Islamic Anti-Christian Polemics in the West *. By Salah Abdul Razak ** – An Explorative and Typological Approach to a Contemporary Religious Phenomenon

Introduction

During the last two decades, the new Islamic revival has led to many developments in the field of Islamic religious polemics. The Islamic world confronts many challenges in its relationship with the West. The conflict between them is manifested in various spheres: political, military, economic, cultural and ideological. Some Muslims think that the religious polemic also provides a convenient battlefield from which war can be waged against the dominant Christian West. This tendency is usually inforced by motives also, like that of mission, Da’wah to Islam.

 

Islam-West dialogue contains different kinds of Islamic polemics against the West. Muslims may look at the West from an ideological perspective, as a dominant political-economic power and as an intellectual and ideological challenge. They may also polemicize against certain social features in the West such as ethics, traditions and values.

Islamic religious polemical works can be defined as religious works that attack and try to refute other religions, especially Judaism and Christianity.  The religious polemic, as a social phenomenon, can include wide-ranging discussions and arguments between Muslims and Christians. By stimulating social interaction religious polemics may play a crucial role, defining, at least to a certain extent, the nature of communication between the followers of two religions. This communication may take the form of a dialogue between Muslims and Christians or a sermon delivered by an imam to his own community.

In Western countries today, many works on the subject of Islamic religious polemics are in circulation. These works are available in bookshops, and distributed in mosques and Islamic centers. This study shall focus on religious polemical works, which play a role in social communication. Thus, it concentrates on religious polemical work, which forms a part of the social reality. It is an explorative, typological research manuscript, which sets out to discover the background or the social setting wherein religious polemic plays a role.

During my research in the Netherlands and England, I have collected about 115 different source items that include books, pamphlets, videocassettes, and audiocassettes and also articles from newspapers and magazines. Such material is also available on the Internet. I shall deal only with those polemical works, which are actually used in religious lectures, debates, discussions and arguments between Muslims and Christians.

The questions I would like to answer in this study are:

• What are the forms of polemical communication and their social setting?
• Which social group of migrant Muslims are interested in polemical literature?
• Do Muslim preachers agree with the use of religious polemics in Islamic Da’wah?
• What are the functions of Islamic polemics?
• Who support Islamic polemical literature in the West?
• Does this polemical literature play a role in the process of conversion to Islam?
• Who are the authors of Islamic polemical literature?
• What polemical techniques are used?

 

In order to evaluate the role played by Islamic polemical literature in the process of Islamic conversion, my study was based on the opinions of those who are directly affected by it, that is, the Western converts. Simultaneously, in order to evaluate the influence of this kind of literature, it was important to know whether the Muslim preachers, who distribute this literature, use it in their Islamic missionary activities when they are in contact with Western subjects. With this object in mind, during my visits to England and the Netherlands, I interviewed seven Muslim directors of Islamic centers and twelve Western converts. They expressed their opinions concerning the use of these works in their activities.

1. What are the forms of polemical communication and their social setting?

Religious polemical works can have a certain role to play in the social life of Muslims in the West. They may be used in many forms of religious communication like sermons, religious dialogues and lectures to converts. They may be the main aspect of certain social contacts between Muslims and non-Muslims stimulating Muslim-Christian dialogue.

1.1. Religious Sermons

In their sermons, Muslim preachers may deal with polemical issues concerning other religions.

Khalil El-Moumni, Imam of Nasr-Mosque in Rotterdam commemorated the birth of Jesus in a Friday sermon. He assured the congregation that, “We, the Muslims, believe in all the miracles of Jesus, but we believe also that Jesus is neither a God nor a Son of God.” He went on to criticize the way Westerners had abandoned the teachings of Jesus. He also condemned those Muslims who participated in Christmas parties. He warned Muslims against imitating Christian traditions during their own feasts, like the drinking of wine, dancing, and associating with the opposite sex (Moumni, 1995: 243).

 

1.2. Public inter-religious Debates

Polemical issues are always present at public inter-religious debates. The famous South African polemicist Ahmad Deedat has engaged in religious polemical problems with a number of adversaries. For instance, Is the Bible the word of God? with the American priest Jimmy Swaggart in 1987; Was Jesus crucified? with the American missionary Floyde Clark in the Albert Hall in London; Crucifixion: Fact or Fiction, with Dr. Robert Douglas in 1988 in Kansas; and Is the Bible really the word of God? with Pastor Stanly Sjoberg in Sweden.

Deedat’s public debates with Christian clergymen attract thousands of enthusiastic people, both Muslims and Christians. Those, who cannot attend such debates, can follow them on videocassettes. Thus, these debates are available to everybody who is interested in religious polemics. By watching these videotapes, viewers may be deeply impressed when they see the huge audiences applaud Deedat loudly and with much emotion.

Through his dialogue with English theologians and priests, Shaykh Muhammad al-Sharqawi, the Imam of Regent’s Park mosque in London, successfully achieves good results. He has built fruitful social relationships with those Western clergymen. They have frequent visits and meetings where they exchange their views on various religious affairs including polemical issues.[1]

 

Dr. Zaki Badawi told me that he is constantly engaged in dialogue with the various churches. On 15 February 1999 he participated enthusiastically in a meeting with the Anglican clergy in Canterbury to establish a Religious Dialogue Committee to stimulate contact between the Anglican Church and the Muslims in Britain. He is now busy arranging a convention between the congregations of the al-Azhar Mosque and the clergy Canterbury. He also actively participates, as a committee member, in efforts to establish a framework for religious dialogue between the al-Azhar Mosque and the Vatican.[2]

In the Netherlands, religious meetings are held in different places and on several levels between Muslims and Christians. In Dordrecht, there was a five-year dialogue project (1992-1997) entitled Tussen Kerk & Moskee (Between Church and Mosque). There were regular meetings between Muslim migrants and Dutch Christians, during which information was exchanged about the two religions. For those meetings, the Muslims were invited to the church and the Christians were invited to the mosque, where the speakers were a clergyman and an imam respectively (RCB, 1997).

In 1994, the Council of Churches in Leiden arranged dialogues between Christian and Muslim students. They met seven times and discussed the following issues: dialogue, God, the Bible and the Qur’an, Prophecy (Jesus and Muhammad), Christian law and Islamic law, Shari’ah, fasting and praying (Ahmad, 1998: 20). These dialogues were not held without difficulties and problems. “Many Muslim men refused to join these sessions (mixed-marriage meetings). They believe that they are a kind of missionary activity” (Ahmad, 1998: 16). According to Rev. van der Velden, member of the Council of Churches and president of the Inter-religious Conferences, “There are some Christian groups who reject any kind of dialogue with Muslims. They are afraid that Muslims, by their numbers growing faster and faster, will become dominant” (Ahmad, 1998: 17).

Chaib Bousnane, a Moroccan preacher residing in Rotterdam, has compiled a polemical work, a pamphlet entitled Als de Bijbel een tong had (If the Bible had a tongue) (in Dutch). This work is now available on the Internet. Bousnane is an active polemist, he learned certain verses of the Bible by heart in Arabic and Dutch. He participates monthly in Christian-Muslim dialogues at different institutions, churches and mosques. In February 1999, he engaged in a public dialogue with a Protestant pastor. The Council of Churches and the committee of Turkish mosques in Gorinchem, where the meeting took place, arranged the dialogue. Approximately 200 people attended, both Muslims and Christians, and diverse polemical issues were addressed. At the beginning of the dialogue, Bousnane focused on what he believes to be the principles common to both Islam and Christianity. He read out several Quranic verses in praise of Christians who are, he assured his audience, nearer to Muslims than the followers of other religions. After the dialogue, two Christian men contacted Bousnane and asked him to give them more information about Islam. Later they converted to Islam. At the end of June 1999, Bousnane participated in another dialogue with a Christian pastor in Leerdam, near Rotterdam. Firstly, Bousnane delivered a lecture entitled “Christ in Islam”, and then the pastor delivered his lecture entitled “Christ in the Bible, the right way to the Paradise.” Bousnane then spoke again in order to correct what the pastor had said. Bousnane told me that the pastor had added something that was not in the Bible.[3]

While both Muslims and Christians initially agree that “the purpose of dialogue cannot and should not be “conversion”, each party is often convinced that all forms of dialogue are new methods of proselytism, ultimately involving polemical issues.

