My (earnest, irate) thoughts

Camel Tracks by Kevin Greeson is an attempt to ‘win Muslims to faith in Christ’. Since I am familiar with both the beliefs and methodologies of both religions, it strikes me as absurd — Muslims already believe in Jesus: in his virgin birth, his miracles, his perfection, his teachings, his gospels, and his second coming. To me, the only Muslim who could be ‘won’ by Christianity is the nominal Muslim who is ignorant about his own faith. I don’t really understand what would be gained in the conversion… rather, the conversion would allow many things to be lost.

Camel Tracks is Christian apologetics wrapped up in Islamic terminology that was given to my husband and me by a dear, well-meaning Christian couple. I have spent time here refuting it, but at the same time it seemed silly doing so. Cherry-picking fragments from a holy book to prove a different theology seems intellectually dishonest. More so because Kevin Greeson has no Islamic education, and seems to have no interest in understanding what the Qur’an is on its own terms. Perhaps he doesn’t know that’s the current trend in scholarship: to study holy books with the assumption that they are what they claim to be — holy.

You’re not going to believe the reason the apologia is called Camel Tracks. “… Allah has one hundred names. And … He has revealed 99 of his names to the sons of men that they may know and worship him. But one name, the one-hundredth name, He has told only to the camel. And, the camel, he is not talking.” (!) No Muslim I know has ever heard of this allegedly Muslim ‘proverb’. My husband thought it was the dumbest thing he ever heard: Like all Muslims live in the desert. Like Muslims believe animals have hidden secrets. Like Islam is not sensible or modern. It’s playing to the same age-old Western biases against Islam: Orientalism in a candy coating.

Basically, Camel Tracks is an attempt to infuse the Qur’an with Christian beliefs: man’s fall from grace, man’s need for a blood sacrifice, and the role of Jesus as that sacrifice. Throughout my refutation, I will quote an English translation of the meaning of the Qur’an, and in my commentary, respond to the arguments of Camel Tracks. I am not actually qualified to talk about these things. But I respect the Qur’an’s integrity, and I don’t like seeing it lied about or exaggerated by ignorant missionaries.

(41) Behold! The angels said: “O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee;―chosen thee above the women of all nations. (42) “O Mary! worship thy Lord devoutly; prostrate thyself, and bow down (in prayer) with those who bow down.” (43) This is part of the tidings of the things unseen, which We reveal unto thee (O Prophet!) by inspiration; thou wast not with them when they cast lots with arrows, as to which of them should be charged with the care of Mary; nor wast thou with them when they disputed (the point). (44) Behold! the angels said “O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah.

The Arabic language has two kinds of plurals: numeric plurals and respectful plurals, as if for royalty. When the Qur’an, which refers to God in neutral, masculine and feminine pronouns ― including the royal, respectful We ― the ‘We’ does not indicate more than One God.

Camel Tracks quotes verse 3:41-45, but skips verse 43. It’s an important omission because the Qur’an is explaining that it is being revealed to Muhammad. It is more than 600 years after Jesus, a time when Arabia was a jostling mixture of faiths, including animist and polytheistic ones. Muhammad was illiterate. He probably had some knowledge of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, but he was most likely uneducated about very specific details, like whether angels ‘threw their pens’ and quarreled over who got to guard Mary.

Because she submits to God, Mary prostrates in prayer. This is how Muslims pray: They wash and cover themselves, ask God’s forgiveness, and recite Holy Scripture. They bow, prostrate and sit before their Lord. They pray only to Him.

(45) “He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity and he shall be (of the company) of the righteous.” (46) She said: “O my Lord! how shall I have a son when no man hath touched me?” He said: “Even so: Allah createth what He willeth; when He hath decreed a plan, He but saith to it ‘Be’, and it is!

