More Questions From a Christian

The questioner from the previous email responded with more questions. I answered all of her questions in a respectful manner (I believe) while still standing firm to our Islamic beliefs. Please read more for yourself and let me know what you think.

But first, read her second question:

I read a bit of what those other articles you mentioned below to check, and it seems to me that it talks of what I call the bible, and seems to be saying that the bible contains in the new testament and old testament, some of moses teachings and Jesus’ teachings but has been flawed. And if it contradicts the Quoran, than it would not be the true teachings of Jesus, so it seems that according to these articles that protions of the bible is holy and some not, if I understand correctly. And that some of the teachings of the 4 books of Moses and four gospels, have some of the injeel and tawrat in it, but not all of it , for it is considered partially corrupt.

Is that correct?

Questions From a Christian

Very often I get questions from Christians and other non-Muslims about Islam. These questions usually come from my primary website Islamic Learning Materials.

I love it when these questions come in. I love them because this is when I know I’m doing some form of dawah. The website is up there all the time, but I have no way of knowing who’s visiting or reading.

But when someone sends in a letter asking for more information about Islam, then I know that at least that one person is going to learn something about Allah and His messenger from me.

Alhamdulillah. I only pray that Allah accepts my humble effort and that I can continue to share the message of Islam with others for as long as He wills.

Someone wrote in with the question: “what do muslims believe that genesis 1:26 means? Is it referring to one God , one person, or one God, and 3 persons? Which is the muslim belief? Eplain let “us” make man in our image.”

This was the beginning of a long discourse that continued for about a week. I’m not sure what the questioner’s intentions were, but I am happy I had the chance to talk about Islam to them.

I also learned, as you will soon also Inshallah, that the questioner had been exposed to some incorrect information about Islam. What’s worse, is that this information came from other Muslims!

Well, here is my response to her question:

‘Bama Muslims Speak Out About Gaza

The Birmingham Islamic Society works with other groups to condemn the attacks in Gaza.

The Truth About the Gaza Siege

So much attention was put on the attacks in Mumbai in November, and righteously so. But the Israeli siege in Gaza is treated as if it’s just another flare up. So far, over 400 people have been killed, and thousands injured. What’s worse, is that most of the world stands idly by. The current most powerful nation in the world says and does nothing (mostly because it implicitly and explicitly supports EVERYTHING Israeli does).

Here is a little bit of the truth about what has happened in Gaza. Keep in mind, this video was created after the first day of the siege.

Please do whatever you can to help the Muslims in Gaza. Pray for them first. There are several organizations trying to send aid into Gaza. Support those organizations. Sign this petition from CAIR.

Inshallah, every little bit helps.

Alabama Muslims Speak Out Against Gaza Attacks

Reasons why I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Muslim Community in Alabama.

Islam in Alabama

Abu Ibrahim returns to his roots in Alabama and tries to start over.

Creating an Islamic Website Part II

Assalaamu Alaikum,

This is the second and final entry on how to create and maintain an Islamic website. As many of you know, I run the website Islamic Learning Materials which is a site primarily about educating people about the basics of Islam. I’ve learned a lot throughout the years of running this website, and I hope to share some of this knowledge with others.

In the last entry, I talked about the basics of building an Islamic website. These basic principles are essentially the same for all websites, Islamic or otherwise. In this entry, I will discuss some things that are unique to Islamic websites.

Creating an Islamic Website

My primary website, Islamic Learning Materials, is my pride and joy. I originally started the website to showcase my Muslim children’s books and some of my Islamic History lectures. A lot has changed with the website since I first started it, and it has gone through many ups and downs. Mostly downs.

But now Islamic Learning Materials (ILM) is thriving and doing pretty well. I use it as an outlet to spread some Islamic knowledge and do some dawah. I get a steady stream of visitors, mostly new visitors from organic traffic. However, I also get several repeat visitors who I try to keep in touch with on a regular basis.

Attack in Mumbai

As you all know by now, gunmen launched deadly attacks in Mumbai, a major financial and cultural center in India, and the country’s largest city.

Allah knows best what the terrorists motives were. And Allah knows best who was behind the attacks.

