The Dark Side of Islam (utgåvan 2003)

Contains five 23-minute messages on two CDs:
1. Looking for God's Will
2. The Internal & External Call
3. God's Will & Your Vocation
4. Finding a Job that Fits
5. Questions & Answers

Just finished this brief book. It is okay as far as it goes and will be very beneficial to someone coming to a comparison of Islam with Christianity for the first time. Because the co-author Abdul Saleeb is a former Muslim, there is much here that comes from an insider's perspective, and this is welcome, indeed. He packs a punch in his final chapter showing that radical Islamist advocates of jihad as a literal warfare waged with violence against all infidels is actually justifiable by the Qur'an itself. This is a straightforward and honest assessment. The prior chapters focus on doctrinal and practical matters are just as interesting. Its weakness is its brevity, but this may be a strength in days when heavy reading is a thing of the past! ( )

Obviously Islam is a big issue in today’s society. We see reports every day of ISIS running around cutting off heads and slaughtering hundreds of innocent civilians in the most reprehensible ways. We then hear political leaders rush to the defense of Islam to call it a Religion of “Peace.” But is this actually the case?

As Christians we are called to test what we hear against Scripture. This goes for the words of politicians, and the claims of other religions. It is with that mission that R.C. Sproul and Abdul Saleeb wrote the book, The Dark Side of Islam.

The book is set in the style of an interview between the two authors and many enlightening nuances of Islam are shared and explored. What stands out the most is how subtle some of the differences between Islam and Christianity really are. However, while they may be subtle, the implications of those differences are enormous.

Islam denies the Deity of Christ, his Death on the cross, and his work in our lives today. They do not believe that God can be our Father because it would imply a sexual relationship which would defile God. These are just a couple of facts found in this book that completely blew me away as to the beliefs of Islam.

Islam sounds good at first glance, but when one really digs down into the teachings he finds that this is not a peaceful religion. In fact, Saleeb argues that organizations like ISIS actually are utilizing the teachings of Islam in their correct form to punish and destroy those opposed to it.

The Dark Side of Islam is a quick and enjoyable read that will greatly enhance our knowledge of Islam and how to interact with Muslims around the world as Christians. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars!

I received this book free from Crossway in exchange for this review and was not required to leave a positive review. ( )