So the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, believes the church is not doing enough to convert British Muslims to Christianity. The Pakistani-born bishop believes the church has shown too much sensitivity towards Muslims as part of efforts to welcome minority faiths and said : ‘what we need now is to recover our nerve.’
I’d love to see Christians try and explain the 3 =1 and 1=3 equation! I’d love to to see how they respond to the evidence that Prophet Muhammad is mentioned by name in the the original Hebrew bible and I’d love to hear what they would say to the suggestion that the bible is not, in its entirety the words of God.
Oh the memories of Shaykh Ahmed Dedaat taking on the likes of Anish Shouroush and Jimmy Swaggart to name just two… we may all need to dig out our copies of the Combat Kit, Is the bible God’s Word? Crucifixion or Cruci-Fiction?, remember those pamphlets? My Jehovah’s Witness friends most certainly do!
They kept on knocking on my door, wanting to speak to my mum or dad – in Bangla of course, with their colourful leaflets with wild animals and humans living side by side in tranquility. Until one day I pulled out my combat kit, that was it! after that encounter they never disturbed us again!
As Muslims we are commanded by God to debate and discuss with beautiful words and strong arguments. We believe everyone has a right to follow their own faith, but we also believe that Islam is the final divine message from God, and that Muhammad is the final Prophet and Messenger of God. If a Christian comes knocking on my door, I wont hesitate to proclaim the truth.
So Bishop Nazir-Ali – BRING IT ON!
“As to the personal spirituality of Jesus we have only the thinnest of evidence. We may surmise that he was sincere; but we are already in the realm of conjecture when we try to say what he wa sincere in.” Marshall G. S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, Volume 1, 1977, p.160
The above is true (having read for a degree in Theology and RS, I can concur this is one interpretation of the prevailing scholarly view, although Christians still claim the Holy Spirit inspired the Gospel writings. That still leaves half of Paul’s letters as fake, of course. Having said that, I would be wary of some of Deedat’s claims. His claim that Revelations predicts the Prophet (aws) fails to take into account that the Greek of that particular text is one step away from gibberish, and most translations are far too generous with regards to its lack of coherence. Deedat was a great speaker, but not much of a biblical philologist. JWs are another matter – they are not mainstream Christians and the biblical scholarship on which some of their beliefs are based is pure nonsense.
Ahmed Deedat was a legend and he truly dumbfounded the christian priests and scholars he debated. The Man did an awesome job – rahumahullah.
I feel Muslims, even the most simple of us, are equiped enough with common sense to defend our faith should Christians come wanting to convert us all!
Gotta love the sincerity though – they really think everyone else is damned.
From my debates with Christians (had a few trying to convert me on campus – weekly coffee, o yes) I found that the key issue at the center of the debate is the nature of God. Once that is secure, the rest of the faith is secure. And that is exactly where Christianity lacks.
I started discussions with apprehensions for my own faith – I concluded realising there’s little to be apprehensive about. They don’t make sense.
their efforts are admirable considering they cannot converse beyond a certain point. their dedication is apparent in the fact that they give up their lives and do whatever it takes to appeal to the masses even it it means learning their languages!! I’ve seen the crowds around their stalls showing videos of Isa (AS) in Bangla, they have even started running groups in Bangla in their churches. What really worries me is the fact that our uncles and aunts, 2nd & 3rd generation brothers and sisters are attending these groups.
Let us not be complacent and make a real effort in reengaging in our communities to hold onto the faith we claim is the most perfect and complete.