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15 January 2025, I had a good conversation with my brother and friend, Kenneth Johannes, during a livestream. Beforehand, we had thought we might touch on the topic of Islam for a while. But then again, we hadn’t spoken to each other for such a long time that we had to move this topic to a next time.

Yet it keeps me busy, even here on Madagascar. I see that Islam is gaining popularity and that many, and even some Christians too, often bury our heads in the sand. In this video, I want to mention a few points that annoy me.

Islam is Fundamentally Peaceful … So They Say

The first thing I find annoying is that many, and yes even some Christians, are at the forefront of saying that Islam is peaceful—that it is only a few radicals who ruin it for the large group.

What many do not seem to realise is that Islam as an ideology was already changing enormously during Muhammad’s lifetime. There are essentially two stages of development in Islam.

I will call the first phase ‘Mecca Islam’. In this phase, Islam had a much friendlier character. This was mainly because in the first period Muhammad was militarily very weak. He could not impose his beliefs. Indeed, he and his followers were themselves persecuted. During this phase, most of the peace-loving texts were written.

I will call the second phase the ‘Medina Islam.’ During this period, Muhammad had enough military strength to take an offensive and aggressive stance. This was the period when Jihad was waged with the sword. In this period, the aggressive texts in the Qur’an emerged.

You could say that Muslims should live by the first, peaceable, rules. But it is not that simple. I will come back to these two stages later.

Confusing for the ordinary reader is that the texts in the Qur’an are not in chronological order. The chapters (Surahs) are in order of length, from the longest to the shortest. To complete the confusion, it is also the case that earlier verses (in chronology of revelation and therefore not in terms of place in the Qur’an) are sometimes cancelled by later instructions. Islam calls this the rule of abrogation, or replacement. Naskh’s definition in sharia for this word is: ‘the abrogation or suspension of one sharia ruling by another, provided the latter is of later origin and the two rulings were issued separately.’ⁱ

Surah 2:106

If We ever abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten, We replace it with a better or similar one. Do you not know that Allah is Most Capable of everything?

So yes, in the first period, Islam was a predominantly peace-loving ideology in which everyone was free to worship whoever they wanted.

It is a bit confusing. Actually I got confused with the peaceful verses and war-verses. For example, we read a seemingly peaceful revelation given to Muhammad in the second phase of Islam—the ‘Medina Islam.’

Surah 2:256

Let there be no compulsion in religion […]

At first I though that this verse was given in the first period, but someone pointed out that this was in fact incorrect. Muhammad offered this verse in his first year of residence in Medina when he needed the Jews’ support. Nahhas, citing Ibn ‘Abbas, stated: “Scholars differed concerning 2:256. Some said it has been abrogated by 9:73 for the Prophet compelled the Arabs to embrace Islam and fight those that had no alternative but to surrender to Islam. Other scholars said that 2:256 had not been abrogated concerning the People of the Book. It is only the infidels who are compelled to embrace Islam.”^vii

This verse is often given as prove to show that there were also peace-loving verses in the Medina period. And indeed, this verse seems to suggest that everyone was still free to worship whatever they wanted. However, the word ‘compulsion’ has a different taste to it if you consider the ruling surrounding it. It basically means that one does not have to worship Allah but if they don’t the had to pay a protection tax, the Jizya. If they didn’t want pay that either, they had to be subdued. But, as we have seen, even this verse seems to be controversial as some Muslim scholars believe that even this verse has to be abrogated by the later, more aggressive verses.^viii

In a later phase—the Medina Islam—when Muhammad and his army was much more powerful, we read the following:

Surah 9:29

Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, nor comply with what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth from among those who were given the Scripture, until they pay the tax, willingly submitting, fully humbled.

According to the law of abrogation, Muslims must follow this later revelation because it is better than the earlier one. Muslims who do not recognise this abrogation as better are essentially disobeying the Qur’an and the law of Islam, Sharia.

