Page 115 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

Triumph and Trouble

and lacking a deep, vibrant faith, the number of Christians fell and the
church became smaller.

The Religion and Its Teaching

Allah, the Qur’an, and Baraka
Basically, Islam is a legalistic religion. Everything depends on submitting
to Allah’s laws as revealed in the Qur’an and expounded in the Hadith
(the approved written Islamic tradition). The Qur’an is the focal point for
all Muslims. Muslims believe that the reciting of the holy book creates a
holy atmosphere involving God, the world, the truth, and peace.

Muhammad proclaimed that he was the prophet of the God of
Abraham. His collection of revelations was strongly influenced by the
Old Testament Scriptures. As one scholar notes: “So confident was he
[Muhammad] about his faithfulness to the original writings that he
encouraged his potential converts, ‘If you are in doubt about what we
have sent down to you, ask those who were reading scriptures before
you’ (Qur’an 10:94)” (Burton, 150). In fact, some Islamic scholars believe
there is a striking similarity between Judaism and Islam.

The Qur’an gives a prominent, though distorted, view of Jesus. Burton
explains: “Although he [Jesus] is mentioned in a few suras [chapter-like
divisions into which the Qur’an is divided], he is an indispensable part
of Muslim theology. According to the Qur’an, his major mission while
on earth was to reveal the injil (Qur’an 57:27)” (151). Burton goes on to
add the following:

An apparent transliteration of the Greek word evangelion (gospel),
the term injil is used to define the major content of Jesus’ message,
which—in Muhammad’s estimation—involved the confirmation
of the revealed tawra (torah) and an appeal for hearers to fully
submit to Allah (Qur’an 5:44–47). (151)

Muslims are as concerned with conformity to Islamic law (derived
both from the Quar’an and the Hadith) as they are with the pursuit of
Baraka. David Arzouni, a Christian convert from Islam, states:

Islam encompasses the notions of blessing, power, grace,
protection, favor, and anointing into the single concept of Baraka.…

::: 105 :::