FACTS, TRENDS AND MISSION STRATEGY

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Engaging the Challenge of Islam: the facts, trends and Mission
strategy, Copyrights © Edward Agboada, 2017
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 CONTENTS
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Preface
1. What is Islam
1) Historical development of Islam
2) The Prophet Muhammad and His message
3) Quran, the scriptures of Islam
4) Basic beliefs and practices
5) Islamic Monotheism
2. What is the Challenge of Islam
1) Religious demographics of the world
2) The Muslim agenda; Islamizing the world
3) The 'Dhar-ul Islam' and the 'Dhar-ul Harb'
4) Religious cleansing, removal of unislamic religions
5) Islamic Radicalism in the World
3. Engaging the Challenge of Islam
1) Faith and Practice (Objections)
2) Geography and Demographics
3) Worlds Apart (Us and them) - (the message of the Bible and the
Message of the Quran)
4) Continuity in Discontinuity (Muhammed after Jesus)
4. Mission Strategy
1) Our attitude, approach and methodology for mission
2) Christian Muslim Dialogue
3) The Message of Our Faith; the Gospel

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DEDICATION

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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PREFACE

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 1. What is Islam
Islam, considered one of the three Abrahamic monotheistic religions
(along with Judaism and Christianity) by its followers, is literally
translated "surrender" or "submission" to the will of Allah was founded
in the Middle East in the 7th century C.E., in the Arabian peninsula on
the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad fully known as Abū al-Qāsim
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim and
articulated by the Qur'an, considered by its devotees to be the verbatim
word of the Muslim God (Allah), and, for the vast majority of
adherents, chronicled teachings (hadith) and normative practice
(Sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad.

It is built on the belief that the Muslim God (Allah) is the one and true
God with no partner or equal. Known as Tawhîd in Arabic, Islamic
monotheism is the single most important concept of faith and life
including Tawheed Ar-Rububiyyah, (Oneness of Divine Lordship),
Tawheed Al-Uluhiyyah, (Oneness of the Divine Nature), Tawheed Al-
Asmaa was Sifaat, (Oneness of the Divine Names and Attributes).

No act of worship or devotion has any meaning or value if this concept

is in any way compromised. Islam has several branches and variety
within those branches. The two divisions within the tradition are the
Sunni and Shi'a (87-90% and 10-13% respectively) each of which
claims different means of maintaining religious authority.

One of the unifying characteristics of Islam is the Five Pillars, (the

fundamental practices of Islam). These five practices include a
profession of faith (Shahada), ritual prayer (Salah), the charity (Zakat),
fasting (Saum), and at least ones in a life time pilgrimage to Mecca
(Hajj) if means are available. Others add Jihad which literary means
striving in the cause of the faith to make it six. One striking thing about
Islam is that, ‘it is not just a religion’.

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In its fullest form, it is a complete, (100%) system of life, defining the
ethics and behaviour of its people with religious, legal, political,
economic, and social laws influencing the cultural and social identity of
its followers. Presently there are about 50 Muslim-majority countries in
the world.

Who is a Muslim?
A Muslim is someone who follows or practices Islam. To become a
Muslim and to convert to Islam is essential to utter the Shahada, one of
the Five Pillars of Islam, a declaration of faith and trust that professes
that there is only one God (Allah) and that Muhammad is God's
messenger. It is a set statement normally recited in Arabic: lā ʾilāha
ʾillā-llāhu muḥammadun rasūlu-llāh (‫" )اَل ِإٰل َه ِإاَّل هللا ُم َح َّم ٌد َر ُسوُل هللا‬There is
no god but Allah, (and) Muhammad is the messenger of God."

In Sunni Islam, the shahada has two parts: la ilaha illa'llah (there is no
god but God), and Muhammadun rasul Allah (Muhammad is the
messenger of God), which are sometimes referred to as the first
shahada and the second shahada. The first statement of the shahada is
also known as the tahlīl. In Shia Islam, the shahada also has a third
part, a phrase concerning Ali, the first Shia Imam and the fourth Rashid
caliph of Sunni Islam: ‫( وعلٌي ولُّي هللا‬wa ʿalīyyun walīyyu-llāh), which
translates to "Ali is the wali of God.

