The Prophet & the Messiah : An Arab Christian's Perspective on Islam & Christianity

Rating:
Summary: Great introduciton
Review: Like the other reviewer, I also enjoyed "The Prophet and the Messiah". He is highly educated in the filed of Islamic studies and is a well-known spokesman for the educated interaction of the two faiths. From my own limited knowledge of the literature, this has been the most useful of the books on the subject owing to its organization and content. It is not polemical, although Moucarry is clearly a Christian.

One little observation is that many books of this sort approach Islam from the Protestant theological tradition. In some ways this seems to be useful since the majority of Protestants and all true Muslims hold a "Quranic" notion of the Book. That is, it is literal and intact as given. In Christian terms, this means that functionally most Protestants have zero conception of how the New Testament was formed from the liturgical heart of the Church, and not vice versa. So in this way the Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura (bible alone) has a false bond with Islam on a textual level. It should be noted, however, that when speaking with Moslems it needs to be remembered that their equivalent to Jesus Christ incarnate of Mary as God is not Muhammad, but the Qur'ân. We have an incarnated God, they have an "inscripturated" God. There is much to learn from the ancient Churches of the Near and Middle East in this regard.

Other useful books in this regard are Cragg's "Muhammad and the Christian", "Paths to the Heart" edited by Cutsinger is very useful if you have an interest in Sufism and Eastern Orthodoxy, Bell's "The Origin of Islam in Its Christian Environment", Daniel Sahas' "John of Damascus on Islam: The Heresy of the Ishmaelites", and Stockle's "The Doctrine of Islam and Christian Belief".

Rating:
Summary: The Koran Inside Abraham's Faith Thru Moslem Eyes
Review: Muslim Belief: How the Qur'an Fits Into Abrahamic History

Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the Word of Allah (God). They believe that it was dictated to the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel over a 20+ year period 1400 years ago. They believe that it has Allah's personal mark of protection over it, so unlike any other religious book, it is supposed to be exactly in the same pure state it was in when it was first revealed a millennia and a half ago (the Arabic Text part anyway). And they believe that it is the "Last Testament;" that it marks the end of the Revealed Scripture from Allah and that there will be no more additions to The Book. It is now complete.

For its part, the Qur'an itself claims (written in first-person narration as the Voice of God Himself talking directly to the Prophet and sometimes to us) that it is the last part of a larger Book that came to many peoples before. It claims that this last part is the universal message for all of mankind, whereas the previous major Books, the Torah of Moses and the Gospel of Christ Jesus were only specialized, specific messages for a local population.

Now because Muslims believe that every dot, squiggle, fathah, kasra and dumma in the Qur'an is the actual Word of Allah on Earth, when they read the Old and New Testaments, the parts that back up what the Qur'an claims tend to really stand out to them in a very obvious manner; to the point where they sometimes just can't believe that Christians and Hebrews don't see it too. For example, in Sura XXVI verses 192-199 Allah says:

"Verily this is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds:
With it came down the Spirit of Faith and Truth-
To thy heart and mind that thou mayest admonish
In the perspicuous Arabic tongue.
Without doubt it is announced in the mystic books of former peoples.
Is it not a sign to them that the learned of the Children of Israel knew it as true?
Had we revealed it to any of the non-Arabs, and had he recited it to them, they would not have believed in it."

That last part is in reference to the fact that when the high ranking Rabbis in the Hebrew tribes of Makkah and Medina heard the Qur'an recited for the first time they immediately believed in it. In Deuteronomy 18:18/34:10 they had the old prophecy of a Prophet with a book coming from their brother nation of Arabs, so they were expecting him. The Qur'an mentions elsewhere that Muhammad's coming was foretold in the previous messages, so when Muslims come across passages like that they are not surprised at all.

The Qur'an also claims that the religion of Islam that it propagates is the same religion and message that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob practiced. Hebrews and Christians dismiss this statement for seemingly obvious reasons, but in recent studies of the contents of the so-called Dead Sea Scrolls, the scholars have discovered that the message taught by James the Just from the first Christian Church as given to him by his brother Christ Jesus is the same as that taught in the Qur'an and is not the same as that taught by the Torah or even by Pauline Christianity (see The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered and James the Brother of Jesus). Muslims simply accept these findings because the Qur'an already said so, but in actually reading the Old and New Testaments the reasons for these statements again stand out obvious to them.

The Religion/Faith of God as practiced by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was called "Torath Yahve" or instruction/moral law of God. It was also practiced by Jacob's kids (especially Joseph) and his great grandson Moses. At that time the Torath Yahve had never been written down; it was always an oral message and everyone was apparently A-Okay with that.

