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The Dark Side of Islam

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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.

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.

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.

If you have an interest in this topic, this is definitely a book to check out. It's a quick read at just over 100 pages but it's packed with information. It's written as a conversation between Saleeb and Sproul with one asking the other how Muslims and Christians respond to questions about their faith.

One of the most interesting sections in the book is the chapter on "the dark side of Islam". Some make the analogy that Osama Bin Laden is to Islam what Timothy McVeigh was to Christianity. This is absolutely false. Bin Laden can quote Qur'anic verses and traditions from Muhammad that justify his actions. McVeigh could not quote from the Bible or refer to Jesus to justify his actions. Supporters of Islam claim that Muslim terrorists are misinformed and misguided fanatics who are misinterpreting Islamic texts. However, these terrorists can quote many texts from the Qur'an to support the legitimacy of their actions.

The authors also point out that some Muslims are fond of saying that the jihad, or holy war, in Islam is only a defensive action. Only in cases of self-defense or fighting oppression are Muslims allowed to fight. However, self-defense and oppression have much broader meanings to Muslims. Muslims argue that America is attacking them by exporting its secular cultural values, by exporting Hollywood movies and destroying the cultural norms on their countries.

This book is by no means a complete study on Islam but it is good place to start if one is interested in identifying the significant differences between Islam and Christianity.

This book presents a response to the argument that Islam is an innocent victim of highjacking by extremist radicals. It does not attack Islam from a blind western ideology but carefully examines the aspects of Islamic teaching that lend it to the violent interpretations that are so much in the news. Dr Sproul is an accomplished author and theologian while Abdul Saleem is authoritative on Islamic history and teaching. As you might guess Mr Saleem does not use his real name for security reasons. Many moderate muslims who criticize the fundamentalists are deemed apostate and targeted for violence themselves.

God, man and the sin of man would be better title to this book. The thesis of this book is not Islam being evil or even violent. It is a comparative theology book. The first seven chapters present a brief comparison between traditional Orthodox Christianity and How Islam has faith in God and man's relationship with God. More Liberal Christian theology is often presented because Islam on occasion present it as an argument for the flaws in the Christian Faith.

Islam teaches the Bible once was reliable but now it is not, because has altered the content. Islam often uses arguments made by Liberal theologians and higher critics to dismiss the accuracy of the bible. Orthodox traditional Christianity believes the Bible is an accurate historic record and God's inspired word. Islam further teaches that the Quaran sets the record straight where the bible now diverts from Allah's will and an accurate historic record.

"The Quran use such terms as ignorant, weak willed, arrogant, easily led astray, and ungrateful to describe human nature." But what Islam does not teach is that man has a sinful nature. Tradition Orthodox Christianity teaches that man rebels against God's holiness, therefore each individual deserves condemnation for their sin and damnation into hell. Thus the need for a Savior to take one's punishment. Plus the need for repentance. No need for a Savior in Islam. Many Liberal theologians teach salvation comes through several different ways. Such teaching downplays how much God hates sin.

Islam believes an individuals good works may outweigh man's bad works. Salvation is matter of the individual having the strength and courage to over come the evil a person does in one's life. Obtaining Allah's favor comes through behaviour perseverance. Some theologians today teach of a God that is tolerant and more permissive of sin, so salvation is easily obtain even without repentance and belief. The Authors disagree, traditional orthodox Christianity teaches God's hatred of sin, the need for repentance for ones sins and the price to be paid. The proprietion of sin through Jesus Christ is needed. Catholicism accepts this plus adds the need for good deeds to avoid a term in purgatory.

The sin of shirk is a concept in Islam that the unpardonable sin is the belief Allah has an equal or partner.Islam teaches Christians violate this sin, because they believe Jesus is God. This is an insult to Allah. This sin will outweigh any good a Christian can do through strength and courage. The Book goes on to discuss liberal theology and the Jesus seminar. In this seminar theologians dismiss miracles attributed to Jesus in the Bible and quotes by Jesus as stated in the Bible. Islam does attribute supernatural attributes to Jesus on earth, but dismiss remarks by Jesus claiming to be God or the Son of God. Liberal Christianity teaches that the Trinity is a contradiction and hard to understand. Islam teaches that Christianity is about three gods and not one. therefore it is a violation of shirk. Traditional Christianity teaches that the concept is a paradox, not a contradiction. There is one God, but there is three persons in the God Head.

The Bible teaches Jesus died a very painful humiliating death on the cross. Further it is written Jesus came back to life on the following Sunday. The Quran argues that Allah would never have such a "great prophet" as Jesus die such a shameful death. They do not deny it as recorded history but as some sort of ruse put on by Allah. Islam contains many conjectures how this was accomplished. These are written in other Islamic books other than the Quran. Again Islam teaches that man can make to heaven on his own merits, no need for a redeemer.

The Fatherhood of God does not exist in Judaism or in Islam. The Quran argues that Allah is not like some Greek god who has a sexual act with another creature. Islam has a more distant relationship between God and His followers. All Christianity disagree with this. That is the concept of the Fatherhood in Christianity has nothing to do with a physical sexual act, but how God can relate to people. Many theologians argue that God relate to all people. While Traditional Orthodox Christianity argues the Fatherhood of God only relates to those who accept Jesus as Savior therefore are the the adopted children of God the Father.