Pages 8-9 talk about Mary’s conversation with Gabriel in verses 45-46. The answer to Mary’s question is important for the Muslim. God does not need any human help to do anything ― He need only say “Let there be light!” and darkness runs; He need only say “Mary will have a son!” and Mary becomes pregnant; He need only say “I forgive you” and redemption takes place.

(58) Lo! The likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, then He said unto him: Be! and he is.

Page 10 goes on to theorize about why Jesus was born without a father, whether there was ever another prophet born without a father, and what this means. Then to learn about Adam, the prophet Jesus is compared to:

(20:120) In the result, they both ate of the tree, and so their nakedness appeared to them: they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden: thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and allow himself to be seduced.

But Camel Tracks translates “…allow himself to be seduced” as “…his nature became evil.” Two very different things! There is an attempt here to view Islamic scripture through the lens of Christian theology. Being seduced by Satan’s whispers does not equate to becoming evil. Islamic belief is crystal clear on this point: when humans are born they are innocent, incapable of abstract thought, and in perfect submission to God. Muslims do not believe human nature is evil ― rather humans are born with the capacity for good or evil, a choice they will begin to exercise when they reach the age of responsibility, around puberty. (I know some Christian sects believe this, too.)

Also, the verse is quoted out of context, without the surrounding verses, which I have included:

(115) When We said to the angels, “Prostrate yourselves to Adam” they prostrated themselves, but not Iblis: he refused. (116) Then We said: “O Adam! verily, this is an enemy to thee and thy wife: so let him not get you both out of the Garden so that thou art landed in misery. (117) “There is therein (enough provision) for thee not to go hungry nor to go naked” (118) “Nor to suffer from thirst nor from the sun’s heat.” (119) But Satan whispered evil to him: he said “O Adam! shall I lead thee to Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?” (120) In the result, they both ate of the tree, and so their nakedness appeared to them: they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden: thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and allow himself to be seduced. (121) But his Lord chose him (for His Grace): He turned to him, and gave him guidance. (122) He said: “Get ye down both of you― all together from the Garden, with enmity one to another; but if, as is sure there comes to you guidance from Me, whosoever follows My guidance, will not lose his way nor fall into misery. (123) “But whosoever turns away from My Message, verily for him is a life narrowed down, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment.”

In Christian theology, there is a cataclysmic fall from grace, an insurmountable gulf of sin, and need for blood sacrifice for God to forgive His people. In Muslim theology, this gulf does not exist, as you can see. In the Qur’an, God reveals that people make mistakes, but God is Compassionate and Merciful; He alone guides, and remembrance of Him will keep us from grief on the Day of Resurrection. God, without any human effort, can forgive any human He wishes to.

Page 10 includes another Qur’anic error: “Isa is the only man who never sinned.” Isa (Jesus) is one of 28 prophets mentioned by name in the Qur’an who are blameless in the eyes of the Lord. They may have made small mistakes, but they are protected by God from committing major sins. They are set apart from humankind and given miracles so that people would listen and follow them (Moses’ magic, Jesus’ healing, Muhammad’s eloquence). All prophets had the same basic message: To love and obey God alone; to treat their neighbors as they would wish to be treated, and basic rules by which to live. The Qur’an actually absolves the prophets of some of the gross sins attributed to them in the Bible (David’s adultery, Noah’s drunkenness, Lot’s incest). The notion that sin is physically inherited through the blood, from fathers and not mothers, is totally un-Islamic.

(47) And He will teach him the Scripture and wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel, (48) And will make him a messenger unto the Children of Israel, (saying): Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird, by Allah’s leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by Allah’s leave. And I announce unto you what ye eat and what ye store up in your houses. Lo! herein verily is a portent for you, if ye are to be believers. (49) And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden unto you. I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to Allah and obey me.

Verses 3:47-49 explain Jesus’ mission. He will teach and bring new Scriptures (Injeel) and wisdom. He will be a messenger to the children of Israel. He will perform miracles of healing, with God’s permission. He will confirm the Law already revealed, and allow some things that were previously forbidden. He comes with miracles, which are a sign of God, in order that people can keep their duty to God through obedience.

