The Dark Side of Islam

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.

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.

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.

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.