Given below is a critique of a 4th grade class student handout dealing with Islam and Allah, in an evangelical Christian school. From an objective standpoint, the handout is significantly biased in favor of Islam, and critical of Judaism and especially Christianity. There are false and misleading statements that could influence an uninformed adult, and for which a 4th grade student would be essentially powerless to comprehend the deception.
The arguments used in this handout could easily have been provided by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), but they were more likely composed by someone in the American educational establishment, which is essentially controlled by Postmodern neo-Marxist ideology, and one of its sub-ideologies, Multiculturalism. Since the eradication of the influence of Christianity is a major target of this ideology, the bias against Christianity in this handout makes perfect sense.
In what follows, the critique statements are in bold italic; otherwise the fonts are as in the original handout. Following the critique, there are several resources cited which provide more in-depth understanding of the controversies surrounding the connections or lack thereof among the three major monotheistic religions.
[START CRITIQUE]
By The Conversation, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.17.17
Word Count 459
Level 570L
Islam is a religion similar to Christianity and Judaism. Its believers are called Muslims. (Not true. Islam is a full-service, all-life political, cultural, judicial, financial and religious system, with Shariah as its highest authority. There is no similar all-encompassing system for either Christianity or Judaism; both believe in separation of church and state – Islam does not.)
Muslims worship Allah. Allah means “the God” in the Arabic language.
Muslims believe Allah created the world in six days. Then he sent prophets to spread the word.
Noah, Abraham, Moses and David were prophets. Jesus was a prophet, too. (This is stated as a fact, but it is actually a belief, so it should be phrased as, “Muslims say that Jesus was a prophet, too, and nothing more.”) Muslims believe all of these prophets, just like Jews and Christians. (Not true. Obviously, Christians do NOT see Jesus as a prophet, but rather as divinity.)
To Muslims, however, the last prophet was Muhammed. He spread Islam.
The word of God has different names
Allah gave some of the prophets scriptures. (Should start with, “Muslims believe that …”) These writings were the word of God. (This is a statement of belief expressed as if it was objectively and demonstrably true. It should be prefaced with “Muslims believe that…”. ) The Torah of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus were both scriptures. (But according to Newsela, NOT the word of God, as stated above in relation to Islam. To be clear, these sentences state that Islamic writings are the “word of God”, whereas the writings for Judaism and Christianity are simply “scriptures”.)
Muslims believe the message of these scriptures was changed or lost over time. Once that happened, (Should insert “…they believed that…” It sounds like it’s a FACT, but it’s a belief.) a new prophet was sent. (Christians do not believe that Muhammed was a prophet from Yahweh.)
The scriptures given to Muhammed are known as the Quran. Muslims believe they will never be changed or lost. So, no more prophets are needed after Muhammed. (It must be stated “…according to Muslims.” This is not a factual statement; it’s a belief.)
Our God and Your God are one
Jews, Muslims and Christians all basically believe in the same god. (This is the most critical statement of concern in the handout. There are many resources available to objectively and logically demonstrate that this statement cannot possibly be true. See Valuable Resources below.) “Our God and your God are the same,” the Quran says.
Christians and Muslims think about God differently, though. (That Christians and Muslims think differently about their deity is correct, but Christians do not believe that Allah is a god. According to Christian doctrine, Allah is a false god.)
Most Christians believe God is three persons at once. He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This in known as the Trinity.
Christians also believe God had a son who was incarnated, or born as a man. Jesus was that son.
Muslims do not believe in the Trinity. They also do not believe God had a son. They believe Jesus was just a man God spoke to.
Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous. (Note that no Old or New Testament scriptures are quoted, but maybe that’s ok, since the title of this handout is focused on teach about Islam.)
The Quran, Surah 2:177
Some Christians deny Allah is the same
For those reasons, some Christians say Allah is not their god. Yet they seem sure the god of the Jews is the same. (“they seem sure” is a dismissive statement about Christians accepting the Old Testament as divinely inspired, and seeing the continuity of Yahweh from the Old to the New Testament. Jesus certainly quoted liberally from the Old Testament. The “they seem sure” remark is inappropriate.)
This makes little sense. (This statement defames Christianity. Imagine if something like this were said about Islam; it might make national headlines!) Jews also do not believe in the Trinity or the incarnation.
