Islam's Many Faces

Encountering the true Islam

by Royal Hamel

His name was Aladdin. In the late afternoon on a sunny day we met on a walking path that circled a beautiful man-made lake. Aladdin was reticent at first, but eventually he acknowledged that he was a Muslim from the Middle East. He seemed astonished at my unfeigned delight in meeting him. For I had been having conversations with Muslims from several countries, and I still had some burning questions. So to spend the next hour walking and talking with Aladdin was for me a most delightful treat.

In fact for some time now I have been looking for resources to help me better understand the Muslim world. And that is why I was so interested just recently to come across an excellent documentary that explores modern day Islam.

Joel C. Rosenberg’s Inside the Revolution: How the Followers of Jihad, Jefferson & Jesus are Battling to Dominate the Middle East and Transform the World found its way to number three spot on the New York’s Times best seller list in April of this year. This fascinating book with its related DVD documentary by the same title portrays an exclusive insider look at the multifaceted world of present day Islam. The author shines a spotlight on radical Islam, then on those intent on reformation, and finally on a group he terms the revivalists.

The documentary has mesmerizing interviews with noteworthy figures like Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel; Porter Goss, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and Lt. General Jerry Boykin, a former Delta commander. One of the most interesting interviews involves Tass Saada, a former PLO sniper and author of Once an Arafat Man.

Rosenberg avoids using a wide brush to portray all Muslims as being the same. He states that the majority of Muslims around the world ( 93%) are a moderate people who simply want to live a decent life. Among these moderates he claims there’s a movement dedicated to reforming Islam so that the jihadists will no longer kill and terrorize in the name of Allah. A Moroccan journalist horrified at the violence of Osama Bin Laden says of him, “For me he is not even a Muslim.” For these moderates the answer is still Islam, but armed jihad is not part of the solution. Rosenberg especially highlights Turkey, Morocco and Iraq as Muslim countries that are taking a lead in standing against violence and terror by the radicals.

In the first part of the documentary Rosenberg explores these radicals—the jihadists who though forming only a tiny percentage of Muslims worldwide (7%) nonetheless have tremendous influence and power. Rosenberg states that “the radicals say that Islam is the answer and violent Jihad is the way.” The radicals want to purify Islam by driving out the West, ridding the world of Jews and Christians, destroying the United States and setting up a world wide Muslim Empire. Perhaps the most chilling scenes on the jihadists deal with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president makes no secret of his intention to foment a second holocaust by ridding the world of the nation of Israel. The narrator shares at one point, “Never before in the nuclear age have the leaders of a revolutionary country held to the belief that the end of the world was at hand and that they were chosen to bring it about”.

Rosenberg concludes the documentary by exploring the phenomenon of so-called “revivalists” who inhabit the Muslim world. He explores the influence of various former radical Muslims who have been changed and are now reaching out in love as opposed to terror. In this section he also mentions what I have heard repeated from many reputable sources, to wit, that many Muslims around the world are experiencing dreams and visions of one of their prophets, Jesus Christ. The experience of former PLO sniper Tass Saada is a case in point. According to Saada the profound hatred he felt for the Jews since childhood was immediately taken from him after he experienced one of these visions.

Inside the Revolution is well researched and supported by a number of prominent experts in the field. People of varying persuasions, including Muslims themselves will profit from viewing it, and all of us will be better prepared for whatever the future holds.

But as good as documentaries and books are, there may be a better way to learn. Many of us have people living on our street with names like Maryam, Hassan, Mohammed, or even Aladdin. Perhaps these are Islamic friends we simply haven’t met yet?

Published in The Guelph Mercury/ Sept 29, 09

Concerned by THE SHACK

The Shack: Pilgrim’s Progress or Heresy?[1]

If you haven’t read The Shack, you probably have a friend who has. It is currently one of the hottest books on the market. The novel, written by William P. Young and published by Windblown Media, has to date sold more than eight million copies. It debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in early June, 2008 and has stayed there ever since. No less a figure than theologian and author Eugene Peterson has given it high praise, saying, “This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good!”

The story line centres on the profound pain of Mack, whose young daughter, Missy, was stalked, abducted, and then murdered by a serial killer. As the story opens we are presented with a deeply wounded middle-aged man who endures each day with great sadness, deeply cynical that anything could ever help him. At the heart of his pain there is a deep reservoir of hostility and anger toward God, who has made him drink such a bitter cup.

The novel quickly morphs into an allegory. Mack receives a mysterious note that invites him to meet God in the very shack where his daughter was murdered. There Mack encounters a feisty African-American woman named Papa (God the Father), a smaller Asian-looking woman named Sarayu (God the Holy Spirit), and an unimposing Jewish man garbed in carpenter’s clothes (God the Son)! Yes, for an entire weekend Mack eats with, hikes with, converses with, works with, jokes with the Triune God of the Bible. Without spoiling the book for those who have not read it, Mack’s encounter with the “Trinity” brings deep healing, rest, and some answers to his disturbed soul.

The novel unfolds the person of God to the reader in unexpected, sometimes funny, and, on occasion, emotionally moving ways. I will not soon forget Mack’s first encounter with Papa. This rather large, energetic African-American woman launches herself at him, lifts him off his feet, and whirls him round and round in an exuberant embrace of pure love, shouting his name over and over. The key to the book is revealed when “Jesus” confides to Mack, “You were really stuck and we wanted to help you crawl out of your pain.” In fact, people tell me they found themselves reading this book with tears streaming down their face. It seems something extraordinary and perhaps transcendent has flowed from the author to his reader.

Lynn Garrett, senior religion editor for Publishers Weekly, notes, “People are not necessarily concerned with how orthodox the theology is. People are into the story and how the book strikes them emotionally.” I think Garrett is right on and this is deeply concerning.

Despite my appreciation for certain aspects of the novel I remain deeply troubled by much of the teaching that comes out in Mack’s conversations with the various persons of the Trinity. Does the God portrayed in The Shack speak with the same voice as the God of the Bible? Sadly, in many instances the answer to this question must be “No.” For example, Papa says, “When we three spoke ourself into human existence as the Son of God, we became fully human.” But Historic Christianity, based on the Bible, has never believed that the entire Godhead became incarnate. Only one person in the Trinity became fully human, the second person of the Godhead, the Son, who became our Lord Jesus. If the author can be so wrong on so basic a point, can he be trusted with the other words he puts into God’s mouth?

Again, Historic Christianity has always taught that God’s nature includes both love and justice, and that God one day will punish sin. But William Young’s God says, “I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment. . . . It’s not my purpose to punish it; it’s my joy to cure it.” In fact, in various places Young implies that God will in the end reconcile everyone to himself, contradicting the biblical concept of final judgment and punishment.

In Christian circles, The Shack is causing considerable controversy. Though highly lauded by some, others such as Dr. Albert Mohler rightly insist it contains “undiluted heresy.” And this positive reception of the book by knowledgeable Christians is what is ultimately most disturbing: how can they praise such a work? And what does this say for the state of current Christian wisdom and thought?

[1] The bulk of this book review was originally published in the Guelph Mercury, August 26, 2008. Republished with permission.