“Should Christians Convert Muslims?”
in TIME (June 30, 2003), suggested evangelicals are wrongheaded when they try to convert
Muslims, but it failed to mention Muslim attempts—and success—in converting Christians. Below are some reasons why an estimated 2 million African-Americans, many of whom claim to be former Christians, have embraced Islam.
Decadence of Western Society
First, they are looking for self respect, discipline, family values, moral standards and deliverance from drugs and alcohol. According to Islam, they can change the stereotype of the young Black male on drugs, out of work and in jail. It’s a new way of life, a path not only to God, but of self-respect and dignity.
African-American women also convert because they see in Islam an emphasis on modesty, chastity and clarity of economic rights. Many had been abandoned to fend for themselves and their children because of irresponsible and faithless men. An African-American imam (mosque leader), invited to speak in my class at Columbia International University, said: “Jesus paid it all is not what American Blacks must hear!”
Islam then becomes an alternative to intrinsic immorality and corruption—symptoms of a society in the last stages of decomposition. It comes with a well-ordered prayer ritual, specific guidelines on relationships, clear male leadershiproles and family values—even a new name! Since Christianity is deemed powerless to effect social change, Islam can establish laws, control moral behavior and produce reform.
Failure by the Church
Second, converts to Islam say Christian discrimination left them disconnected and disenfranchised, but now as vice-regents in Islam, they have the distinction, purpose and empowerment that even the Civil Rights Movement did not give them. As Bruce Fields notes in Introducing Black Theology: Three Crucial Questions for the Evangelical Church, it is unfortunate, that “because the issue of racism still exists in our society, it still exists in the church” (53). He adds that “if the world does not see true unity among those who claim allegiance to Jesus Christ, the church should not be surprised when the world is unimpressed with our proclamation that the Father has sent the Son (64).
Something similar is happening to Latinos. “Islam is Luring More Latinos “in TheWashington Post quotes a young woman who had been a devout Catholic: “I felt a strong sense of belonging.” Another says she felt a “sense of sisterhood …with others who wore hijab (veil).”
Failure to Understand Islam
Third, there is widespread ignorance in regard to Islam. Muslims equate Islam with peace, but the word for peace in Arabic is “Salaam,” not “Islam.” It means “surrender or to make peace by laying down one’s arms in submission.” So to claim that Jihad means striving in the cause of Allah by personal devotion is not the whole truth. Muhammad’s call to Jihad was primarily to fight infidels (pagans), Jews and Christians. In the oldest biography on Muhammad, author Ibn Ishaq states that the Prophet conducted 29 battles and planned 39 others. And, supported by commentaries and classical writings, the Qur’an claims that Jihad is the only sure way to paradise (Qur’an, 3:169). It is to the Qur’an that Syed Qutb, ideologue and motivator of militant Islam, appeals when he builds his case for jihad (Qur’an 4:74-76; 8:38-40; 9:29-32). These passages alone, he states, suffice to justify the universal and permanent dimensions of Jihad (53-76).
Americans also need to understand that where Islam dominates, Muslims are never free to abandon Islam. Maududi, the most influential Muslim scholar in the 20th century, insists that both Qur’an and Traditions demand an apostate’s execution. He might be faulted for quoting the Qur’an (9:11-12, as it only says to fight against those who “violate their oaths,” but is on more solid footing with Bukhari’s canonized tradition: “Any person, i.e. Muslim, who has changed his religion, kill him” (Al-Bukhari, Vol. 9, p. 45).
One problem is that the sacred scriptures of Islam sends out mixed singles as to how to treat non-Muslims. On the one hand, the Qur’an admonishes Muslims to ask “People of the Book” if they have questions (10:94; 21:7, 48) and condemns violence and killing (5:32). On the other hand, the next verse says those who wage war against Allah should have their hands and feet cut off (5:33). Down a few verses it says Muslims should not take Jews and Christiansas friends (5:51). Some traditions suggest Muslims should not even salute Christians (Dawood, 41, 5186; al-Muslim, Vol. 3, 5245, 1156).
Notably, there are ample references in the sacred writings of Islam for militants to use in furthering their deadly cause, like texts that say “fight against” unbelievers (Qur’an 9:5, 29; 8:39; 4:74). Islamic traditions that predict how Jews will ultimately be exterminated are equally disturbing: “The Last Hour would not come till the Muslims fight against the Jews and the Muslims will kill them until the Jews hide themselves, and the stones and trees would speak up saying … ‘There is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him’” (Al-Muslim, Book 40, No. 6985).