 

1.3. Religious seminars and Lectures

Some Islamic centers and mosques hold religious seminars and lectures for westerners who are interested in Islam and are looking for more information concerning its teachings. The Islamic Cultural Center in London, the al-Iman League of British converts, and the Islamic Information Center in The Hague, hold weekly meetings, on Saturdays or Sundays, to explain the teachings of Islam to westerners who have already embraced Islam or those who are searching for a new faith.[4]

On these occasions Muslims have the chance to engage in conversation with non-Muslims during refreshment breaks that are often a feature of such gatherings. Islamic societies in universities make use of this type of gathering more successfully than any other kind of organization (Köse, 1996: 28).

According to Shaykh Al Bilal, the director of the Islamic League of British Converts, “This League arranges two kinds of meetings, one for Muslims only, both converts and migrant Muslims, while the other kind is devoted to non-Muslims who have an interest in Islam.”[5]

At their lectures and interviews, Western converts talk rationally about their experiences concerning their previous religion and their embracing Islam. Through their experiences, they deal mostly with polemical issues. They explain to the audience why they have changed their religion. What their motives, their social and dogmatic reasons are. They make comparisons between Islam and Christianity in order to persuade their audience. Saifullah Korz, a Dutch convert, ex-priest and an active preacher, gives lectures to different Muslim and non-Muslim groups. In his lecture on 7 November 1999 in Dordrecht (the Netherlands), he criticized the Christian doctrines like those of the Trinity and Original Sin. The latter, according to Korz, leads the Christians to think that death with sin means that one is deprived of paradise. Thus, the concept of sin changes from being a religious issue to being a social and ethical problem. For example, the Christians find the employment of children or discrimination against women or the denial of labour rights as a sin or unlawful, harâm, (Al-Nakhil, 36 (1998)).  The audience, all of whom were Iraqi Muslims, was emotionally stimulated by the refutal of the Christian beliefs.

 

On 27 June 1999, Mr. Abd al-Hamid Verhagen, a Dutch convert according to the Ahmadiyyah Islamic School, delivered a lecture on Biblical prophecies concerning the coming of the Prophet Muhammad. He delivered that lecture in the Mubârak mosque in The Hague on the occasion of “Mawlid al-Nabî” (the birthday of the Prophet). Throughout his lecture, he supported his opinion by citing many Biblical quotations with detailed references to the names of the Biblical books, and the precise numbers of the chapters and the verses. The Muslim audience received his presentation with enthusiasm, as it confirmed that “our religion is the right one.”[6]

2. What are the functions of Islamic polemics?

2.1. Strengthening of the faith of Muslims

In the first place, the objective of polemical literature is to support Muslim followers. It provides them with information about the faith of other religions and teaches them how to debate issues with non-Muslims, how to respond to accusations launched against Islam and which methods to use in order to refute their creeds. It seems that this is the essential function of the Islamic polemical literature circulating in the West because the vast majority of it is published in languages of the Muslims like Arabic. 68% of the polemical works, I have collected in England and the Netherlands, are in Arabic, 17% are in English, 7.7% in Dutch and 1% in Persian.[7]

 

Islamic polemical works translated into or written in European languages (English, Dutch, German, French, etc.) would be deemed to address westerners, by calling them to Islam, or by strengthening the faith of converts.  There are a few bilingual works (1%) Arabic and English. Ali al-Jawhari in his bilingual book Authenticity of the Holy Quran addresses both Muslims and non-Muslims who can read the English text. [8]

In his book, Wayne R. Bennett, an American Black Muslim who calls himself “Hudhifah”, sets out to prove his opinion by providing many English texts against Christianity, published by different American newspapers and magazines. Those texts are concerned with the problems that Christianity faces.[9]

I asked Bousnane, what motivated him to write polemical works. He answered: “In the beginning, I intended to awaken the Muslims, and to give them a weapon which they could use when they deal with religious polemic, but after I published it, I had different reactions from Christians.”

 

 

2.1.1. Which social group of migrant Muslims are interested in polemical literature?

 

Religious polemical works attract various Muslim individuals. They vary in their educational level, social class, and their function. Those actively involved in polemics might include a Muslim preacher, the Imam of a Mosque, the director of an Islamic center, the member of an Islamic organization, an active missionary or an enthusiastic convert.

To discover which of the Muslim groups are involved in religious polemics our search would lead us to centers of Islamic Da’wah in the West, and to the Muslim communities interested in Da’wah’s activities.

Ali Köse, in his study entitled Conversion to Islam (1996), concludes that “the new generation of Muslims, who consider Britain their home in contrast to their parents, are more likely to fall into this category. They believe that if Islam is presented to British society, many people will not find difficulty in accepting it because Islam offers alternatives to British society (Western societies in general) which has a high crime rate, drug problems, etc. The most important qualification for Muslim activists according to some strategists is that they must be equipped “with a full-knowledge of Islamic teachings and full mastery of the techniques of modern propaganda as well as competence in at least some of the main academic disciplines of today” (Köse, 1996: 27).

According to the observations of some Muslim preachers in the West, like Dr. Zaki Badawi, the most interested social group of migrant Muslims are those who suffer from the psychological feeling of humiliation because of Western dominance over the rest of the world, especially the Islamic world. They want to confront their weakness by attacking the “Western” religion, i.e. Christianity, to compensate for their bitter feelings and to achieve the concept of “our religion is better than the western religion.” It is a socio-psychological case, which emerges when one begins to have the feeling of inferiority. This situation may be dangerous because it gives a temporary feeling of victory or revenge. Shaykh Al Bilal concludes, “Deedat’s method creates a feeling of satisfaction in new Muslims and other Muslims too.”

According to Badawi “the polemical works, especially Deedat’s debates, can be used only to mobilize the uneducated class and the unenlightened youth of Muslim migrants. Those are people, who have a limited knowledge about Islam; those who may say that there are no problem with Islam; those who believe that Islam is still the best religion and that the other alternative, Christianity, is not a good alternative (religion). The aggressive way of attacking other religions may attract young people who find in the acrimonious method an expression of their propensity to violence and power. Such works may attract migrant Muslims who lack self-confidence, particularly in the West, where they feel that they are humiliated and persecuted. Deedat appeals to those Muslims in western society who harbour feelings of anger and frustration. It is said that a great number of young Muslims, who previously attended Deedat’s debates, are now following an extreme Muslim called Abu Hamzah al-Masri, Imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in North London. They are going to listen to Abu Hamzah for the same reasons that they listened to Deedat. He gives them confidence. The way in which they express a hostile reaction is the only way that is open for them to demonstrate their feelings against the West.”[10]

2.2. Conversion to Islam

Inter-religious controversial literature addresses the followers of other religions urging them to refute their beliefs. At the same time, it calls them to convert to Islam as the only truthful religion in the world. This can be used in religious dialogues between Muslims and Christians.

Hasan M. Baagil, a dedicated Muslim, had long religious polemical meetings with Christian clergymen. “The discussions were polite, pleasant, friendly and constructive without the slightest intention of hurting the religious feeling of any Christian,” as he describes (Baagil, 1984: iv). The outcome of these dialogues was summarized in a pamphlet to provide Muslims with arguments they could use to answer and refute questions that Christians might pose them concerning their religion. He aims to give the readers practical evidence of his successful work, when he mentions, at the end of the dialogue, that the Christian clergy had pronounced the Shahâdah (Confession of the Islamic faith) in English, then in Arabic (Baagil, 1984: 33).

