Have you ever wondered about this thing called 'interfaith dialogue' - the dialogue so beloved by our weak politicians and clergy? Well, wonder no longer. Please let me elucidate...
For dialogue with an enemy - and make no mistake about it, Islam is the enemy of the liberal and democratic West - please read my earlier article here - to serve any purpose, there must be a possibility of finding some middle ground. A compromise must be found. If it is not possible to find a compromise, then engaging in dialogue becomes not only futile, but meaningless, too. Engaging in such a dialogue with Islam, a so-called 'interfaith dialogue', is precisely that: futile and meaningless.
You might well ask how I can say this with such certainty. Well, the answer is really quite simple to comprehend...
In Islam, we have a faith which is diametrically opposed to everything Christianity says is true. The tenets of both faiths couldn't be more different. Christians are taught that God had a Son, born of the Virgin Mary, who came down to earth and died for their sins, quasi to redeem them, to save them. Hence, Jesus Christ is their Lord and Saviour, their Redeemer. He died on the cross to save their souls. Further, to Christians, God is loving and forgiving, merciful and compassionate indeed.
Muslims are taught, by contrast, that God never begat a son; indeed, in Islam it is sacrilege to believe so. The whole concept of the Trinity, so essential to the belief system of a Christian, is considered to be shirk, or polytheism to any practising Muslim.
Furthermore, Jesus in Islam, although revered as a major prophet, is nothing more than this. He is not considered to be the Godhead. Muslims have an unshakeable belief that God is unique and one - tawhid - and cannot conceive of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Christians, in their eyes, are considered to be guilty of polytheism for believing in the Trinity! The abstract concept of there being three bodies in one - actually just like the human body - is beyond their understanding and comprehension.
So, to believe that Jesus is man's Saviour and Redeemer is totally and utterly alien to Muslims. As far as they are concerned, indeed as far as they are convinced, Jesus was not crucified at all. They believe that a look-alike was crucified in his stead!
For a devout and practising Christian, there can be no compromising on these issues; likewise, for a devout and practising Muslim, there can also be no compromising on them, either.
So would someone like to explain to me what all this 'interfaith dialogue' is about? For what compromise is there to be? Perhaps I'm missing something; but I don't think so.
You see, the differences between Islam and Christianity are so clear in even the basic understanding of the concept of God in the two religions. The name for God in Islam is Allah. Allah is also the name for God for Christian Arabs. But the Christians' understanding of God (and the Christian Arabs' understanding of Allah) is very different from the Muslims understanding of Him. For anyone seriously to believe that these two deities are the same, he would have to be seriously deluded. To a Muslim, Allah is to be feared; to a Christian, He is the kind and understanding and merciful Father.
The fact of the matter is clear: 'Interfaith dialogue' is a mechanism thought up by the weak and ineffectual in a desperate attempt to find a solution to the growing chasm in Western society, a chasm between the ever-growing Muslim population and the rest. (Do we ever hear calls for 'interfaith dialogue' from Muslims?) But it is merely a Band Aid. It will never solve the problems that have been shored up for us over the past few decades, never solve the problems of increasing tensions which will inevitably ensue.
Truth is: Our politicians, because they have lacked the foresight to see the inevitable outcome of their lax immigration laws, because they have lacked the courage to enact sensible laws to stem the growing problem of immigration in this country, and because they have failed to lead, they have got us all into a fine mess. Believe me: The storm clouds are gathering on the horizon. It's only a matter time now before we will witness their devastation.
©Mark Alexander
12 comments:
Interfaith dialog with Islam will always end up as an Interfaith monologue, with Islam blustering, bullying and bragging, and the subservient dhimmis reverentially listening to a spiel of sound and fury signifying nothing.
Here's a catholic perspective on Islam's long-term cultural strategy of Islamizing the West - an excerpt from http://chasblogspot.blogspot.com/2006/04/islamic-question-catholic-essay.html
"The pervasiveness of the global village is such that there is only one way to escape its grasp: destroy it. And this is Al-Zawahiri’s ideological program, which he pursues with a complex strategy. For the formula of modernizing Islam, he substitutes another: Islamizing modernity, and therefore the West.
Within the Muslim world, Islamization means de-Westernizing everything: from political and cultural institutions to economic ones, even to the point of rethinking banking operations.
On the outside, it means spreading Islam through vigorous missionary activity, in both Europe and the United States: this activity is supported above all by Saudia Arabia. But according to the most radical interpretations, Islamizing the West means violently attacking its political and economic power, without sparing the civilian population."
This pan-Islamist program might make some smirk, just as many smirked at Hitler before his political ascent. But this is a real program, which is being carried out according to a clear plan, and although it is working slowly, it is producing results."
And what kind of dialogue can you have with people whose religion teaches taqiyya - lying to the najis Kafir (infidel vermin)?
