Islam or Christianity: a Reaction to Eaton’s Islam and the Destiny of Man Essay

Islam came to the world of man through the efforts of a man, believed by Muslims to be commissioned by Allah to deliver His words; His words that will not change for all eternity; His words whose poser and shape will never be imitated by anyone – angel, demon or man. This advent of this powerful and great religion is basically what the first part of the book is about. It does not only discuss how Islam spread like a wild fire under the guidance of Allah, but more importantly, there philosophies that it challenged in the Western world including the persecutions that it faced (Eaton 2). To prove my point about the persecutions that Islam faced, I would like to quote the following passage from the first two pages of the first part: â€Å"Since Islam was strong in arms and Christendom was weak, words were the only available weapons against what was seen first as a ‘heresy’ and later a false religion of satanic origin†¦ Pope Innocent III had identified Muhammad as the Anti-Christ; †¦H. A. L. Fisher called him ‘cruel and crafty, lustful and ignorant’ and made reference to the ‘crude outpourings of the Koran’ (Eaton 9-10). † Because Islam was viewed as a form of heresy and later satanic religion, we can imagine the prejudice that people had (and probably still have) about Muslims stating from the time when Islam started. This prejudice is still present in the stereotypes that we see in many films showing that the terrorists are the Arab Muslims. Although according to Eaton, modern Muslims are less sensitive to the issue, it remains to be a point of consideration especially in social interactions with people of different religions (Eaton 4). It creates a stereotypical view in the mind of people who are not exposed to Muslims that there will never be peace between Muslims and Christians. It is true that Islam spread throughout Africa and Eurasia as a result of conquest. It was by the sword that many people would see it that Islam rose to power. However, it is perhaps a wrong notion to think that Islam spread using violence. In all the years it went through spreading its faith, military force was necessary to convert the people who were embracing other faiths that were against the teachings of Allah. Even if we look at the history of the Jewish nation in the Bible, they too had to use military force to claim the land that God promised Abraham. Christianity has its own foundations of faith and so does Islam. Christianity spread through the ancient word through the propagation of the Gospel and later, the power of the Roman Empire (Eaton 9). We must not forget that the Catholic Church Inquisition to get rid of heresy. In the conquest of Catholic empires like Spain and Portugal, they also used military force to make the people embrace Christian faith. This is not to throw back stones at Christian persecutors of Islamic use of force, but the to show that Islam’s use of military force to make the people embrace the faith is a â€Å"necessary evil† as others may call it (Eaton 163). It was the only way to hasten the work of the mighty hand of Allah in bringing the people back to Him. One can argue all he wants that the pen is mightier than the sword, but during the times of the spread of Islam and the days before, the sword can kill the user of the pen. The Jews, for instance, before the advent of Christ were notorious for murdering the prophets that God sent them. They have seen the mighty works of Yahweh, but they still turned to idol worship. When Jesus preached the word of God, they did not believe that he was the Messiah despite the different wonderful and powerful works and teachings he had shown them. Truly, God, whether His name is Allah or Yahweh, will logically not allow His messenger to be slaughtered again and again. The matter of bringing salvation to mankind is a serious matter. Indeed, if a man strongly wants to save another from a burning house, the man will do what has to be done to save the other person will use force, if needed, to take him out of the house. Perhaps, if the savior needs to knock the person to be able to get him out of the house, he would. But in this instance no one would normally say that the savior was a violent man. They will understand that he did it for the safety of the person in the burning house. Such is the situation of the world in the eyes of the Muslims on their conquest for the spread of Islam. If it had been a violent act to use the sword to force people to embrace Islam, it was for a worthy cause – salvation of their souls. I am not rejecting the faith of the Christians in Jesus Christ as the savior of mankind nor does Islam teach that he is false prophet. In fact, Jesus is one of the prophets that Islam mentions. Jesus preached to the Jews to save them, but they did not listen as they had always been obstinate to God’s prophets. What I want to point out is that if we follow the history of the Bible and the emergence of Islam, we can see the progress of God’s work of salvation for the people of this world. When the people would not listen through diplomacy, God had to use force for them to embrace the faith in one God, who is the creator of all things and the source of life. How do we know that the spread of Islam is the work of God? The spread of Islam covered vast areas of the globe that no empire before Islam’s emergence has ever conquered. Muhammad is the preacher with the most number of adherents, Apostle Paul is second and Jesus is just third (considering of course that he died at the age of thirty). The scope of the propagation in such a short period of time proves that there is some divine power behind the leadership of the prophet and his descendants. Hinduism existed earlier than Judaism, but it is still confined mostly to Indians and those of lineage up to now. Even Judaism, which can be traced from the Bible, can be scarcely found among the non-Jewish people (Eaton 41). However, Islam has gained influence to different peoples of the world in such a short time compared to the existence of Christianity and other great religions of the world. It should not be mistaken, though, that number is the basis of being a religion that is chosen by God. When God made His covenant with Israel, He emphasized that Israel was in no way the most powerful, nor the biggest nation, for it was indeed the smallest nation then. Yet, the case of Islam tells us that the work of God’s salvation had to be fulfilled, not only for a few people, but for as many people that can be saved. Now the question comes, â€Å"How about Christianity? † Does it mean that Christians are following a path that has been outdated when Muhammad preached Islam? Christ was sent to the world, according to him, not for the people who already knew God, but for those who did not know Him. He sent his apostles to preach to the Gentiles and they did. Four hundred year after their death, Islam rose. But the reason of its emergence is the same reason as the reason of the propagation of the Gospel to the Gentiles. The preachers may have been different, and their races may be different, but their purpose is the same. They preach about the same God who sent the same prophets to Israel and prophesied the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. What I can deduce from these is that mankind is fortunate for there is a loving God who sends forth messengers at different eras to different places to introduce Himself to those who do not know Him. He created man to serve Him, for man to be happy eternally. As God is a just God, he also understands the limits of man’s abilities and capabilities. The scope of a man’s work may not be enough to fulfill God’s ultimate plan, hence Islam’s co-existence with Christianity. I believe that in the end, God will not ask us what religion we belong to but whether we were obedient to what we believed in. Obeying the teachings of Islam will bring salvation to those who believe in it and Christianity to those who believe in it. Muslims should hold on to their faith and Christians to theirs, but they should stop fighting one another, they are from the same ancestry, Abraham – the Muslims through Ismael, and the Christians, through Isaac. Work Cited Eaton, Charles. Le Gai. Islam and the Destiny of Man. Suny Press, 1985.