Is Islam Luring the Christian Church Into Denying Jesus? Converted Imam Answers
A former Sunni imam with deep family connections to the Muslim Brotherhood argues that organizations like the Islamic Society of North America are just Muslim Brotherhood front organizations trying to deceptively lure American churches and Christians denominations into denying Jesus Christ.
Dr. Mark Christian, a former prominent Muslim from Egypt whose great uncle was a co-founder of Muslim brotherhood and is now a Christian lecturer with the goal of warning people about the impact of Islam on the world today, conducted a webinar on March 21 titled "Is Islam Luring the American Church Into Denying Jesus?"
In the webinar hosted by the American Pastors Network, Christian explained how he became an imam at the early age of 13 because of his advanced knowledge of the Quran and his family ties. However, by the time he was 23 he began questioning Islam and later left the religion. After about 10 to 15 years of living "dead inside," Christian became a Christian and accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior.
Christian, who is now the executive director of the Nebraska-based Global Faith Institute, spoke for over an hour about how some Muslims and Muslim organizations in America are trying to use "Islamic deception" to fool Americans.
Christian argued that organizations like the Muslim Students' Association, the North American Islamic Trust and the Islamic Society of North America, which he says was funded heavily by Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt, Pakistan and other countries when it was started in 1982, are trying to deceive the American public into accepting the Islamic agenda.
"The Islamic Society of North America is one of the biggest organizations of the Muslim Brotherhood in North America right now. Under their umbrella is MSA. Under their umbrella is NAIT. Their main mission is to do interfaith dialogue to educate, fund and promote Islamic agenda," Christian said.
According to Christian, part of the Islamic agenda, according to the Quran, is to wage jihad against Jews and Christians that will only end once all renounce their faiths and embrace Islam. Christian explained that the Muslim prophet Muhammad issued war against pagans and paganism in 623 AD. The next year, he issued a war against Jews and Judaism. In 630 AD, Christian explained that Muhammad issued a war against Christians and Christianity.
Christian asserted that Muhammad died before he could formally end the war against Christians and Jews, meaning that, according to Islam, Muslims have a standing war against Christians and Jews.
Christian explained that, historically, Muslims were largely absent from interfaith dialogue between Christians and Jews until after the events of Sept. 11, 2001. But after Pope Benedict XVI criticized Islam in a speech in 2006, over 130 Muslim scholars from various backgrounds brought together by the Islamic Society of North America drafted an open letter in October 2007 called "A Common Word Between Us and You" that has been reported as being a letter calling for interfaith peace.
Christian argues that the letter is deceptive. Even though it seems to call on Christians and Muslims to come together to "worship none but God" and love their neighbor, he states that the open letter quotes a verse from the Quran that was specifically quoted by Muhammad in his ultimatum letter to Byzantine Emperor Heraclius.
According to Christian, Muhammad's letter to Heraclius explained that the emperor and his people must follow his guidance and embrace Islam or else bear this sin of being Christian.
Muhammad's letter quotes Quran 3:64: "Say, 'O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is common between us and you — that we will not worship except God and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of God.' But if they turn away, then say, 'Bear witness that we are Muslims.'"
"The [common] word that he is talking about is nothing other than the Quran," Christian claimed. "So you need to leave your Scripture and to believe in the Quran. You have to worship Allah and Allah alone and not associate anything with him and not to take any other lords except for Allah. He is talking about Jesus Christ — the trinity."
"It basically says, 'Take Jesus out of your trinity, take out the Holy Spirit out of your trinity, believe in Allah alone," he continued. "Leave your scripture, whatever that is, and believe in Allah alone."
The 2007 "Common Word" document calling on Christians and Muslims to see that "understanding already exists" also quotes Quran 3:64: "Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word between us and you — that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside God. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him)."
"According to Islam, many Christians don't know this, the common word refers to the Quran and the Quran alone. All the commentary books, all the interpretation of the Quran books, refer to the common word as the Quran," Christian explained. "So, they are basically saying, 'In obedience to the Quran, we as the Muslims are asking you, Christians, to come with us and come to be with us by leaving Jesus Christ out and believe in the Quran.'"
Christian further explained that the Islamic Society of North America also helped launch an initiative called the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign that he says was organized to show all the churches and denominations who have embraced the 200-page "Common Word" document.
"It is a list of all the church leaders and all the churches that signed up for the 'Common Word' to be a replacement theology and a social goal for their own church groups and their church denominations and so forth," he claimed.
Included as members of the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign are various Christian denominations such as the American Baptist Churches USA, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Reformed Church of North America, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and others.
"The 'Common Word' and Shoulder to Shoulder are not trying to be presented to individual churches across America because this is too much work. What they do is go to the headquarters of the church and they try to influence those people at that church," Christian said. "By that, they can be guaranteed that this head office will trickle down all of its replacement theology all the way down to the smallest church in America."
Although Christian argued that Islamists are trying to get American Christians to deny their faith in Christ, he asserted that the majority of Muslims are peaceful Muslims, adding that most peaceful Muslims are not real Muslims and are equatable to Christians who don't really strive for a personal relationship with Jesus or only go to church on Easter and Christmas.
Sam Rohrer, president of the American Pastors network, agreed with Christian that Islam is trying to lure the American church into denying Christ.
"We believe that the leading denier in our only Lord, God, and our Lord, Jesus Christ, the leading attacker of the faith of Jesus Christ, freedom, Christian and Jews alike is Islam. United to working together with globalists and the political establishment, these three are united in their opposition to absolute truth to Jehovah, God of the Bible, Jesus Christ, Christians, Jews, self-government, our Constitution and civil freedom of every type," Rohrer said. "They are in every way Antichrist and it is why we have titled this webinar this morning, 'Is Islam Luring the American Church into Denying Jesus?' We say that it is."
"The level of deceptions has grown so large that it has become so embedded not just in the minds of the establishment and the media but the culture generally," Rohrer continued. "It's sad to say that even within the ranks of those who are in many pulpits across America, many are denying actually the very Jesus Christ they claim to serve."