“WHO WILL STAND IN THE GAP?” A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO RESURGENT ISLAM 2007 (Jay Smith)

1. “WHO WILL STAND IN THE GAP?”A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO RESURGENT ISLAM2007(Jay Smith)

2. Omar Sharif Asif Hanif (April 30, 2003)

3. Muslims Claim: • “Islam is a Religion of Peace” • “Muhammad is a man of Peace” • “The Qur’an is a book of Peace” How can we know if these are true?

4. Definitions: • Each religion, both Islam and Christianity have definitions for what they call themselves… • Both Islam and Christianity are defined by a revelation: • Islam = the Qur’an and the Traditions • Christianity = the New Testament • Both Islam and Christianity are modelled by a person: • Islam = Muhammad • (Suras 33:21 = ‘Pattern’, 68:4 = ‘Standard’) • Christianity = Jesus Christ

5. In 2001, in the UK,How did Muslims define themselves? • 15% Radical– Follow Scripture, and the Prophet Muhammad • 70% Nominal– Follow Traditions, and their cultural adaptations • 15% Liberal– Follow the West, and assimilate

6. By 2002:Radicals had risen to 25% By 2003-2005:No polls were carried out….. On February 19th, 2006: over 40% now radical…* while 20 % supported Suicide bombers (source: Peter G. Riddell and Peter Cotterell, Islam In Conflict, Leicester, England: IVP, 2003, chapters 10-12, and page 193. Also a lecture by Riddell on the theme, “Muslim Views on the World” held at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, and sponsored by the London Lectures Trust, October 23, 2003) * Sunday Telegraph, Feb. 19, 2006

7. Radical Islam is Growing globally:Poll on radicalisationbyPew International(March 2004) • Turkey = 31% • Morocco = 45% • Jordan = 55% • Pakistan = 65% • (80 million out of 140 million!)

8. Problem: • Post 911 and 7-7, there is an aggressive and growing radical element within Islam… • It is a ‘scriptured religion’ • ‘Dispatches’: views sourced in the Qur’an • A ‘Clash of Civilizations exists • (Huntington’s thesis: 1996, reiterated by Lord Cary last autumn) • Riddell: “There is an international network of radical Muslims, committed to terrorism that must be stopped. They pose a legitimate threat which cannot be ignored, but confronted, and immediately” (Riddell 2004:172).

9. WHO MUST CONFRONT THEM? • Perception that this clash is the remit of the state. • But the state cannot deal with religious ideology. • i.e. Danish Cartoons • ‘flushed’ Qur’an-Guantanamo • It’s not their remit • Due to the separation of the church and state. • They don’t understand the ideology • They don’t have the tools to confront it • Thus, politicians may not criticize it.

10. WHO CAN CONFRONT RADICAL MUSLIMS? • RADICAL CHRISTIANS! • We can understand them • we start from the same ideological paradigm (scripture & model) • We have the tools to confront them • MSS evidence • Historical Criticism • Jesus Christ = Relevant for 21st c. • SWAD • We have the only alternative

11. Examples: • Bible vs. Qur’an • Jesus vs. Muhammad • ‘Yahweh’ vs. ‘Allah’ • Kingdom of God vs. ‘Khilafah’ • Women in the Bible vs. in the Qur’an • Peace in Christianity vs. Violence in Islam • Relevancy of Christianity vs. Islam

12. Problem – We have no models: • Missiology = ‘church planting’ & conversion (i.e. ‘unless it brings in converts, it isn’t worth our while’) • ‘eirenic’ models = more converts • No room for confrontation • No room for the conflicts between Islam and Christianity globally (i.e. ‘Clash of Civilizations’ – Samuel Huntington [1996] repeated by Lord Carey [autumn 2006])

13. PROBLEM – We have no Schools: • We don’t teach ‘Islamic/Christian apologetics’ • We don’t teach Christian ‘polemics’ • Nowhere in the UK • Only limited examples in the US

14. Theological Underpinnings • Most of our contact with Islam has been with the Arab world (i.e. Palestine & Iraq). • Most Western research is geared toward the Arab speaking world. • 50% of Phds. offered in US have been on the Palestinian issue (2% of Muslims!) • Most of our missiology is written for an Arab environment • But Arabs only make up 15% of Muslims (260 m.) • Therefore, most of the theological and ideological challenges are coming from the 85% non-Arab speakers (i.e. 800-900 million Asians) • [43,000 attacks vs. 5-6 responses on ‘Youtube’] • We need a new pubic method to deal with these more radical and public theological challenges

