From all the public statements and signals being sent out from the government, war with Iraq is very near. Seldom is it that only one issue is at the center of serious disputes between nations, cultures or individuals. But this present conflict with terrorists and nations that sponsor them is essentially a conflict with the goals and aspirations of Islam and Muslims around the world. The focus at the present is on radical extremists, but the goal of Islam is world conquest by whatever means necessary. Christianity has not declared war on Muslims. Muslims have from the very beginning declared war on the whole world. The terrorists are an expression of the central teachings of Islam. Muslims have never lived beyond the sixth century AD in their culture. They are stuck in an ancient world, following a brutal leader named Mohammed.

To really understand the Muslim faith, one should go inside a typical Mosque anywhere, in any country, and listen to the messages being presented. Recently, an Imam in Kuwait, a country supposedly supportive of our country, stirred up the Muslims against Americans and Christians. Some of our soldiers have been killed in Kuwait while stationed there defending them. When taking a class on Islam at HGS, Memphis, TN, our professor, Dr. Everett Ferguson, arranged for our class to attend the Friday service at a local mosque. The speaker railed on and on over political and racial issues in Memphis. He condemned all Christians by reminding us that Islam considers honoring Jesus as Divine one of the worst sins one can commit. They call it "shirk." Islam, contrary to what is often said, is not a religion of peace. It is a religion of world-conquest. That is its goal.

Our political leaders have assured the world that the USA is not opposed to all Islam, but only the radical fundamentalists among them. President Bush has repeated that Islam is a religion of peace and love. That may be politically a good statement to make, but it is simply not true. We must understand the worldview of Islam.

Christianity and Islam. What a difference there is between these two religions. There are many misguided religious groups claiming allegiance to Jesus Christ. We admit that. However, true Christianity can be understood only by going back to the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. We urge people to do that. How embarrassing it would be if we read in the Bible that Jesus had multiple wives and married a young girl only nine years old. Muhammad did. He was about 53 and she was only 9 years old. Her name was Ayesha, the daughter of Abu Bakr. When he married her, she brought her doll babies with her. (History of the Christian Church, IV, Philip Schaff, 170.) What if we read in the Bible that Jesus led a revolt against some Jews killing seven to eight hundred with a sword because they would not listen to his teachings? Muhammad and his followers did in Medina. (Medina is about 200 miles north of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.) This was the site of the first Islamic community in 622 AD. From this small violent beginning, Islam has spread into most nations of the world, claiming one billion followers. Islam was a militant faith from its beginning. Muhammad taught the doctrine of Jihad, a holy war in defense of Islamic faith. In contrast, Jesus taught, "Put up your sword. He that lives by the sword shall die by the sword." (Matt. 26:52.) Christianity is a religion of peace and love, but Islam certainly is not.

The use of the sword. The noted historian, Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chapter 50, quotes Muhammad as saying, "The sword is the key of heaven and of hell. A drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting and prayer. Whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven. At the day of judgment, his wounds shall be resplendent as vermilion and odoriferous as musk. The loss of limbs shall be supplied by wings of angels and cherubim."

The eighth and ninth chapters of the Koran are most vehement and loudest in the use of the sword and terror to defeat the enemies of Islam.

Muhammad taught in the Koran, "When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield, strike off their heads and when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly. Then grant them their freedom or take ransom from them, until war shall lay down her burdens." (Koran 47:4.) "There is no nation but we shall destroy or sternly punish before the Day of Resurrection. This is decreed in the Eternal Book." (Koran 17:58.)

Raiding, robbing, and raping. Muhammad stole the property of those he killed. He took their wives, children and property and gave them to his fighters. Muhammad allowed his men to take female slaves, but they could not marry them. They could treat them in any way that they desired since they were not Muslims. When they tired of them, they could sell them to others. Thousands of women suffered unutterable brutalities at the hands of the disciples of Muhammad. Mothers and daughters suffered untold shame and dishonor. (The World’s Religions, Norman Anderson, 124.)