Why is your Muslim neighbour so friendly?

“Yes but,” a sister said to me, “my Muslim colleague is very kind and understanding!” Of course, this is perfectly fine, because your Muslim colleague is just like you, a human being of flesh-and-blood.

For many, the word ‘Muslim’ is synonymous with angry mobs and suicide bombers. Such stereotyping of Muslims is not good. Many Muslims are ordinary, peace-loving people with their own dreams and problems and should be treated with the same respect we give to other fellow human beings.

Besides, many Muslims in the West are Muslim simply because of tradition. You could say they are ‘name Muslims’. Not all Muslims are familiar with the teachings of the Qur’an and the life of Muhammad. Usually they are not really encouraged to read the Qur’an in a language other than Arabic. But I can assure you that many Muslims in Arab countries look down on this group. If your friendly Muslim neighbour with the same broad-mindedness went to live in a country like Iran, Yemen or Afghanistan, and openly expressed his broad-mindedness there, he would soon find himself in trouble.

But what if your neighbour is a sincere Muslim who likes to do exactly what the Qur’an dictates. He adheres to the five pillars of Islam. The profession of faith (shahada); the ritual prayers (salat or salah); giving alms (zakat or zakah); fasting during Ramadan (saum/sawm or siyam); the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

In short, your neighbour is the real deal! Yet he is super friendly. When a terrorist attack occurs, he immediately refers to the peace-loving texts of the Qur’an—those texts recorded in the first period of Islam. Yes, your neighbour is quick to say that Islam is actually very loving.

How about that? And again, of course, we cannot lump all Muslims together. It may, of course, be the case that the sincere Muslim in question truly believes that Islam is peaceful. That he reads the Qur’an—if he reads it at all—with modern glasses on his nose, with warlike texts belonging to the distant past. We have many of these Muslims living among us. But for others Muslims—those who want to adhere strictly to Islamic ideology—seem to have a recurring pattern in their behaviour.

What recurring behaviour? Let me explain. It strikes me that if you ask this Muslim whether he will condemn the terrorists in question, there is almost always an evasive answer. As true Muslims, they simply cannot condemn a fighting brother because they also understand that this Muslim brother adheres to the later, i.e. better, revelations of Muhammad.

So the question is whether your friendly Muslim neighbour is totally for peace with everyone because of Islam, or in spite of Islam? Does Islamic ideology promote peace and tolerance? As mentioned before, a favourite verse of moderate Muslims is Surah 2:256, which states:

Let there be no compulsion in religion, for the truth stands out clearly from falsehood.

Radical Muslims, however, will point you to the numerous Qur’anic texts in which Muhammad orders his followers to fight, and subjugate anyone who opposes Islam.

The ‘Be Nice’ Tactic

Another thing that often strikes me is the ‘be-kind-and-nice tactic’. We see this tactic everywhere in the world. This tactic is as old as Islam itself. What am I talking about? Simply the method that Mohammed himself also used.

As long as you are a Muslim in the land of unbelievers or when you are weak, go and practice ‘Mecca Islam’. Be kind and considerate!

But as soon as the Muslim lives in an Islamic paradise like Afghanistan or when the number of Muslims in a country with unbelievers are numerous, then they can put into practice the ‘Medina-Islam’ or true Islam. Then they can put into practice the latest revelations, which are better than the earlier ones.

In Britain, we now see cities where the majority are Muslims. British girls can hardly walk the streets normally. They are scolded for not adhering to the dress code for Muslim women. There were open cheers and celebrations after the massacre that took place in Israel on 7 October 2023. Unofficially, some rules of sharia law are being introduced. It is made clear that British citizens who are not Muslims had better shut up. We see the same thing happening in other countries. Where Muslims are starting to become the majority, we see the typical oppressive effects so well known in countries like Iran and Afghanistan.