People used to believe there were multiple gods
Some religions have many gods. They are called polytheistic religions. Other religions believe there is only one god. They are called monotheistic religions.
Just like Jews and Christians, Muslims believe the very first religion was monotheistic. Religion only became polytheistic later, after the truth was lost. (This is a misrepresentation of the Trinity as “polytheistic”. And these pro-Islam, anti-Christian statements are expressed as if objectively true. But they are false accusations.)
The prophets brought back the truth. (That this is stated as a FACT is really defamatory against the core Christian doctrine of the Trinity.)
So Allah sent prophets to bring back the true religion. These prophets all taught that there is only one God. (Once again, defaming the Trinity. But Christianity does NOT believe in three separate gods, it is one-in-three persons. These statements MUST be prefaced by, “Muslims believe that…”)
Jews believe the Jewish prophet Abraham rediscovered monotheism. Islam kept the same idea. (Yet they ignore the FACT that Christianity is a monotheistic religion. Again, defamation of the Trinity. Also, what does use of the word “rediscovered” mean? Both Judaism and Christianity have always been monotheistic.)
Muhammed wanted to bring back the monotheism of Abraham. He believed many people, even Jews and Christians, had forgotten Abraham’s message. (Well, here at least this time, they did say, “He believed…”. That kind of qualification should be used everywhere. Nevertheless, stating that Muhammed “wanted to bring back the monotheism of Abraham” is actually a negative statement about Muhammed, because Judaism and Christianity have always been monotheistic. When a scribe asks Jesus, “What commandment is the foremost of all? Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD.” – Mark 12:28-29. Here, the Lord was quoting Deuteronomy 6:4.)
NEWSELA
Quiz
- Which sentence BEST states a main idea of the entire article?
- Jews do not believe that Jesus was the son of God
- Christians, Jews and Muslims basically believe in the same God
- Religions that have many gods are called polytheistic religions.
- Muslims do not believe that God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
- Which question is answered in the third paragraph of the article?
- Why did Allah send prophets?
- How did Allah create the world?
- Where did Allah’s prophets come from?
- How long did the prophets talk to people about Allah?
- Read the section “Our God and your God are one.”
Which paragraph explains the differences between what Christians and Muslims believe?
- What is the MAIN idea of the section “The word of God has different names.”
- Some of the prophets were given scriptures by Allah.
- The scriptures included in the Torah of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus
- Muslims believe the scriptures of the Quran will never be changed or lost. (“Muslims believe..” should be a qualification everywhere where the writer expresses a Muslim BELIEF as FACT.)
- New prophets were sent as the scriptures were changed or lost.
[END CRITIQUE]
Valuable resource: Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God? [i]
Essay from 2015 by the late (at age 34) Nabeel Qureshi, Muslim convert to Christianity. A person who has converted to Christianity understands the differences, and Nabeel Qureshi articulates those differences clearly, with compassion and sensitivity.
Valuable resource: This Is How Religious Liberty Really Dies[ii]
This recent article by David French of National Review begins by citing an incident in a Christian school where a teacher was dismissed because she “married” a woman. The remainder of the article deals with the generic issue of Christian schools operating in a culture which is hostile to Christianity, and the impact of events resulting in a politically correct but anti-Christian confrontation. Thus the main points of the article are applicable to this situation.
Valuable resource: Dr. Mark Durie and the Abrahamic Fallacy
Dr. Mark Durie is an Australian Anglican pastor and scholar in linguistics and theology. He draws important distinctions between Christianity, Judaism and Islam concerning their views of Abraham.
Here are two Mark Durie videos defining the Abrahamic differences:
The Abrahamic Fallacy – Dr. Mark Durie – slideshow (02:24) [iii]
The Abrahamic Fallacy – Why Abraham is not a point of unity for Islam, Judaism, and Christianity (1:19:44) [iv]
Valuable Resource – Jordan Peterson, psychologist, University of Toronto [v]
Prof. Peterson is the first place to look to gain in-depth understanding about Postmodern neo-Marxist ideology. The above link give access to a webpage describing his critique of Postmodernism.
[i] http://rzim.org/global-blog/do-muslims-and-christians-worship-the-same-god/
[ii] http://www.nationalreview.com/node/456374/
[iii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X0Fmj16gY8
[iv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK696Fl7Zkw
[v] https://thebereanwatch.org/?page_id=1075