15. So what then is the solution? • Confront Islam publicly • A possible approach = ‘discursive dialogues’(Zebiri 1997:38), more popularly known as open and public theological debates

16. Types of Debate: [1] University Debates: Most common formal style of debate Muslim student groups: FOSIS/ISOC (UK), or MSA-(US) (Ayattolah Sayed Fadhel Milani) Christian student groups: UCCF (UK) or Campus Crusade, IVP, RZIM (US) Use usually two adversaries, debating a theological issue Primarily against Christianity. Rarely reciprocity used. Two Models: Parliamentary & Populer

17. The ‘Parliamentary’ model: • Oxford, Cambridge, Durham Unions • Proposition vs. Opposition • 2-4 people each • Controlled…protocol • ‘Points of Information’ • Benefits: • Wider representation, and multiplicity of styles • Weaknesses: • Students use it for entertainment, sophistry, trivializing serious positions. • Less time leads to simplification

18. The ‘Populer’ model: • 2 Speakers, experts • 30 - 40 mins. = paper • Rebuttals, • followed by summation, then by Q & A • Benefits: Easier to schedule, fewer people involved, permitting better known academics, more flexible, more time given to topics, better contact with speakers, Q & A forces speakers to meet audiences needs. • Weaknesses: Tend to be more ‘gladitorial’, can lead to tension, thus shunned by Christians, the secular world and university administrations.

19. [2] Impromptu Debates:(‘Extemporaneous debates’) • ‘high street’ (book tables) • University classrooms • Social gatherings (tea shops) • ‘Speaker’s Corner’ • 5 - 2 - 1 = Time allotments • Benefits: Quick, easy, topical, ‘impromptu’, accessibility of speaker, ‘vote with their feet’, Crowds facial response • Weaknesses: Heckling, Crowd control, Interruptions, violence.

20. [3] Radio Debates: • 2 Speakers • 10-20 min. positions • ‘vetted’ phone in Q & A • Benefits: -Cheap, Quick, Easy to prepare, largest audiences, Largest reach, Most impact, in inaccessible areas. • Weaknesses: -Distant, impersonal, no Face-to-face contact, thus no relationship, with little follow-up, and easy to censure.

21. [4] Internet - Online debating: • Online Forums, Bulletin Boards, Blogging, & ‘Youtube’ (Pfanderfilms) • Benefits: • Variety of topics, 24/7, • Universal • ‘Arm-chair Evangelists’ • Good training, • Topical, & creates ownership • Great preparation for ministry • Weaknesses: • Distant, impersonal, no Face-to-face contact, thus little relationship, with little follow-up, and problem with vitriol.

22. Why Debates are so Popular? • They are culturally relevant… • They are a passionate form of communication! • They attract large numbers of Muslims • They are neutral and central • They are non-threatening • They are cheap • They are Conducive to students Let’s look at the Primary Muslim Debaters: ↓

23. Ahmed Deedat: Most prolific Most popular Gujarati origins Lampoons Christian Missionaries • Zebiri: “He employs a flamboyant style [which] seems as much designed to entertain as to edify; he employs ridicule and sarcasm, and not infrequently raises laughter from the Muslim section of his audience. He also utilizes crude language, and images which seem designed to shock” (Zebiri 1997:47) • However, “the quality of his work, which after all hardly aspires to go beyond the level of rhetoric and apologetic, is poor even by the standards of religious polemic” (Zebiri 1997:47)

24. Dr. Jamal Badawi: • most prolific Muslim speaker in the West in the 70s and the 80s • Egyptian • Professor of economics at the university of Halifax, in Canada. • No formal training in Islamic or Christian theology • Books on Islam and Muslim-Christian issues are quite popular • Best known for his defenses of the Qur’an (http://answering-islam.org.uk/Responses/Badawi/index.htm) • He is one of the most effective da’wah speakers and has hundreds of lectures and debates on tapes

25. Shabir Ally: • Was Dr. Badawi’s primary disciple • Founder of the ‘Islamic Da'wah Centre’, Toronto • Currently the most prominent speaker and debater Islam has in the English speaking world • Spending most of his time debating Christians on Western university campuses (http://answering-islam.org.uk/Responses/Shabir-Ally/index.html) • Themes focus on the authority of the Bible, and the Christology of Christ. • Encyclopedic mind, able to speak for hours, on a variety of subjects, all without notes