Islam has a friendly and nice face when it has no power. It is a successful strategy that even leads people to want to redefine history. For example, more and more people believe that Islam has never been spread through violence. Even secular scholars write in their books that this is a persistent myth that cannot be supported by historical facts. Fortunately, the Islamic website, Islam – Question and Answer (IQA), is a lot more honest.ⁱⁱ

The questioner asked the following:

Some enemies of the religion claim that Islam was spread by the sword. What is your response to that?

To which IQA replied:

Islam was spread by proof and evidence, in the case of those who listened to the message and responded to it. And it was spread by strength and the sword in the case of those who stubbornly resisted, until they had no choice and had to submit to the new reality.

Evil Example Makes Evil Followers

I believe we should stop condoning Islam. We don’t have to be politically correct all the time. Islam in itself is an evil ideology, it is as simple as that. Of course, we must continue to distinguish between the ideology and the people. But the religion itself is not a religion of peace. Islam was first called a religion of peace only in 1930. It was so described in a book published specifically to promote Islam to a Western audience.ⁱⁱⁱ For the first 1,300 years of Islamic history, this description was completely unknown; it appears nowhere in the texts or traditions of Islam until the last century.

Why I say the religion is evil? It is easy to demonstrate if we have a look at its founder, Muhammad himself. According to tradition, Muhammad took part in at least twenty-seven military campaigns and in addition he was in charge of some fifty-nine others.^iv Some were defensive, but most were to expand territory. Muhammad taught that it was a duty of Muslims to fight in physical jihad. He himself fought to expand the influence of Islam and encouraged his followers to do the same.

Modern terrorism differs from the way Muhammad fought. Nevertheless, his instructions and actions can be used perfectly well to justify it.

Surah 8:12

I will cast horror into the hearts of the disbelievers. So strike their necks and strike their fingertips.

And what of fear mongering? The Hadith provides justification here too.

Bukhari 4.52.220

I have been made victorious with terror (cast in the hearts of the enemy)

Making Excuses?

“Yes but!” Will some now say. “That was then. Islam has moved with the times and so Muslims have conformed their faith to this more relax age.”

We, and by that I also mean Christians, should stop making excuses for this religion. We must not forget that Muhammad is seen as the perfect example for mankind.

Surah 33:21

Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for whoever has hope in Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah often.

Even renowned Islamic scholar and sharia judge Mufti Taqi Usmani said in his book Islam and Modernism that jihad should still be waged in a country where Islam can be freely preached. He quoted Surah 9:29

Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, nor comply with what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth from among those who were given the Scripture, until they pay the tax, willingly submitting, fully humbled

His explanation sounded as follows:

Here, killing is to continue until the unbelievers pay Jizyah after they are humbled or overpowered. If the purpose of killing was only to acquire permission and freedom of preaching Islam, it would have been said “until they allow for preaching Islam.”^v

Contrast

Open Doors recently released their annual report with the figures on Christian persecution in the world in 2024. Interestingly, many of the countries in the top 10 countries where Christians are persecuted are (significantly) Muslim.

Again, especially as Christian we should not make excuses for Islam. Indeed, to do so is like making fun of our persecuted brothers and sisters in Islamic countries. We must realise that we are dealing with a very evil ideology.

The contrast between Muhammad and Jesus could not be sharper. Jesus said “love your enemies”—a statement not found anywhere in the teachings of Islam. Jesus never killed anyone and He even criticised Peter for taking up the sword in His defence. Instead of killing and maiming, Jesus healed people and even raised some from the dead.

Time and again, I keep emphasising that we are not necessarily talking about your neighbour or colleague. No, I am speaking definitely about Islamic ideology and its founder Mohammed.

Just a few differences:

Salvation

Finally, then, something about salvation. Not entirely unimportant it seems to me! Despite Islam being a false and dangerous ideology, we should not shy away from it.

We used to send missionaries to areas with Muslims. We wanted to teach them the wonderful way of Jesus. What a unique opportunity now lies before us. Now the Muslims are coming to us! We have a message of hope and need not be afraid to share it! Muslims need Jesus!

