Is Islam an “Abrahamic” Faith along with Judaism and Christianity? Andrew Harrod
In his book, Durie noted the oft-touted idea of Western Abrahamic civilization in a world that once esteemed its Judeo-Christian civilization. Many assume that Islam joins Judaism and Christianity in possessing a theological lineage from the Old Testament’s Father Abraham. “This is new thinking which reflects the growing influence of Islam,” Durie said, adding that “one expression of the Islamicization of Christian thought serves the supersessionist program of Islam.”
Durie stressed that wording in the Quran recognizes Islam not as a faith that is subservient to Judaism and Christianity, but “as the primordial religion.” Those of the Islamic faith believe that other religions can be called “Abrahamic” only as concessions, because those faiths “derive their history in a confused and corrupted way from Islamic roots.” As noted in Quran 3:67, Islam proclaims that Abraham and other biblical figures were actually Muslims whose revelations Jews and Christians through the ages perverted into a “debased derivative of Islam.”
Yet the Islamic “libel that Jews and Christians have corrupted their scriptures is without historical support,” Durie wrote. While “Biblical narratives are rich with historical details – many confirmed by archeology – the Quran’s sacred history is devoid of archeological support.” Furthermore, the “Quran conflates the timelines of the Bible,” indicating that Islam’s Prophet Muhammad convolutedly pieced together Biblical tales that he had heard over the years. Quran 28:6, for example, describes Haman as a minister of Egypt’s pharaoh, not of the Persian emperor as in the Book of Esther.
The “prophet Isa [Jesus] of the Quran is a product of fable, imagination and ignorance,” Durie wrote, adding that the Quran is “valueless as a source of historical information on Jesus,” and that the book’s assertion that Jesus did not die by crucifixion has no support in history. The Quran’s reference to Jesus’s making clay into birds is taken from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a second-century “apocryphal text with fantastical mythical stories – some of them malevolent – about the childhood of Jesus.”
Durie sagely recognized the fact that many Christians find it difficult to embrace Islamic beliefs about Jesus, as well as the Quranic naming of Jesus. In Islamic apocalyptic prophecy, Jesus “will outlaw Christians and destroy Christianity.” And the Quranic name of Jesus – “Messiah” – finds no explanation in that book; in fact, Muslim scholars have never been able to reach a consensus about what the word means. Even stranger, “no one quite knows where Muhammad got the name Isa from. It seems to be borrowed from the Greek Iesous, from another language … Arabic-speaking Christians refer to Jesus as Yasu (from Yeshua borrowed via the Syriac).” Similarly, the Arabic word for Abraham (“Father of Many” in Hebrew), Ibrahim, lacks a definition in the Arabic language.
Along with different scriptures come different theologies – for instance, doctrines that concern the relationship between God and believers. “The Quran does not conceive of relationship with Allah in terms of the presence of Allah, but in terms of obedience to his commands,” Durie wrote, adding that Muslims are therefore slaves (or Abdullahs) of Allah. Obedience is realized in the Dar al-Islam (the house of Islam), which is where humans implement sharia law – including “injunctions in the Quran which explicitly contradict the Ten Commandments.” By contrast, the Christian “‘Kingdom of God’ … is not understood in terms of a political kingdom, but in terms of the saving presence of God in human affairs.”
The proximity of God and believers correspondingly differs within Christianity and Islam. “Human submission is matched by Allah’s dominance in Islam,” Durie said, explaining that the people of God are termed “saints,” or “holy ones” in the Bible – pointing to their part in God’s holy nature. “The concept of submission emphasizes the otherness of God from humanity; the concept of holiness emphasizes God’s identification with his creatures,” he said. Likewise, the Bible speaks of “human beings’ being created in the image of God,” while in the Quran, “the idea that people should be like Allah, or seek to become like him in any way, is regarded as blasphemy.”
The Biblical idea of God’s love is everlasting and transcends our sin – but Allah’s love as described in the Quran is conditional upon human actions. “In the Quran, Allah loves, protects and shows mercy to those who follow his commands,” Durie explained. “But much more frequent than statements about who Allah loves are statements about who Allah does not love.”
Christian-Muslim differences continue even in the afterlife. In the heaven of “Christian theology, the ‘wow’ factor is all about being in God’s presence ( Revelation 21:3-4),” Durie said, pointing out that “Allah’s presence is not center stage in the Islamic vision of paradise.” Islam’s “oasis view” of heaven focuses on “many great delights and pleasures, including – according to many authorities and the Quran itself – sexual partners.”
In summary, Durie said that “what is shared between Christianity and Islam is more than matched by the most profound contrasts in the identity of God.” He compared Islam to Haitian Creole, a language with a West African structure but a largely French vocabulary. “Islam is more like a creole faith which has borrowed much of its spiritual lexicon from Judaism and Christianity, but fits these onto pagan foundations, molded in the crucible of Muhammad’s life.”
Durie provided a sober rebuttal to the Jews and Christians who fancy Islam’s theological place in the family of Abraham, whether out of the hope of greater global harmony or a larger fellowship of God’s followers. The Islamic faith that arose among the Arab descendants of Abraham’s son Ishmael is a pretender to Father Abraham’s theological pedigree.
Armed with Durie’s insight, Christians should shine their light for those blinded by Islam and offer truth in love rather than superficial interfaith encounters. God’s blessing of the world through Abraham’s descendant Jesus demands no less for lost Muslim sheep.
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