26. Dr. Zakir Naik: • President of the Islamic Research Foundation Mumbia (Bombay) • Bachelor of Medicine, and a Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.) • Able to quote extensive passages of the Qur'an, as well as other books, from memory (http://answering-islam.org.uk/Responses/Naik/index.htm) • Speaks English, Arabic, Hebrew, and Sanskrit respectively • His spontaneous and convincing answers to questions at the end of his debates are ‘legendary’

27. CHRISTIAN CONFRONTATIONS • Christians don’t like Confrontation • It goes against our Western cultural proclivities • Religion is a private affair • Confrontation is not ‘Christ-like’ • We prefer eirenic ‘dialogues’ with Muslims Thus: • No schools to train apologetics/polemics • Dearth of strategies, books & videos • Dearth of models

28. Christians Supportive of Confrontation: • Jesus (against the Pharisees – Matt. 23:13-33) • Paul (Mars Hill, Aeropagus, Lecture Hall of Tyrannus – Acts 19) Zwemer: “Paul disputed in the synagogues (Acts 17:17) in the school of one Tyrannus, daily (Acts 19:9) for two years. In Jerusalem he disputed against the Grecians until they sought to slay him (Acts 9:29)...II Corinthians, Galatians and Colossians could be classified as controversial literature of the first century...His military vocabulary is proof enough that he was no spiritual pacifist but fought a good fight against the enemies of the Cross of Christ and all those who preached ‘another gospel’” (Zwemer 1941:225)

29. Catholic creeds, such as the Nicene and the Athanasian Creeds, came out of Polemics. • The Reformation = a religious controversy. • The Gospel of John = Nearly all the discourses were begun by controversy

30. EXAMPLES OF RECENT CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM DEBATES Date Debaters Venue Title • Aug 1981 Josh McDowell vs. A. Deedat Durban, S. Africa“Was Christ Crucified?” • Dec 1985 Anis Shorrosh vs. A. Deedat London “Is Jesus God?” • Aug 1986 Jimmy Swaggart vs. A. Deedat Louisiana Univ. “Is the Bible God’s Word?” • Aug 1988 Anis Shorrosh vs. A. Deedat Birmingham “Bible vs. the Qur’an” • Jan 1993 Tony Costa vs. Shabir Ally Univ. of Toronto “Is Jesus the Divine Son of God?” • ___ 1993 Callum Beck vs. Hamza Malik Toronto “Salvation in the Bible & Qur’ an” • ___ 1994 Ernest Hahn vs. Jamal Badawi U. of Waterloo            “Bible according to the Qur’ an” • Jun 1994 Tony Costa vs. Shabir Ally Univ. of Toronto “Is the Qur'an the Word of God?” • Aug 1995 Jay Smith vs. Jamal Badawi Cambridge Univ. “Is The Qur’an the Word of God?” • Jul 1996 Robert Morey vs. Shabir Ally Toronto“Source & God of Islam” • Nov 1996 Dr. R. Morey vs. Jamal Badawi Columbia Univ. “Veracity of Allah & the Qur’an” • Feb 1997 Dr. W. Craig vs. Jamal Badawi ?“What is God Like?” • Feb 1997 Jay Smith vs. Dr. Musa Pidcock Tynneside Univ. “Bible vs. Qur’an” • Apr 1997 Jay Smith vs. Shabir Ally Univ. of Manchester “Xtian vs. Isl. Relevancy & Sin” • Nov 1997 Tony Costa vs. Shabir AllyUniv. of Waterloo“Who is God?” • Feb 1998 Jay Smith vs. Shabir Ally Birmingham Univ. “Historicity of the Qur’an” • Apr 1998 Jay Smith vs. Shk. Abdul Green South Bank Univ. “Is the Qur’an the Word of God?” • May 1998 Jay Smith vs. Shabir Ally Leicester Univ. “Bible vs. the Qur’an” • Oct 1999 Jay Smith vs. Sh. Omar Bakri London“Khilafa vs. Kingdom of God” • Jan 2000 Tony Costa vs. Shabir Ally Ryerson University “Who is the Historical Jesus?” • Feb 2000 Jay Smith vs. Benazir Bhutto Oxford Union “Is Islam Relevant to the UK?” • Mar 2000 Peter Saunders vs. Shabbir Ally Glasgow “Was Jesus a Muslim?” • Mar 2000 Keith Small vs. Shabbir Ally Bradford“Scriptures-Jesus-Trinity” • Apr 2000 William Campbell vs. Zakir Naik Skokie, Ill.“Bible, Qur’an, & Science” • Oct 2000 Jay Smith vs. Shabir Ally Ga.Tech., Atlanta “Who is the Historical Jesus?” • Oct 2000 David Shenk vs. Shabir Ally London“God in the Scriptures” • Feb 2002 Jay Smith vs. Zaki Badawi Oxford Union “Is Islam Compatible w the West?”

