 Christians sometimes wonder, why should we learn about Islam? There are lots of reasons that people in general, but especially Christians, should be learning about Islam. Let's consider five of them. First, numbers. Islam is the second largest religion in history after Christianity. There are about 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. That's over a fifth of the world's population. There are currently more than 1,200 mosques in the United States and more than 6,000 in Europe. And according to many sources, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. So Islam is big, and it's getting bigger. When that many people believe something, it's a good idea to learn what they believe. Second, Christians can't communicate the gospel clearly to Muslims without understanding what Muslims believe, because the Quran distorts the meaning of Christian claims. For instance, Christians claim that Jesus is the Son of God. But when we say Jesus is the Son of God, Muslims think we're claiming that God had sex with a woman and produced Jesus as an offspring. They believe this because the Quran says, how can Allah have a son when He has no wife? Surah 6, verse 101. Now, when Christians call Jesus the Son of God, we're not talking about God having sex and producing an offspring. No Christian has ever meant that. But that's what Muslims think we mean, because the Quran says that's what it means to call someone the Son of God. There's a similar problem when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity. According to the Quran, Surah 5, verse 116, Christians believe in a trinity made up of God, Jesus, and Mary. Here again, no Christian has ever believed this, but there are Muslims who think we believe in a trinity made up of God, Jesus, and Mary because of how the Quran distorts Christian doctrines. So if we don't know what Muslims believe, we won't understand how they're misinterpreting what we say when we preach the gospel. Third, Muslims are trained to challenge the core doctrines of Christianity. Jesus taught his followers lots of things, but when they preached the gospel in the Book of Acts, they preached that Jesus is the Divine Son of God who died on the cross for sins and rose from the dead. Deity, death, and resurrection. These are the three core teachings of the Christian gospel. Islam denies all three of them, and so Muslims are taught to challenge Christians on these issues. Muslims are taught to attack Christianity where it matters most. If Christians don't know about Islam, we won't know how Muslims are going to challenge our beliefs, and we won't know how to challenge their beliefs. Fourth, many Muslims are so confident that Islam is true because they've been told all their lives that it's indisputably true that they can't seriously consider any alternatives to Islam. My best friend in college was a Muslim. That's why I started studying Islam. We talked about Christianity for a couple of years, but he was so confident that Islam was true, he really wasn't taking Christianity seriously. It was only after we began looking at some of the problems with Muhammad and the Quran that he realized maybe what I've been told about Islam all my life isn't true. Maybe I need to think through this more carefully. He's a Christian now. He's one of the speakers for Rabi Zacharias International Ministries. So giving Muslims some facts about Muhammad and the Quran is crucial, and we can't give them these facts unless we know what the facts are. Fifth, Islam thrives in an atmosphere of ignorance. I've met lots of converts to Islam over the years, but I've never met a single person who converted to Islam after carefully studying Islam. When I meet a convert to Islam and I ask, why did you convert to Islam? It's almost always because the person was given some false information. The reason so many people fall for this, false information, is that there's a general atmosphere of ignorance about Islam, which allows Muslim preachers to say pretty much whatever they want because no one's going to correct them. These preachers are then free to adapt their message to the values of their audience. In the West we believe in women's rights, so the Muslim preacher says, you believe in women's rights? Muhammad was a champion of women's rights. He was probably the greatest defender of women who ever lived. People in the West usually have a high respect for science, so the Muslim preacher says the Quran is filled with scientific claims that could only be verified centuries after Muhammad's death. Science proves that Islam is the truth. In an area where no one knows much about Islam, many people believe what they hear from these Muslim preachers and they convert to Islam. The only way this is going to stop is if we get to a point where we know enough about Islam to refute false claims. When the Muslim preacher says Muhammad was a champion of women's rights, hands need to go up to question him about Quran verses that refute him. So Islam is already a massive religion and it's growing rapidly. Muslims often don't understand the Gospel because they're misinterpreting our claims based on the Quran's distortion of our claims. Muslims have been taught to criticize core Christian doctrines. Many Muslims can't take the Gospel seriously until their own beliefs have been challenged and people are converting to Islam based on false information. All of these are reasons for Christians to learn about Islam. It's kind of difficult to be certain about most of the details of Muhammad's life because the historical sources are so late. Our earliest detailed biographical source on Muhammad's life is Ibn Asaq's Sirat Rasulullah, which was written more than a century after Muhammad died. And we don't even have what Ibn Asaq actually wrote. We only have an edited version by Ibn Hashan and Muslims don't even pay much attention to Ibn Asaq. The sources they used to learn about Muhammad, their main hadith collections, were written two to three centuries after he died. So we're dealing with some very late material. But if we take the Muslim sources at face value, the story of Muhammad's life goes something like this. He was born around 570 A.D. in a city called Mecca in what is now Saudi Arabia. His father, Abdullah, died before he was born and his mother, Amina, died when he was six years old. After the death of his grandfather, Muhammad was raised by his uncle, Abu Talib, leader of the Banu Hashim clan. While he was still young, Muhammad began working in the Meccan caravan trade, which put him in contact with diverse religious traditions. When he was 25, he married a wealthy widow, Qadija, who was 15 years older than he was. With more leisure time, Muhammad developed the habit of retreating to a cave on Mount Hira for prayer and reflection, as was common for the polytheists of the Meccan Quraysh tribe. So it seems that Muhammad was very interested in religious matters long before anyone believed he was a prophet. During one of his yearly retreats, Muhammad became convinced that a jinn or a demonic spirit had possessed him and had ordered him to recite some verses. The verses said, Read in the name of your Lord who created, who created man from a clot of blood. Read, and your Lord is most generous, who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know. These words are now found in the Quran, chapter 96 verses 1 through 5. So this is when Muhammad started receiving revelations that would eventually become the Quran. But again, he didn't think that they were revelations at this point. He thought that he was possessed by some sort of poetry demon. He was 40 years old at the time, and he was so embarrassed at the thought of being possessed by a jinn or a demon that he tried to hurl himself off a cliff. But whatever it was that gave him the verses stopped him from committing suicide. Muhammad ran home to his wife Khadija and her cousin, Warakah. And it was Khadija and Warakah who persuaded him that he wasn't possessed. He was a prophet of Allah. Muhammad soon began preaching Islam to friends and family members, and later to the public. But his messages became increasingly inflammatory. He condemned the religious beliefs of the polytheists of Mecca, and he mocked their gods. Not surprisingly, the Meccans eventually started persecuting Muhammad and his followers. And after his wife Khadija and his uncle Abu Talib died, Muhammad decided to flee the city of Mecca. His new city, Medina, was a little over 200 miles north of Mecca. After forming alliances with various non-Muslim groups, Muhammad began robbing the Meccan caravans. These attacks eventually led to a series of battles with Mecca, the Battle of Badr, the Battle of Uhud, and the Battle of the Trench. As war booty poured in, so did new converts. The growing Muslim army allowed Muhammad not only to subdue Mecca, but to subdue the rest of Arabia as well. Unfortunately for Muhammad, after attacking a Jewish settlement at Kaibar, a Jewish woman whose family had been killed by Muslims offered to cook dinner for Muhammad and some of his companions. And the prophet of Islam accepted her offer. But the food she gave him was poisoned. Muhammad spit the food out, but according to Muslim sources, the poison caused some sort of internal damage which led to severe pain and ongoing medical problems. Muhammad suffered an agonizing death a few years later in 632. So to put all of this together, we can divide Muhammad's life into three main periods. There's the time before he claimed to be a prophet. This would be 570 to 610. There's his time in Mecca after he claimed to be a prophet. This is 610 to 622. And there's his time in Medina as a prophet. This is 622 until his death in 632. Lots of people down through history have claimed to be prophets. There are people in the world today who claim to be prophets, but their messages contradict each other, so they can't all be speaking for God. This means that we have to examine their messages to see who's really speaking for God. And there are three main possibilities we have to consider. First, the person might be getting revelations from his own mind. He might be deliberately inventing revelations or he might be insane, but it's clear that some so-called revelations have a purely human origin. Second, the person might be getting revelations from demonic sources. He's actually receiving revelations. These revelations just don't come from God. They come from somewhere else. Third, someone who claims to be a prophet may genuinely be receiving revelations from God, in which case we should believe him. So it's important to examine Muhammad's claims in light of these three possibilities. Did his revelations come from his own mind? Did they come from demons? Did they come from God? Let's think about the evidence. When we ask ourselves what evidence there is that Muhammad was getting his revelations from his own mind, we find that Islam really seems like a religion that came from the mind of a 7th century Arabian caravan trader, because Islam is basically a collection of teachings and practices that were present in Arabia during Muhammad's time. Jewish monotheism had spread into many communities in Arabia, along with biblical and non-biblical stories about Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. Teachings about Jesus and Mary that were popular in certain Christian cults