I recently had a conversation with a Sunni Muslim from Iraq. He described his experience with Islam, and I shared the gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. That exchange caused me to look into Islam again. The question arose: Is Islam a Religion of Peace or a Religion of War?
All of the nations attacking Israel are Islamic: Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza, and Iran. The terrorists who attacked America on 9/11 were primarily Islamic from Saudi Arabia.
Shortly after 9/11, President Bush at the Islamic Center of Washington D.C. on September 17, 2001, declared, “Islam is Peace” or Islam is a religion of peace. Perhaps, he was trying to quell any retaliation against American Muslims that would duplicate the personal attacks on the Japanese after WWII. Whatever the motive, President Bush was declaring only half of the story.
Jesus did not hesitate to confront the religions of the Pharisees and the Sadducees in Matthew 22 and 23. Some of his severest rebukes were directed towards works for salvation religion. Similarly, Paul strongly addressed the religion of Judaism in Galatians 1:6-9. We are justified in examining the fastest-growing religion in the world.
Islam is the Fastest Growing Religion
Muslims grew faster than any other major religious group in the decade leading up to 2020, according to new Pew Research Center estimates. Muslims are buying closed churches and converting them into mosques. The Pew Research Center projects that by 2050 the number of Muslims will be nearly equal to the number of Christians around the world.
Why is Islam the fastest-growing religion in the world?
Mainly due to higher birth rates in Muslim families. A Muslim man can marry up to four women, which often leads to more children. Another reason is the death penalty for apostasy. In the following countries, the penalty for apostasy is death: Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. That does not sound like Islam is a religion of peace.
Some apostates, to avoid being murdered, may resort to remaining “Muslim” in name only. Pew Research discovered that fewer than a quarter of adults in all countries analyzed who were raised Muslim no longer identify as Muslim. A quarter of Muslims in the world is five hundred million. In other words, Muslims are leaving Islam.
I had the privilege of going twice to Cairo, Egypt, with BEN (Baptist Equipping Nations) and training converted Arabs who are pastoring and church planting in the 10/40 window. These pastors are reaching thousands of Muslims.
The late Dr. Charles Petitt also ministered to this group and wrote (click to open): Some fifteen years ago, Piedmont translated an entire Master’s Degree in Biblical Studies into Arabic and graduated dozens of key nationals across the Middle East. One of those graduates launched a new church in a community [in Lebanon] occupied primarily by a major terrorist organization [Hezbollah]. Over a decade ago, I nervously preached to his tiny congregation that crowded into a small, rented room. Today, they own a beautiful, multi-story church building, have seventy full-time employees, feed twelve thousand Syrian refugees every day, and have seen hundreds of Muslims come to Christ. Strategic! This student’s name is Jihad, and I taught him. Imagine having a student in your class in Egypt named Jihad, which means “to war against non-Muslims.” Thankfully, he was converted to Christ!
In the next post, I will discuss the Five Pillars of Islam.