The Qur’an is not really clear on salvation. On the one hand, the Qur’an teaches that salvation is based on purification through good deeds (Surah 7:6-9). A Muslim can also become righteous by praying, fasting, almsgiving, and living according to the Qur’an. But the Qur’an also says that Allah has already decided the fate of every human being in advance, and a person’s good works may or may not influence Allah’s decision (Surah 57:22).

The Qur’an also teaches that every human being, that is, both the righteous and the unrighteous, will first be sent to hell by Allah before the righteous are allowed to enter heaven (Surah 19:67-72). Therefore, Muslims will not be able to say anything meaningful about their eternal destiny. Muhammad himself was not sure whether he would be saved or not (Surah 31:34; 46:9). The only guarantee of salvation is by dying in jihad.

How wonderful is the assurance we have been given as Christians.

John 5:24

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Despite being called as Christians to live up to Christ’s example, we do not have to constantly fear that our good deeds will fall short and will cause us to lose salvation. The Bible teaches that we can only be saved through the righteousness of Christ (Romans 5:21). As a saved person, we also no longer have to fear hell. The Bible is very clear about this, only Satan, demons and those who do not belong to Jesus will be sent to hell (2 Peter 2:4; Revelation 20:15).

The God of the Bible, YHWH, is not fickle like Allah. It is not that the Lord sends someone to hell because He feels like it. The Christian hope is that if we come to Jesus with a sincerely repentant heart, we will be saved by His grace. Our salvation lies in faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave once and for all opened the door to the Father.

In Conclusion

I conclude where I started. My criticism is aimed at Islam as an ideology and not at people, per se. Many Muslims simply want to have a pleasant life. Nevertheless, the Qur’an does not invite the Muslim to much good.

There is a big difference between those who culturally identify as Muslim and those who want to emulate Muhammad’s example in perfection.

Wafa Sultan once said:^vi

The problem with Christians is they aren’t as good as Jesus. But thank God most Muslims are better than Muhammad.

I don’t know in what context she said this, but it rings true. As Christians, we know all too well that we fall short.

Romans 3:23-24

for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

Our aspiration is to become more and more like the Lord Jesus. Let us hope and pray that Muslims will walk that path too. Fortunately, most are already living a better life than their prophet!

I want to close with the words from 2 Peter 1:2

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord

Endnotes

All Qur’an verses are taken from https://quran.com and the reference of the hadith comes from https://hadithcollection.com

i Being Muslimah, The Concept of Naskh (Abrogation) in Islam, 18-10-2024, [Internet] <https://www.beingmuslimah.org/post/the-concept-of-naskh-abrogation-in-islam>, accessed 21-01-2025.

ii Islam – Question and Answer, Was Islam spread by the sword?, www.islam-qa.com – question #5441, 01-03-2000, [Internet] <https://islamqa.info/en/answers/5441/was-islam-spread-by-the-sword> accessed 21-01-2024.

iii Mark Durie, Is Islam a Religion of Peace?, 16-12-2015, [Internet] <https://www.meforum.org/islam-religion-of-peace>, accessed 22-01-2025.

iv Cook, D., Understanding Jihad, University of California Press, 2005, p.6.

v Usmani, Islam and Modernism, trans. Siddiqui, New Delhi, India: Adam Publishers and Distributors, 2006, pp. 86-87.

vi Wafa Sultan, [Internet] <https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2936654.Wafa_Sultan>, accessed 22-01-2025.

vii Nahhas, An-Nasikh wal-Mansukh,, p. 80; Ibn Hazm, An-Nasikh wal-Mansukh, pp. 12-9, 27, 42.

viii Islam Q&A, There is no compulsion to accept Islam, [Internet] <https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34770/there-is-no-compulsion-to-accept-islam>, accessed 30-01-2025.

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