In order to impress the reader, the pamphlet also contains an acknowledgement by a certain Roy Earl Johnson, a convert to Islam, who says he was “an American raised from childhood in Christian beliefs.” He embraced Islam “after discussions and reading and re-reading the manuscript of the present Muslim-Christian Dialogue. The pamphlet can be seen as a message calling non-Muslims to the right faith, Islam. Johnson hopes finally that the pamphlet “will be read world-wide and will attract many who are searching for a true belief where their minds may find rest and satisfaction.” The author used, in his dialogue, polemical works circulating in the West like Muhammad in the Bible by A. A. Dâwûd (Baagil, 1984: 21), the former Bishop of Uramiah (Iran) and Muhammad in the Bible by Ahmed Deedat.

 

2.2.1. Does polemical literature play a role in the process of conversion to Islam?

 

The second purpose of Islamic polemical literature is the call it makes to non-Muslims to embrace Islam. In the cases that I have dealt with personally, there is no evidence to suggest that this kind of literature exerts direct influence on the individual’s decision to convert to Islam. There are several stories where a Christian embraces Islam after a long religious polemic with a Muslim.

I have interviewed twelve Western converts, including one priest. All of them told me that polemical religious works played no part in their decision to embrace Islam. They assured me that they had been stimulated to embrace Islam through conscious study of the teachings of Islam rather than by the arguments of Islamic polemics against Christianity. Moreover, recent studies concerning conversion to Islam in the West do not give much credence to the suggestion that religious polemics are a significant factor in the process of conversion.

In his study, Ali Köse (1996) deals with the methodology of “Direct Da’wah” in Britain. Although Islamic religious polemics do represent a part of the missionary work (Da’wah) he does not say anything about it. He concludes: “in the light of the above stated facts it may be concluded that Muslim missionary work in Britain has not been successful” (Köse, 1996: 30). He then indicates the reasons of this failure. When he discusses the different factors affecting the process of conversion to Islam, he does not mention anything about the role of Islamic religious polemics. He indicates only that “some concepts of Christianity such as the Trinity, atonement and Jesus being the Son of God caused confusion in many converts when adolescents,” but he discussed it in a socio-psychological perspective. He mentioned at least one case where a convert embraced Islam after he had read the Quran and discovered that “Jesus was not divine and was not crucified.” He had already reached this conclusion when he was studying Biblical criticism on the Gospel of Luke (Köse, 1996: 100-101).

In his book Islamic Da’wah in the West, Larry Poston evaluates briefly the results of polemical works on Da’wah and said, “if the anti-Christian polemic does not cease, Muslims may create a situation precisely the opposite of that which they wish to produce”(Poston, 1992: 185). He discusses the various reactions of Christians and concludes: “Direct attacks upon Christian teachings such as the divinity, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ may cause some persons to forsake them (just as Christianity was able to attract a number of converts from Islam), but such attacks may also serve to increase the interest of nominal Christians in the precepts of their faith and in so doing solidify their commitment to the Christian religion.” (1996: 185).

Poston gives his evaluation concerning Deedat’s works and says “Christianity is his chief enemy, and it is against this religion that his attacks are directed. But it is clear from his writings that his main encounters have been with Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seven Day Adventists, and the World-wide Church of God, none of which are examples of orthodox Christianity” (1992: 139-140).

Poston admits “Deedat’s booklets are filled with accounts of his ability to make Christian professionals highly uncomfortable and to expose their alleged ignorance of the Bible and history” (1992: 140). Poston believes that Deedat’s work “are designed to induce an emotional rather than intellectual reaction” (1992: 140).

 

Zaki Badawi corroborates this point of view and states, “I have never heard that someone became convinced by Islam or embraced it by reading Deedat’s works, in spite of what Mr. Deedat tells the Saudis, who support him financially, that he proselytized millions of African Blacks to Islam. That is absolutely not true. According to my explorations, nobody, even in his homeland, South Africa, has converted to Islam through him. The man, in fact, could not succeed in his career as a missionary.” In 1978, when Deedat came to Britain for the first time, Badawi was the director of the Islamic Cultural Center (Regent’s Park Mosque). The latter refused to allow Deedat to deliver a lecture in the mosque, because Deedat wanted to speak about polemical issues concerning Christian beliefs.

 

Bousnane, has, however, a different experience concerning the role of religious polemics in conversion to Islam. When I asked him whether he saw or heard any Christian reaction against his polemical work, he talked about two examples. First, in 1998 Bousnane received an angry three-page letter from a female pastor from Zwolle (the Netherlands), wherein she refuted the pamphlet and rejected the author’s ideas. Bousnane invited her to have a discussion about her opinions. They held a meeting, which took four hours. At the end she said, “I cannot reply more. I cannot say anything except that Islam is right”. Bousnane claimed that she embraced Islam after a few months but he couldn’t prove it.

Exactly the same thing happened with a Christian student in Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He was the secretary of the youth society in the university and he also wrote a four-page letter as a reaction against Bousnane’s polemical work. A Dutch convert, who was also a member of the society, arranged a dialogue between Bousnane and the Christian student. That happened in 1997 and the student converted to Islam after four months, according to Bousnane. These two cases must be studied in depth to see whether there are other socio-psychological motives behind the conversions.

However, it became clear from my interviews with converts that they showed more interest in polemical works after their conversion to Islam. During the first stage of conversion, the new convert tries to deepen his/her knowledge in Islamic beliefs and rituals. During the second stage, the new convert shows interest in Islamic thinking, history and philosophy. At that stage, he/she may become involved in polemical issues. They may use this information concerning other religions when they start to become active in defense of their own new faith. This reaction is mostly due to the criticism they encounter constantly from their environment, family, friends and colleagues. Some of them may become interested in polemical works after a few years, when they engage in specific activities like missionary Da’wah, dialogues, debates and arguments with Christians. Mrs. Rabab Rasul, an English convert, mentioned that she read polemical works after she embraced Islam. She told me that she began to think about Christianity after she converted to Islam. “I use it to reinforce my knowledge: then I can defend my thought my beliefs, and myself” she said. But she avoids any polemical discussion or criticism of the followers of the other religions because “they will be angry and leave the place or say: I do want not to talk with you!”[11]

2.3.  Do Muslim preachers agree with the use of religious polemics in Islamic Da’wah?

 

The polemical materials engender more interest in migrant Muslim circles than in others.  Most people who attend the open Muslim-Christian debates (for example Ahmed Deedat’s debates) have an Islamic background. Badawi, the Dean of the Islamic College in London, assured me that Muslims make up most of the audience. Shaykh Al Bilal, the director of the al-Iman League of British converts, who had attended Deedat’s debates in London twice, says that Deedat’s method incites provocation and excitement. This method is likely to anger non-Muslims because Deedat insults Christianity and its symbols. That may explain why the majority of the audience are Muslims because Christians don’t want to listen to someone insulting them.

Ahmad Deedat himself insists that his aim is also “to bring home to the Muslims their right to defend themselves and to arm them with enough knowledge to counter the hot gospeller, the door to door peddler of Christianity and the shameless insulter of Islam and its Holy Apostle; I humbly undertook to deliver lectures to show the Muslim masses that they had nothing to fear from the assaults of Christianity” (Poston, 1992: 139).

This would support the conclusion that polemical works serve to strengthen the Islamic identity for those who feel that it may be threatened by the secular Western system. These works provide them with knowledge concerning Christian doctrines, how to answer the Western accusations launched against Islam, how to support its own followers against Christian missionary activities, and to “arm Muslim youth with full confidence in the supremacy of the Islamic system over other systems” (Poston, 1992: 137).

Although Shaykh Al Bilâl rejects Deedat’s method, he admits that such a method does provide answers for questions that Muslims may confront in the future. The Muslim can gain experience from his type of dialogue, and from his paradoxical statements, which he puts forward during his debates with priests.

Many Muslim directors of Islamic centers and the Western converts whom I interviewed in England and the Netherlands, refuse to use the polemical literature in their Da’wah activities. They find that such activity is against the teaching of Islam. They believe polemics involving Western Christianity gives the West the incorrect impression that Islam is an intolerant religion and that Muslims are bigoted. In their view, if Islam is promulgated in the west objectively, there will be more converts. They believe that the best way is “to bridge the gap between Christianity and Islam, since the distance between the two faiths is not as great as a lack of dialogue tends to make it” (Poston, 1992: 139).