And then came the Exodus. Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt towards the land that Allah had promised to give to the offspring of His friend Abraham. But it was not easy. They gave Moses and Aaron hell the whole step of the way. And it was by no means simply the bone-weary complaints of the traveler, no. Despite the many, many, many (and MANY) signs and wonders Allah showed them almost daily, the Children of Israel would drop God's teaching and worship idols, doubt and disobey God's word and everything. God was (literally!) always getting fed up and about to wipe them out and start over when Moses had to jump in and remind Him of the promise to Abraham, and then God would calm down. This would happen almost every week during the entire journey. And every time it happened, as punishment Allah would give the Children of Israel new strict and ever more complicated laws to follow to make up for what they were putting Him and His Apostles through. These laws not only grew longer and longer but they also got a long list of Curses that would happen to them if they didn't follow all the laws to the letter. This was the punishment for the Children of Israel for their continuous rebellion.

When they reached the edge of the Promised Land across the river Jordan, Allah told Moses to write down the Law. Thus the complex, super-strict burden of the Laws called the written Torah was born. God said it had to be written where they all could come and see it. And He prophesized through both Moses and Joshua that the Children of Israel would rebel again and annul the Abrahambric Covenant and be destroyed. Of course it did happen. The only child of Israel left is Judah who has the burden of caring for the written Torah of Moses and the oral message of the Torath Yahve which is only taught to the higher ranking Rabbi or the "...learned of the Children of Israel" as the Qur'an called them.

The Torath Yahve was not for the Children of Israel to follow, their only job was to carry it and safeguard it; they had to follow the super-strict Torah until their Messiah, the last of the Hebrew Prophets came to release them from its heavy burden and allow them to practice the far easier Torath Yahve again. Unfortunately for the Children of Israel, the spirit of rebellion was still upon them. Despite the fact that they had fulfilled the prophesy of their destruction and had been smashed down to only one remaining tribe, and the fact that they had abused the written Torah in their safekeeping and taken on all kinds of wicked, selfish practices they still suffered under the illusion that they were Allah's chosen people. So it was no surprise at all that when their Messiah did come to release them from their centuries old burden, they rejected him because he didn't aid and abet the foul practices they had grown into. They tried to kill him and cursed themselves further.

The Messiah of the Children of Israel was none other than Jesus, son of Mary. He told them that he alone held the key to their salvation; that if they didn't go through him and receive the guidance of the Torath Yahve then they had to remain under every tot and tittle the Torah demanded of them. Jesus said that the secret to getting to heaven is to keep the commandments. Muslims generally feel that the concept of the Divine, Son-of-God Jesus came completely out of the imagination of Paul and is not to be taken seriously. Because the gentiles of 2000 years ago were already worshipping beings similar to Paul's Divine Jesus, plus the fact that some of the Hebrews still had that idol-worshipping rebellious spirit upon them, it really comes as no surprise to Muslims that they took Paul's ideas and ran with them with enthusiasm.

Jesus told his twelve companions that he could not stay and spread the Gospel amongst the world-wide community; that wasn't his job. His message was only for the lost sheep of the Children of Israel. If he stayed then the Spirit of Truth couldn't come to give all of mankind the universal message.

Now three points stand out about that last part when Muslims read it. First, the Qur'an said that previous messages (including Jesus') were local, so that is confirmation to them. Second, Muslims know that the reason Islam spread so rapidly in the very beginning of its message among those who knew Muhammad best, was because his nicknames were "Spirit of Truth," "Truthful One" from when he was a very small boy. His wife Khadijah proposed to him because of his upright morality and uncompromising honesty. Third, Muslims remember that there were two Christians in Muhammad's history who told him that they were expecting another prophet because of Jesus' prophesy. It's only been very recently that Christians have been interpreting "Spirit of Truth" and "Comforter" as the Holy Spirit, an aspect of Allah's manifestation in human lives that even the Old Testament gives ample evidence of having already been here.

When the Dead Sea Scroll scholars discovered that the Torath Yahve of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was the same message that the Children of Israel were safeguarding as their sacred oral tradition, which was the same message that Jesus was trying to exchange for the Torah with God's mercy, which was the same message the Christ gave to his younger brother James the Just who taught it in the first Church of Jerusalem, which is an identical message to the Holy Qur'an, Muslims merely see what they knew all along.

So with this information and a more detailed insight into how Muslims see Islam fitting into the Abrahamic Religious History perhaps you can be even more effective in your ministry approaches. You're welcome.




Rating:
Summary: Eye opening and helpful
Review: Recently popular Christian writer Don Richardson published a book called "The Secrets of the Koran" in which the author chronicles passages in the Koran that he finds offensive and he wants to bring to the attention of Christian leaders (and all leaders for that matter).

In "The Prophet and the Messiah" author Chawkat Moucarry takes a different approach. Moucarry looks at both the Bible and the Qur'an and examines places of connection between them. Quoting both the Qur'an and Islamic theologians, Morcarry finds places of dialog between Christians and Muslims that can lead to a better understanding of both religions and can move a Muslim into a better understanding of the true Christian message.

One of the main goals Moucarry has in his book is to create dialog between the Muslim believer and the Christian believer. In writing about his childhood in Syria, Moucarry comments:

Although Christians and Muslims have been living together for hundreds of years, they have always had a ghetto mentality, especially with regard to their faiths. Mutual ignorance, some would argue, was the price of trouble-free coexistence . . .This compromise proved quite unacceptable to the teenager I was at that time.