The word Muslim (Arabic: ‫مسلم‬, [ˈmʊslɪm] is the active participle of the
same verb of which islām is a verbal noun, based on the triliteral S-L-M
"to be whole, intact". The Qur'an describes many prophets and
messengers within Judaism and Christianity, and their respective
followers, as Muslim: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Ishmael,
and Jesus and his apostles are all considered to be Muslims in the
Qur'an.

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The Qur'an states that these men were Muslims because they submitted
to God, preached His message and upheld His values, which included
praying, charity, fasting and pilgrimage. Thus, in Surah 3:52 of the
Qur'an, Jesus' disciples tell him, "We believe in God; and you be our
witness that we are Muslims (wa-shahad be anna muslimūn)."

In Muslim belief, before the Qur'an, God had given the Tawrat (Torah,
Old Testament) to Moses, the Zabur (Psalms) to David and the Injil
(Gospel, New Testament) to Jesus, who are all considered important
Muslim prophets. The most populous Muslim-majority country is
Indonesia, home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims, followed by Pakistan
(11.0%), Bangladesh (9.2%), and Egypt (4.9%).

About 20% of the world's Muslims lives in the Middle East and North
Africa. Sizable minorities are also found in India, China, Russia, and
Ethiopia, the Americas, Australia and parts of Europe. Over 75–90% of
Muslims are Sunni. The second and third largest sects, Shia and
Ahmadiyya, make up 10–20%, and 1% respectively.

1) Historical development of Islam

The history of Islam concerns the political, economic, social, and
cultural developments of the Islamic civilization. Islam arose within the
context of Late Antiquity. The second half of the sixth century was a
period of political disorder in Arabia and communication routes were
no longer secure. Religious divisions were an important cause of the
crisis. Judaism became the dominant religion of Himyarite Kingdom in
Yemen while Christianity took root in the Persian Gulf.
While much of Arabia remained polytheistic, in line with broader trends
of the age there was yearning for a more spiritual form of religion.
Many were reluctant to convert to a foreign faith, but those faiths
provided intellectual and spiritual reference points, and the old pagan

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vocabulary of Arabic began to be replaced by Jewish and Christian
loanwords from Aramaic throughout the peninsula.
On the eve of the Islamic era, Quraysh was the chief tribe of Mecca and
a dominant force in western Arabia. To counter the effects of anarchy,
they upheld the institution of "sacred months" when all violence was
forbidden and travel was safe. The polytheistic Kaaba shrine in Mecca
and the surrounding area was a popular pilgrimage destination, which
had significant economic consequences for the city.

After Muhammad died, a series of four Caliphs governed the Islamic

state: Abu Bakr (632–634), Umar ibn al-Khattab (Umar І, 634–644),
Uthman ibn Affan, (644–656), and Ali ibn Abi Talib (656–661). These
leaders are known as the "Rashidun" or "rightly guided" Caliphs in
Sunni Islam. They oversaw the initial phase of the Muslim conquests,
advancing through Persia, Levant, Egypt, and North Africa.

2) The Prophet Muhammad and His message

3) Quran, the scriptures of Islam

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 4) Basic beliefs and practices
The beliefs, practices and teachings that form the doctrines of Islam are
summarize into six articles of faith:

1. Belief in one Allah: Muslims believe Allah is one, eternal, creator,

and sovereign.
2. Belief in the angels
3. Belief in the prophets: The prophets include the biblical prophets
but end with Muhammad as Allah’s final prophet.
4. Belief in the revelations of Allah: Muslims accept certain portions
of the Bible, such as the Torah and the Gospels. They believe the
Qur'an is the preexistent, perfect word of Allah.
5. Belief in the last Day of Judgment and the hereafter: Everyone
will be resurrected for judgment into either paradise or hell.
6. Belief in predestination: Muslims believe Allah has decreed
everything that will happen. Muslims testify to Allah’s sovereignty with
their frequent phrase, inshallah, meaning, “if God wills.”
The Five Pillars of Islam
The religious practices of Muslims are enumerated in the Five Pillars of
Islam: the declaration of faith (shahadah), daily prayers (salat), fasting
during the month of Ramadan (sawm), almsgiving (zakat), and the
pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime.