Mustafa Ja’far, the director of the Islamic Education Board in London, believes that “migrant Muslims live in Western societies as minorities. Thus, they must take care of the socio-psychological dimension of these societies. They should avoid any kind of social or religious conflict. The polemical literature represents a sort of real clash with Western faith. It attacks directly their beliefs and feelings. This will never serve the Muslim minority. On the contrary, it will turn Western people against Islam, even those who have no link with religious matters”.[12]

 

Zaki Badawi principally rejects all kinds of polemical activities particularly the debates of Deedat, because they turn Western societies against Muslims. When Deedat held his debates in London one year, the Western press, particularly the religious press like the ‘Catholic Herald’ and the ‘Church Times’, reported his method and his attacks on Christianity. Badawi said that he called the editors of those newspapers and told them that “Deedat does not represent a real tendency in Islam, but he is a troublemaker, thus it is better to ignore him.”

 

There are many Islamic organizations that are involved in dialogues with Christian circles (churches, theologians, etc.).[13] From the information found in the polemical literature, Muslims may glean answers to anti-Islamic accusations, and employ similar methods for attacking their Christian opponents, but they use the religious polemic to a very limited extent. Most Muslims I interviewed vehemently confirmed that they do not begin dealing with polemics unless the Christians begin to argue on polemical issues or ask for evidence to prove Islamic thoughts. Through those dialogues, Muslim dialogists talk confidently about Islamic doctrine concerning Christian issues like the authenticity of the Bible, the Trinity, and the divinity of Jesus. They would certainly involve themselves in religious polemic, when the Christians ask them to prove their beliefs. While Muslim dialogists avoid polemical issues as much as possible, sometimes they find themselves involved in it. They adhere to the belief that inter-religious dialogues should be fruitful and build a good relationship between the Christians and Muslims. They want to keep Islamic-Christian dialogue away from tension and discord. Shaykh Muhammad al-Sharqawi, the present Imam of the Regent’s Park Mosque in London, mentioned that “in our dialogue with the clergy of the Anglican Church, we avoid any polemical issues against the Christian dogmas unless they begin to deal with them, then we must explain the vision of Islam towards those issues like the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus.”

 

Other Muslim preachers find that religious polemic would alienate the Christians from Islam and the Muslims. Rafeeq Ahmad Fris, a Dutch convert, says “we must embody Islam through our behaviour. The “doing” is more important than the “saying”. By using polemic, you win with words but you don’t win his heart.”[14]

In the early eighties, Mr. Saifullah Korz translated into Dutch a series of articles comprising the polemical work of Muhammad ‘Ata’ur-Rahim and Ahmad Thomson entitled Jesus, Prophet of Islam.  At that time, five years had passed since his conversion to Islam. On 8 June 1999, I met him and asked him his opinion on religious polemic. He said that using religious polemics is not a correct method in missionary activity, Da’wah, because it serves to provoke hostility against Islam. When I reminded him of his polemical articles, he replied that it was the enthusiasm of a new convert.

3. Who supports Islamic Polemical Literature in the West?

There are different institutions that stand behind the financing, production, distribution and dissemination of Islamic polemical literature in European countries. Some Islamic associations arrange great public debates between Muslim and Christian apologists. These activities require a great deal of money and skilled protagonists that are just not available to small Islamic organizations. According to Poston, “Deedat’s style is often vitriolic, much to the delight of the crowds which he never fails to attract, even in England and the United States. He has been described as “a man of the masses” and “a people’s scholar” and has in recent years (the eighties) accepted challenges from or has asked to debate with some of America’s leading evangelists (at a reported remuneration of $10,000 per appearance)” (Poston, 1992: 140).

One of the famous debates between Deedat and the American priest Jimmy Swaggart in America, was arranged by the Muslim Students’ Society in America, and was financially sustained by “the support and auspices of the brothers in the Arab Emirates, and the encouragement of the Muslim Students’ Society in Louisiana – USA.”[15] The direction, montage, and production of these videotapes was undertaken by the International Center of Islamic Da’wah in Durban, South Africa,[16] which is under the supervision of Ahmad Deedat.

According to Zaki Badawi, Saudi Arabia and other institutions in the Gulf States financially support Deedat. “Those Muslims are simple, and they want to support a good cause, but they do not investigate or follow-up what they are contributing to. They do not attempt to find out whether the money was spent in the right way or what benefits their money brought about.”

The International Islamic Publishing House in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is responsible for the publication and production of Deedat’s works. It distributes thousands of pamphlets and videocassettes at low prices.[17] An Egyptian publishing house al-Mukhtâr al-Islâmî, in Cairo, takes care of the task of translating Deedat’s work into Arabic.[18]

Polemical works may obtain financial support from rich Muslims who aim to spread Islam among westerners. The publisher of a polemical book entitled The Gospels’ Announcements of Muhammad and his Households by Tamir Meer Mustafa, a Lebanese Muslim preacher, expressed his gratitude to “a charitable man who has contributed to the publication of this work. Allah may thank his effort” (Mustafa, 1994: 2).

Some religious institutions in Muslim countries also support polemical works. The International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, in Kuwait, has published a book entitled Islam and Christianity, in English, by Mrs. U. A. Samad. The same book was published in Dutch by Noer al-Ilm Press in 1993 in Delft, the Netherlands. The Arabic, English and French versions of the famous polemical work of Dr. Maurice Bucaille, The Quran, the Bible and Science was published by the Islamic Da’wah Society in Tripoli, Libya. Its government financially supports this society.

The printers and publishers promote the distribution of polemical literature for commercial purposes because they see that such books are very profitable with many Muslims showing an interest in this type of literature, especially the migrant Muslims in the West.  Those publishers are always out to make a profit in whatever way they can. The publisher of a polemical book entitled The Modern Debate by Dr. A. H. al-Saqqâ, stated on the back cover of the book that he “asked the author to write an introduction for the book, which shall be, in the hands of Muslims, an eternal evidence of authenticity of the Quran and of corruption of the Bible” (Saqqâ, 1988a), as he believes. The introduction was a pure religious polemic and occupies half of the book.

It seems that most of the polemical works circulated in the West are financially supported by individuals and Islamic organizations in Europe or elsewhere. Zaki Badawi confirms this conclusion. He believes that “those who support the polemical literature are a small group. I don’t think that Dâr al-Iftâ’ (Office of Mufti) in Lebanon support it nor the institution of Shi’ah, but a small group which supports Deedat. In fact, this group is in collision with the West. It publishes these polemical works, in conjunction with much support from the Gulf States. There is no well-ordered government which tries to publish such books because these are books which incite hostility.”

Some polemical works are the results of academic efforts of scholars who are engaged in the editing of religious polemical literature. Some of the Islamic Studies departments, especially in Western universities, pay more attention to those manuscripts which contain polemical works. They may edit old manuscripts[19]  or write dissertations concerning the religious polemic.[20] Those universities give financial support to those studying and publishing such works for academic and scientific reasons.

 

4. Who are the authors of Islamic polemical literature?

There is a wide variety of authors from different centuries, cultures and backgrounds. They can be divided into the following groups:

4.1. Specialists

The authors can be theologians who graduated from an Islamic seminary, or university professors who are well qualified and are specialists in comparative religion. They may have different motives for dealing with religious polemic against Christianity:

• They aim to refute the Christian religion in order to serve the Islamic faith. They try mostly to defend Islamic beliefs, against accusations launched by Western and Christian authors. This reaction represents the motive for compiling polemical writings. Shaykh Muhammad Ali Barrû, a Lebanese scholar residing in the USA, wrote his famous book The Bible in the Balance,[21] in response to a pamphlet being distributed by Christian preachers which implied that the Quran certifies that the Bible is not corrupted. The author deals with purely religious polemical issues. In his introduction, Barrû addresses the American people because “I am confident that American people accept the disagreeable word and constructive criticism. This is one of the commendable characteristics which American people are endowed with. They have the ability to analyze and evaluate different viewpoints expressed in speeches. This characteristic may be not found among the eastern Christians who are mostly fanatical” (Barrû, 1993: 7).
• They have a missionary purpose in urging Christians to convert to Islam. Muhammad Jawad Chirri, Imam of the Islamic Center of America, Detroit (USA), clearly explains the objective of his book entitled Inquiries About Islam  in the preface, viz. “this book aims to inform these seekers of truth and to satisfy the curiosity of anyone that may read it. If it should help the reader to clarify his religious thought, if it should bring about a better understanding of Islam, and if it should create a closer co-operation among the major religions, then the author would feel most gratified and extremely rewarded” (Chirri, 1996).

