them from where they had expelled you. Oppression is more serious than murder. But do not fight them at the Sacred Mosque, unless they fight you there. If they fight you, then kill them. Such is the retribution of the disbelievers. (Quran 2:191)

"Oppression is more serious than murder" means that if they are oppressing you, it's all right to kill them.

O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies; some of them are allies of one another. Whoever of you allies himself with them is one of them. Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people. (Quran 5:51)

When the Sacred Months have passed, kill the polytheists wherever you find them. And capture them, and besiege them, and lie in wait for them at every ambush. But if they repent, and perform the prayers, and pay the alms, then let them go their way. Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Quran 9:5)

Classical theologians accepted that Medinan chapters supersede Meccan, not only for chronological reasons but also because the Medinan verses represent Islam during a period of strength. These are just a few of the over 100 verses about instructions to kill innocent people who aren't Muslim. So, as you can see the Quran teaches violence. ISIS and the terrorists are simply following the teachings of Islam. Islam is NOT a religion of peace.

Another example of the violence in Islam is the way it deals with a thief:

"And (as for) the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned, an exemplary punishment from Allah; and Allah is Mighty, Wise." (Quran 5:38)

Muslims do this even to their children. If a child were to steal out of hunger, a true Muslim would not show compassion and feed the child; they would sever his hand at his wrist to drive home the lessons of Allah.

For our remaining time I want us to look at the 3 STAGES of JIHAD. This information comes from David Wood at Answeringsmuslims.com. When we turn to Islam's theological sources and historical writings (Quran, Hadith, Sira, and Tafsir, we find that there are three stages in the call to Jihad, depending on the status of Muslims in a society.

STAGE ONE—When Muslims are completely outnumbered and can't possibly win a physical confrontation with unbelievers, they are to live in peace with non-Muslims and preach a message of tolerance. We see an example of this stage when Muhammad and his followers were a persecuted minority in Mecca. Since the Muslims were entirely outnumbered, the revelations Muhammad received during this stage (e.g., "You shall have your religion and I shall have my religion") called for religious tolerance and proclaimed a future punishment (rather than a worldly punishment) for unbelievers.

This stage uses Taqiyya, concealing Islam's true intentions in order to protect the Muslim community. Muslims are allowed to lie and deceive nonbelievers as long as it promotes the cause of Islam. In this stage they like to take the position of the victim and the persecuted. Talk about persecution, try being a Christian in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, school textbooks "teach pupils religious hatred and intolerance towards non-Muslims, including Christians and Jews."

STAGE TWO—When there are enough Muslims and resources to defend the Islamic community, Muslims are called to engage in defensive Jihad. This is the stage of terrorism. Thus, when Muhammad had formed alliances with various groups outside Mecca and the Muslim community had become large enough to begin fighting, Muhammad received the following insight:

Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed, and most surely Allah is well able to assist them; Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause except that they say: our Lord is Allah… (Quran 22:39-40).

Although Muslims in the West often pretend that Islam only allows defensive fighting, later revelations show otherwise. In this stage, therefore, Muslims who feel oppressed are allowed to fight. Well, we all know that America is oppressing Muslims so they are called to fight against us.

STAGE THREE—When Muslims establish a majority and achieve political power in an area, they are commanded to engage in offensive Jihad. Hence, once Mecca and Arabia were under Muhammad's control, he received the call to fight all unbelievers:

Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (Quran 9:29)

Notice that this verse doesn't order Muslims to fight oppressors but rather to fight those who don't believe in Islam (including the "People of the Book"—Jews and Christians). Now remember the principle of abrogation. Those passages written later take precedence.

Sahih al-Bukhari 4364-The last complete Surah, which was revealed (to the prophet) was Bara'a (i.e., Sura-at-Tauba). Surah 9 was the last chapter of The Quran that Mohammad delivered to his followers.

We also find many violent commands in Islam's most trusted collections of a hadith (traditions containing Muhammad's teachings).

• Sahih al-Bukhari 6924—Muhammad said: "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'La ilaha illallah' (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah), and whoever said, 'La ilaha illahllah,' Allah will save his property and his life from me."
• Sahih Muslim 30—Muhammad said: "I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah."
• Sahih Muslim 4366—Muhammad said: "I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim."

Here again, the criterion for fighting people is that the people believe something other than Islam. It's clear, then, that when Muslims rose to power, peaceful verses of the Quran were abrogated by verses commanding Muslims to fight people based on their beliefs. Islam's greatest scholars acknowledge this. For instance, Ibn Kathir (Islam's greatest commentator on The Quran) sums up Stage Three as follows: "Therefore all people of the world should be called to Islam. If anyone of them refuses to do so, or refuses to pay the Jizyah, they should be fought till they are killed."