The Dark Side of Islam is the tile of the book and the last chapter introduction of the book and first seven chapters develop how Christians and Muslims perceive God differently. No analysis is given what is a good work or bad work in Islam or Christianity. The last chapter describe violent acts describe in the Hadith (not equal to the Quran, But highly thought of.) These acts are taught as obedient and honorable in the context given. The authors do mention the historic books in the Old Testament describe violent acts commanded and obeyed by God's followers. They further argue it was for a specific time and space. Well I wish the argument was elaborated more on. They go into more detail how violent acts are acceptable in Islam today. More space should have been used on this topic. Making the book two-hundred pages would not have been overwhelming?

Few , if any, contemporaries surpass R.C. in his field of religious endeavor.
This work is pretty lightweight compared to all else he has written.
That being said, "The Dark Side of Islam", is a decent primer but goes no further.
IMO, if the reader is interested in amplifying the issues, he/she will have to look elsewhere.
Still worth the time to begin your education on a most serious issue that confronts us today.

This book was read by me and my 14 year old son as he was studying the Islam religion in his History class at school. It gave him a good idea of what Islam is about in a way that was easy to understand. It was also on the "shorter" side, so it wasn't overwhelming.

The Dark Side of Islam is a short book (about a hundred pages) written by R.C. Sproul and Abdul Saleeb (not his real name) about the common misconceptions about the religion of Islam in the West. Sproul is a Christian Theologian and Saleeb, who was originally from a Middle Eastern country, is a former Muslim who has converted to Christianity. Formally converting from Islam to any other religion is considered apostasy, a crime against Islam and punishable by death, per the Qu'ran. Although it is seldom enforced, Saleeb is taking no chances, therefore he is not using his real name.

This book examines both the differences and similarities between Christianity and Islam. The Prophet Muhammad founded Islam in 610 AD subsequent to the creation of Christianity. Muslims consider the Islamic holy book, the Qu'ran the last word from God, thereby superseding the works of mentors of Judaism and Christianity, like Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Even though all three religions are monotheistic, this is the reason Muslims consider Christians and Jews infidels (unbelievers).

The authors go in to some detail about the differences between the religions, which seem to break down into five main areas; 1) Fatherhood of God, 2) the Holy Trinity, 3) effects of Sin, 4) Salvation and 5) the Death and Divinity of Christ.

1) Muslims take offense at the idea of calling God/Allah father. While Christians think of God, the father as in creator, Muslims take it literally and believe it denotes sexual connotations. (This and other things I've read lead me to believe that Muslims have a serious hang-up about sex.)

2) Muslims reject the idea that their one God - Allah, could be the same as the Christian Holy Trinity. (I must admit I do too. The Holy Trinity has always sounded like bunk to me.)

3) Muslims have different outlook on sin. They believe whether one goes to Heaven or Hell depends upon whether their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds.

4) Salvation is strictly a Christian term. Muslims have no concept of salvation nor any need for it based upon their own beliefs. The idea that Jesus died to erase the sins of humanity is incomprehensible to them. Not his reasons, but that it would work.

5) Muslims accept Jesus as a main Prophet of Islam, second only to Mohammad but they reject his death, his resurrection and his divinity.

The way the authors lay out the first ninety percent of the book, it seems they are laying out a case for the logic and common sense of the religion of Islam. Indeed they do seem to portray Christianity as a religion with fallible beliefs, at least on the subjects discussed. However while Islam seems to be rational in a general sense, it is in the details, discussed in the last ten pages of the book, where we get to see the Jeckyl side of this Jeckyl and Hyde religion. This is where the terrorists get the justifications for their malicious inhuman behavior.

Conclusion

The Dark Side of Islam was not what I expected, nor did I particularly enjoy reading it. It was written in a form like a discussion between between two scholars, almost in interview form, with their last name, a colon, and then their answer. I almost pictured the two men in front of a fire on a cold winter evening, each with a tumbler of brandy, discussing the world's religions.

The book was very short (probably no more than 20,000 words) and seemed to cover the bright side of Islam much more than the dark side. When they finally scrutinize the, so called, dark side, (which could easily be called the bloody side) it was only in the last chapter, ten percent of the book, therefore I think the title is misleading. This chapter reveals a history of bloody viciousness that mainstream Muslims have a problem reconciling with their faith but is in fact, the radical Muslim handbook for the brutal acts they commit in the name of Allah.

I just finished a book that covers this dark side of Islam in more depth - The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam. I recommend that book over this book.

I had higher expectations, particularly from a book by R.C. I found this to be a brief broad brush on the dark side of Islam. It walked lightly into the "dark side" but didn't get to the more serious bits or implications. Frankly, I was disappointed. However, it may be a good starter book for those who want to just learn something about Islam and then head off to other more robust books on the topic should they have further interest. There are much better introductory treatments of the subject out there. Patrick Sookhdeo is a good alternative: Global Jihad; The Challenge of Islam to the Church and Its Mission; and A Christian's Pocket Guide To Islam.