Chirri deals with some polemical issues like Where Islam and Christianity agree and differ on Jesus (Chapter 7) and The Bible Testifies for Muhammad (chapter 18). This book has been published five times and is distributed in America and England. The publisher clarifies his aim when he sheds light on the social contacts between Muslim migrants and Western Christians.  He said in the introduction, “for a variety of reasons many Muslims chose Europe and America and other countries that are predominately non-Muslim for their place of residence, be it temporary or permanent. By virtue of such domicile, Muslims have to meet with non-Muslims at work, in educational institutions, in places of worship, or socially. Such encounters may entail discussion on different matters, including religious issues, where Muslims and non-Muslims alike may quiz one another about their respective faiths”(1996: 9).

• Some scholars discuss polemical issues by way of comparative studies between Islam and Christianity or other religions. They aim to prove, as they claim, that Christianity harbours many contradictions and the Old and New Testaments have been falsified. Dr. Ahmad Hijazi al-Saqqâ, an Egyptian professor in comparative religion, in his long introduction (108 pages) to Al-Munâzrah al-Hadîthah (the Modern Debate) between Ahmad Deedat and the American pastor Jimmy Swaggart, wrote a critical work against Christianity. It represents a purely religious polemical work.[22]
• They want to create a suitable climate for Christian-Muslim dialogue and to promote all initiatives for holding meetings between those two religions. Bassam Murtadhâ, a Lebanese theologian, wrote his book entitled Christ between Quran and Bible  to serve this purpose. In his introduction, he mentions that “the greatest and most prominent divine religions in the world are Islam and Christianity. They have common principals and notions and they differ in other essential principals. Nevertheless Islam respects it and respects all other divine religions, but Christianity may be nearer to Islam than others. The difference between these two religions does not prevent the finding of a common formulation, which ensures peaceful co-existence between them. This book will not deal with political and social aspects, but with religious principals of Christianity” (Murtadhâ, 1994: 19-20).
  • Preachers, who concentrate their activities on holding public lectures and debates with Christians, have their own purposes for dealing with polemic.  They give critical views, materials and information to their followers about Christianity, its history and its beliefs. They try to transform their experiences by writing or producing the details of their debates with Christians. Muslim circles in the West distribute mainly works of the famous polemist Ahmad Deedat. “He was born and raised in Gujarat (India), he emigrated in 1927 to Durban, South Africa, where he took up work in a bookshop which was related to Adam’s Mission, an evangelical American mission station. Continued discussions with Christian missionaries led him to seek answers to the questions that they raised, and in 1958 he founded the Islamic Propagation Center as an organization specifically designed to combat Christian Proselytization. After more than forty years of preaching, Deedat continues today to speak out against the Christian mission. Deedat does not go door-to-door. His pamphlets and videotapes have made him a famous figure and he is in constant demand as a speaker and debater. On screen he exudes a charismatic and saintly appearance and his wit and charm temper what might otherwise be considered an acid tongue” (Poston, 1992: 139).

Islamic Da’wah in the West attracts plenty of enthusiastic Muslims to fulfil this Islamic duty of spreading Islam in the world as a long-term strategy. The literature of proselytization mainly focuses on the characters of the Islamic faith and legislation.

4.2. Medieval authors

The legacy of those medieval authors[23] who compiled polemical writings many centuries ago to serve the purposes of their time, has been called upon to serve the contemporary purposes of religious polemic too. Such works have been re-published a few times by different institutions like Islamic centers, the press and even by scholars at universities. Some of these polemical writings are edited, examined, revised and corrected by the modern Islamists who study polemics historically. These works still have their importance and play a role in contemporary polemical works.[24]

Here, the following works can be mentioned, which have been edited as recently as the last decade:

1- Kitâb Nâsir Al-Dîn ‘alâ al-Qawm al-Kâfirîn (The Supporter of Religion against the Infidels) of Ahmad ibn Qâsim al-Hajarî (d. after 1640), edited by P.S. van Koningsveld, Q. al-Samrrai and G.A. Wiegers. Madrid: 1997

2- Miftâh al-Dîn wa al-Mujâdalah Bayna al-Nasârâ wa al-Muslimîn (The Key to               Religion and the Polemic between Christian and Muslims) of Muhammad al-Qaysî al-Tûnisî, edited by P.S. van Koningsveld, Q. al-Samrrai and G.A. Wiegers. Madrid: 1999

3- Waqâi’ al-Munâdharah (Proceedings of the Debate between Shaykh Rahmat-Allah al-Hindî and the English priest Pfandar) , translated by Rafâ’ï al-Khûlî al-Katib. Beirut: 1996

These books contribute greatly to religious polemic because some of them are really new for the contemporary reader and have been edited with excellent efficiency and relevant documentation. Some of these works have been translated into English (e.g., the aforementioned works 1 and 2). This means that a wider circle of readers, westerners for example, can read them.

4.3. Non-specialist authors

These are authors who didn’t graduate from any form of higher religious education or did not pursue any other relevant studies on an academic level, but have an interest in religious polemical subjects. They may have a fair acquaintance with Islamic and Christian beliefs and history, but they usually deal with these deep issues without sufficient intellectual capacity and scientific background. In a scholarly sense, their works do not inspire much confidence, and their methodology falls outside the scope of scientific studies. Their research and criticism are not based on authentic documents, or their quotations lack details, i.e. the source, the page number etc. The following persons are examples of the non-specialist authors who deal with Islamic polemic:

1. 1. Ahmad Umran, a Syrian lawyer, has compiled several works concerning Islamic polemic against Christianity. One of his works is entitled Quran and Christianity in Balance. The book was a reaction against a Christian work entitled The Quran and Christianity which had been written by a Lebanese Christian theologian, al-Haddâd. He thinks that the Quran does not criticize Christianity as a whole but just a certain sect called the Jacobites. This sect was the only Christian sect in the Arab peninsula at that time. Umran’s work tried to defend the Quran and its point of view against Christian doctrines. This tome (610 pages) lacks the methodological technique that is necessary when dealing with such problems. There is no bibliography and no details of the sources he refers to. He provides a great number of citations but does not mention where they originate.[25]
2. Anas Abd al-Hamîd al-Qûz, a Saudi pilot, who wrote a polemical book entitled How do you call a Christian to Islam, giving good information and providing elaborate details on the steps a non-Muslim should take when approaching the subject. The author offers a wealth of experiences and practical advice, such as: how to collect important information about the subject (p.13); how to seize the opportunity to establish a religious dialogue with him (p.115); what kind of questions should be posed; what the answers will be to his expected questions or accusations launched against Islam. The author gives a short historical view about Christianity, Jesus and the “corrupted” Bible. He presents an imaginary dialogue between a Muslim and a Christian (pp.115-133). The author provides many Biblical quotations, which any Muslim dialogist can use for various polemical issues. He also advises about the procedures for arranging a religious dialogue, and the references, which the Muslims bring with them (p.134). The book is in Arabic but it is provided with important religious terms, in English, which are necessary for the Muslim dialogist. The author expects a successful result should anyone follow his steps (p.157). He provides a supplement, in Arabic and English, dealing with the Islamic pillars, which should be taught to a new convert (Qûz, 1994).
3. General Ahmad Abd al-Wahâb, an Egyptian officer, wrote a polemical book entitled Islam and Other Religions: the unanimity and differential views (1992). In his introduction, the author mentions that this book was a study he delivered in a “Seminar of information on Islam”, which was held in Rapieda (Santa Maria), Spain, in August 1991. The author focuses on issues (like God, the Prophets, the Resurrection, and daily life teachings) which Islam and other religions agree about (Abd al-Wahâb, 1992: 27-52). He deals also with differences between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity over the doctrine of the attributes of God, the infallibility of the Prophets, the Crucifixion of Jesus, the Falsification of the Bible, and the Prophecy of Muhammad (pp.55-79). The book provides ten supplements dealing with other religious polemical issues against Christianity (pp.85-225). On the last page a list of 12 references is provided. These references consist of seven translations of the Bible, three biographies of the Apostles and Jesus,[26] one Biblical study, and one Islamic book Islam: Doctrine and law by Mahmûd Shaltût.