were being taught in Arabia, things like Jesus speaking at birth, Jesus giving life to clay birds, Mary giving birth under a palm tree, and so on. The Sabians who were mentioned in the Quran prayed at all five of the times Muslims prayed during their daily prayers, and they recited a creed, la ilaha illallah. Muslims recite this creed today. Many of the polytheists of Arabia performed ablutions. These are ceremonial washings. They took an annual pilgrimage to Mecca. They circled the Kaaba. They kissed the black stone that supposedly fell from heaven. All of these teachings and practices became a part of Islam, which means that Islam is exactly the sort of religion we would expect to arise in 7th century Mecca. So we have good reasons to think that Islam had a human origin, the mind of a man deeply affected by the teachings and practices that surrounded him. But we should also look to see if there might be something darker at work. Here we find plenty of evidence suggesting that forces beyond Muhammad were involved in his teachings. We know from Muslim records that when Muhammad began receiving revelations his first impression was that he was demon possessed. We also know that after his experience in the cave he became suicidal, tried to hurl himself off a cliff. According to the earliest Muslim sources, Muhammad was tricked into delivering a revelation from the devil. These are the so-called Satanic verses where Allah gave Muslims permission to pray to three pagan goddesses. Muhammad revealed these verses as part of the Quran, but he later came back and said that Satan had deceived him. We also know from Muslim sources that Muhammad claimed that he was a victim of black magic, a spell that gave him delusional thoughts and false beliefs. So Muhammad's first impression of his revelations was that he was demon possessed. His revelations made him suicidal and even Muslim sources claimed that he delivered a revelation from the devil and that he was a victim of black magic. It seems that we don't just have evidence that Muhammad's revelations had a human origin, we also have evidence of spiritual problems. The question now is whether there's any evidence that Muhammad's revelations came from God. Now the Quran offers two main arguments for Muhammad's status as a prophet. The first is what I call the argument from literary excellence. The claim here, which we find over and over again in the Quran, is that the Quran is so wonderfully written it must be from God. So Muhammad's main argument is that the poetry he was delivering was so wonderful it could only come from God. There are two main problems with this argument. One, even if something is wonderfully written, so wonderfully written that it can't be imitated, this tells us absolutely nothing about whether it's from God. If we can't write poems like T.S. Eliot or plays like Shakespeare or books like Charles Dickens, this doesn't mean that Eliot and Shakespeare and Dickens are prophets of God. It would only mean that they had unique literary styles. Two, I'll go ahead and say it, the Quran is awful. I'm someone who reads a lot and I've never read a book as awful and boring and disorganized as the Quran. I agree with the late philosopher Antony Flew who said to read the Quran is a penance rather than a pleasure. He said that reading the Quran is a penance. It's a kind of punishment. So the argument from literary excellence fails completely. The second main argument for Islam is the argument from Biblical prophecy. The Quran claims that there are prophecies about Muhammad in the Torah and the Gospel. What's the problem here? Well, according to both the Torah and the Gospel, Muhammad was a false prophet. The criteria for a true prophet laid down in both the Torah and the Gospel rule out Muhammad. We can't even take this argument seriously. Other arguments for Islam are even weaker, which means we have no good evidence that Muhammad's revelations come from God. But we do have good reasons to think that at least some of his revelations had a purely human origin and that others may even be demonic. We can only conclude that Muhammad was a false prophet and that anyone who wants to follow the truth will have to look somewhere other than Islam. There are several different ways to view Muhammad. Muslims, of course, believe that he was a prophet of God. Among those of us who reject Muhammad, there are some who claim that Muhammad knew that he was deceiving people. They believe that he was an imposter who manipulated people into serving him. I happen to believe, along with many others, that Muhammad sincerely believed that he was a prophet. The general criterion I use here is the same, whether I'm evaluating Christianity or Islam or any other worldview. It's that if a person is willing to die for what he's saying, he probably believes it. In other words, liars make poor martyrs. There are lots of liars in this world. If you put a gun to someone's head over a lie, they're generally going to admit that it's a lie. People who are willing to die for their claims are usually people who wholeheartedly believe in what they're dying for. Based on the number of battles Muhammad was in and the various dangers he faced, I believe that he really thought he was a prophet. So I don't believe that Muhammad was intentionally using Islam for his own interests. However, there are a number of passages in the Quran and the Hadith that move beyond any reasonable doubt that Muhammad's revelations were influenced by his desires. Let me give you four examples. First, Surah 4, verse 3 of the Quran says that Muslims can marry up to four women. But we know from references in Bukhari and other sources that Muhammad had at least nine wives at one time. So why did Muhammad get more than four wives when the Quran says that Muslim men can only marry four women? Well, Muhammad received a special revelation, Surah 33, verse 50, which says that he and he alone could have as many wives as he wanted. Now, I don't know about you, but when the guy who's receiving the revelation starts getting special moral privileges, namely more sex partners than anyone else, I start getting awfully suspicious. Second, Muhammad had an adopted son named Zaid, who was called Zaid bin Muhammad, Zaid's son of Muhammad. One day, Muhammad went to visit him and was greeted by Zaid's wife, Zainab, who was very beautiful and who was wearing beautiful clothing at the time. When Muhammad saw her, he supposedly received some sort of revelation telling him that he was going to marry her, even though she was already married to his adopted son and Muhammad walked away praising Allah. Zaid found out that Muhammad was attracted to his wife, he divorced her, so that Muhammad could marry her. Muhammad was worried about what people might think if he married Zainab, but then he began receiving revelations to justify the marriage. The second verse of the Qur'an, which says that it's okay to marry the divorced wives of your adopted sons. I've never met a person who struggles with this problem. I've never met someone who struggles with whether he should marry the divorced wife of his own adopted son. So this verse has no purpose other than justifying what Muhammad did. Third, Muhammad's wife Hafsa once came home early and caught Muhammad in her bed with another woman, his slave girl, Muhammad promised that he would stop having sex with his slave girl. But a little later, Muhammad started having sex with Mary again. How did he justify his sexual relationship with Mary when he had taken an oath to stop having sex with her? Well, he received a revelation surah 66 verses 1 through 2 of the Qur'an where Allah says, O prophet, why do you forbid yourself that which Allah has made lawful for you? You seek to please your wives who are merciful. Allah indeed has sanctioned for you the expiation of your oaths and Allah is your protector and he is the knowing, the wise. Notice, Muhammad swears I'll never have sex with my slave girl again. Then he starts having sex with her because Allah told him to break his oath. Very interesting. Fourth, one of Muhammad's wives was a woman named Sauda. As Sauda aged, she became married and Muhammad decided to divorce her. Terrified of being abandoned in her old age, Sauda hatched a plan. She knew that Aisha was Muhammad's favorite wife and that Muhammad would like to spend even more time with Aisha. So Sauda told Muhammad that if he would keep her as his wife and not abandon her, she would give her sex night to Aisha. This arrangement would allow Muhammad to spend twice as much time with Aisha as he spent with any of his other wives. Muhammad was happy with the arrangement and Allah praises Sauda in Surah 4 verse 128 for coming up with this solution after fearing cruelty and desertion from Muhammad. So Islam's message to women is this if your husband is going to abandon you in your old age, just give up some of your rights and let him spend more time with his favorite wife. This will keep him from divorcing you and abandoning you. Over and over again, Muhammad's revelations are just too convenient. The Quran is supposed and yet parts of it have more to do with satisfying Muhammad's desires than with guiding humanity. Even Muhammad's wife Aisha noticed this. In Sahih al-Bukhari, Muhammad receives one of his morally convenient revelations and Aisha says to him, I feel that your lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires. So I personally believe that Muhammad was sincerely convinced that he was a prophet, but the evidence is clear that his desires influenced the revelations he was receiving. We can often learn something important about a religion just by examining its name. The name Christianity, for instance, draws attention to the importance of Christ in Christianity. Similarly, the word Islam tells us something about the religion preached by Muhammad. Islam is Arabic for submission or surrender and in its religious context, the term refers to submitting one's will to Allah, the Arabic word for God. The word Muslim means one who submits to Allah. So we can already tell that Islam is going to have a lot to do with submitting to God. And Muslims who preach Islam in the West emphasize this when they preach. They say, Islam just means submission to God. You want to submit to God, don't you? Well then, Islam is the religion for you. Now, if the message of Islam were simply submit to God, Christians and Jews would agree we want to submit to God. But the message of Islam isn't just that you must submit to God. It's a message about how you must submit to God. According to Islam, you submit to God by doing certain things and by believing certain things. And Islam has two convenient lists for us. A list of the most important deeds called the five pillars and a list of the most important beliefs called the six articles of faith. The five pillars of Islam, the five most important practices are Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Saum and Hajj. Shahada means testimony to Islam. All you have to do is recite the words la ilaha illallah, Muhammad Rasulallah. There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. By reciting this testimony of faith or creed, a person formally submits to Allah and Muhammad. Salat refers to prayer and worship. Muslims are required to pray five times per day. These prayers are memorized