31. Date Debaters Venue Title • Mar 04/02 W. Craig vs. Shabbir Ally Univ. of Toronto “Did Jesus rise from the dead?” • (Mar 05) W. Craig vs. Shabbir Ally York Univ. “What Must I do to be Saved?” • (Mar 06) W. Craig vs. Shabbir Ally McMaster Univ. “God in X-tianity & Islam” • (Mar 07) W. Craig vs. Shabbir Ally Univ. of W.Ontario “Who is the True Jesus?” • Apr 2002 Jay Smith vs. Imam Sahib Kingston Univ. “Bible vs. Qur’an” • Oct 2002 Jay Smith vs. Min. Ishmael Muh. Trinity Univ., Dublin “Is Islamic Law Relevant today?” • Jan 2003 Jay Smith vs. Tamimi & Winters Cambridge Union “Islam a threat to the West?” • Mar 2003 Mike Licona vs. Shabir Ally Regent Univ. “Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?” • Oct 2003 Peter Saunders vs. Shabbir Ally Nottingham Univ. “Who is the real Jesus?” • Feb 2004 Keith Small vs. Sohaib Saeed Univ. of Edinburgh “Who is the real Jesus?” • Feb 2004 Jay Smith vs. Dr. McElwain Oxford Univ. “Was Jesus a Muslim?” • Nov 2004 Mike Licona vs. Shabir Ally ‘Faith Under Fire’“Was Jesus: Divine or Prophet?” • Oct 2005 Jay Smith vs. Abdul Hakim Quick Jo-Burg, So. Africa“Peace in Islam & Christianity” • Jan 2006 Jay Smith vs. Iqbal Siddiqui Durham Union “Is Islam compatible to the West?” • Jan 2006 Jay Smith vs. Abdul Rahman London“Islam vs. Christian compatibility” • Feb 2006 Jay Smith vs. Ayatollah Milani St.Georges Med. Sch. “Peace in Islam vs. Christianity” • Feb 17/06 Peter Barnes vs. Diaa Mohamed Bankstown, Australia“Bible vs. Qur’an” • (Feb 18) Peter Barnes vs. Diaa Mohamed Bankstown, Aust.“Is Jesus Lord?” • (Feb 19) Peter Barnes vs. Diaa Mohamed Bankstown, Aust.“Way of Salvation?” • Apr 2006 Jay Smith vs. Muh. Bahmanpour London“Was Jesus Crucified?” • May 2006 James White vs. Shabir Ally Biola University “Is the New Testament Inspired?” • May 2006 Jay Smith vs. Tajik Da’ists Kazan, Russia“Islam vs. Christianity” • July 2006 Peter Barnes vs. Yusuf Estes Hurstville, Australia“Way to God’s Salvation”

32. Solutions: • Move beyond our fear of Repercussions • Move beyond our fear of security • Move beyond Muslim’s Sensibilities • Move beyond dialogue → to debate • Teach Christian/Muslim Apologetics • Teach Christian Polemics • Begin to publicly confront the Qur’an • Begin to publicly confront the Prophet • Leaders must model it (i.e. ‘ol Codgers’) • Get on &

33. Why Must we ‘Stand in the Gap’? • It’s the only way to get the Muslim’s attention • Forces the Muslims to respond • May be the 1st time Muslims have heard criticism • Gets the agenda moving • ‘Pre-Evangelistic’ • We don’t have a choice -Muslims tend to initiate the confrontation -Fits their cultural paradigm • Creates a Christian Public Presence • Does that which the state may/can not do • Upgrades and strengthens the church • We have the only alternative! • We have the Best Material! • WE HAVE THE TRUTH…and his name is JESUS!

34. What weapons will we use? • “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they are divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish argumentsand every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (II Corinthians 10:3-5)

35. Impromptu Speaker’s Corner Debates

36. Salam & Jay

37. Heckling (‘Triangulization’)

38. Formal Debates