Book Review - Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus

Fam,

I have always been interested not only in Christianity, but also in other religions especially those of my friends. One in particular is Islam. Islam seems to be the greatest opponent to Christianity and I never understood why. Having read the Bible, I didn't see any threats to Muslims. I also don't see any threats to Jews, those who actually know the Spirit of the Law in addition to the Law. I believe there's a huge misunderstanding for anyone who feels threatened by Christianity including certain so-called Christians who only believe in their additions to the biblical interpretations. So I believe that Christianity truly is a religion of love, one that spreads to everyone unconditionally.

But why aren't churches or Christians talking about other religions and understanding Christian Apologetics? At a particular church I was attending, God blessed us with a man visiting our church over a weekend who was getting his post-doctorates in defending the Gospel against Islamists. He emailed me and suggested plenty of references to further my understanding of the Islamic perspective on Christianity highlighting this book: "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus".

Another great book transforming mindsets, I love how Nabeel Qureshi, the author, is very open and honest with telling his autobiography as a former devout Muslim on such a vital topic (faith) where many lose their lives - literally. Now, more than ever, people especially young people in the West need more evidence in supporting any kind of belief. With so many lies, false stories, and rhetoric, Westerners are free to choose their faith and often do so based on their knowledge and personal experiences, but can easily be misled. In contrast to many other cultures, Westerners have access to all kinds of information due to the Internet and even public libraries. Westerners also have access to temples and mosques in addition to the heavily population of churches. But no so with non-Westerners, who are heavily persuaded and even compelled into certain beliefs.

Another reason I like this book is because the author gives some insight into the divisions within Islam. This is eye opening for many since the West is filled with churches promoting their denomination instead of focusing on the biblical essentials and dispelling myths of Christianity. The same can even be said of Islam.

Nabeel subtlety highlights the single, most important part of evangelism: friendship. Many are turned off by Christianity because Christians, in general, are not befriending people. Many Christians are absorbed in their "community" (i.e. church community) that they are forgetting Jesus second commandment: love thy neighbor. But like many other religions, many Christians are listening to what they have been taught which is any and everything coming through their pastor instead of first listening to God. And this puts many Christians in the same religious lifestyle as Nabeel's Islamic lifestyle.

My last point about why I love this book - is on the importance of any individual learning the faith in Jesus Christ with his/her own interpretations refined by self-studies and having open, challenging discussions with biblical scholars.

My favorite quotes and key takeaways

1. "love for his family and heritage was his motivation." (In reference to his father which is interestingly similar to the feelings of the Father.)
2. "Muslims believe that every single word of the Quran was dictated verbatim by Allah, through the Archangel Gabriel, to Muhammad."
3. "Muslims do not consider the Quran translatable. If it is rendered in any language other than Arabic, it is not Quran but rather an interpretation of the Quran. A book can be a true Quran only if written in Arabic."
4. "most Muslims I knew growing up could recite many chapters of the Quran from memory, but rarely could they explain the meaning or context of those verses." (This, interestingly, could be the case for all religions.)
5. "Light gets dimmer the farther it gets from its source."
6. There are 5 Pillars of Islam
7. There are 6 Articles of Faith
8. Shia make up 10-15% of Muslims, Sunni make up 80% and others make up the 5-10%.
9. A man is Muslim if he exclusively declares that Allah is God and Muhammad is Allah's messenger.
10. "there is much division in Islam."
11. "each denomination differs on what hadith they consider accurate."
12. "My mind was shaped to think critically, but that shape did not fit into our culture."
13. "I was no longer of traditional Pakistani culture, and I was no longer of American culture. I had a third culture, and no one met me there."
14. "They did not categorize religion with belief but with cultural identity."
15. "the best we can do before getting to know someone is to determine whether he is an immigrant or a second-generation Muslim. This one factor often makes a huge difference."
16. "The Quran is the only uncorrupted, perfect book in the world. The books of hadith are more like the Bible because they are the works of men."
17. "when authority is derived from reason, questions are welcome because critical examination sharpens the very basis of authority."
18. There are two types of basic belief of Islam: 1) Islam is the religion of peace; 2) Islam will dominate the world. A Muslim must choose one of these two types which will shape his/her entire life.
19. "Effective evangelism requires relationships. There are few exceptions."
20. "Polictical correctness is for acquintances, not friends."
21. "Conjecture is not enough. You need proof." (by David Woods)
22. "Feel free to be as skeptical as you want, but just don't be inconsistent. If you're going to be this skeptical about the Bible, I want you to be equally skeptical when we take a look at the Quran." (by David Woods)
23. "the Quran calls Jesus the 'Word of God'."

Verses

• John 1
• Daniel 7
• Psalm 110
• Mark 14:62
• Mark 8:34-35

Conclusion

This documented testimony is worth sharing with and recommended reading for every Christian and non-Christian. A Christian must be like Paul the Apostle in the Book of Romans by first understanding others and then explaining the Gospel and how it is the truth to life. There is no other God, but Jesus.

By using an objective approach and setting aside biases, I am pretty sure like Nabeel that many will conclude that there is no greater faith than in Jesus Christ.

Online References
https://twitter.com/NAQureshi
https://twitter.com/Acts17
https://carm.org/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DakEcY7Z5GU (one of the most powerful stories to Nabeel, and me)