But, assuming the preliminary reports are true, that some group named Deccan Mujahideen is behind the attacks, and assuming this group claims to be Muslim and have Islamic objectives, this madness has got to stop. This mindless, crazed, destruction of life and property is un-Islamic and totally evil.

I understand Muslims have suffered from countless aggressions and attacks from several non-Muslims sources. Muslims are being oppressed the world over by non-Muslim governments and Muslim governments.

But there evil does not justify more evil. And nothing – NOTHING – justifies the deliberate killing of innocent people who had done you no harm. It doesn’t matter if they’re Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, atheist, or whatever.

If this was a Muslim group based in a Muslim country, then I hope that country cooperates with India to find the people behind this, shuts down their entire organization, and executes those responsible.

I hate the occupation of Palestine. I hate the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hate the very existence of the Guantanamo Bay Prison. But I hate supposed Muslim terrorists just as much.

May Allah expose and destroy those behind this attack.

Muslim Rebuttal

On my last post, I mentioned how some Christian fanatics bring their propaganda to my main website, Islamic Learning Materials. I even posted one of their emails.

Well, here is my response to their email.

Hello XXXX,

I thank you for visiting Islamic Learning Materials and for expressing your views of your religion. I hope we can continue this discourse in a polite and constructive fashion.

First, you should know that I am no stranger to Christianity. My parents were both born Christian and there are several Christians in my extended family. I was born and raised in the United States which has one of the largest Christian populations in the world. I attended a college that is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Also I took Bible classes while in college in an effort to better understand Christianity from a Christian point of view.

There is no need to drill through the numerous historical, factual, and scientific errors of the Bible. There is no need to go through the benefits of Islamic law, culture, and practices. There is no need to point out how the Christian population is decreasing worldwide and in the United States, while the Muslim population is exploding. This is despite several Christian nations waging wars on Muslim lands that have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Muslims.

The only thing I have to point out about Islam is the concept of Tawheed, loosely translated as Islamic Monotheism.

Christians are not true monotheists. Christians have distorted the concept of one, perfect God with the convoluted and incomprehensible concept of the Trinity. This is a strange idea that purports that God is divided, or made up, of three separate yet unified entities.

And one of those entities, as you mentioned, is supposedly Jesus Christ (may Allah be pleased with him).

I agree with you that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. That is a tenet of Islamic faith. Muslims do not believe Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Messiah. Your expression that that he is proves that you know little about Islam.

Perhaps you should learn more about a faith before you decide to denounce it.

Christians believe that Jesus Christ is at once the son of God and God Himself. Christians also believe that mankind must not only believe that Jesus was crucified, but that he was crucified as expiation of man’s sins.

This strange concept violates the very concept of the First Commandment of the Old Testament “Do not have any gods before Me.”

Yes Jesus performed many miracles. Yes he was born from a miraculous birth from a virgin mother. Yes he is the Messiah and he will come back to destroy the Anti-Christ.

But no, he is not God. He is just a man.

I cannot believe that God came out of a woman’s vagina as Jesus did.
I cannot believe that God suckled at a woman’s breast as Jesus did.
I cannot believe that God urinates, defecates, passes wind, and burps as Jesus did.
I cannot believe that God can die as YOU say Jesus did.

Muslims believe in ONE God, the Arabic word for which is Allah. Allah has no partners. He was not born from anyone. He did not give birth to anyone. He did not come on earth in the form of any man. Allah is the almighty creator of all that exists, all that has existed, and all that will exist.

Allah is the creator. Therefore, He could not be created.

In His mercy, Allah has sent various prophets to guide mankind to worship Him and Him alone. These prophets include, but are not limited to, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and finally, Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them all.)

Prophet Muhammad came to us with the final message of Islam. He taught us how to live a righteous life in accordance with time-proven principles of faith, morality, and integrity. He also brought us the Word of Allah, the Book that is known as the Quran (Koran).

I implore you to search further and learn more about Islam. It is ultimately up to you whether you choose the truth of Islam or decide to continue living in falsehood. But at least investigate Islam from Islamic sources, as I investigated Christianity from Christian sources. Be objective in your research and see for yourself which faith is the ultimate truth and provides the answers for mankind in this life.

I wish you all the best. May you be guided to the truth. And please, keep in touch.

Was I too harsh? Was I not stern enough? Leave comments about what you think or if you think there are errors in what I said.