On page 11, verse 10:93 is out of context. Let’s read the section in its entirety.

(89) We took the Children of Israel across the sea: Pharaoh and his hosts followed them in insolence and spite. At length, when overwhelmed with the flood, he said: “I believe that there is no god except Him Whom the Children of Israel believe in: I am of those who submit (to Allah in Islam).” (90) (It was said to him): “Ah now!― but a little while before, wast thou in rebellion!― and thou didst mischief (and violence)! (91) “This day shall We save thee in thy body, that thou mayest be a Sign to those who come after thee! But verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Signs!” (92) We settled the Children of Israel in a beautiful dwelling-place, and provided for them sustenance of the best: it was after knowledge had been granted to them, that they fell into schisms. Verily Allah will judge between them as to the schisms amongst them on the Day of Judgment.

At the beginning, we see God reminds the children of Israel that He led them safely across the Red Sea and Pharoah’s army was drowned. After God saved them, He says He gave the children of Israel a beautiful place and good food, but that after knowledge (Moses’ Law) came to them, they argued about details. (This sort of religious opinion is dismissed in the Qur’an as zanna ― self-indulgent guesswork about matters no one can be certain of one way or the other, and leads people to become quarrelsome and stupidly sectarian. We unfortunately see this fracturing in the world religions.)

As a Christian, my first reading of the Qur’an shocked me. I had assumed Islam was not related to Christianity in any way, so imagine my surprise that Bible stories were inside. Though I’m no scholar, I noticed the stories were different — shorter and more pointed, as if they had been reframed and refocused to impart a specific moral lesson. There is no long-winded narrative of the exodus of the children of Israel. Instead, the entire event is wrapped up in four or five verses, which refocus the story on this moral: not to argue about the insignificant details of religion, because it divides people.

(93) If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in nowise of those in doubt. (94) Nor be of those who reject the Signs of Allah, or thou shalt be of those who perish. (95) Those against whom the Word of thy Lord hath been verified would not believe― (96) Even if every Sign was brought unto them until they see (for themselves) the Grievous Penalty. (97) Why was there not a single township (among those We warned), which believed― so its Faith should have profited it, except the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the Penalty of Ignominy in the life of the Present and permitted them to enjoy (their life) for a while. (98) If it had been the Lord’s Will they would all have believed all who are on earth! Wilt thou then compel mankind against their will to believe! (99) No soul can believe except by the Will of Allah and He will place Doubt (or obscurity) on those who will not understand.

From the Qur’an, we learn that Only God can light the fire of belief in someone’s heart. And that He only does so in people who genuinely seek truth.

Generally, the Qur’an is poetic and whimsical, whereas the Bible is detailed in its narrative. In fact, the Qur’an almost seems to assume that the listener will already be familiar with the earlier Scriptures. The Qur’anic passage about Pharoah and the parting of the Red Sea is so succinct, it would seem to require knowledge of the Biblical account in Exodus.

(4:135) O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His messenger and the Scripture which He hath revealed unto His messenger, and the Scripture which He revealed aforetime. Whoso disbelieveth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers and the Last Day, he verily hath wandered far astray.

This is a succinct verse which relates what Muslims must believe: in God, in all the Prophets including Muhammad, in all the Books including the Qur’an, in angels and in the Last Day (Day of Judgment). But belief is one part of religion, and not necessarily the most important part.

(6:114) Perfected is the Word of thy Lord in truth and justice. There is naught that can change His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower. (115) If thou obeyedst most of those on earth they would mislead thee far from Allah’s way. They follow naught but an opinion, and they do but guess. (116) Lo! thy Lord, He knoweth best who erreth from His way; and He knoweth best (who are) the rightly guided.