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a) The testimony of faith (shahada): “la ilaha illa allah. Muhammad
rasul Allah.” This means, “There is no deity but Allah. Muhammad
is the messenger of Allah.” A person can convert to Islam by stating
this creed. The shahada shows that a Muslim believes in Allah alone
as deity and believes that Muhammad reveals Allah.
b) Prayer (salat): Five ritual prayers must be performed every day.
c) Giving (zakat): This almsgiving is a certain percentage given once
a year.
d) Fasting (sawm): Muslims fast during Ramadan in the ninth month
of the Islamic calendar. They must not eat or drink from dawn until
sunset.
e) Pilgrimage (hajj): If physically and financially possible, a Muslim
must make the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia at least once.
The hajj is performed in the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar.
5) Islamic Monotheism
Tawhid (Arabic: ‫د‬aaa‫ توحي‬tawḥīd, meaning "oneness [of God]” also
romanized as tawheed) is the indivisible oneness concept of
monotheism in Islam. Tawhid is the religion's central and single-most
important concept, upon which a Muslim's entire faith rests. It
unequivocally holds that God is One (Al-ʾAḥad) and Single (Al-
Wāḥid), therefore the Islamic belief in God is considered Unitarian."
Tawhid constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession of
faith. The first part of the shahada (the Islamic declaration of faith) is
the declaration of belief in the oneness of God. To attribute divinity to
anything or anyone else, is shirk - an unpardonable sin according to the
Qur'an, if repentance is not sought afterwards. Muslims believe that the
entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid.

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There is an uncompromising monotheism at the heart of the Islamic
beliefs (aqidah) which is seen, from an Islamic standpoint, as
distinguishing Islam from other major religions. However, Tawhid is
analogous to the monotheistic concept of God in Judaism as declared in
the Shema Yisrael, the Jewish declaration of faith.
Tawhid is also analogous to Christian Unitarianism adhered to by a
minority of Christian denominations which reject a trinitarian position
of God in Christianity, which is in contrast to most Christian faiths that
ascribe to the Trinity (God as three persons in one being; the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit).
The Qur'an asserts the existence of a single and absolute truth that
transcends the world; a unique, independent and indivisible being, who
is independent of the entire creation. God, according to Islam, is a
universal God, rather than a local, tribal, or parochial one—God is an
absolute, who integrates all affirmative values and brooks no evil.

2. What is the Challenge of Islam

1) Religious demographics of the world

2) The Muslim agenda; Islamizing the world

3) The 'Dhar-ul Islam' and the 'Dhar-ul Harb'

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 4) Religious cleansing, removal of unislamic religions

5) Islamic Radicalism in the World

3. Engaging the Challenge of Islam

1) Faith and Practice (Objections)

2) Geography and Demographics

3) Worlds Apart (Us and them) - (the message of the Bible and the
Message of the Quran)

4) Continuity in Discontinuity (Muhammed after Jesus)

4. Mission Strategy

1) Our attitude, approach and methodology for mission

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2) Christian Muslim Dialogue

3) The Message of Our Faith; the Gospel

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A madhhab (Arabic: ‫ مذهب‬maḏhab, IPA: [ˈmaðhab], "way to act"; pl.
‫ مذاهب‬maḏāhib, [maˈðaːhɪb]) is a school of thought within fiqh (Islamic
jurisprudence)
The Hanafi, School
The Hanafi (Arabic: ‫ حنفي‬Ḥanafī) school is named after the scholar Abū
Ḥanīfa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit (d. 767), a tabi‘i whose legal views were
preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf
and Muhammad al-Shaybani. Hanafi is the fiqh with the largest number
of followers among Sunni Muslims. It is predominant in the countries
that were once part of the historic Ottoman Empire, Mughal Empire and
Sultanates of Turkic rulers in the Indian subcontinent, northwest China
and Central Asia. In the modern era, Hanafi is prevalent in Turkey, the
Balkans, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, parts of Iraq, the
Caucasus, parts of Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of India and China,
and Bangladesh.
Maliki School
The Mālikī (Arabic: ‫ )مالكي‬school was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the
8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and

