In the fourteen hundred years since Muhammad founded Islam, Christianity and Islam have been at odds, but this battle remained a distant reality for Christians in the West until the World Trade Center attack in 2001. With an estimated 3.45 million Muslims living in the U.S. today, it is critical for God's people to have a basic understanding of Islamic beliefs as we seek to share the Gospel and interpret signs of the End Times. Here is a brief overview of Islam's basic beliefs.

Islamic Ideas About God

• "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." —The Shahada (in English, messenger can also be translated as prophet).

• The Christian doctrine of a Trinity is blasphemous.

• God is distant, angry, and unknowable. His judgment can only be held back through adequate submission.

• In Islam, Jesus was one of many prophets, but He was not the Son of God.

Islamic Ideas About Sacred Writings

• Muslims acknowledge the Law of Moses, the Psalms of David, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

• The writings of the Bible were superseded by the Qu'ran (even though the quality and comprehensibility of the Qu'ran is far inferior to the Bible from a scholastic and historical perspective).

• Muslims claim the Bible used by Jews and Christians has been distorted. Any biblical teaching that disagrees with the Qu'ran is assumed to be inaccurate.

• Hadith are not part of the Qu'ran but are used for its interpretation and application.

"Muslims are the fastest–growing religious group in the world. . . . If current demographic trends continue, the number of Muslims is expected to exceed the number of Christians by the end of this century."²

The Five Pillars of Islam

• Reciting the Shahada

• Reciting five daily prayers

• Giving alms (as an obligation, not charity) to help others

• Fasting from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan

• Traveling to Mecca on a pilgrimage at least once in a lifetime

• Note: Sunni Muslims believe jihad is the sixth pillar of Islam

Islam's Current Impact on the World

• Islam is the state religion of 27 countries, making it the most common state religion in the world.¹

• Islamic nations control much of the world's petroleum supply, which generates tremendous wealth for those governments.

• Some Muslims seek to bring the world into submission to Allah through violent means.

• Other Muslims seek to expand Islam through peaceful means.

Turning Point's Ministry to the Muslim World

Since 2009, Turning Point has been broadcasting in the Middle East. There are currently 22 weekly television program releases throughout the region in English, Arabic, and Farsi. More than 2,200 Your Greatest Turning Point new believer kits have been requested in Arabic and Farsi. Here is the story of one listener:

I was devastated by my father's sudden death. I could not believe he left us, and my heart was filled with fear and depression. I later remembered that he used to watch The Kingdom SAT and enjoyed the channel's programs. So, I decided to do the same. I began to watch your programs, especially Pastor David Jeremiah. Hope began to rise inside me and I regained my trust in God. I bought a Bible and started reading. I surrendered my life to Jesus and asked for Him to forgive me.
Ama – Syria

Glossary of Arabic Terms

"90% of the Muslims in the Middle East and most parts of the Muslim world are Sunnis."³

¹"Many Countries Favor Specific Religions, Officially or Unofficially," http://www.pewforum.org/2017/10/03/many–countries–favor–specific–religions–officially–or–unofficially/, accessed on February 22, 2019.

²"Muslims and Islam: Key findings in the U.S. and around the world," http://www.pewresearch.org/fact–tank/2017/08/09/muslims–and–islam–key–findings–in–the–u–s–and–around–the–world/, accessed on February 21, 2019.

³Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2003), 437.