This is a very basic look at Islam. Here is a more thorough and up-to-date resource for further reading. Sources used for this chapter:
The text shows evidence of corruption. It contains many grammatical errors and non-Arabic words, and there are many conflicting readings. Many parts of the originals have been lost. For example, one Sura (chapter) originally had 200 verses in the days of Ayesha, but by the time of the Uthman standardized text, it had only 73. There are also many instances of verses being added or removed for political reasons, or due to disputes between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. After Mohammad’s death there was great confusion as to what material should be included in the Quran. In the mid 600s, a standard text was made official and all others were destroyed.
Obviously, compared to the mountain of external evidence supporting the Bible, there just isn’t much to say about the Quran. As a result, most Muslim apologists will center their arguments around attacks on the Bible. This is why it’s so important for Christians to know the facts about our Biblical texts, and to be familiar with Christian apologetics.
Using the current official Quran text, are there any self-contradictions, or discrepancies with the Bible? Self-contradictions abound. Either all Noah’s family was saved, or some drowned. Either God took 8 days to create the world, or he took 7. There are several different accounts of Mohammad’s original call to be a prophet.
Discrepancies with the Bible also abound, so the only way for Muslims to accept the Quran’s teaching that the Bible is God’s Word is to claim that the Bible has been corrupted. But since the Quran was written only a few hundred years after the Bible was finished, how can anyone account for such a huge degree of corruption in such a short time? If God was incapable of protecting his Word even for a few hundred years, why should we believe the Quran has been uncorrupted for over a thousand?
The Bible and the Quran are hopelessly incompatible, and the evidence overwhelmingly supports the Bible as being the true Word of God. There is just no evidence of any kind for the Quran to stand on.
Note: Sura numbers differ from one translation to another.
The Bible commands us to love God and love other people. It teaches respect for property and authority, considerate treatment of the weak, and concern for the lost. It shows us how to administer justice, cope with adversity, and return the love of God.
The highest ideals known to mankind are found in the Bible. Any who accept it as the Word of God are powerfully motivated to exhibit the highest standards in all areas of life. Contrary to most, if not all, other holy books
, the Bible emphasizes the condition of the heart as of first importance, with outward behavior being changed as a result.
Although the Quran does teach respect for property and other high ideals, its motivation is not the love of God but the fear of him. Outward behavior is essential to salvation, and believers obey not because they want to, but because they must. The teachings of the Quran motivate men to domineer women, to hate and kill, and to ruthlessly spread Islam by force. Jews and Christians are named as the enemies of Islam and are condemned to Gehenna.
Practice is, of course, the result of motivation. The obvious result of following the teachings of the Bible is a civilizing influence on society. Historically, the Bible has had a strong, positive effect on the development of humane governments and much scientific research. Yes, there have been those who did evil in the name of Christianity, but they did so in spite of what the Bible says, not because of it. Where true Biblical Christianity is practiced, people are free and prosperous. The United States has been an example of how God blesses nations that honor him (and what happens when they stop).
The results of acting on what the Quran motivates people to do are obvious. Islam was spread by the sword, in obedience to the Quran and by the example of Mohammad. After his death, many who had followed him abandoned his teachings, thinking they were free at last. But the true believers persecuted them until Islam was firmly established. In every country where Islam has been dominant, the people have been impoverished and oppressed. No Islamic country allows freedom for all people. Those Muslims that are considered extreme or fanatical are simply taking the Quran literally. Contrary to popular opinion, it isn’t the violent Muslims who are not practicing true Islam, it’s the peaceful ones. Those who claim to be peaceful must somehow spiritualize the Quran, believing it to teach only spiritual warfare. But there is no contextual justification for such a view, and no historical precedent.
To our shame, though, some Christians do the same thing. They don’t like the clear teachings of Scripture, so they spiritualize them to mean something else. The people who do that are ripe for deception, because they will be easily persuaded to accept false teachings and religions. If the actual words don’t matter, then any belief will do.
The following quotes are from the preface to Volume II of The Koran Interpreted:
Whenever I hear the Quran chanted… there is sounding all the time the insistent beat of a drum.
When it is read aloud or recited it has an almost hypnotic effect that makes the listener indifferent to its sometimes strange syntax and its sometimes, to us, repellent content.
This, the mystic’s approach, is surely the right approach to the study of the Quran.
Since the Quran is best revealed
when chanted, it bears a strong resemblance to shamanism (witchcraft) and Hinduism; the western
concepts of analysis and logical reason are abandoned in favor of emotion and enlightenment
. This, of course, points out yet another difference between Allah and the God of the Bible: One is a God of order and reason, and the other is a god whose writings can only be truly known through chanting and emotion, the mystic’s approach.
When studying religions, it’s a good idea to find out what kind of people founded them. It’s one thing for your friends to speak well of you, but another for your enemies to do the same. This is true of Jesus. Whether in the Bible or other sources, even his enemies have had to acknowledge the superiority of his teachings. He is flawless in every way, and is still the only religious figure
to have risen from the dead. After seeing his life on earth and hearing his teachings, the world must at least acknowledge him as the best example of a religious leader. No other person in history is as widely quoted or emulated.
From the Preface to Volume I of The Quran Interpreted:
If Mohammad… was indeed the illiterate person the Muslims represent him to have been, then… the Quran is, as they assert it to be, a standing miracle.
…he was… the victim of a certain amount of self-deception… liable to morbid and fantastic hallucinations…
he was… an earnest though mistaken teacher…
The Quran is composed mostly of endless repetitions of the anti-infidel theme, with a hodgepodge of some Biblical passages. Actual doctrinal statements are few and far between. Mohammad and his successors have waged holy war
for centuries, and Islamic countries to this day oppress and persecute non-Muslims.