The Dark Side of Islam [Hardcover]

R. C. Sproul (Author), Abdul Saleeb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2003

Is Islam a religion of peace or of violence?

Islam is a religion we can no longer afford to ignore. It is oneof the fastest-growing religions in the world. Newspapers andtelevision news regularly bring stories from the Middle East, butmore importantly, the Muslim world has come to us. Between 5 and 7million Muslims currently live in America, and that number isgrowing.

Recognizing the importance of understanding Islam, R. C. Sprouland Abdul Saleeb had a series of conversations about how Islamdiffers from the Christian faith, and those conversations becamethe basis for this book. As a convert from Islam, Saleeb has spentmany years studying Islam and Christianity. With Dr. Sproul hefocuses on four basic areas in which Islam rejects the veryfoundations on which Christianity is built:

• the nature and authority of the Bible
• the nature of God
• the character of humankind
• the deity and sacrificial death of Christ

Sproul and Saleeb will help you understand Islam better and giveyou an intellectual basis for answering the Muslim faith-perhapswhen interacting with Muslims in your own neighborhood or city. Inaddition to discussing the differences between Islam andChristianity, Saleeb gives his own perspective on the "dark side"of Islam in light of violence perpetrated by Muslim extremists inrecent years.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Crossway Books (June 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581344414
• ISBN-13: 978-1581344417
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #695,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. R.C. Sproul is the founder, chairman and president of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian education ministry located near Orlando, Florida. His teaching can be heard on the program Renewing Your Mind, which is broadcast on hundreds of radio outlets in the United States and in 40 countries worldwide. He is the executive editor of Tabletalk magazine and general editor of The Reformation Study Bible, and the author of more than seventy books and scores of articles for national evangelical publications. Dr. Sproul also serves as president of Ligonier Academy of Biblical and Theological Studies and Reformation Bible College. He currently serves as senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew's in Sanford, FL.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, March 14, 2004

By 

Nathanael C. Milne (Worcester, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dark Side of Islam (Hardcover)

In this book, R.C. Sproul and Abdul Saleeb (pseudonym), a Muslim convert to Christianity, discuss the major doctrinal differences between Christianity and Islam. They demonstrate that these two religions have fundamentally different views on a number of doctrines, and they present a defense for the Christian view of each. The seven doctrines discussed in the book's first seven chapters are Scripture, the fatherhood of God, the Trinity, sin, salvation, the death of Christ, and the deity of Christ. The final chapter presents the roots of terrorism in the Qur'an and Muslim tradition. For all of these topics, the two authors deal well with the differences between Christianity and Islam. There is one additional area that would have benefited this book greatly, in my opinion. It lacked any significant historical introduction to Islam. While not essential for understanding the material in the book, it would have still helped the average reader, who is most likely unaware of the "who, when, where, how, and why?" of Islam's founding and continuance to the present day.

32 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Basics for the Christian, June 23, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dark Side of Islam (Hardcover)

I would recommend this book to the average Christian who wants to know more about Islam. Mr. Saleeb's first-hand knowledge of Islam and Christianity provide a reliable source for the facts shared. He brings to light the sharp pragmatic differences between the two religions, while R.C. Sproul does an excellent job showing the philosophical division.

After reading this book it should be clear that Islam is vastly different from Christianity. This is an important point considering that many today would like to say that Islam and Christianity are so similar. One last point is that the book only spends one little chapter at the end discussing the violent side of Islam. And even here Mr. Saleeb clearly states that most Muslims are friendly people. His point is: the violent minority are justified in their actions (according to the Quran).

The comment about the author dismissing "thousands of years of Christian ignorance" is erroneous. First of all, it was not his "main argument." Second of all, for nearly a thousand years, many Christians (including priests) did not have a good knowledge of the Bible (and even if they did, they were working with the Latin Vulgate, and not the original text). Furthermore, the crusades and inquisition were both political moves primarily. No student of Jesus Christ could consent to such violent actions. These charges require only but a little study of the Bible and Church history.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Islam versus the Trinity, January 20, 2005

By 

William Garrison Jr. (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dark Side of Islam (Hardcover)

I've read a lot of books on Islam, but I'm still trying to figure out some of the details. Other reviewers have noted the contents of this book; the only one I wish to comment upon is the discussion about why Muslims are so rattled about the Chrisitian notion of "The Trinity": God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus. I've found this short work to be great in explaining why Muslims find the notion of "The Trinity" to be blasphemous. I won't analyze the reasoning here, but the authors' short chapter on this matter really hightened my understanding. And the discussion of their differences pertaining to "Original Sin" is fine, too. This is a "good" book on a few topics, but alas, so short on small-sized pages. Due to the shortage of words and pages, try to buy it as cheaply as you can. 1-star for its small size, but 3-stars for its helpful analysis. Most likely it will never be included as a reference in any serious book about Islam, but definitely worth reading by those of us who haven't been to Sunday school lately.