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hadiths as primary sources. Unlike other Islamic fiqhs, Maliki fiqh also
considers the consensus of the people of Medina to be a valid source of
Islamic law. The Maliki madhhab is one of the largest group of Sunni
Muslims, comparable to the Shafi`i madhhab in adherents, but smaller
than the Hanafi madhhab. Sharia based on Maliki doctrine is
predominantly found in North Africa (excluding northern and eastern
Egypt), West Africa, Chad, Sudan, Kuwait, Bahrain, the Emirate of
Dubai (UAE), and in northeastern parts of Saudi Arabia.
Shafi`i School
The Shafi`i (Arabic: ‫ شافعي‬Shāfiʿī ) madhhab was founded by the Arab
scholar Al-Shafi`i, a pupil of Malik, in the early 9th century. The Shafi
school predominantly relies on the Quran and the Hadiths for Sharia.
Where passages of Quran and Hadiths are ambiguous, the school first
seeks religious law guidance from Ijma – the consensus of Sahabah
(Muhammad's companions). If there was no consensus, the Shafi`i
school relies on individual opinion (Ijtihad) of the companions of
Muhammad, followed by analogy. The Shafi`i school is now
predominantly found in Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, eastern
Egypt, the Swahili coast, Hijaz, Yemen, Syria, Kurdish regions of the
Middle East, Dagestan, Chechen and Ingush regions of the Caucasus,
Palestine, Lebanon, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, some coastal parts
of Sri Lanka, India, Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand, Brunei, and the
Philippines.
The Hanbali School
The Hanbali school (Arabic: ‫ )المذهب الحنبلي‬is one of the four traditional
Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence (fiqh). It is named after the Iraqi
scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855), and was institutionalized by his
students. The Hanbali madhhab is the smallest of four major Sunni
schools, the others being the Hanafi, Maliki and Shafi`i. Hanbali school
derives Sharia predominantly from the Quran, the Hadiths (sayings and

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customs of Muhammad), and the views of Sahabah (Muhammad's
companions).
In cases where there is no clear answer in sacred texts of Islam, the
Hanbali school does not accept jurist discretion or customs of a
community as a sound basis to derive Islamic law, a method that Hanafi
and Maliki Sunni fiqhs accept. Hanbali school is the strict traditionalist
school of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam. It is found primarily in Saudi
Arabia and Qatar, where it is the official fiqh. Hanbali followers are the
demographic majority in four emirates of UAE (Sharjah, Umm al-
Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Ajman). Large minorities of Hanbali
followers are also found in Bahrain, Oman and Yemen and within Iraqi
and Jordanian bedouins.

The Hanafi school was founded by Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man. It is

followed by Muslims in the Levant, Central Asia, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Western Lower Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, the
Balkans and by most of Russia's Muslim community. There are
movements within this school such as Barelvis and Deobandi, which
are concentrated in South Asia.

The Maliki school was founded by Malik ibn Anas. It is followed by

Muslims in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates,
Kuwait, in parts of Saudi Arabia and in Upper Egypt. The Murabitun
World Movement follows this school as well. In the past, it was also

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followed in parts of Europe under Islamic rule, particularly Islamic
Spain and the Emirate of Sicily.

The Shafi'i school was founded by Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi'i. It

is followed by Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Eastern Lower Egypt,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan, Palestine, the Philippines, Singapore,
Somalia, Thailand, Yemen, Kurdistan, and the Mappilas of Kerala and
Konkani Muslims of India. It is the official school followed by the
governments of Brunei and Malaysia.

The Hanbali school was founded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal. It is followed

by Muslims in Qatar, most of Saudi Arabia and minority communities
in Syria and Iraq. The majority of the Salafist movement claims to
follow this school.

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