4.4. Converts

Converts are non-Muslim individuals who have embraced Islam. Some of the converts, particularly the intellectuals, show a tendency to write a contribution in defense of Islam as they try to defend their decision for choosing the right religion. They may deal with polemical issues in their writings, or they may devote some of their works entirely to religious polemic.

1. Maryam Jameelah (formerly Margaret Marcus), an American convert to Islam who emigrated to Pakistan after becoming a Muslim, has written prolifically against both the West and Christianity.[27] She wrote a polemical work entitled Islam Versus Ahl al-Kitab: Past and Present (1978). Larry Poston describes her book and says: “Her criticisms are moulded into works that are excellently written and appear to be well documented” (Poston, 1992: 142).
2. Abd al-Qadir al-Murabit (formerly Ian Dallas), is a Scottish writer and actor, who became a Muslim in 1967 and started a Sufic/Islamic movement in the early seventies. He established the movement The Murabitun: European Muslim Movement. He has dealt with some polemical issues in his works, like Quranic Tawhid in (1995).

He also inspires his followers to compile polemical works. Ahmad Thompson, the author of the book For Christ’s Sake, mentioned in the introduction that “Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Murabit originally suggested that this book be written” (Thompson, 1996).

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Sufi wrote the introduction of the famous polemical book  Jesus, Prophet of Islam by Muhammad ‘Ata’ur-Rahim. He corroborates what the author discussed and said: “Today Christianity as a body of metaphysics is frankly non-existent. No one is more aware of this than the Vatican” and “Christianity is over. The myth has finally exploded” (‘Ata’ur-Rahim & Thomson, 1996: xi).

He explains that Jesus, Prophet of Islam shows us how the ‘true’ Christian teaching was diverted, or one might say de-railed, by the powerful Pauline explosion” (1996: xiii). He adds: “the meaning of this book for Christians can only be that they must examine again with an open mind the fantasy called Christian religion”(1996: xiii). Finally he concludes: “at the end of the day, Christianity was, simply, Europe. And Europe is finished. Islam is the world. And the world is not finished yet”(1996: xiv).

 

3. Ahmad Thomson, a British convert, “was born in Chipata, Zambia in 1950, towards the end of the British colonial period in Africa. Educated in both Zimbabwe and England, and widely traveled, he was fortunate enough to escape having too rigid a cultural moulding or social conditioning, and accordingly, although brought up as a Christian, recognised and embraced Islam. Soon after embracing Islam, Thomson met Colonel Muhammad ‘Ata’ur-Rahim, who had come to England in order to pursue his studies of Jesus, and Christianity in greater depth, and at the suggestion of Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Murabit, they began to work together. As a result of their joint research three books were written, Jesus: Prophet of Islam, Jesus in Quran, and Blood on the Cross. Other books written by Ahmad Thomson include Dajjâl: The King who has no clothes, which is a contemporary study of the Anti-Christ written from a Quranic perspective and based on some of the recorded sayings of the Prophet Muhammad” (‘Ata’ur-Rahim, 1996: 335).
4. Maurice Bucaille, a French intellectual convert, compiled his famous book The Bible, the Quran, and Science (1978). According to Ahmad Thomson, “Dr. Bucaille’s scrupulous and impartial consideration regarding the authenticity, accuracy and reliability of the contents of both the Bible and the Qur’an, together with his rational analysis of whether or not they correspond with the empirical evidence gathered by the practitioners of science, are both informative and illuminating- and anyone who has not read his book should do so!” (‘Ata’ur-Rahim & Thomson, 1996: vi). This book has been translated (from French) to other European languages like English and Serbian, and also to Muslim languages like Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu and Indonesian.[28]

It is a well-known book among Muslims, and they use it as a good reference in their lectures and books. For example, Barbara Brown has quoted several times from it in her book A Closer Look at Christianity.[29] Murad Hofmann, a German convert, used Bucaille’s work in his book entitled Islam is the Alternative (1992).[30]  Thomson also used it in his revised edition of his book Jesus, Prophet of Islam (1996) as an important source.

By their works, the converts aim to defend Islam from accusations launched against it. They constantly follow what the Western media or non-Muslims say and publish. The latter mostly involves allegations or misunderstandings of Islamic doctrines and law, Shari’ah. The converts may be strong opponents who are able to answer those accusations for two reasons: on the one hand, they are Muslims and they have an adequate knowledge of Islamic law and history. On the other hand, they are westerners and therefore can well understand the Western mentality. They can use appropriate methods to persuade westerners to understand the Islamic point of view.[31]

Some converts show a lot of interest in Islamic missionary Da’wah. They deliver lectures and hold meetings, seminars and conferences concerning this goal. Also they are active within Muslim organizations and Islamic Centers. Some of them work as directors in different Islamic centers and some of them are Imams in mosques.

 

4.5.  Aims of religious polemical works of Western Converts

Sometimes, Western converts deal with polemical issues through their lectures and books. They speak publicly and want to share their experiences with two groups:

1- The Christians

Christians are those who once followed Christianity and the converts want to help and guide them to the right faith. They try, as they believe, to show that Christianity has been corrupted and what they have now is just a series of contradictions and fallacies. They want to play the role of the “Saviour” who wants to rescue the strays.

Barbara Brown, an American convert, says “since God has given me the ability to express myself quite well on paper, I want to reach out to others who have all those questions floating around in their minds regarding religion, and I hope to perhaps steer them towards some answers. The materials I present here may surprise and even shock some who read it, but the pursuit of the Truth is never easy, especially in the face of long-held beliefs and principles” (Brown, 1995: 6).

Maurice Bucaille makes a textual criticism of the Bible and concludes “one is struck by the diverse nature of Christian commentators’ reaction to the existence of these accumulated errors, improbabilities and contradictions. Some of them acknowledge some mistakes and do not hesitate in their work to tackle thorny problems. Others pass lightly over unacceptable statements and insist on defending the text word for word. The latter try to convince people by apologetic declarations, heavily reinforced by arguments which are often unexpected, in the hope that is logically unacceptable will be forgotten” (Bucaille, 1976: 36).

He gives critical observations concerning the authenticity of the Bible and says “It would seem reasonable to look for an explanation by studying the conditions attendant upon the writing of the Gospels, or the religious atmosphere prevailing at that time. When adaptations of the original writings taken from oral tradition are pointed out, and we see the way texts handed down to us have been corrupted, the presence of obscure, incomprehensible, contradictory, improbable, and even absurd passages comes as much less of a surprise. The same may be said of texts, which are incompatible with today’s proven reality, thanks to scientific progress. Observations such as these denote the element of human participation in the writing and modification of the texts” (1976: 47).

2. The Muslims

Western converts believe that Muslims must preserve their right religion; they must be deeply confident that Islam is the only solution for their problems; and they must refuse to imitate the West. Murad Wilfried Hofmann, a German diplomat convert, gives his advice to the Muslims as follows: “Today, it is not to be hidden from anyone that Islam is returning to take its effective role in organizing the daily life of Muslims. Naturally this return to Islam is joined with the principal of refusing to be dominated by the West and its civilization. The reason is that the Islamic world looks to the rupture of relations with the West and the West’s neglect of the metaphysical world as a felony, deformation and discredit of the value of human being. The Islamic world rejects the West by a civilized, distinguished, independent and disparate project which paves the way to the end of European golden age” (Hofmann, 1993a: 32).