Moucarry's book then proceeds to chronicle important doctrines and beliefs of each faith looking at:
- the Holy books for both Muslims and Christians
- key doctrines for both faiths
- Jesus Christ and issues relating to Him
- Muhammad and issues relating to him.

Along the way Moucarry also looks at key problems between both faiths.

For example in Chapter 10 Moucarry looks at the Crucifixion. For many this subject is a place of disagreement between Christians and Muslim that seems irreconcilable. Moucarry helps us see what the Qur'an really says and how early Muslim interpreters did not see this verse as a problem. It was only later that this problem came up. (Read the book to find out more).

Moucarry does the same thing for many other key issues such as Jesus the Son of God, the Trinity, Mohammad's prophethood, and the Bible foretelling of Mohammad.

With each issue Moucarry looks at what the Qur'an says and what the Bible says and then at the writings of key theologians to help us understand how believers have dealt with this key issues. Along the way we gain deeper understanding of both faiths and, for the true seeker, we gain a greater ability to have dialog and to be able to seek truth together.

Rating:
Summary: Friendly Approach To Two Tension Gapped WorldViews!!!
Review: The Prophet and the Messiah: An Arab Christian's Perspective on Islam and Christianity, by Chawkat Moucarry, presents a contrast and comparison between Muslim beliefs and Christian beliefs. Moucarry appeals to the audience that the best way in which to witness is through friendship and everyday dialogue.
Author's Perspective
The author himself is of Arab/Muslim ancestry and Christian heritage. Moucarry states his primary thesis on p. 15, "This book attempts to examine the claims of both Christianity and Islam....what I am seeking, I suppose, is to build a bridge between the Christian and Muslim communities." Moucarry himself has lived in both of these types of communities throughout his life and realizes that there is a surmounting tension growing that must be resolved. He feels that the best way to do such is plainly through simple dialogue. He has seen that in the book market there are many books that are full of harsh criticisms between these communities, thus he decided to write a book in which would as positively as possible shine the light of God into both of these "religions." After having lived as both, he felt that the best possible way to approach each would be to mirror them through contrast and comparison.

Presentation of Material
Dr. Moucarry divided his book up into five sections:
1. The Scriptures (Moucarry gives a detailed account of both the Christian bible and the Muslim Qur'an. He addresses the issue of why Muslim theologians have said that Christians/Jews have falsified the Bible and then ends this section by carefully showing that there could not have been any falsification.)
2. The Key Doctrines (Moucarry now turns to many of the specifics that hold these two worlds together and how there are through discrepancies among the Muslims beliefs.)
3. The View of Jesus Christ (Moucarry now begins the largest section of his book. He opens through direct quoting of what both the Bible and the Qur'an specifically state about Jesus and which would be more accurate.)
4. The View of Muhammad (Moucarry opens the view of Muhammad as seen through the Qur'an and the Hadith. Muslims believe that the Bible (and the alleged Gospel of Barnabas) clearly teaches the forthcoming of this great Prophet-of which Moucarry carefully exegetes the Christian Bible and shows to whom were really foreseen.)
5. Contemporary Issue (Moucarry ends his book by addressing somewhat of the "missions" focus as to how these two worldviews can begin a careful and proper assimilation under the Lordship of the true God Jesus Christ.)
Prominent Features
There are several areas as to where I find this book a tremendous aid. The first area is the extent to which he has researched and written. Moucarry has not just written a basic apologetic as to why "Christianity Stands True," but he has written in such a diverse and expansive way as to shine light into many of the untouched areas of both views. To present the message, he has allowed the two texts to become transparent and to show its true colors. Thus by doing so, he has in the end revealed that the Bible is Theological and Spiritually superior to that which the supposed Great Prophet has written. I believe that what aids his writing is the fact that he has lived both lives and is able to write as such.
I think that the second area to which is most beneficial is his superior use of direct quoting. He does not merely say, "So and so said this and that." No, he directly quotes many Islamic theologians and many, many passages from the Qur'an. What further aided this is that he did the same with the Christian Scripture.
The last area to which is helpful is that this book could most definitely witness (through the Spirit) to a Muslim reading it. He has created this book to be a dialogue for these two perspectives, thus laying a paved road to enter into friendly discourse and not harmful, driving tension.
Personal Insights
I think that the greatest insight (that is as coming from the Christian perspective) is that Satan will stop at nothing to malign the True Word of God. Probably one of the most fascinating peeks at Satan's trickery I have seen while reading this book came from p. 46:
The Qur'an urges the 'People of the Book', that is, Jews and Christians, to receive the
final revelation God had entrusted to Muhammad (2:41 ; 4:47 ). This call is based on the assumption that the Qur'an is God's revelation in Arabic confirming the preceding revelations, that is, the Torah and the Gospel.

This just shows that there is not always going to be this huge bombardment attack from the Evil One-of which most are very subtle. We must be ready to always defend the attacks (whether great or small) of the Prince of this world. We must stand guard and be prepared "in season and out of season." Go and befriend a Muslim because they are just as we are-created in the image of God!