recitations in Arabic that are accompanied by specified bodily positions standing, prostrating and sitting. Muslims perform ceremonial washings called ablutions before prayers and they pray facing the Kaaba, which is a cube-shaped shrine in Mecca. Zakat refers to almsgiving, which is required of all Muslims except for those who are extremely poor. Muslims have to give one 40th of any monetary wealth they've held for an entire year, along with various percentages of agricultural products, livestock and other goods. Saum is Islamic fasting which is especially associated with Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. When fasting, Muslims are required to abstain from food, beverages and sexual intercourse during daylight hours, so from dawn till sunset. The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca. Every Muslim who is physically and financially able must take a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in life. The communal Hajj takes place annually during the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims circle the Kaaba seven times, run or walk back and forth between the nearby hills of Safa and Marwah, pelt walls with pebbles to symbolize stoning the devil, things like that. Islam requires submission to a law and Muslims demonstrate their submission by performing these five deeds. Muslims are also required to believe certain things. These are summarized in the six articles of faith. Belief in Allah, belief in angels, belief in inspired books, belief in prophets, belief in the day of judgment and belief in predestination. And these beliefs aren't just some kind of intellectual ascent to the existence of God and the existence of angels. They require belief in what Islam teaches about God, angels, and so on. So belief in Allah isn't just belief that God exists. It's belief in the Islamic view of God. Most importantly that Allah is one with no division in essence or person. The oneness of Allah, doctrine called Tauheed, is so central to Islam that denying Allah's oneness is the worst sin a person can commit in Islam. It's the sin of shirk, associating partners with Allah. The second article of faith is belief in angels. In Islam, angels are created from light and are incapable of disobeying Allah. So there are no fallen angels in Islam. Iblis or Satan is one of the jinn. Jinn are created from fire rather than from light and may rebel against Allah. Then there's belief in Allah's revealed books. The Quran affirms the inspiration, preservation, and authority not only of the Quran but also of the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospel. Muslims have to believe in Allah's prophets. Counting Muhammad, the Quran mentions 25 prophets by name, though there are numerous unnamed prophets as well. The most respected prophets in Islam are Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. Belief in the Day of Judgment includes belief in a general resurrection of the dead followed by a final reckoning. After hearing their deeds read from a scroll, faithful Muslims will enter Jannah, the garden or paradise, while unbelievers and hypocrites will be thrown into Jahannam, referring to Hell. Belief in predestination is interesting. Some passages of the Quran suggest that human beings are ultimately responsible for their own actions, but passages indicating Allah's complete control over human actions are clearer and more common. If you do right, it's because Allah wanted you to do right. If you do wrong, it's because Allah wanted you to do wrong. Allah controls everything we do. So those are the basics of Islam. There are a lot more beliefs and practices in the Muslim sources, but these are the beliefs and practices that are most significant. Christians and Muslims agree on a number of issues. We agree that there is one God, all powerful, all knowing, and merciful. We agree that God has sent messengers into the world and that people like Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David were mighty prophets. Concerning Jesus, we agree that he was born of a virgin, that he performed miracles and that he is the Messiah. But there are some fundamental differences between Islam and Christianity and we can break these differences down into three categories, theology, ethics and evidence. Let's start with theology. According to the Bible, God is a Trinity. The Bible calls the Father God, it calls Jesus God, and it calls the Holy Spirit God, and yet the Bible consistently affirms that there is only one God. This is the basis for the doctrine of the Trinity. The Quran declares that Allah is not a Trinity and that anyone who calls Allah a Trinity is a blasphemer. In both the Old and New Testaments, believers, Jews and Christians refer to God as their father in heaven. The Quran repeatedly declares that Allah is a Father to no one. This is why you don't hear Muslims calling God Father. The highest relationship you can have with Allah, according to the Quran, is a slave to master relationship. The Bible says that God loves everyone. The Quran says that Allah doesn't love unbelievers. He doesn't love the proud. He doesn't love ungrateful sinners. He doesn't love those who exceed the limits. He doesn't love the extravagant. He doesn't love mischief makers. Allah doesn't love people. And this difference in God's love leads to another important theological disagreement between Christians and Muslims. In Christianity God loves us so much that he enters the world as Jesus of Nazareth to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins. When Muslims hear this, it makes no sense to them because they have no concept of a God who loves people enough to do something like that. Allah's deficient love leads to the second category of disagreement between Christianity and Islam, the ethical disagreements. Jesus commanded his followers, I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven for he causes his son to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Notice as Christians we have to love others. Why? Because God loves them. But as we've seen, Allah doesn't love unbelievers. So the command in Islam is not love your enemies it's fight those who do not believe in Allah. The emphasis on love in Christianity affects all our relationships. In Ephesians 5.25 the apostle Paul says husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Jesus was crucified for the church and Paul tells husbands to love our wives the same way. In Christianity husbands are supposed to love our wives so much that we should be ready to be crucified for them. In Islam, Allah says that you can beat your wife into submission. Very different attitude towards wives and this ultimately goes back to differences in God's love in Christianity and Islam. The third category is evidence. In Christianity we have good evidence for what we believe. I grew up as an atheist. I started studying Christianity because I wanted to refute a Christian I knew. I understood from reading and discussions that the apostles based their faith on the resurrection. So I started studying the resurrection in order to prove that Christianity was false. What I found was that every shred of evidence we have tells us that Jesus died by crucifixion. We know this from ancient Christian writers, ancient Jewish writers and ancient Roman writers. And every shred of evidence we have tells us that Jesus was alive again later. He appeared to more than 500 people at one time. The historical facts just can't be explained without a miracle. But Jesus was even further. Jesus was raised from the dead. He must have God's stamp of approval. God confirmed Jesus message by raising him from the dead. So now we have to believe what Jesus claimed about himself and Jesus claimed to be the Divine Son of God who came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of others. I realized this as an atheist. I realized that if I wanted to go where the evidence pointed I had to believe what Jesus said. Islam just doesn't have anything like this. The main part of what is considered by the Quran is that the Quran is so wonderfully written it must come from God. And this is one of the strangest arguments ever offered by any religion. Even if the Quran were the most amazing book ever written, this wouldn't make it the word of God. It would just mean that the Quran had the best writer in history. But in fact the Quran isn't the most amazing book ever written, far from it. Let me quote what the Iranian scholar, Ali Dashti wrote in his book 23 years. So the main argument of the Quran fails miserably another argument of the Quran is that the Quran is not fully intelligible without the aid of commentaries. Foreign words, unfamiliar Arabic words and words used with other than the normal meaning. Adjectives and verbs inflected without observance of the concords of gender and number, illogically and ungrammatically applied pronouns which sometimes have no reference, and predicates which in rhymed passages are often the Quran fails miserably and other arguments for Islam are even worse. This means that there's no good evidence for Islam, but we have very good evidence for Christianity. And since Christians have proof for what we believe, this confirms our theology and our ethics whenever our theology and ethics disagree with Islam. During the time of Muhammad, lots of stories were circulating in Arabia. Some of these stories were true and some were false. Historians can often separate true stories from them by examining the evidence. They use the historical method. They ask what are our earliest sources for this story? Do we have multiple sources or just one? How reliable are these sources? Things like that. But Muhammad didn't know anything about historical investigation, and so he just couldn't tell the difference between true stories and false stories. Let me give you a few examples to show you what I mean. In Surah 18, Allah tells us that Alexander the Great traveled so far west, he found a place where the sun sets. Not only can I guarantee you that Alexander the Great never found the place where the sun sets, we know that this story was a popular story during Muhammad's lifetime. The story was even circulating in a Syriac work titled The Glorious Deeds of Alexander Towards the End of Muhammad's Life. Earlier in Surah 18, we read about the companions of the cave, a group of people who supposedly went to sleep in a cave and woke up 300 years later. This myth goes back to Bishop Jesus around the middle of the 5th century. According to Surah 19, Jesus began preaching as soon as he came out of Mary's womb. This story comes from the 6th century Arabic infancy gospel. The story of a bird teaching Cain how to bury his brother in Surah 5 comes from Mishnah Sanhedrin. The legend of Mary giving birth under a palm tree in Surah 19 comes from an apocryphal work called The History of the Nativity of Mary and the Savior's Infancy, written in the early 600s. The account of Jesus giving birth to three birds in Surah 5 comes from a 2nd century work called The Infancy Gospel of Thomas. It seems that Muhammad simply took the stories that were popular during his lifetime, gave them an Islamic twist and included them in the Quran. What's interesting is that even the pagans of Mecca were better at recognizing fiction than Muhammad was. Surah 6, verse 25 of the Quran says, when they come to you