 

In his introduction, Munâf al-Yasirî, the translator of the Arabic version of the polemical book entitled A Closer Look at Christianity (1995) by Barbara Brown, explains the purposes of this book and says “this book occupies a special importance for the Muslims who live in non-Muslim societies. In those countries, the policy has been, sometimes obviously and mostly concealed, attack everything which has a link with Islam. The faithful writer, through this book, calls her people to the religion of Monotheism that is represented by Islam. At the same time, she encourages Muslims, and particularly those who reside in North America and other non-Muslim countries, to have more understanding of their religion; to strengthen themselves against the ignorance of their faith in order that they not be deceived and their faith may not be shaken because of psychological pressures and the material seductions in foreign lands. To consciously read this book represents an active means of supporting the Muslims in their stand against hostile attacks, and gives them the ability to respond confidently” (Brown, 1995: 7).

 

Muslims are very interested in the works of Western converts. Their works are available in Islamic centers, mosques and Islamic bookshops. During my research in many institutions in England and the Netherlands, I found these works beside other Islamic religious books.[32]

4.5.1. Main issues of Islamic religious polemic

Muslim polemists would mostly deal with two main issues:

First, they try to prove, as they think, that the Old and New Testaments foretold the coming of the prophet Muhammad. Thus they must study, interpret and analyze the Biblical texts. [33]

Second, they would show that the Christian beliefs are not correct, that they have been

corrupted and that the Bible contains many contradictions, as they believe.[34]

The aforementioned problems have a Quranic base. The Quran deals with polemical issues and declares clearly that the Bible had already foretold the coming of Muhammad and it mentions that the Old and New Testaments have been previously corrupted.

Muslim polemists try to persuade non-Muslims that they must choose Islam in response to these two issues (and in addition to the Islamic faith itself?). Both of the aforementioned problems would lead to polemical religious arguments and to further involvement in controversial issues.

5. What polemical techniques are used ?

Authors of polemical works use different ways to bring their ideas to readers. Ahmad Deedat’s strategy is the use of the “pamphlet” because it is short, simple and easily portable for the ordinary reader. Deedat skillfully uses the “videocassette” as a bridge to reach those who are illiterate or those who have no interest in reading his pamphlets. In general, the influence of live public debates is greater than books, because the observer becomes emotionally involved and interacts with the show.

Deedat’s debates with Christians are produced as videocassettes and pamphlets. These items are widely distributed among young Muslims. Their message is simple and clear, and it is a message that can be readily understood by audiences who don’t need a great acquaintance with Islam or Christianity. The scene of the debate, which takes place in front of an audience, makes a deep impression on those watching. Emotions, enthusiasm, and victorious feelings mix with each other and sow comfort among the Muslim audience and then among the viewers. These videocassettes can be considered as a missionary activity.[35]  Deedat has more than fifty lectures and debates on tape, which are distributed worldwide. They have been translated into many languages.

Muslim authors tend to transmit their polemical experiences to the people by engaging in debates and by doing so, achieve remarkable success. Mr. Hasan M. Baagil wrote his pamphlet Christian-Muslim Dialogue as a result of real religious polemical debates with the clergy. Some Muslim authors write an imaginary debate between Muslims and Christians who argue with each other about religious issues. They use their experiences and may use the religious polemical heritage as a weapon to refute the Christian beliefs. In this kind of literature, the Muslim should be the victor and the Christian must admit his defeat and acknowledge that Islam is the true religion, and then submit to Islam.[36]

 

Some Islamic institutions in the West have developed their activities by using the Internet and putting polemical articles on it. They are available on a very wide network, which can be reached by millions of people around the world. This high technological method makes the process of dissemination of information very easy and speedy. The enthusiastic Muslim youth make a lot of Islamic websites on the Internet. The “Salaam Society” of Muslim students at Erasmus University in Rotterdam has developed its work on the Internet. Its homepage consists of different religious issues including polemical issues, like the Attributes of God in the Bible, About how many Gods does the Bible talk?, Is Jesus God?, Contradictions in the Old Testament, Contradictions in the New Testament, Original sin, Incest, Evidence against the Crucifixion of Jesus,What actually is the Name of God?, The Prophecy of Muhammad in the Old Testament and the Prophecy of Muhammad in the New Testament.[37]

The MASJID TUCSON society in Arizona, USA, has its own homepage dealing with religious polemics. It now has the following polemical works against Christianity: Jesus or the Church, Islam in the Bible, Jesus: Myths & Message, Let the Bible Speak: Contradictions and Corruption in the Bible, Did Jesus deny being God?, Is Jesus the Unique Son of God?, and Did Jesus say “Only Begotten”? [38]

The extreme Muslim organizations use the facilities available on the Internet to broadcast their messages, attitudes and criticisms against the West. They also deal with religious polemic against Judaism and Christianity. The Supporters of Shariah in London, the group of Abu Hamza al-Masri, has its own polemical works like Celebrating the Holy Days of the Kuffar, and Vasco da Gama- Christian Fundamentalist – Killer of Muslims.[39]

(*) Mayor of Baghdad and academic Researcher on Islamic Science

(**) Published in Religious Polemics in Context, edit. By T.L. Hettama & A. van der Kooij, Royal van Gorcum Publisher, in 2004)

 

Notes by the Autor

[1] Interview with Shaykh al-Sharqawi in London on 19 February 1999

[2] Interview with  Zaki Badawi in London on 16 February 1999

[3] Interview with  Chaib Bousnane in Rotterdam on 3 July 1999.

[4] I have interviewed the directors of those centers. They explained their activities that include holding

meetings for westerners.

[5] Interview with Shaykh Salâh Al Bilâl in London on 18 February 1999

[6] I am indebted to Prof. Dr. P.S. van Koningsveld, at Leiden University for an eye-witness report from the

celebration at Mubârak mosque.

[7] See the bibliography at the end of this article.

[8] See for example: Jawhari, (1991).

[9] See: Bennett, W. R. (1995).

[10] Interview with  Zaki Badawi in London on 16 February 1999

[11] Interview with Mrs. Rabab Rasul in London on 15 February 1999.

[12] Interview with Mustafa Ja’far in London on 30 October 1998.

[13] See:   – Christian-Muslim frontier: Chaos, clash or dialogue? ed. by Jorgen S. Nielsen,  London:1996

• Images of Jesus Christ in Islam: introduction, survey of research, issue of dialogue, by Oddbjoern Leirvik,

Uppsala, Swedish Institute of Missionary Research: 1999

Since the sixties many Christian-Muslim dialogues have been held. See:

– Seminar of Islamic-Christian dialogue: research  and document, Tripoli: 1976.

edited by the office of Foreign contacts in 1981

• Christians meeting Muslims: WCC papers on ten years of Christian-Muslim dialogue, World Council of Churches, Geneva: 1977
• A Christian-Muslim dialogue, between M.H. Finlay and Sumali Alwi, Omer Brothers,   Singapore: 1979
• Dialogue between Christians and Muslims, by Ahmed von Denffer. The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, UK: 1980.
• Twenty-Five Years of Dialogue, by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, in Islamochristiana, 15 (1989), pp. 109-120
• Islam and Other religions, by Ismail Raji al-Faruqi. The Islamic Foundation, Leicester:1998 ,  240-280

[14] Interview with Rafeeq Ahmad Fris, Imam of the Islamic Center in Tilburg in the Netherlands,  on 5 February 1999.

[15] This sentence was shown in the relevant videotape Debate between Deedat & Swaggart.

[16] This information comes on the screen before the debate.

[17] On every pamphlet, a list is provided of about 20 pamphlets which are available and 41 debates and lectures

available on videotapes.