Mark,
The thing that most offends me about the Muslim faith is that it DENIES the two main sacrifice stories in the Bible.
1) it denies that Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac when God asked him to do so. Instead, Muslims say Abraham was going to sacrifice Ishmael.
2) it denies that Jesus died on the cross. Since Jesus dying on the cross is the main issue of the whole Bible for Christians this is clearly very egregious. But, to add blasphemy to what was already a denial of the central theme of the Bible, Muslims say that JUDAS TOOK THE PLACE OF JESUS ON THE CROSS.
Now, I ask you, what kind of religion could it be that would absolutely turn Christianity on its head?
I'll let you all answer that.
And, think about this. What does the Bible say the greatest love is? It is "to lay ones life down for a friend."
So, in denying the two main sacrifice stories of the Bible, Islam is taking all the love out of the message of the Bible.
This is blasphemy as far as I'm concerned. And, one might notice from my writing that I am not the most pious person in the world.
Mustafa Kamel,
Interfaith dialog with Islam will always end up as an Interfaith monologue, with Islam blustering, bullying and bragging, and the subservient dhimmis reverentially listening to a spiel of sound and fury signifying nothing.
Now, there's a comment which lays it on the line. I completely agree.
Pastorius,
So, in denying the two main sacrifice stories of the Bible, Islam is taking all the love out of the message of the Bible.
This is blasphemy as far as I'm concerned.
Thank you for saying the above.
And, one might notice from my writing that I am not the most pious person in the world.
I don't know about that. Sometimes righteous anger should prevail.
Now, I ask you, what kind of religion could it be that would absolutely turn Christianity on its head?
My answer: Satanism.
Heh.
Muhammad denied the Christ, ergo Muhammad must be called the Antichrist. That, in itself, takes the love away from that religion, and life.
The Bible warns clearly of the Antichrist; yet we do not heed the warnings.
Superficially Islam doesn't look like Satanism. There are none of the occult symbols or weird rituals (unless you count Eid animal sacrifice or possibly some of the rituals surrounding beheading infidels).
But it's only when you get into the core teachings that you realise two vital factors are missing:
(1) The Golden Rule
(2) Respect for the truth.
Islam's reciprocal ethics apply only to fellow Muslims. Infidels are dehumanised as filth.
Islam is determined to wipe out all competing religions using any means possible, including lies and murder.
Islam is a very devious form of Satanism. It appears at first glance to be another Abrahamic religion, but in fact it is a vile parody of Christianity with Christ relegated to an inferior position by 'Allah's Final Prophet'.
This last fact is the giveaway. What kind of value system makes Christ literally inconsequential (Muslims believe the Gospels are corrupt and are superseeded by the koran) while usurping his position in favor of a venomous, murderous pervert?
Mustafa Kamel:
Well-stated!
Mustafa, interesting points, both times. It's funny indeed that these things are missing from Islam, and it's quite true that "interfaith dialogue" will always end up Muslim Monologue. They claim the "Seal of the Prophets". They claim that the Koran is the exact word of God while the Bible is erroneous, with mistakes by translators. They cannot understand God putting himself into human form, two common Muslim arguments being, "If God is all-knowing, why would he have to come to earth in human form?" and my personal favorite, "God would never allow himself to be crucified! He would have slaughtered all of the Romans if Jesus had truly been God in human form".
Talk about missing the point, sheesh. The idea that God would come to us (humans) to teach to us as ONE of us in order to try and make us understand is beyond them. The idea that God is merciful and loving and aware enough of everything in the world as to have ended up crucified (with prior knowledge of this fate) just for US is beyond them as well.
I refuse in any discussion to allow that "Allah" and the Judeo-Christian God are the same. According to Muslims' understandings of Allah, that god just canot be reconciled in any way with the Jewish and Christian God. There is just no way around it.
bld,
Preach it brother.
Pim's Ghost: I refuse in any discussion to allow that "Allah" and the Judeo-Christian God are the same.
Yet, such is the basis of the interfaith dialogues. And any "success" from those dialogues requires that Christianity compromise even its most basic of tenets.
Hi Mark.
I haven't read through all the comments, so sorry if this is a repeat.
But as someone who works in the interfaith industry, I would say that the point if interfaith dialogue is NOT to reconcile differences within religions. It's not to say that we can all end up agreeing that Jesus was or wasn't the Son of God. It's to all agree to respect one another keeping these differences in tact and in mind. Trying to get everyone to believe the same thing, or trying to sway someone to a particular way of believing would be proselytization... which is not a dialogue, but a monologue.
Yes--look up at the heavens and ask yourself"Are we alone?" If you think we are, you are either demented or ancient beyond belief. Yahweh said He made us in "their" image. "He" told us that the earth was a "circle" and it "stood on nothing". Yes He told us "He" had a son. For crying out loud, think!!! He also said when we got to the point of annihilating ourselves, He would return. I expect Him soon!!
Daisy
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