The Word here, of course, is referring to the Qur’an. Even non-Muslim Western scholars must admit that the Qur’an is today as it was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. The Qur’an is a self-reflective document; in it, God promises to safeguard it against ‘change’ — human addition or subtraction. Empirically, we know the Qur’an is unchanged because there are original Arabic Qur’ans on display throughout the Middle East. God says that people will try to mislead the righteous, following opinions and conjecture rather than solid proof. But God knows who is wrong and who is right.

Muslims have taken a variety of positions about the earlier Books. But it is my belief that the best position is a moderate one: The Bible has been changed, but it is useful; the Bible is not perfect, but a careful interpretation of its verses can strengthen the faith of a true believer. I am personally grateful for the Bible’s influence of my formative years and for that foreknowledge which I now bring to Islam. It feels like the completion of a quest for truth that began July 24, 1994 (the day I committed my life to following Jesus).

(3:50) Lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.

This is pretty clear. Worship God, that is the straight path. In fact, Jesus is quoted in the New Testament as summing up religion as ‘Worship and love God and treat your neighbor as yourself’. How do we worship God? By doing what God says. I find it amazing that this clear-cut verse is used for a convoluted argument about how ‘God is too holy to allow 99.9% holy people into heaven’. God’s justice is exceeded only by His mercy.

(39:53) Proclaim: “O My servants who exceeded the limits, never despair of God’s mercy. For GOD forgives all sins. He is the Forgiver, Most Merciful.”

(4:146) Only those who repent, reform, hold fast to GOD, and devote their religion absolutely to GOD alone, will be counted with the believers. GOD will bless the believers with a great recompense.

(19:60) Only those who repent, believe, and lead a righteous life will enter Paradise, without the least injustice.

(20:82) I am surely Forgiving for those who repent, believe, lead a righteous life, and steadfastly remain guided.

(25:71) Those who repent and lead a righteous life, GOD redeems them; a complete redemption.

(4:116) GOD does not forgive idol worship (if maintained until death), and He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills. Anyone who idolizes any idol beside GOD has strayed far astray.

Camel Tracks goes on to say that kurban (animal sacrifice) is now proved unnecessary because of the ‘kurban’ of Jesus. (I’m not even going to get into the Muslim theories about Jesus’ death raised by the Qur’an’s vague wording.) But Camel Tracks presupposes a fundamental misunderstanding of what kurban is. Camel Tracks supposes that the Muslim understanding of the ritual is the same as the Christian understanding of the Old Testament ritual. The sacrifice festival coincides with the end of Hajj, the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca to see the Kaba, the site of the first House of God built by Abraham. Kurban is not a ‘blood sacrifice’ to God as the only way to be forgiven for sins, it is an offering — like the offerings that have been made since Cain and Abel, like Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son. The cow (or sheep or camel, etc.) offered in kurban is divided for food into thirds — one-third to the poor, one-third to neighbors, and one-third to keep. For me, the existence of kurban was another proof — because of its rightful place in the Bible — of the Qur’an’s status as God’s Final Testament.

Pages 14-20 go on to talk about following Jesus (Isa is allegedly the 100th name of God, whispered to the camel) to heaven, more attempts to infuse Islamic monotheism with Christian polytheism. Not surprising or unique. Since the beginning of time, believers have been beset on all sides by arguments against belief in One God. The idols smashed by Abraham seem so quaint to us today — how can anyone worship a statue? — but they do have a modern counterpart. For some reason, people believing and following One God has always made other people angry.

I urge the sincere Christian to read the Qur’an with an open mind, to ponder and mull over its verses in context. Though it wanders from subject to subject, it does confirm and correct the Bible. Where the Bible is right, the Qur’an agrees or is silent. Where the Bible/Christianity has gone astray, the Qur’an very clearly says so. The Qur’an is insistent upon several things: God’s Merciful and Compassionate nature; Muhammad’s prophethood, Jesus’ prophethood (and not divinity), the Oneness of God. One God, One Book, One Law, One People. Tawhid (unity) is the core of Islam.