to argue with you, the unbelievers say, they are the prophets of the men of old. So according to the Quran itself, pagans were telling Muhammad that the stories in the Quran were known fables. They were myths. They were fairy tales. From a Christian perspective, the most important historical error in the Quran is the claim that Jesus wasn't killed and wasn't crucified. In Surah 4, verses 157 to 158, we read, they, they here are the Jews, said in boast, we killed Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah. But they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them. And those who differ therein are full of doubts with no certain knowledge, but only conjecture to follow. For of a surety they killed him not. Nay, Allah raised him up unto himself, and Allah is exalted in power wise. Now, there are multiple historical problems with this passage. According to the Quran, Jews were boasting that they had killed the Christ. Christ means Messiah. I've never heard a Jew boast about killing the Messiah. The only people who would boast about killing Jesus were people who regarded him as a false Messiah. The verse also says that Jews were boasting about killing the messenger of Allah. Here again, the only people who would boast about killing Jesus were people who regarded him as a false prophet, not people who regarded him as a messenger of God. Then we have the claim that Jesus wasn't killed and wasn't crucified. This is an accurate claim because historians and New Testament scholars agree that Jesus' death by crucifixion is one of the best established facts of ancient history. And I don't just mean Christian scholars, even Atheist and agnostic historians are certain that Jesus died by crucifixion. Atheist New Testament scholar Gerd Ludeman declares that Jesus' death as a consequence of crucifixion is indisputable. John Dominic Crossen of the infamous Jesus Seminar says that there is Jesus' crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. There are lots of Muslims nowadays who like to quote Bart Ehrman because he criticizes the New Testament. But Ehrman writes, one of the most certain facts of history is that Jesus was crucified on orders of the Roman prefect of Judea, Pontius Pilate. These scholars aren't simply saying that Jesus may have died, or that he probably died. They're saying that Jesus' death by crucifixion is indisputable, that there's not the slightest doubt about the crucifixion, but it's one of the most certain facts of history. And again, these aren't even Christian scholars. So the Quran clearly contains historical errors, not only because it denies Jesus' death by crucifixion, but also because it contains numerous fables, even stories that were recognized as fables by the pagans of Muhammad's time. This makes it very difficult to accept what the Quran says about history. One of the most popular arguments for Islam is what we might call the argument from scientific accuracy. Muslim apologists claim that the Quran contains numerous scientific insights that couldn't have been known by Muhammad apart from Divine Revelation, and that were only verified centuries later. Now, I've debated Muslims on this argument, and I find it very strange because the Quran is a scientific disaster. Everything Muhammad could get wrong, he got wrong. The Quran claims that semen is formed between the backbone and ribs, Sir. 86 verses 6 to 7, that the earth is flat, Sir. 88 verses 20, that there are seven earths, Sir. 65 verses 12, that the sun and the moon chase each other around the earth, Sir. 36 verses 38 to 40, that human embryos are blood clots, Sir. 22 verses 5, that the sky would fall on the earth if Allah didn't hold it up, Sir. 22 verses 65, and that stars are missiles that Allah uses to shoot demons who try to sneak into heaven. Sir. 37 verses 6 to 10, and Sir. 67 verses 5. But I don't want people to think that I'm making things up, so let's read a few verses. Passages about stars being missiles are interesting, Sir. 67 verse 5. And indeed we have adorned the nearest heaven with lamps, lamps are the stars, and we have made such lamps as missiles to drive away the shayateen, devils, and have prepared for them the torment of the blazing fire. Stars are missiles that drive away demons. How does this work? Sir. 37 verses 6 to 10, verily we have adorned the nearest heaven with the stars for beauty and to guard against every rebellious devil. They cannot listen to the higher group, angels, for they are pelted from every side. Outcast and theirs is a constant or painful torment except such as snatch away something by stealing and they are pursued by a flaming fire of piercing brightness. Demons who sneak into heaven to steal some information are pursued by a flaming fire of piercing brightness. Muhammad explained in the Hadith that this refers to shooting stars. When you see a shooting star it's because Allah or the angels caught a demon trying to steal something and hurl a star at the demon. Now this is silly on multiple levels. Shooting stars aren't really stars. They're rocks that burn up when they enter the earth's atmosphere. And how many Muslims really believe when a rock hits the earth's atmosphere it's to stop a demon from getting away with valuable information. Muslims today know more about stars than the author of the Quran did. Let's look at another passage. Surah 18 verses 83 to 86. And they ask you about dual karnayn. Say I shall recite to you something of his story. Verily we established him in the earth and we gave him the means of everything so he followed his story until when he reached the setting place of the sun he found it setting in a spring of black muddy or hot water and he found near it a people. Dual karnayn was apparently Alexander the Great but whoever he was the Quran says that he traveled so far west he found the place where the sun sets. The sun sets in a muddy or warm pool. Modern Muslims are embarrassed by this passage so they say that what it really means is that dual karnayn is a reflection in a pool and it appeared to him as if the sun was setting in a pool. This obviously isn't what the text says but it's important to note that Muslims who want to explain the passage this way are claiming to understand the Quran better than Muhammad because Muhammad himself claimed that the sun sets in a pool. Let's read Sunan Abu Da'ud 4002 This is a Sahih narration. It was narrated that Abu Dar said I was riding behind the messenger of Allah while he was on a donkey and the sun was setting. He said do you know where this sun sets? I said Allah and his messenger know best. He said it sets in a spring of water. Notice this hadith doesn't say anything about dual karnayn so it's not telling us about what he saw. This is Muhammad telling one of his companions where the sun goes when it sets and Muhammad says that it sets in a pool. So the obvious meaning of the Quran is confirmed by Muhammad and Muhammad and the Quran are simply wrong. When we put the Quran's scientific claims together with the scientific claims in the hadith we get a really silly picture of the universe. Muhammad believed that there are seven earths all of them flat stacked on top of each other like pancakes except with a long distance between them. Out on the edge of the top earth which is our earth is a pool where the sun sets. There are also seven heavens above the earths and they're like domes that will fall on us if Allah doesn't hold them up. And the lowest heaven are the stars which Allah uses to hurl at demons and all of this is sandwiched between a giant fish at the bottom and eight giant goats on top. What did Muhammad get right? Muhammad's view of human reproduction is just as bad according to Muhammad semen forms between the backbone and ribs that's wrong. Then it joins with the female semen wrong and whichever parent's semen is discharged first determines which parent the child will resemble. Wrong. The child spends 40 days as a drop of sperm. Wrong. Then the child spends another 40 days as a clot of blood. Wrong. Then the child becomes a lump. Wrong. Then the child becomes bones. Wrong. Then the bones are wrapped with flesh. Wrong. After the final shape is determined Allah finally decides whether the child will be male or female. So here again what did Muhammad get right? If this is the greatest evidence for the prophethood of Muhammad we can only wonder why anyone believes in Islam. One of the biggest problems in Islam is that according to the Quran chapter 33 verse 21 Muhammad is the pattern of conduct for Muslims. Muhammad had sex with a nine year old girl. He bought, sold and traded slaves. He married the divorced wife of his own adopted son. He ordered his followers to assassinate people for making fun of him. He beat his wives. He had sex with his slave girls and he said that he had been commanded to fight non-Muslims simply for being non-Muslims. This is not someone that people should be imitating but the Quran tells Muslims to imitate Muhammad. So the Quran is bad for the 21st century just for making Muhammad a role model. But it gets worse when we look at specific teachings in the Quran. According to the Quran Muslims are the best people in the world. In Surah 3 verse 110 Allah says to Muslims you are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind. Well what about Jews, Christians and other non-Muslims? Surah 98 verse 6 Verily those who disbelieve in the religion of Islam, the Quran and Prophet Muhammad, from among the people of the scripture, Jews and Christians and Al-Mushrikun, those are idolaters will abide in the fire of hell. They are the worst of creatures. Non-Muslims are the worst of creatures. Muslims are the best of peoples. The last thing we need in the 21st century is this kind of division. Here are the best people, the ones who imitate Muhammad and here are all the other people and they're the worst creatures in the world. They're lower than cattle. Not surprisingly, given the inferiority of Jews and Christians in the Quran, Muslims aren't supposed to be friends with us. As we read in Surah 5 verse 51 Muslims who believe do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends of each other. This doesn't mean that Muslims are simply to avoid us. Muslims are commanded to actively persecute unbelievers. Surah 48 verse 29 declares Muhammad is the messenger of Allah and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers and merciful among themselves. Those who are with Muhammad, i.e. Muslims are severe against whom? They're merciful to whom? Only to their fellow Muslims. Similarly in Surah 9 verse 123 Allah commands Muslims, O you who believe, fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness. Muslims are specifically commanded to fight Jews and Christians, the people of the book in Surah 9 verse 29. Allah commands his followers, fight those who believe not in Allah nor the last day nor hold that forbidden by Allah and his messenger nor acknowledge the religion of truth from among the people of the book until they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued. Notice that every criterion for fighting us in this verse has to do with our religious beliefs or practices. Muslims are commanded to fight us until we pay them not to fight us. So the Quran is very bad for non-Muslims. We are to be violently subjugated in the name of Allah. But the Quran is also bad for