Book Reviewed: The Islamic Invasion Confronting the World’s Fastest Growing Religion
Author: Robert Morey, Harvest House Publishers ~ Eugene Oregon 1992
ISBN: 0-89081-983-1 pp 173
Reviewed By: Pastor Tim Crockett
Summary:
I would rate my overall summary of the book as a fair and balanced approach to a subject that has had increased exposure since the attacks on the Twin Towers. The author’s main thesis as noted in the introduction is to “inform the Western people about the nature and claims of Islam and then point out to them why the Middle East scholarship has rejected those claims. We must also point out that Muslims do not hesitate to condemn and contradict the essential doctrines of other religions such as Christianity.” pg 10
In my opinion this book should be on the shelf of every pastor and defender of the faith. The Apostle Paul admonished Timothy to “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine…” (2 Tim 2:16). The information contained in this book is not only informative, but alarming. We must endeavor to be a discerner of the times and world religion is just a stepping stone in that direction. The author challenges the reader to face the issues that are confronting the church today. It is in our best interest to take heed.
Critique:
The information is well researched and documented. The author cites both Middle Eastern and Western scholarship throughout the work, with and extensive index and bibliography. He uses sound logic and common sense when dealing with the critical issues facing Christians.
The author’s approach was purely from the perspective of information only. It was not his desire to slander, beat up on or castigate Muslims. He repeated, to a fault, throughout the work, his motives were not to offend. It is my belief that we owe no apologies to anyone, let alone Muslims, for what we believe, who we stand for and our militant stand on the Bible as the only authority in ALL matters of faith and practice. Jude 3 states that we are to “contend for the faith once delivered to the saints…” We cannot contend if we are turning a deaf ear in these perilous times.
The format is extremely easy to follow. One could easily pick up the book and scan through and pick out an area of interest and not lose the author’s intent nor get lost in a maze of confusion. He does a great job at succinctly capturing the key points of interest in Islamic history.
The book communicates the information very well. In fact, after reading it you will be challenged one way or another. That is, you will both take up the banner of truth and take a stand or you will go into a state of denial.
There were several sections that were of particular interest to me. I will highlight briefly what those are and point out the salient points from each. I have listed them in similar format to the book.
Part 1- The Nature of Islam, The Key to Islam
The author writes, “ Western people have a difficult time comprehending Islam because they fail to understand that it is a form of cultural imperialism in which the religion and culture of seventh-century Arabia have been raised to the status of divine law” pg 19 This is one of the reasons America is hated by the Islamic countries. The democratic government and lifestyle of America conflicts with Islam because they do not separate church and state, but rather make the state and culture the religion. They do not, and most cannot, accept the fact that we have the liberty to disagree with and protest against our form of government and challenge the various religious creeds in the world today.
Part 3- The God of Islam, Allah and the God of the Bible
The author writes in his concluding remarks that, “Many Westerners assume that Allah is just another name for God. This is due to their ignorance of the differences between the Allah of the Quran and the God of the Bible and also due to the propaganda of Muslim evangelists who use the idea that Allah is just another name for God as an opportunity to convert Westerners to Islam.” pg 65 This is one of the more common misconceptions today. This has fostered a tolerance for the religion of Islam. He does a great job in this chapter outlining some of the critical differences between the Allah of the Quran and the God of the Bible, differences which cannot go unnoticed. For example, grace vrs works, Trinitarian vrs Unitarian, Love of God vrs No Love of God.”
Part 4 – The Prophet of Islam, Muhammad and Jesus Christ
The author writes that “Anyone who rationally examines the differences between the biblical Jesus and quranic Muhammad must come to the conclusion that Jesus and Muhammad did not represent the same God.” pg 103-104 His approach is simple, lay aside all preconceived notions and beliefs and scrutinize the Quran and the Bible as literary documents. Just compare. Having done this the reader will ultimately come away with a clearer understanding of who Muhammad was and more importantly his qualifications – or lack thereof- to stand on the same platform with Christ as a prophet.
The author goes into considerable detail on the Quran and the validity of its scholarship as well as inspiration. Overall the work is very instructive. The title hits the nail on the head as far the effect of Islam on the world and world religion is concerned. The introduction lists some rather alarming statistics that should not be ignored. A Muslim could gain much if he put aside his predispositions and looked at the evidence objectively while the Christian can only make his case stronger as he presents a logical case for Christianity against his counterpart.
Personal Response:
The book challenged me on several fronts. It heightened my awareness to the threat to our culture, liberties and way of life. Those privileges once enjoyed by many Christians/Americans are now being undermined by the subtle nature of our adversary under the guise of religion.
It is also true that even a little leaven leavens the whole lump. The view that all religions are the same is an utter falsehood. Islam IS NOT comparable to any religion let alone Christianity. They do not worship the same God, the Quran is not the Bible and Muhammad is not a prophet and yet this continues to be advocated by many as though there is some substance to it.
The challenge now is to wake up, to stand in the breach and preach Christ and him crucified. The scripture that comes to mind for me is found in the book of Romans 13:11, “And that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep…” We must stop slumbering and wake up.
Even so Lord come quickly.