Islam/Muslim comes from the Arabic root word slm, which means ‘peace’ and ’submission’. Muslims believe that the God who created an orderly, perfect universe that follows natural ‘laws’ would not leave humankind to flounder without a clear-cut idea of how they should live (spiritual ‘laws’). Truly Muslim societies are just, plural and inclusive, tolerant of other religions and cultures. Truly Muslim people are merciful and generous, and seek knowledge their entire lives. If Muslim societies and people do not act as Islam requires, this is hardly the fault of the religion — that’s like saying someone who doesn’t study and fails a geometry test somehow damages geometry itself. To truly judge a religion as right or wrong, we must look to its holy scriptures and its original leader. There are several good biographies written in English about the prophet Muhammad. One is by Martin Lings, another is by Karen Armstrong.

Edited and translated by Tarif Khalidi, The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature is an attempt to bring the Muslim gospel — a collection of texts relating to Jesus in non-Christian literature — to readers unfamiliar with Arabic Islamic culture. It is a glimpse into how Jesus is regarded by Islam, a religious tradition that highly reveres him but rejects his divinity.

After about page 50, it is a collection of Jesus’ quips and parables, translated into English from Arabic. I love, love, love it. It’s like reading the Gospels without the narrative, a bit like skipping around to read the red words, and leaving behind the black (which I heartily recommend doing to both Christians and Muslims, it’ll just make you feel good). For Muslim mystics, Jesus is The Sufi — a man with no need for things, a man who spoke the truth, a man emptied of all but love. Jesus remains the perfect example of a heart enveloped by the Divine. Here are a few, with the accompanying commentary:

Jesus passed by a group of people who hurled insults at him, and he responded with blessings. He passed by another group who insulted him, and he responded likewise. One of his disciples asked, “Why is it that the more they insult you, the more you bless them, as if inviting this upon yourself?” Jesus said, “A person can bring forth only what is within him.”

Jesus passed a group of Israelites who insulted him. Every time they spoke a word of evil, Jesus answered with good. Simon the pure said to him, “Will you answer them with good each time they speak evil?” Jesus said, “Each person spends of what he owns.”

(The context here is clearly one of good manners and courtesy. There may be echoes also of Matthew 5:22. The story ends with a bon mot; one can almost imagine Jesus smiling as he delivers it. Also noteworthy is that, around this time, more of the stories and sayings begin to include the names of other actors, e.g. Simon, perhaps to lend vividness to the narrative. The Arabic has al-safi “the pure”, but this is most likely a mistake for al-safa “the rock” meaning Peter.)

Jesus said to John the son of Zachariah, “If a man makes mention of you and speaks the truth, give thanks to God. If he is lying, multiply your thanks, for God will increase the register of your good deeds without exertion from you.”

“Do not be saddened by what people say about you. If what they say is false, it would be like a good deed you have not performed. If true, it would be like an evil deed whose punishment has been prematurely exacted.”

(This elegant counsel to ignore the opinions of mankind may be a distant echo of Matthew 5:11-12.)

I picked these sayings because it’s what I need to remember the most. Personal blogs create a certain narcissism in the writer; I sometimes imagine that myriads are gathered to read these words, so imagine my disappointment in “No comments”. Is no one reading? Does no one care? Which should not matter. But it does.

And then sometimes — and I wonder if this is common for converts — I feel as if I am The Representative of Islam for various relatives, friends and co-workers. So when I annoy people, particularly by eagerly discussing topics that they find boring, imagining that I can somehow singlehandedly undo all the negative press against my faith — I feel as if I’ve doubly sinned: “Now they will think Islam is flawed.”

But Jesus’ words make me reflect. My blush when I think I’ve overheard a co-worker talking about me isn’t for naught. Neither is my ache when I read ugly words against all Muslims. And those precious times when I’ve managed to be pleasant when others were rude… I can think of Jesus, with a grin, saying: “Each person spends of what he owns.”

