America allows the freedom to practice any religion

in this country we choose. We are guaranteed not to be persecuted for our beliefs by the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

Here is a great read from Charlie, a good friend of mine. He was a history major at Lipscomb University and wrote many papers for his classes. Many of them will be featured here. This artice is called "The Dark Side of Islam", by Charlie Cleaver.


Islam has proven time and again that it is a religion to be taken seriously and deserves respect. In the book The Dark Side of Islam by R.C Sproul and Abdul Saleeb, readers see a similar depiction of this powerful faith. Overall, the books title appears to present more of a negative connotation than a positive one in order to make the case that any religion is capable of massive destruction as history has proven. Today, it appears that more people fear this religion than respect it.
In this country, this might be because of the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11th 2001. This day forever defined Islam as a religion to be respected and feared. This book makes the case that in order to respect Islam; we must no longer ignore it. We must accept this great faith for what it is and attempt to avoid discriminating against it.
Throughout history, Islam has been around bringing forth a great deal of insight into the spiritual world. Whether it be peaceful rulers like Saladin who always tried to be fair, even to attacking crusaders or Muslim extremists who strap bombs to themselves then go into public areas to kill in the hopes of a happy and blessed afterlife. It seems as though the Muslim faith has the capability of reaching the top of the socioeconomic ladder or hover below the poverty line under fierce dictators. While this book makes the case of adding respect rather than fear, it is a necessary issue to assume that discrimination will not be a problem. These issues are important to anyone with different religious beliefs, but currently it seems as though the Muslim faith catches the worst wrap on religious extremists. This book attempts to clear up some of the common misconceptions about the Islamic faith, but presents that any faith can be dangerous when fundamentalists are controlling a body of believers.
The opening sentence within this book explains that since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 there has been a large amount of political and theological interest in the Islamic faith and what essentially leads so many extremists to use this faith to excuse acts of senseless violence against innocent people. What’s even more frightening to many people is the fact that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today. With this in mind, knowing that between 5-7 million of these Muslims live within the borders of the United States today must scare most people who have generalized the Muslim faith as being full of extremist’s who’s primary goal is one to destroy Christians and the American process as a whole.
While the book lacked a certain historical standpoint about the Islamic faith, it did elude to enough of the recent history of the current “jihad” against the U.S and its allies. Leaving out the history between Christians and Muslims really conflicted with the overall feel of the book. It more or less failed to paint the entire picture of the matter for readers who might not know the entire story. For those interested enough in the matter, they might already know what had in fact happened between these two great faiths. Other than a chapter in the history of Islam, a brief history of the crusades might have also been interesting. It might have helped readers understand that the history between Christians and Muslims has been rocky before.
With Christians, Muslims and Jews all living within the “holy land” it seems inevitable that these three religious sects would be at odds with one another. From a historical standpoint; they have always been at odds. Recently, books like The Dark Side of Islam have been written to answer some of the questions that people wonder over. While this exists, the book spends a great deal of time and resources trying to disprove of some of the common misconception about the overall relationships between Muslims and Christians. While this is being explained, the book then goes into the differences and similarities between the two faiths. When reading this book, it is necessary to remember that this is being written from a bias Christian perspective. While each body of words all represent a bias, this one in particular represents this because one of the primary writers is a convert.
The first seven chapters of the book seek to meet certain standards that these types of book must meet to gain any credibility. The books first seven chapters cover the relationship between the sacred doctrines that both Christianity holds onto dearly. They are scripture, the fatherhood of God, the Trinity, sin, salvation, the death of Christ and the deity of Christ. While each of these in contrast to Islam all wring true within the minds of Christians, they also spark controversy in the minds of those within the Islamic faith. The obvious differences between ideas about these topics proves that differences are not the only thing that separate Christians and Muslims. Fundamental ideas and politics are the primary areas that create so much conflict. Abrasive behavior has not helped the matter; in fact it has escalated the overall feelings between the two faiths in a negative way.
When one looks at the basic differences between Christianity and Islam, their beginnings appear to be similar. They differ somewhat after the Abraham story. While these primary seven chapters discuss different things, they each work to explain and prove the overall morality of Christianity, and the disillusionment of Islam. One specific instance that proved to be very interesting was the different ways that both Christians and Muslims reference God/Allah verbally. While Christians have little to know reason not to reference God verbally, those within the Islamic faith look at this action as a sin. This is just one of the many differences between the faiths, but they each add up to prove something very relevant. The God of Islam and the God of Christianity are two very different ideas. While Christianity speaks about a God that’s loving, kind and forgiving no matter what, the Islamic idea of God can be vengeful and basically pretentious. To some readers, Allah appears to be calling for so much discipline, yet shows so little patience. While each idea of God varies in many other ways, both offer up the promise of a great reward for penitence.
The final chapter includes some of the more interesting aspects of the book. It covers the basics on terrorism and the call of so many extremists to take life into their own hands. When reading this chapter, one might assume that the current world situation might be the reason so much interest has been sparked of late on what truly makes those fundamentalists chose to behave in such a violent manor. As could also be expected, we get a recap about what drives these men and women to engage in such acts. While so many people will never be able to relate to Islamic fundamentalists and their worldview, it is sufficient to say that those who engage in this book might have a better idea about this practice.
While these fundamentalists exist, it appears as though they almost always come from similar backgrounds. Those with some political weight in a Middle Eastern country typically fit the mold. The book adds some detail into the life of someone who might chose to behave in this way. It seems almost hypocritical to many that someone in today’s world would call upon fellow worshipers of a faith to wage a private or even public war against a group of people for political reasons. However; it happens every day and in many different circumstances.
Once the Islamic faith had rulers like Saladin and others who were strong in their faith, but offered mercy and kindness to those who opposed them. Today, this attitude is not as main stream as it once was, but it does carry some members in their Islamic faith past those who preach violence. While Christians have not always been blameless either, it seems as though both need to put their differences aside and live just and peaceful lives.
While each religion has a “dark side”, it is important to remember that differences are not always something to fear. While everyone has something that differs from the next person, religion always seems to strike up the most controversy. Recently a cartoon was published about the Islamic prophet Mohammed that angered many Muslims. Actions such as these only add to the growing divide between western culture and those within the Islamic faith. While no peace is ever certain or promised, it is something that each person should strive for. This book presents a variety of different viewpoints of Christianity in contrast with Islam. It provides a good deal of information about what truly goes on in the Islamic faith. While in parts the book appears to be somewhat critical, it provided a good basis and beginning for someone who wants to truly learn more about this rapidly growing religion and the people who remain so loyal throughout the centuries.