After September 11, President Bush declared that Islam is a religion of peace. Is this a fair assessment? Over the last several years, I have read a number of books in search of an answer. Three are now on my "essential reading" list. Each book fills in a different gap, so you need to read all three. Understanding the Koran, by Mateen Elass, is a great primer for Christians who want to become familiar with what the Koran teaches. The Koran and the Bible agree on some significant points; and they differ in some drastic ways. If you don't know which is which, get this book. Dr. Elass was raised in Saudi Arabia and holds degrees from Stanford University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. Because the book has both a subject and Koran index, it is also a very helpful reference tool.
Read Understanding the Koran first, then follow it up with Islam in Context by Peter G. Riddell and Peter Cotterell. Our current struggle with Islam centers on how it interacts with the
non-Muslim world. So how have Muslims engaged with non-Muslim culture in their past. Islam in Context is fascinating and illuminating with its answers to these questions: When did Islam begin, what were the circumstances from which it was born, how did it expand, and what corresponding challenges and influences did it face? Dr. Riddell (Ph.D., Australian National University) is director of the Centre for Islamic Studies and Muslim-Christian Relations at London Bible College. Dr. Cotterell (Ph.D., London University) is a lecturer at the Centre for Islamic Studies. This is one of those books that I couldn't stop reading; with each page I found myself saying, "I never knew this!"
The third volume needed to round out your study is Understanding the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Michael Rydelnik. Why does "peace in the Middle East" seem so illusive? Why is peace that important? Much of what you hear through public news sources is incomplete or distorted. This book is the best I have found to explain what is really going on. Prepare to be shocked! The author is a professor of Jewish Studies at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.
If you have any Muslim friends, your ability to have conversations about spiritual things will be severely hobbled without the information in these three volumes. If you are a home-schooling parent of high school age students, maybe you could do a history unit on the Middle East and read these three books. As Islam exercises an increasing influence on world affairs, your children need to understand what they will be dealing with.
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