Q&A
Why are Muslims so Resistant
to Christianity?
CBN.com - Muslim opposition
to the Gospel is proverbial and the persecution that is unleashed
on any Muslim who dares become Christian. This is not just ancient
history; it occurs today. A number of converts in Egypt recently
suffered imprisonment for their faith. And this past year, two Moroccan
Christians died under suspicious circumstances. Yet, curiously,
Islam has also been open to the assimilation of elements that are
in evident conflict with its principles. As many as 70 percent of
all Muslims are influenced by the unorthodox beliefs and practices
known as "folk Islam." A Muslim may even embrace Marxism with hardly
an eyebrow being raised!
Why then are Muslims so intransigent vis-a-vis conversion to Christianity?
Is it that they are unusually hardened or inherently resistant to
the Gospel? Or are missionaries themselves to blame, as some would
say, because they have imposed on the convert churches Western cultural
forms?
A number of factors are involved; Islamic resistance to the Gospel
cannot be attributed to any single cause. Moreover, the Gospel by
its very nature is opposed to every other religious solution to
the problem of man, because they are all basically humanistic. We
may, however, single out one factor that could be termed "primary":
the ideological nature of Islamic society.
Islamic society is ideological in that it holds that the Muslim
community exists to bring all of life, as a community and not just
as individuals, into "submission" to the will of God—as defined
by Islamic law. To realize this ideal there must be an Islamic State,
with executive, legislative, and judicial branches that are all
"Islamic." This is what makes Islamic society different from the
pluralistic societies we know in the West.
Such an approach has a built-in problem that is unknown to pluralistic
societies: What is to be done with those, such as Christians, who
do not share the ideal of the majority? Islamic law has a number
of provisions that help to explain Muslim resistance over the centuries.
To hit only the high points, there is the "Dhimmi system" that segregates
non-Muslims, such as Christians, into ghetto communities, said to
be "protected," which really have only a second-class status. Similarly,
Islamic Law provides that a male "Apostate" who does not recant
within a reasonable period be put to death, and his property seized.
Women who apostatize are imprisoned until they recant. In a related
provision, apostasy renders a marriage void. Together, these provisions
raise tremendous barriers against Muslims making a serious commitment
to Christ. They raise another question for churches, especially
churches of converts from Islam: Given these barriers, how are they
to relate to Muslim society? But that is another question.
Arab World Ministries (Source)
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