Men are superior to women. Jesus taught husbands to love their wives as he loved the church and gave himself for it. (Eph. 5:25.) Muhammad taught in the Koran, (he is the one who wrote it), that men are superior to women. (4:34 and 2:228.) He taught that husbands could beat their wives if they were not submissive. (4:34.) He further taught that if a women committed adultery, four witnesses should be called to testify. If she is found guilty, she should be confined to her house until death overtakes her or until God finds another way for them. (4:15.) There is an undeniable brutality in Islam against women that began with Muhammad. I have a tract from the Islamic Circle of North America titled, "Status of Women in Islam." In it, they write, "For women, Islam is a special blessing. The Prophet of Islam is indeed the greatest single benefactor of womenfolk." And later in the tract, "The Muslim women were equal partners with men in all spheres of life." Which is the truth? The Koran or the tract? Their preachers say one thing, but the Koran says another.

A sensuous paradise promised. Muhammad taught that those who died in battle would enter paradise where brown-eyed virgins waited for them. Paradise or heaven to Muslims is not a wonderful spiritual place where sin no longer exists. To them it is a place where the lusts and passions of men are satisfied physically, carnally and sensuously. Paradise to them is a place where sin is enjoyed to its fullest. Those who crashed the planed into the World Trade Center buildings died thinking that they were going to such a sinful place of fleshy gratification. If Jesus taught such, I would be ashamed to be a Christian.

Jesus taught that heaven would be a place of eternal rest and spiritual blessing. He said, "In the resurrection, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." (Matt. 22:30.)

The punishment for crimes in Islamic nations is brutal and harsh. The punishment often does not equal the crime; it greatly exceeds it. I have a newspaper clipping from "The Richmond Times-Dispatch," October 1, 2001, titled "Nigeria’s Brutal Islamic Law." Many of the nations in Africa have started enforcing strict Islamic punishments upon those who commit crimes. Amputation of limbs and stoning are among the punishments. One man had his right hand amputated by hospital surgeons in May 2001 after being convicted of stealing two bicycles. The man, Lawali Isa said, "This is how justice was done to me. Now I would prefer to die rather than live." In Nigeria, only Muslims are supposed to be tried in Islamic courts, while others answer to secular courts. But as the governments come under the authority of Muslims, Christians and others are subjected to the justice of Islam. In political justice there is a harsh, barbaric, brutal display of power against others.

Jesus never advocated such brutality when people did wrong. When the Jews demanded Jesus to say whether an adulterous women should be stoned to death, he said, You that are without sin cast the first stone. When they all left being convicted by their own conscience, Jesus said to the woman, Go and sin no more. (John 8:1-11.) Jesus never encouraged amputation or stoning those who did wrong.

Muslims repeat that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Prophet of God. Because no one but Allah should be worshipped, Muslims do not worship Muhammad. However, there is an obvious reverence and admiration expressed to him. Muslim literature overflows with tales about Muhammad. He is said to be a religious teacher, a social reformer, tremendous administration, military genius, perfect husband and father and faithful friend. One Muslim wrote, "No man in history ever excelled or equaled him in any of these different aspects of life." (Quoted by Mark Roberts in The Gospel Advocate, "Islam’s Basic Beliefs," Nov. 2001, 15.)

An article titled, "You Must Know Him," says, "He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set foot on this earth." When referring to Mohammad, they always say after his name, praise be unto him (pbuh). The article encourages with glowing words of praise, "Come, let us make a new discovery, the life of this wonderful man, Mohammad (pbuh), the like of whom never walked on this earth, and whose example and teachings can change your life and our world for the better. May God shower His choicest blessings upon him!"

There is a noticeable, tremendous difference between the words of his biographers and followers in their description of him and what non-Muslim writers say about Mohammad. His followers defend his polygamy and taking of a child bride. They deny that he murdered thousands and took their women, children and property. They claim that he lived as a poor man, never having two square meals on any day. Yet he was rich from the wealthy widow, Khadijah, and from his raiding the countryside.

The noted historian, Philip Schaff, wrote about the life and character of Mohammed this way. He said, " Mohammad, an unschooled, self-taught, semi-barbarous son of nature, of noble birth, handsome person, imaginative, energetic, brave, the ideal of a Bedouin chief, was destined to become the political and religious reformer, the poet, prophet, priest and king of Arabia. . . When a boy of four years he was seized with something like a fit of epilepsy. . . He was often subject to severe headaches and feverish convulsions, in which he fell on the ground like a drunken man and snored like a camel." Schaff summed up his life: "To compare such a man with Jesus is preposterous and even blasphemous. Jesus was the sinless Savior of sinners; Mohammad was a sinner and he knew and confessed it. He falls far below Moses, or Elijah, or any of the prophets and apostles in moral purity." (Philip Schaff, 160, 171.) Indeed!