The Christians in my family range from true believers who devote their lives to Bible study and social obligations that revolve around a church community, to folks who follow an odd hybrid religion that seems to wed neoconservative values with the worship of Bill O’Reilly and the celebrations of Christmas and Easter. This is a letter to the first group, in my family and beyond.

So I have been like, devouring these these scholarly books: what is known about the life of Jesus, the earliest parts of the Gospels, the nature of the books that were not included in the New Testament, the early Christians and their beliefs, the Church’s role in narrowing the definition of “Christian” and the role of Roman emperors in defining the religion. And I’ve learned a lot. For example, why, as a 15-year-old girl, thumbing through my New King James Version of the Holy Bible, the words of Jesus in red had the ability to bring tears to my eyes, but the rest of the narrative often left me cold. (Sometimes I would just skip through and read the verses in red. Then I would feel guilty.)

This is a free online book I found called Beyond Mere Christianity. The author refers to C.S. Lewis’ seminal work throughout. And reading its 141 pages, it does feel like a sequel, in many ways, to what was my favorite book as a teenager. It is an answer to some logical fallacies in that book, yes, but more than that, it encourages the reader, who should be a thoughtful Christian, to look beyond church dogma to the revealed word of God that is found in the Gospels. The author is a Catholic-turned-Presbyterian-turned-Muslim who clearly has a great love for Jesus, and a great thirst to search for his authentic words. And I dig that, because I do, too.

It seems like a major change, Christianity to Islam. Jesus as son of God to Jesus as Prophet, salvation through Jesus’ death to salvation through submission to God. It’s not, not really… but several family members have reached out to me with phone calls and handwritten letters (or gossiped about what a weirdo I am). And though they haven’t expressed much interest in hearing about my journey to Islam, they did tell me about their Christian faith and quote the Bible extensively.

What this did was deepen my understanding of Islam. Any religion that is the worship of one God and puts the onus of salvation on the believer is Islam. There is a thread of Divine Unity and Divine Truth inside every religious tradition… Christianity is Islam. Buddhism is Islam. Hinduism is Islam. I feel a kinship to all believers, though of course I hope they will include Islamic beliefs in their understanding of the universe and its interconnectedness. Muslims see God in everything, and it’s a pleasant way to look at the world.

Most of us in the West see Islam as “other” — it is not a part of our history, and it is certainly not in sync with the present geopolitical climate. Some view Islam as a militaristic, misogynistic, spread-by-the-sword faith. Some view Islam as a grave, legalistic religion for nomadic desert dwellers. They are not interested in hearing what is in the Qur’an, or what Muhammad said. To them, even if it is peaceful and unified and coherent and lovely, somehow it’s still not relevant.

But perhaps we can still find a common ground for dialogue, based on the Gospels brought by Jesus.

I am reading Jesus, Prophet of Islam by Muhammad ‘Ata ur-Rahim. The real Isa, a Hebrew prophet and one of God’s beloved, came to fulfill the Musan law and spread God’s message to non-Hebrews. His original followers believed in one merciful, just Alaha (God, in Aramaic, the dialect of Arabic that Isa spoke).

As the trinitarians curried favor with Roman emperors and spread a distorted message in Europe, unitarian Christians kept faithful to Isa’s prophecy, spreading it throughout the Middle East and North Africa. They remained true to the original words, and did not flout the Musan law (which Isa had come to fulfill), nor embrace additional dogma like Isa’s divinity (which was considered heresy until 325 CE). They performed ritual ablutions, prayed several times a day, and dressed modestly.

So when an Arabian prophet who spoke the same words came 600 years later, they could feel its divine origin. Unencumbered by a highly political church, irrational dogma or nationalist notions like “only Hebrews can be prophets,” they embraced Muhammad’s message quickly.

This is the best book ever.