Since Muhammad obviously commanded his followers to fight unbelievers (simply for being unbelievers), why do Muslims in the West deny this? Because Muslims in the West are in stage 1 and are operating under the principle of Taqiyya.

Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Whoso doeth that hath no connection with Allah unless (it be) that ye but guard yourselves against them, taking (as it were) security. (Quran 3:28)

According to this verse (which uses a variation of the word Taqiyya, meaning: "concealment"), Muslims are not allowed to be friends with non-Muslims. However, if Muslims feel threatened by a stronger adversary, they are allowed to pretend to be friendly. Ibn Kathir comments: "In this case, such believers are allowed to show friendship outwardly but never inwardly." Abu Darda, one of Muhammad's companions, put it this way: "We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them."

Barak Obama said, "Partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't." I agree! But Islam is more than a religion; it is an ideology with a clear sociopolitical agenda. Islam includes a mandatory and highly specific legal and political plan for the whole society, Sharia law. Western notions of democracy and freedom are in opposition to orthodox Islam. Mankind must be controlled by Islamic law in total and not be allowed to stray from the authority of Allah. Islam is thus a totalitarian utopian worldview. The fact that freedom of religion does not exist in Muslim countries is evidence supporting the view that Islam wants nothing short of domination through political control.

To understand Islam's political orientation, just look at Sharia law, which orders death for both Muslim and non-Muslim critics of Mohammad. The Quran and even Sharia itself command aggressive jihad. As written in the Quran, Sharia is the law of Allah. Any other form of government is a sin. It is the duty of every Muslim to keep striving until all governments have been converted to Sharia law.

Barak Obama said, "Throughout history Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibility of religious tolerance and racial equality."

According to the Voice of the Martyrs, (website www.persecution.com or search for Voice of the Martyrs) "160,000 Christians are killed annually because of their faith—the vast majority being killed by Muslims." If Islam claims to be a religion of peace, why is there so much oppression in every Muslim country?

Though the numbers are not clear, what is obvious is that Islam is the greatest murder machine in history, bar none, possibly exceeding 250 million dead. Possibly one-third to one-half or more of all those killed by war or slavery in history can be traced to Islam.

According to Jihad Watch, "The Quran's commandments to Muslims to wage war in the name of Allah against non-Muslims are unmistakable. They are, furthermore, absolutely authoritative as they were revealed late in the Prophet's career and so cancel and replace earlier instructions to act peaceably. Without knowledge of the principle of abrogation, Westerners will continue to misread The Quran and misdiagnose Islam as a 'religion of peace.'"

Islam is a religion that pretends to be peaceful when Muslims are too weak to win a war. Of course, there are many Muslims who aren't violent. Many Muslims in the West love peace and tolerance. But they didn't get these values from Islam. They got them from the West, and now they're reinterpreting Islam based on their Western values. For dedicated Muslims, however, there are only two possible situations to be in: (1) fighting unbelievers, and (2) pretending to be peaceful while preparing to fight unbelievers. Either way, fighting non-Muslims and conquering the world in the name of Allah is always the goal.

Are you aware that we currently have 3 Muslims in the US House of Representatives? They are, Andre Carson, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib. All of which are Democrats. Should we really have Muslims serving in the US House of Representatives? Is Sharia law compatible with our Constitution?

I believe that many Western Muslims are peaceful people who are not well educated about their own religion, and some of them really don't know the real violent nature of it, and of Muhammad's life, for example. Just like most Christians don't know what the Bible teaches.

So, Islam is a violent religious ideology that will destroy anything in its way. Our leaders and the media are lying to us. Sahih al-Bukhari 6922—Allah's Messenger said, "If anyone changed his Islamic religion, then kill him."

Just this year (2022) the United Nations has formally accepted the concept of "Islamophobia," a move that will undoubtedly further paralyze any measures against Islamic aggression. Islam is our enemy! The Quran teaches all Muslims to:

Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (Quran 9:29)

And what did Yeshua say we are to do to our enemies?

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:43-44 ESV

Our Lord Yeshua had a non-violent message. While some people have betrayed the peaceful message of Yeshua in history, the teachings of Yeshua have a consistent tone of peace, service, love, and humility. Yeshua is the Prince of Peace. He never told us to kill anyone, and he disdained violence. His followers echoed this command for peace.

So, I believe we are called to love Muslims. We are to treat them the way we want to be treated, and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are to witness to them and tell them the glorious gospel of the blessed God. They are lost people who need Christ.

But, it is my position that they have no place in government in the US. Based upon the teachings of their book, they are operating under the principle of Taqiyya by which they are concealing Islam's true intentions until they are a majority and in power and then they want to enforce Sharia law. We must not let this happen.