Muslims themselves. And I don't just mean that it's bad for them because it keeps them from knowing and understanding the truth about Jesus. It's bad for them because Muslims often get killed by their fellow Muslims and this is because the Quran commands Muslims not only to fight against unbelievers but also to fight against hypocrites. Surah 9 verse 73 says O prophet, strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them. The word for strive hard here is a form of the word jihad. Muslims are commanded to wage jihad against hypocrites. Muslims who claim to follow Muhammad but aren't really following him. It seems like every few days we hear about Sunnis blowing up Shias or Shias blowing up Sunnis. And every time world leaders say you see the terrorists aren't real Muslims because they're killing their fellow Muslims. And Muslims aren't allowed to kill their fellow Muslims. Now it's true that Muslims aren't supposed to wage jihad against true Muslims but we've already seen that the Quran commands them to wage jihad against hypocrites and that's what's going on when Muslim groups launch terrorist attacks against each other. Jihadis don't kill Muslims they regard as devout followers of Muhammad they kill Muslims they regard as hypocrites. But no matter what Muslim group you're in there are always going to be other Muslim groups calling you a hypocrite Muhammad isn't even safe for Muslims. It's not good for Muslims it's not good for non-Muslims Muhammad isn't a good role model the Quran definitely isn't a good book for the 21st century. Individual Muslim men might be very loving towards their wives my friend the Beals parents had a beautiful relationship and so do many other Muslim couples but there's definitely a problem in the Muslim world. In 2009 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released a report on gender equality and social institutions they rated countries around the world based on the opportunities women have for education and employment laws to protect women from physical violence the percentage of women who are married and or divorced by age 16 and so on. And they found that 11 of the 12 countries with the highest levels of discrimination against women were Muslim majority countries a similar study in 2014 conducted by the World Economic Forum using their own criteria concluded that 19 of the 20 worst countries in the world in terms of the gender gap between men and women were Muslim majority countries when you have a problem like this you have to ask why do so many Muslim countries have the same problem namely high levels of discrimination against women and what these countries have in common is their belief in the Quran let's look at three verses so we can see the source of the problem Surah 2 verse 282 of the Quran is a long verse dealing with contracts but there's an interesting part in the middle of the verse that says and get two witnesses out of your own men and if there are not two men available then a man and two women such as you agree for witnesses so that if one of them, one of the two women heirs the other can remind her the Quran says that if two men aren't available as witnesses then get a man and two women here we find the Islamic principle that the testimony of a woman is worth half the testimony of a man why is this? Muhammad explains in Sahih al-Bukhari where he says that the testimony of a woman is only half as reliable as a man's testimony because women are intellectually deficient they're stupid this view of the reliability of a woman's testimony has made it enormously difficult for Muslim women to testify against men in court according to the New York Times human rights workers have noted that as many as half of the women who report being raped in Pakistan are charged with adultery another disturbing verse is Surah 2 verse 223 where Allah tells Muslim men your wives are a tilth for you so go to your tilth when or how you will we don't use the word tilth much nowadays a tilth is a patch of ground that you plow so you can sow your seed the Quran says that women are a tilth that you approach whenever and however you want the historical background of this verse according to Sunnah Abu Dawud is that when Muslims moved to Medina they began marrying women from Medina and the women of Medina didn't want to have sex in certain positions one woman told her husband not to come near her if he wanted sex in these positions she said stay away from me if you want me to do that the issue was brought to Muhammad and Allah's response was Surah 2 verse 223 your tilth, your field for sowing your seed plow her however you want notice the wife has no right to refuse her husband's sexual desires let's consider one more verse some women aren't as quick to obey their husbands as Allah and Muhammad demand so what are Muslim men supposed to do about rebellious wives Allah answers in Surah 4 verse 34 men are in charge of women because Allah has made the one of them to excel the other and because they spend of their property in the support of women so good women are obedient guarding and secret that which Allah has guarded as for those from whom you fear rebellion admonish them and banish them to beds apart and scourge them then if they obey you seek not away against them if your wife doesn't obey you you warn her banish her to a separate bed and beat her until she does what you say a study by Human Rights Watch reports that more than 85% of Afghan women are victims of physical, sexual, or psychological violence or forced marriage and that more than 60% are victims of multiple forms of violence why? because of the Quran according to Allah and Muhammad women are stupid they are the property of men and have to submit themselves fully to their husbands sexual whims those who don't are to be beaten into submission numerous studies show the real world impact of these teachings and traditions, reporters, and Muslim groups that the discrimination against women in Muslim countries has nothing to do with Islam but as long as people refuse to confront the actual problem women in Muslim countries will continue to suffer Christians and Muslims disagree about the identity of Jesus Christians claim that Jesus is the divine son of God but the Quran denies this in Surah 9 verse 30 Allah maintains the Jews say Ezra is the son of Allah Christians say the Messiah is the son of Allah these are the words of their mouths they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before may Allah destroy them how they are turned away according to this verse when Christians call Jesus the son of God we're imitating those who disbelieved before we're imitating the pagans but this is just nonsense because Jesus was identified as the son of God by an unparalleled cloud of witnesses let's consider a few of these witnesses Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and in Matthew 3 when Jesus comes out of the water the spirit of God descends as a dove and a voice out of the heavens declares this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased a voice out of the heavens says this is my beloved son which means that the voice was the voice of the father but how do we know whom the father was talking about how do we know he wasn't talking about John the Baptist or someone else well the Holy Spirit descended from heaven and landed on Jesus notice the father and the Holy Spirit together identified Jesus as the son of God and Jesus repeatedly identifies himself as the son of God at his trial for instance in Mark 14 the high priest asks him are you the Christ the son of the blessed one Jesus answers I am and you shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven so father son and Holy Spirit are in complete agreement that Jesus is the son of God in Luke 1 the angel Gabriel says to Mary do not be afraid Mary for you have found favor with God and behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus he will be great and will be called son of the most high Jesus is to be called son of the most high according to Gabriel chief spokesman the angels what about the prophets John the Baptist was a prophet according to both Christianity and Islam in John 1 he tells his followers about Jesus and says I myself have seen and have testified that this is the son of God that's the testimony of the prophets how about Jesus apostles the end of John 1 the apostle Nathaniel says to Jesus Rabbi you are the son of God you are the king of Israel in Matthew 16 Jesus asks his disciples Peter answers you are the Christ the son of the living God now if Jesus were just a prophet this would have been a really good time to rebuke Peter instead Jesus says to him blessed are you because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my father who is in heaven in Matthew 14 Jesus walks on water during a storm after stepping into the boat the wind stops and the disciples bow down and worship him crying out you are certainly God's son but it's not just his male followers who call him the son of God in John 11 Lazarus dies and Martha the sister of Lazarus meets Jesus on his way to raise Lazarus from the dead we read Jesus said to her your brother will rise again Martha said to him I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day Jesus said to her I am the resurrection in the life he who believes in me will live even if he dies and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die do you believe this she said to him yes lord I have believed that you are the Christ the son of God even he who comes into the world Martha and the apostles and John the Baptist were all Jews but even some of the Romans called Jesus the son of God when Jesus died by crucifixion there was an earthquake and the Roman centurion and those who were with him shouted truly this was the son of God interestingly demons would call Jesus the son of God as he was casting them out of people now think about the diversity of witnesses we have the father identifies Jesus as the son of God Jesus identifies himself as the son of God the Holy Spirit identifies Jesus as the son of God the angel Gabriel identifies Jesus as the son of God the prophet John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the son of God Jesus apostles identify him as the son of God Martha identifies him as the son of God the Romans identify him as the son of God Demons identify Him as the Son of God. Everyone who could possibly identify Jesus as the Son of God identifies Him as the Son of God. Six hundred years later, Muhammad comes along and tells his followers that Jesus was not the Son of God. And this proves that Muhammad was a false prophet. Most Muslims know that the Qur'an affirms the initial inspiration of the Torah and the Gospel, the scriptures of Jews and Christians. They believe this based on passages of the Qur'an such as Surah 3 verses 3 to 4. He, Allah, has revealed to you the book with truth, verifying that which is before it, and He revealed the Torah and the Gospel a four-time, a guidance for mankind, and He revealed the criterion. So Allah gave the Torah and the Gospel as a guidance for mankind. But many Muslims are convinced that the Torah and the Gospel were later corrupted, and they assume that the Qur'an claims that the Torah and the Gospel have been corrupted. This isn't what the Qur'an says at all. In fact, the Qur'an declares that seventh-century Jews and