Is
Islam an "Abrahamic" Faith along with Judaism and
Christianity?
http://j.mp/0AllahNotGod
or
http://www.virtueonline.org/islam-abrahamic-faith-along-judaism-and-christianity
[/] By Andrew Harrod [/]
http://philosproject.org/islam-christianity-mark-durie/
[/] September 10, 2015
My
friend Mark Durie, an Anglican priest and theologian, has written a
book refuting the thinking common today that Islam shares a
theological lineage from Father Abraham with Judaism and
Christianity.
"Islam
has no family resemblance with Christianity and Judaism. The
similarities are appropriated, not inherited," the Anglican
priest and theologian Mark Durie starkly stated in his book "Which
God? Jesus, Holy Spirit, God in Christianity & Islam."
This volume is essential reading for Christians who wish to counter
the "Abrahamic fallacy" of Islamic kinship with
Judeo-Christian faith.
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.
I2C
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