[18] This publisher has an interest in the works of western converts. He published the series of Deedat’s works (37

works till Aug. 1999) and Maryam Jameelah’s works (5 works).

[19] See the paragraph (the Authors of polemical literature, – Medieval authors) of this paper.

[20] See the Ph.D. thesis of  Sharafî, A. M. et al. (1986). Al-Fikr al-Islâmî fî al-Rad ‘alâ al-Nasârâ  (Islamic Thoughts in Repulse on Christian), Tunis: al-Dâr al-Tûnissiyyah lil-Nashr.

[21] This book and other books mentioned here are circulated in the West. I bought it in London.

[22] The introduction occupies half of the book.  The famous Muslim preacher Muhammad al-Ghazâlî introduced the

author as “one of the best scholars  in al-Azhar in comparative religion,” see the preface written by M. al-Ghazâlî,

8. 8. This book is available in the Netherlands.

[23] See, e.g., – al-Nasîhah al-Imâniyya fî Fadhîhah al-Millah al-Nasrâniyya  ( The religious Advice about

corruption of the Christian religion) of Nasr ibn Yahyâ ibn ‘sâ ibn Sa’îd al-Mutatabib

(d.1193),  edited by Dr. Muhammad Abdu-Allah al-Sharqâwî. Cairo:1986

– Hidâyat al-Hayârâ fi Ajwibat al-Jahûd wa al-Nasârâ ( Guidance to the confused by

answering the Jews and Christians of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1291-1350), edited by

Dr. Ahmad Hijâzî al-Saqqa.Cairo:1979

– al-Dîn wa al-Dawalah (The Religion and State in the proving of Muhammad’s prophecy)

of Alî ibn Rabban al-Tabarî (157/772-240/855), edited by ‘âdil Nuweihidh. Beirut:1982

–  Nuzûl ‘Isâ  ibn Maryam Âkhir al-Zamân ( Coming down of Jesus at the end of time) of

Jalâl al-Dîn al-Suyûtî (d. 911/1505), edited by Muhammad Abd al-Qadir Ata. Beirut:1985

[24] Chaib Bousnane, the author of polemical work Als de Bijble een tong had  (If the Bible had a Tongue), told me that he used  medieval polemical works like Hidîyat al-Hayârâ by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, and al-Jawâb al- Sahîh li-man baddal Dîn al-Masîh by Ibn Taymiyyah.

[25]  See e.g. (Umrân, 1995: 49-50), he defines different Christian sects without any source.

[26] 1- G. Caird. (1963). Saint Luke, London: Penguin Books.

2- J. Fenton. (1993). Saint Mathew, London: Penguin Books.

3- G. Wells. (1971). The Jesus of the Early Christian, London: Pemberton Books.

[27]  See her works in the bibliography.

[28] Bucaille (1976), The Quran, The Bible and Science, see the edition which was published by the Islamic Da’wah

Society,  Tripoli, Libya: 1983.

[29] Brown, (1995), see pages  61 and 75.

She also quotes from these polemical works, which are published in the West:

– Ajijola, A. D. A., Myth of the Cross, Kazi Publication,  Chicago: 1979

– Badawi, Jamal, Jesus in the Quran and the Bible: An Outline, Halifax, Nova Scotia: ?

– Badawi, Jamal, Muhammad in the Bible, Halifax, Nova Scotia: ?

– Brown, Aisha, Three In One: the Doctrine of the Trinity, The Open School, Chicago:1992

– Chirri, Imam Muhammad Jawad, Inquiries About Islam, Harlo Press, Detroit :1986

– Harstad, Bjug, Is the Bible Reliable?, Parklad, Washington:1929

[30] Hofmann, (1993a), see pages 49 and 119

He uses also other polemical works circulating in the West:

– On p. 63,  ‘Ata’ur-Rahim, M., Jesus, Prophet of Islam, London: 1977

– On p. 64,  A. Von Denffer, Der Islam und Jesus, München: 1991

– On p. 64,  Charles, André Gilis, Marie en Islam, Paris:1990

[31] Sajidah Abd al-Sattar, a Dutch convert, analyzed the different accusations launched against Islam, in her book

entitled Research on Anti-Islamic Tendencies in the Dutch Press, published by the Council of  Dutch Muslims,

Rotterdam:1995

[32] I bought the following works:

– Murad Hofmann, al-Islâm Hûwa al-Badîl (Islam is the Alternative), from Dâr al-Hikma Bookshop in London

• ‘Ata’ur-Rahim & Thomson (1996). Jesus, Prophet of Islam, from the bookshop of The Central Mosque (Regent’s Park) in London.

– Dâwûd, A.  Muhammad in the Bible, from an Islamic Center in London.

• Bucaille, The Quran, the Bible, and Science, from al-Aqsâ Stichting bookshop in Rotterdam.

–  Brown, (1995). A Closer Look at Christianity, from a bookshop in Dordrecht, the Netherlands.

[33] E.g.: Dâwûd, 1978,  Mhâwish, 1991:  138- 156, Mustafâ, 1994, Abd al-Wahâb, 1992: 71-79, Hawwâ, 1979: 227- 287, Saqqâ, 1988a: 50-56, Saqqâ, 1988b, Qat’ânî,1990: 39-50, Chirri, 1996: 134-138.

– Râshd, !998: 9, provides evidence with the mentioning of the Prophet Muhammad in the Old and New

Testaments.

–  Deedat, 1991a.

[34] See, e.g., the following sources, more detail refer to bibliography:  Mhâwish, 1991, Brown, 1995, Qûz,1994, ’Ata’ur-Rahim & Thomson, 1996, Barrû, 1993, Tahtâwî, 1977.

[35] I noted these observations during the repeated watching of such videocassettes with a Muslim group.

Zaki Badawi also made similar remarks.

[36] See, e.g. Balâghî, al-Rihlah al-Madrasyyia.

[37] The address of homepage of “Salaam Society” in the Netherlands is http://www.xs4all.nl/~salaam/

[38] Its address on the Internet is : http://www.submission.org

[39] Its address on the Internet is : http://www.ummah.net

 

 

 

 

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circulating in England and the Netherlands

 

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Videocassette, produced by INES, Casablanca- Morocco (Arabic):

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– Is the Gospel the word of God?

– The Crucifixion: Fact or Fiction?

 

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 Interviews:

• with Zaki Badawi, the Dean of Islamic College, in London on 16 February 1999
• with Shaykh Muhammad al-Sharqawi, Imam of the Central Mosque “Regents Park”, in London on 19 February 1999.
• with Shaykh Salâh Al Bilâl, the director of al-Iman League of British Converts, on 18 Feb. 1999
• with Mrs. Rabab Rasul, an English convert, in London on 15 February 1999.
• with Mr.Mustafa Ja’far, the director of the Islamic Education Board in London, in London on 30 October 1998.
• with Mr. Bas van Nippen, a Dutch convert, in Rotterdam on 15 November 1998.
• with Mr. Chiab Bousnane, Muslim preacher, in Rotterdam on 3 July 1999.
• with Rafeeq Ahmad Fris, a Dutch convert, in The Hague, on 5 February 1999.

 

The Internet, for relevant Islamic organizations:

• http://www.bayynat.org.lb
• http://www.xs4all.nl/~salaam/
• http://www.submission.org
• http://www.ummah.net

 

Videotapes :

 

–  Is the Bible God’s Word?, debate between Ahmad Deedat and priest Jimmy Swaggart

• Is Jesus God?, debate between Ahmad Deedat and Dr. Anas Syroush, in London

on 15 Dec. 1985

• Crucifixion: Fact or Fiction, debate between Ahmad Deedat and Dr. Robert Douglas,

                              in University of Kansas, in Nov. 1988.

• Is the Bible really the Word of God?, a debate between Ahmad Deedat and Pastor

                               Stanly Sjoberg, in Sweden

Downlaod PDF

د. صباح قدوري- تأخير مصادقة الموازنة العامة لعام 2024 من قبل البرلمان العراقي

 

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