Christians were still reading the Torah and the Gospel as the Qur'an was being revealed. In Surah 7, verse 157, Allah says those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written down with them in the Torah and the Gospel, it is they who will prosper. How can we find Muhammad mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel if we don't have the Torah and the Gospel? Is the Qur'an only saying that there are parts about Muhammad that are reliable, even though other parts have been corrupted? How would we know that the parts about Muhammad weren't among the corrupted parts? What's the point of appealing to a book to validate your prophet if you're simultaneously claiming that the book you're appealing to has been corrupted? Contrary to charges of corruption, the Qur'an asserts that no one can change Allah's words. Surah 6, verses 114-115. Shall I then seek a judge other than Allah? And He it is who has revealed to you the book made plain. And those to whom we have given the book know that it is revealed by your Lord with truth. Therefore you should not be of the disputers. And the word of your Lord has been accomplished truly and justly. There is none who can change His words. And He is the hearing, the knowing. There is none who can change His words. Surah 18, verse 27. And recite what has been revealed to you of the book of your Lord. There is none who can alter His words. And you shall not find any refuge besides Him. There is none who can alter His words. Who can corrupt Allah's words? Can Jews? No. Can Christians? No. Can the Apostle Paul? No one. At this point my Muslim friends usually say, well these verses are only claiming that no one can change the Qur'an. But these verses don't say that no one can change the Qur'an. They say that no one can change Allah's words. And as we've seen, the Torah and the Gospel are, according to the Qur'an, Allah's words. But the Qur'an goes even further than defending the inspiration and preservation of the Torah and the Gospel. The Qur'an insists that these texts are still authoritative. In Surah 5, verse 43, some Jews come to Muhammad to settle a dispute. Allah responds, Why do they come to you for judgment, O Muhammad, when they have the Torah before them? Wherein is the judgment of Allah? Yet they turn back after that, and these are not the believers. According to the Qur'an, do Jews need the Qur'an? No, because they have the Torah. According to Muslims today, do Jews need the Qur'an? Yes, because the Torah has been corrupted. See the difference between what Muslims believe and what the Qur'an says? What about Christians? Just a few verses after Allah tells Jews that they don't need Muhammad, Allah commands Christians in Surah 5, verse 47, Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by the light of what Allah hath revealed, they are no better than those who rebel. According to the Qur'an, should Christians judge by the Gospel? Absolutely, we're rebels against Allah if we don't. According to Muslims today, should Christians judge by the Gospel? Of course not, the Gospel has been corrupted. Again, do you see the difference between what the Qur'an says and what Muslims believe? If the Torah and the Gospel have been corrupted, Jews and Christians have nowhere else to turn, because in Surah 5, verse 68, Allah tells Muhammad to say, O people of the Book, you have no ground to stand upon unless you stand fast by the Torah, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord. Interestingly, the Torah and the Gospel were authoritative, even for Muhammad. When Muhammad was having doubts about his revelations, he was commanded to go to the people of the Book for confirmation. Allah tells Muhammad in Surah 10, verse 94, But if you are in doubt as to what we have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you. Certainly the truth has come to you from your Lord, therefore you should not be of the disputers. So the Torah and the Gospel are authoritative, not only for Jews and Christians, but also for Muhammad himself. Muslims who deny the inspiration, preservation, and authority of the Bible are therefore contradicting the Qur'an. In Surah 15, verse 9 of the Qur'an, Allah proclaims, We have without doubt sent down the message and we will assuredly guard it. Muslims often interpret this verse as a divine promise that the text of the Qur'an would be perfectly preserved down to the smallest detail. And Muslims in general are convinced that this promise has been kept. They believe that the Qur'an has never undergone any change of any kind. This belief is shocking to anyone who's studied Islam's sources because the sources are filled with reports about changes to the Qur'an and disputes concerning the contents of the Qur'an. Interestingly, the Qur'an was only compiled as a book because much of it was lost. Shortly after Muhammad's death, the first caliph Abu Bakr needed to suppress a rebellion and he sent many of Islam's most trusted Qur'an reciters into battle. Many of these reciters died and Muslim sources such as Ibn Abi Dawud's Katab al-Masahif tell us that portions of the Qur'an were forever lost because so many Qur'an reciters were killed. Abu Bakr decided that in order to prevent more of the Qur'an from being lost, the Muslim community needed a written copy. So he had a man named Zaid ibn Thabit collect what was left of the Qur'an. Entire chapters were missing from Zaid's Qur'an. And Sahih Muslim Abu Musa tells the Qur'an reciters of Basra that the Muslim community had forgotten two chapters of the Qur'an through sheer laziness. One of the chapters was as long as Surah 9. In Abu Ubaid's Katab Fada' al-Quran, Aisha says that more than two thirds of Surah 33 was lost. In Sunan ibn Majah, Aisha reports that certain verses of the Qur'an were lost because she had the only copy of these verses and her copy was eaten by a sheep. By the time of Uthman's reign as Third Caliph, there were so many differences in the way Muslims were reciting the Qur'an, Uthman decided to take action. And Sahih Abu Qari, Uthman orders the Muslim community to send him all their written manuscripts of the Qur'an and he burned them all. Then he issued a new written version for Muslims to recite. Not all Muslims approved of the new Qur'an. Indeed, some of Muhammad's top Qur'an reciters rejected Uthman's edition of the Qur'an. In Sahih Abu Qari, Muhammad told his followers to learn the recitation of the Qur'an from four people. Two of the four people on Muhammad's list were Abdullah ibn Masud and Uba ibn Qab. Ibn Masud claimed that the Qur'an should only have 111 Suras, claimed that Surah 1, Surah 113, and Surah 114 were just Muslim prayers and that they shouldn't have been included in the Qur'an. Uba ibn Qab, another of Muhammad's top reciters, claimed that the Qur'an should contain 116 Suras. He said that Uthman's Qur'an was missing two prayers that should have been included and these are different from the two chapters that Abu Musa said were forgotten. So Muhammad's best reciters couldn't even agree on what was supposed to be in the Qur'an, which means that the process of compiling the Qur'an was a difficult and sloppy process. Due to these disputes among Muhammad's hand-picked reciters, Muslims are faced with a dilemma. If Muslims say that the Qur'an we have today has been perfectly preserved, they must say that Muhammad was horrible at choosing scholars since he selected men who disagreed with today's texts. If, on the other hand, Muslims say that their prophet would know whom to pick regarding Islam's holiest book, they must conclude that the Qur'an we have today is flawed. Anyone who reads the Muslim sources can know that the Qur'an has changed significantly over the years. The evidence shows that entire chapters were lost, that large sections of chapters came up missing, that individual verses were forgotten, and that phrases have been left out. Muhammad's best teachers and reciters couldn't even agree on which chapters were supposed to be in the Qur'an. The early Muslims understood this when Ibn Umar, son of the second Muslim caliph, heard people declaring that they knew the entire Qur'an he said to them, let none of you say I have learned the whole of the Qur'an for how does he know what the whole of it is when much of it has disappeared? Let him rather say I have learned what remains thereof. This raises an obvious question. What's the difference between a book that's been perfectly preserved and one that hasn't been perfectly preserved? If Muslims are right, there's no difference at all. The typical characteristics of a book that hasn't been perfectly preserved are missing phrases, missing passages, missing chapters, disagreements about what goes back to the original, and so on. But the Qur'an has all of these characteristics. So Muslims who are aware of the evidence but who also want to maintain the perfect preservation of the Qur'an must say something like this. Yes, the Qur'an has all the characteristics of a book that hasn't been perfectly preserved, but it's been perfectly preserved anyway. Strange claim. We should also take note of the obvious. Muslim scholars are well aware of the fact that the Qur'an has been changed, and yet they tell less educated Muslims that the Qur'an has always been exactly the same. Why are Muslim scholars and leaders deceptive about the history of their book? Moreover, if they're willing to deceive their fellow Muslims about the history of the Qur'an, what else are they being deceptive about? One of the most popular arguments for Islam is the argument from rapid growth. Muslims often claim that Islam must be true because it's the fastest growing religion in the world. Arguments based on popularity are quite strange since different religions and ideologies can be popular at different times and in different ways. Christianity is the world's largest religion, but no Muslim accepts this as proof that Christianity is true. Communism was one of the fastest spreading movements in history, but what does this have to do with the truth of communism? Muslims should only appeal to Islam's rapid growth as evidence for Islam if the reasons for Islam's rapid growth have something to do with Islam being true. So the question we should be asking is, why is Islam spreading rapidly? The primary reason Islam is growing so rapidly is high birth rates. As a general rule, if your group has more children than other groups, your group's going to grow faster than other groups. According to Pew Research, Muslims have the highest birth rates in the world. The question we should ask now is, why do Muslims have more children than non-Muslims? Here we find that the high birth rates are connected to Islam's impact on women. When women have fewer opportunities in life, they tend to start having children at a younger age. Fewer girls go to school, fewer go to college. There aren't many careers available to them. Their parents marry them off at a younger age. Instead of starting a family in their 20s, they start a family in their early teens, and birth rates go up. So Muslims are simply having more babies than non-Muslims, and this is because Islam radically reduces opportunities for women. But there's more to this story. Pew Research notes that apostasy, leaving one's religion, isn't as common among Muslims as it is among non-Muslims. Why are Muslims less inclined than other