U.K. Missionary: Nothing to Fear from Islam
DUBLIN, IRELAND (ANS) -- Christians have "little to fear" when faced with Islam in its many guises. That's the opinion of one American missionary who holds weekly discussions at the historical "Speaker’s Corner" in Hyde Park, London, which provide an open forum for the confrontation between the Gospel and Islam.
Jay Smith, who serves in Britain under the auspices of Brethren in Christ World Missions, just returned from a weekend conference in Dublin, Ireland during which he debated with Sunni and Shiite Muslims, "encouraged by the realization that, as Christians, we have little to fear when faced by the edifice of Islam in its many guises."
In an e-mail report of the Irish conference, received by Turkish World Outreach in Grand Junction, Colorado, Smith says he and Dr. Elsie Maxwell were flown over by 'Dialogue Ireland', an ecumenical (Catholic/Protestant) group interested in 'dialoguing' with peoples of other faiths, to participate in a debate, conferences and meetings with Dublin based Catholic and Protestant Christians, as well as Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
"One of the more difficult aspects of dialogue with Muslims concerns the problem of finding a unifying authority behind the precepts to which they hold," said Smith.
"A common observance in missiological circles is the problem of asking seven Muslims a question yet receiving eight conflicting opinions, with little recourse to scriptural authority. This was in particular evidence throughout the weekend in Dublin, which began at the Trinity University debate on Thursday night. There the theme, whether Islamic Law should be opposed, was argued purely on current anecdotal evidence, much to the frustration of the audience present," Smith said.
Representing Islam at the conference were, Dr. Ali Alsaleh, the Saudi Shiite Imam of Dublin, Saheb Mustakim Bleher, the secretary for the Islamic Party of Great Britain, Ishmael Muhammad, the celebrity speaker for the evening, and son of the spiritual leader of the Nation of Islam, the 'honorable' Elijah Muhammad.
Representing Trinity University were Dr. Ivane Bacik, the Law professor and feminist, Mary Henry, the outspoken Irish Senator, Dr. Azam Kamguian, the leader of the secular Islamic movement, and Smith.
"It was evident early on that the debate, which lasted almost 4 hours, would rally back and forth around tit- or-tat claims for and against the institution of Islamic Law in modern society," Smith said.
"The Muslim speakers, on cue, simply dismissed any embarrassing examples of current Islamic practices as 'un-Islamic', and proceeded to paint a picture of a peaceful, benevolent and tolerant religion, yet never once sourcing what they said in scripture.
"I was scheduled as the last speaker, to follow the Nation of Islam's Ishmael Muhammad, and so took the opportunity to nail down or dismiss the anecdotal evidence by presenting scriptural references (researched by my friend and colleague, Dr. Anthony McRoy), quoting chapter and verse not only from the Qur'an, but from the four schools of Fiqh (Islamic Law: Hanafi, Maliki, Shaafi, and Hanbali). I then applied the scriptural evidence to the example of the prophet's life, as a means of exegesis," said Smith.
"It didn't take long before the Muslim side, which had up to that point remained calm and collected, jumped to their feet, denouncing my usage of their authority in public, creating the histrionics the Trinity debating club had envisioned and hoped for. From the comments made during and after the proceedings, by the students assembled, it was clear that the Muslims, when forced back to their authority, and their paradigm, the scriptures and their prophet, were ill-prepared to defend the relevancy of 7th-9th century Islamic law in a 21st century environment.
"It did not come as a surprise, therefore, from the resounding 'ayes' at the conclusion of the debate that our side had carried the vote for the proposition overwhelmingly," said Smith.
On Friday, the problem of authority raised its head once again, when Smith and the others paid a three-hour visit for discussions to the Shiite mosque in town, at the reluctant request of Dr. Ali al-Saleh, a participant in the debate the previous night. "Much of the discourse surrounded his and his congregants refusal to accept non Shiite Hadith compilations, particularly when they disagreed with their more 'politically correct' views on violence and peace. It was a great opportunity to introduce the real paradigm for peace and tolerance, our Lord Jesus Christ," he said.
"Saturday, we came across, yet again, the same dilemma, at a day-long seminar sponsored by 'Dialogue Ireland' on introducing Islam to a group of around 60 mostly Protestants and Catholics, with a few Muslim representatives, sent by the Dublin Sunni and Shiite mosques.
"Dr. Elsie Maxwell and myself led the seven sessions, from 10 in the morning till 5 in the evening. Yet the Muslims present demanded reciprocity to the challenges we were giving, completely dominating the question and answer periods, while refusing to source their claims with their own scripture or traditions, falling back on simplistic endorsed opinion. When the chairmen finally intervened, so that others could have a say, most of the Muslims got up and stalked out. It was unfortunate, as up to that point we had a decent on-going dialogue centered on topics as varied as historical criticism, women's issues, and scriptural exegesis," Smith said.
Smith added: "I came away from this weekend encouraged by the realization that, as Christians, we have little to fear when faced by the edifice of Islam in its many guises. As Muslims, both moderate and radical seek to portray themselves since Sept. 11 as relevant to the west, they will be held accountable, if we do our job right, by recourse to scriptural authority for what they believe. This is not a dilemma we face, however, for we truly do have a marvelous authority in the gospel, as well as a perfect paradigm in the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, both of which are as relevant today as the day they were written down, and modeled, so many centuries ago."
He concluded: "Now that's a platform worth dialoguing."
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