BreakPoint with Charles Colson

Commentary #011016 – 10/16/2001

Americans are confused about how Islam — a religion

that we’ve been told is known for peace and morality

— can spawn the vicious murder of innocents in the

name of God. The key to understanding those who

committed the atrocities in New York and Washington,

and those who supported them, has to do with the

Islamic worldview.

For most Muslims in America, Islam is simply a

religion. Muslims believe in the six articles of

Islam and practice the required “Acts of Worship”

which include prayer five times a day, fasting

through the month of Ramadan, and, if possible, a

pilgrimage to Mecca, where Muhammad founded the

religion in A.D. 622.

There is, however, another aspect of Islam that many

seem reluctant to acknowledge. Islam is more than a

religion: It is an ideology with a clear

sociopolitical agenda.

As Dr. Samuel Schlorff, an expert on Islam with Arab

World Ministries puts it, “The truth is that there is

another side to Islam, a side that embraces violence

‘in the way of Allah.’ . . . It holds that all men

are created to live in submission to Allah, as

prescribed by Islamic law. Muslims believe that

Islam’s destiny is to extend its control until the

whole Dar al-Harb [which means “House of War” — that

is, the whole non-Muslim world] is subject to Islamic

law in an Islamic state, and this includes the use of

force.”

Islam, we’ve been told, is related to the Arabic word

meaning “peace.” This is correct, except that the

word means a particular kind of peace. A better

translation is “surrender” or “submission.” It

describes the peace when a vanquished soldier lays

down his arms in submission. And so the very name,

Islam, has militaristic connotations, and in this

lies the root of radical Islam. That root then grows

in the soil of the Islamic worldview.

Muslims view God, Allah, as absolutely transcendent.

While Christians understand that the Lord God reveals

himself through the Scriptures and preeminently in

the Incarnation, Muslims insist that Allah never

reveals himself in that way. He primarily reveals his

will.

Muslims also believe in the inherent goodness of

people as over against the Christian doctrine of

original sin. Christians understand that we are

incapable of following God’s law and are thus in need

of salvation, a fundamental difference. Muslims

believe that we don’t need salvation. What we need is

guidance and that guidance is the Islamic law, an all

encompassing system that controls every aspect of

everyday life. (It is administered, by the way, by

religious leaders.)

As Dr. Schlorff puts it, “The model requires a Muslim

government to provide the legal and social framework

necessary to facilitate submission to the law. There

is no separation between the sacred and the secular,

between church and state. This community is one,

universal, and cohesive, representing for Muslims the

kingdom of God on earth.” And all people of earth are

called to submit, for based on this worldview, any

who do not submit are living sub-human lives and are

impeding Islam’s utopian vision for the world.

Christians certainly talk about submitting to God,

but we do not mean what Muslims mean. Now all

Christians should respect law-abiding Muslims in this

country. But we also should understand our

differences. It is all in the worldview, and our

differences are very great.

For further reading:

Dr Samuel Schlorff, “Can you explain for me the

Mindset of the Islamic Terrorist?” Arab World

Ministries, 2001.

<http://www.gospelcom.net/awm/new/tragedy/mindset.htm>

Dr Samuel Schlorff, “Muslim Ideology and Christian

Apologetics,” Missiology, Vol. 21, No. 2 (April 1993).

<http://answering-

islam.org/Christians/schlorff2.html>

Copyright (c) 2001 Prison Fellowship Ministries

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