groups to leave their religion? The answer has to do with the kinds of psychological pressures Islam places on Muslims throughout their lives. In Sahih Al-Bukhari 69-22, Muhammad commands his followers, whoever changed his Islamic religion, kill him. In many Muslim countries, people who leave Islam face death, imprisonment, or at the very least, persecution. Even in the West, where apostates are protected by law, Muslims often understand that if they leave Islam, they'll be shunned by their families. Islam also discourages critical thinking about Muhammad in Surah 4, Verse 65 of the Quran, Allah declares, but know by your Lord, they can have no faith until they make you, O Muhammad, judge in all disputes between them and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions and accept them with full submission. If you find in yourself any resistance against Muhammad's decisions, the Quran says you're not a real Muslim. Verses like this have led to generations of Muslims who are terrified of questioning anything Muhammad said, and the result of the suppression of critical thought is that many Muslims regard any argument for Islam, even an argument like Islam is growing fast, so it must be true, as entirely convincing. Apart from this, Muslims are generally more sheltered from criticism than non-Muslims are. In Muslim countries, criticism of Islam is not tolerated and may be met with legal punishments or mob violence. Even in Western nations, criticism of Islam is often silenced by calling critics racists, bigots, hate-mongers, and Islamophobes. Muhammad ordered his followers to kill people who made fun of him, and the Salman Rushdie affair and the murder of Theo van Gogh and the Charlie Hebdo massacre have convinced most critics to keep their mouths shut, thus further insulating Muslims from any sort of critical thinking about their religion. So now we understand why the Muslim population is growing so rapidly, but Islam isn't just growing rapidly in terms of global population, it's also growing rapidly in the West. Here again, however, this has little to do with conversions to Islam. Islam's main source of growth in the West is immigration. Why are so many Muslims fleeing Muslim countries and moving to the West? Sadly, Allah's commands to wage jihad against hypocrites and Muhammad's commands to kill apostates have led to endless instability in Muslim lands. There's always some group accusing other groups of being hypocrites or apostates and wanting to kill them for it. People who just want to live peaceful lives and provide a good future for their children decide to leave. And where do they go? They move to America or Europe. Putting all of this together, why is Islam growing globally? It's growing because of high birth rates combined with psychological conditioning. Why is Islam growing in the West? It's growing in the West because Islam tends to produce unstable countries that many people don't want to live in. If our Muslim friends think that Islam's oppression of women and inability to produce stable countries is proof that Islam is true, we may not be able to change their minds. All we can do is point out that many of us would look at the exact same evidence and come to the opposite conclusion. In Surah 4, verse 82 of the Qur'an, Allah says, do they not consider the Qur'an with care? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy. There are several problems with this verse. First, it says that if the Qur'an had been from someone other than Allah, we would have found much discrepancy in it. So if a book is written by anyone other than Allah, it will be filled with discrepancies. But this is just silly. I can write a math book right now that says one plus one equals two. Two plus two equals four. Such a book will contain no discrepancies, no errors, no contradictions. According to the Qur'an, that will make my math book the word of Allah since any book not written by Allah contains much discrepancy and a simple math book will contain no discrepancy. Second, why would we have to find much discrepancy in a book to know that it's not from Allah? Why not some discrepancy or little discrepancy? It's as if the Qur'an is saying you may find a few errors and contradictions in the Qur'an but you know it's the word of Allah because you don't find much discrepancy. Third, we do find much discrepancy in the Qur'an even if we ignore the numerous scientific errors and historical errors. We still find a number of difficulties in a book that supposedly has a single perfect author. How long did it take Allah to create the universe? According to Surah 7, verse 54, it took six days. According to Surah 41, verses 9 to 12, it took eight days. What did Allah create first? The heavens or the earth? According to Surah 2, verse 29, the earth was created first, then the heavens. According to Surah 79, verses 27 to 30, the heavens were created first, then the earth. Who was the first Muslim? Surah 6, verse 14 says that Muhammad was the first Muslim. Surah 7, verse 143 says that Moses was the first Muslim. And yet the Qur'an also declares that Adam and Abraham were Muslims. The Qur'an tells us in Surah 10, verse 47 that Allah has sent a messenger to every nation. The Qur'an tells us in Surah 2, verses 125 to 129 that Abraham and Ishmael came to Arabia where they built the Kaaba. And yet Surah 28, verse 46, claims that Muhammad was the first messenger to come to the Arabs. According to Surah 4, verse 48, committing shirk is unforgivable. Later, in the same Surah, verse 153, Allah forgives people for committing shirk. Surah 16, verse 103 tells us that the Qur'an is written in pure Arabic. And yet there are many foreign words in the Qur'an. Surah 2, verse 62 says that Jews and Christians don't need to fear because we will be accepted by Allah. Surah 3, verse 85 says that the only religion accepted by Allah is Islam. What is man created from? Surah 19, verse 67 says that man was created from nothing. Surah 96, verse 2 says that man was created from a clot of blood. Surah 21, verse 30 says that man was created from water. Surah 16, verse 4 says that man was created from a small seed. Surah 15, verse 26 says that man was created from clay and mud. Surah 3, verse 59 says that man was created from dust. Surah 11, verse 61 says that man was created from earth. Will intercession be possible on the day of judgment? According to Surah 20, verse 109, Surah 34, verse 23, and Surah 43, verse 86, yes. According to Surah 2, verse 123, Surah 6, verse 51, and Surah 82, verse 19, no. What happened to Pharaoh when he was chasing Israelites? Surah 10, verse 92 says that Allah saved him. Surah 17, verse 103 says that he drowned. And of course we have many abrogated verses in the Quran, verses that were revealed to Muhammad, but were later canceled by other verses. Surah 2, verse 256 says that there is no compulsion in religion. Surah 9, verse 29 says fight those who do not believe in Allah. According to Surah 4, verse 43, Muslims are allowed to drink alcohol as long as they don't show up for prayer drunk. According to Surah 5, verse 90, Muslims aren't allowed to drink alcohol. Surah 4, verse 15 tells us that the penalty for sexual sin is house arrest. Surah 24, verse 2 tells us that the penalty for sexual sin is 100 lashes. We could go on and on with examples of the Quran saying one thing in one place and saying something very different in another place. But think about this for a moment. Muslims believe that the Quran is a perfect tablet in heaven. On that perfect tablet in heaven are the following three claims. One, the penalty for sexual sin is house arrest. Two, the penalty for sexual sin is 100 lashes. And three, there is no discrepancy in the Quran. Do you see the problem? The Quran as it supposedly exists eternally in heaven is internally incoherent. And a book that's internally incoherent shouldn't be claiming to be so obviously free from discrepancy that it can only be the word of God. Muslims who carry out terrorist attacks in the name of Allah quote the Quran to justify their attacks. Muslims who condemn violence in the name of Allah also quote the Quran to justify their condemnation of violence. The Quran contains both peaceful and violent teachings. So it's very easy to pick a verse that will justify either peaceful or violent behavior. But as obeying Allah simply a matter of picking a verse that justifies whatever you happen to be doing or is there a coherent message about peace and violence? The Quran presents its own method of interpretation, the doctrine of abrogation. In Surah 2, verse 106, Allah declares, whatever communications we abrogate or cause to be forgotten, we bring one better than it or like it. Do you not know that Allah has power over all things? According to the Quran then, when Muslims are faced with conflicting commands, they aren't supposed to pick the one they like best. Rather, they are to go to history and see which verse was revealed last. Whichever verse came last is said to abrogate or cancel earlier revelations. When we apply this method to the Quran, we find that there are three stages in the call to jihad depending on the status of Muslims in a society. When Muhammad and his followers were only a tiny minority of the population, they were commanded to preach a message of peace and tolerance. If a Muslim had a disagreement with an unbeliever, he was commanded to quote Surah 109, verse 6, to you be your religion and to me be my religion. At this stage, Muslims weren't allowed to fight, even to defend themselves against persecution. Many Muslims point to Quran verses that were revealed during this time as proof that Islam is a religion of peace. But the message of the Quran eventually changed. When Muhammad had gained a larger following and had formed alliances with various tribes but wasn't yet strong enough to subjugate non-Muslims, he was ordered to wage defensive jihad. At this stage, Muslims are ordered to fight unbelievers but only if the unbelievers do something first. A characteristic passage is Surah 2, verses 190 to 193. And fight in the way of Allah with those who fight with you and do not exceed the limits. Surely Allah does not love those who exceed the limits and kill them wherever you find them and drive them out from whence they drove you out and persecution is severer than slaughter. And do not fight with them at the sacred mosque until they fight with you in it. But if they do fight you, then slay them such as the recompense of the unbelievers. But if they desist, then surely Allah is forgiving, merciful. And fight with them until there is no persecution and religion should be only for Allah. But if they desist, then there should be no hostility except against the oppressors. So there's fighting in stage two but the fighting is a response to persecution or oppression or even criticism. Many Muslims in the West insist that this is the end of the story. Fighting is only for self-defense. But the revelations continued to change as the Muslim community expanded. When Muhammad and his followers became the most powerful force in Arabia, they were commanded to wage offensive jihad, violently subjugating non-Muslims simply for being non-Muslims. Surah 9, verse 29 of the Quran commands Muslims to fight those who do not believe in Allah. Notice this is a command to fight people based on what they believe. Surah 