7 Things Every Christian Should Know About Islam

Islam is fast-growing religion, especially in the Western world. Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and the purpose of existence is to worship Allah. Christians increasingly need to be aware of Islam and, very most importantly, how to attract its adherents with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here are some things every Christian should know about Islam.

1.) The word “Islam” means submission

A Muslim is someone who submits to God. The Islamic conception of who God is, and how he is to be worship and served, is based on the teaching of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

2.) “Muslim” and “Arab” is not the same thing

“Muslim” is a religious term. A Muslim is someone who adheres to religion of Islam. While “Arab” on the opposite, is an ethno-linguistic term. An Arab is a member of the people group who speak the Arabic Language. It is true that Quran was written in Arabic and Islam originated among the Arabs.

However, some Arabs have historically been part of the ancient orthodox Christian churches. Islam spread far beyond the Arab world, and today most Muslims are not Arabs. This includes the Kurds, the Pakistanis, other South Asian Muslims, the Turks, and Indonesians, almost all of whom are Muslims but none of whom is Arab.

3.) Islamic practice can be summarized by the Basic pillars of Islam

Islamic practice are composed of the confession of Faith, prayer (the ritual prayers said in Arabic five times a day while facing Mecca), Zakat, fasting (the lunar month of Ramadan, during which Muslim believers fast during daylight hours but can eat while it’s dark) and Pilgrimage (pilgrimage to Mecca, which every Muslim believer should make once in her or his lifetime).

4.) The Muslims are not terrorists

In fact, normal Islamic religious law prohibits the international killing of non-combatants in battle. Islamic law also forbids suicide. It’s a small minority view that allows these things, and it’s also a very small minority who engage in terrorist activities.   

5.) Muslims need salvation through Jesus Christ

They are lost exactly like any other non-Christian neither more nor less than anyone else. It usually takes time, and extended exposure to the Word of God and the lives of Christians, but more Muslims are coming to faith today than at any other point in history. 

6.) Islam teachers that Jesus was a great prophet

Islam declare that Jesus was born of a virgin, that Jesus lived a sinless life, that he performed mighty miracles, and that he will also come again at the end of history. It explicity denies the deity of Christ and repudiates the title “Son of God” as sacrilegious.

It denies he died on the cross, claiming that Jesus’ visage was imposed on someone else and that Jesus was taken up into heaven without tasting death.

7.) There are two major denominations of Muslims

The two major denominations of Muslims are Shi’a and Sunni. Sunnis are the vast majority, at eighty-five percent of all Muslims.