9, verse 73, O prophets strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them. Strive hard against whom? Pressors, persecutors, people who are attacking you? No, strive hard against the unbelievers, non-Muslims, and the hypocrites, people who claim to be Muslims but aren't fully submitting to the commands of Allah and Muhammad. Surah 9, verse 123, O you who believe, fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness. Surah 48, verse 29, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers and merciful among themselves. The distinction in these verses is not between people who are attacking you and people who aren't attacking you. The distinction is between believer and unbeliever and those who are with Muhammad are only to be merciful towards fellow Muslims. Putting all of this together, we see that jihad proceeds in stages. Stage one, promote peace and tolerance when the Muslim community is thoroughly outnumbered. Stage two, fight defensively when the Muslim community is strong enough to fight but not strong enough to conquer. Stage three, fight offensively when the Muslim community is strong enough to violently subjugate non-Muslims. Interestingly, you can look at any country in the world and see how the message of Islam changes based on the strength of the Muslim community. Islam is in the news regularly due to terrorist attacks but whenever we quote the Muslim sources that justify these attacks, people object and say, but there's violence in the Bible too. People who respond like this are obviously missing the point. Our criticism of the Quran isn't simply that it contains violence. Almost any history book will contain violence. A book about World War II, for instance, will contain lots of violence. The problem with the Quran is that it promotes ongoing violence. The final marching orders of the Quran are to fight those who do not believe in Allah. So do we find the same problem in Christianity? Are Christians commanded to violently subjugate unbelievers? Let's think about how Christians are told to live. In Mark 12, one of the scribes asks Jesus, what is the greatest commandment? Jesus answers, the foremost is here, oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. So the heart of Christian morality, according to Jesus, is love. Love for God and love for others. We obey God because we love him. We care for others because we love them. In the Gospels, Jesus tells us that our lives are to be characterized by gentleness, mercy and peace. In Matthew 5, 5, Jesus says, blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. In 5, 7, he says, blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. In 5, 9, he says, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Later in the same chapter, Jesus tells his followers to love even their enemies. He says to the crowd, you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. For he causes his son to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Love your enemies. This is very different from what we find in Islam. In Matthew 26, some soldiers come to capture Jesus and the apostle Peter pulls out a sword and strikes the servant of the high priest. Jesus says to Peter, put your sword back into its place for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Jesus then heals the injured man, a man who was part of the group that was conspiring to have him crucified. In John 1836, Jesus is being questioned by Pontius Pilate who wants to know what Jesus did to upset people so much that they'd want him crucified. Jesus says to Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not of this realm. So according to Jesus himself, Christians don't fight and conquer in his name. Why? Because the kingdom of God is not an earthly kingdom. Are Jesus' teachings peaceful? Jesus tells us that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbors. He tells us that we're to be gentle and merciful. He tells us to be peacemakers. He tells us not to return violence for violence, not to retaliate against evil people. He tells us to love everyone, even our enemies, even those who persecute us. He tells us to put down our weapons. He tells us that his followers do not fight. Religions just don't get any more peaceful than this. So it's clear that the Gospels promote peace. What about the rest of the New Testament? In Romans 12, the apostle Paul gives Christians some guidelines about how we're supposed to live. In verse 17, he says, Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Verse 18, if possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Verse 19, never take your own revenge, but leave room for the wrath of God. Don't retaliate. Let God repay the evildoers. Verse 20, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. And if he is thirsty, give him a drink. Paul tells us to care for our enemies. In 1 Corinthians 16, 14, Paul says, Let all that you do be done in love. In Ephesians 5, 2, Christians are commanded to walk in love. In 1 Thessalonians 3, 12, Paul says, May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all people. We are to abound in love for all people. In 1 Thessalonians 5, 15, Paul commands us to see that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. In 1 Timothy 2, 1, Paul says to Timothy, I urge that in treaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men. In Titus 3, 2, Paul says that Christians are to malign no one to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. Over and over again, Paul tells us to love everyone, to live in peace with everyone, to be gentle towards everyone. We see the emphasis on peace, gentleness and love in other New Testament writings as well. The author of Hebrews in 12, 14 says that Christians are to pursue peace with all men. In 1 Peter 2, 17, the apostle Peter tells us to honor all people. In 3, 8 through 9, Peter says that Christians are to be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind-hearted and humble in spirit, not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead. He adds in verse 11 that Christians are to turn away from evil and do good, that we are to seek peace and pursue it. To sum up the position of the New Testament. In 1 John 4, 8, the apostle John says, the one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. So does the Bible promote ongoing violence the way the Quran does? Clearly not. The Bible promotes ongoing love, peace, mercy and concern for others. Precisely the opposite of what we find in the Quran. One of the most common questions I hear from Muslims is how can God die? Stated in its full force, the objection goes something like this. Christians believe that Jesus is God and Christians believe that Jesus died. So Christians believe that God died, but God is eternal and unchanging and all powerful. What sense does it make to say that God died? If you're not clear on what Christians believe, this is a perfectly reasonable question to ask. To answer the question, I'm going to state the Christian view so that everyone knows what we're claiming. Then I'm going to try to help Muslims understand our view by drawing attention to certain Muslim beliefs. In the first verse of the book of John, we read in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. So the word was in the beginning before anything was created. Verse three says that everything was created through the word. The word was with God, indicating that there's a distinction in the Godhead, later to be fully clarified as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And the word was God, indicating that the word was, by nature, in essence, God. Verse 14 goes on to say that the word became flesh and dwelt among us. This is referring, of course, to Jesus. So Christians aren't saying that God, as he exists in himself, eternal, and incorruptible, died one day. The Christian claim is that the second person of the Trinity, who is God, entered creation, taking on human flesh so that he could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. That's what Christians are claiming. So how can a Muslim maintain that our view is somehow incoherent? Here, our Muslim friends might say that God can't enter into his creation. But as a Muslim, you shouldn't say this. In fact, if you say that God can't enter into his creation, you're contradicting the Koran. In Surah 27, 7 through 9, we read, Call to mind when Moses said to his family, I perceive a fire. I will bring you from there some news of great import, or I will bring you a flaming brand that you may warm yourselves. So when he came to it, he was called by a voice. Blessed is he who is in the fire and those around it, and glorified be Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Oh Moses, verily I am Allah, the mighty, the wise. So a voice says, blessed is he who is in the fire, and Allah speaks out of the fire. Who's the blessed one in the fire? Allah. If Allah can enter into his creation and speak out of a fire, can't he enter into his creation and speak out of human flesh? The correct Muslim answer is, yes, of course God can do that, he's all powerful. Christians and Muslims then have to agree that God can enter into his creation. But perhaps a Muslim will say here, okay, God can enter into his creation, but if he does, how can he die? Good question. In response, let me illustrate by pointing out what Muslims believe about the Quran. This is a Quran. This Quran, according to Islam, has two natures. On the one hand, as the eternal word of Allah, it has no beginning, it was not created, it cannot be destroyed. On the other hand, this Quran is made of paper and ink and glue. These are physical materials. Now a man in Florida once had a burn the Quran day. I don't approve of burning books, but the event did raise an interesting question for purposes of this discussion. Muslims ask, how can God die? As if this somehow refutes the Christian view. But let me ask, how can the eternal word of Allah be burned? The correct Muslim response here is, David, as Muslims, we're not saying that when someone burns a Quran, Allah's eternal word is destroyed. No, when someone burns a Quran, the paper and ink and glue that make up the physical nature of that Quran are destroyed, but the eternal nature of the Quran remains unchanged. Interesting, let me see if I understand. The eternal word of Allah, which is uncreated and indestructible, enters our world as a physical Quran, which is created and can be destroyed. If this Quran is destroyed, Muslims won't say that Allah's eternal word is destroyed. They'll simply say that the Quran has two natures, an eternal nature and a physical nature, and that it's the physical nature that can be destroyed by burning. But how is this so very different from the Christian claim that the divine Son, the eternal word of God, became flesh and dwelt among us, that he entered into his creation as Jesus of Nazareth and that once he had taken on human flesh, his physical nature, since it was created and perishable, was capable of dying, even though his divine nature could not die. If our Muslim friends insist that it's a problem for God to take on a physical form which can be killed, we can only conclude that it's also a problem for the eternal word of Allah to take on a physical form which can be burned. Isn't it amazing how Islamic theology ultimately undermines Islam's most common objections to Christianity?