The God of the Bible and the God of Qur'án

By Hushidar Motlagh

First presented at the Irfan Colloquia Session #58
Louhelen Bahá'í School: Davison, Michigan, USA
October 8–11, 2004
(see list of papers from #58)

    Christian theologians are writing many books against Islám. The objections they raise against Islám can be compared to a gigantic tree rooted in this concept: Alláh, as described in the Qur'án, does not resemble the true God. He is someone else, perhaps a fictitious being, who masquerades himself as God. Christian theologians show intense interest in proving that "the two Gods" are not the same. They know that without root, the tree cannot stand.

    If God is the root of the tree, then its trunk is the one who arises to speak for Him. If Jesus and Muhammad do not draw nourishment from the same source, they too, like their Gods, have nothing in common. To prove their point, theologians present verses from the Bible to show that Jesus is God in the flesh, and verses from the Qur'án to show that Jesus is merely a Prophet.

    They also look for differences in the branches and leaves of the tree. They use these differences as further evidence that the two faiths are not rooted in the same God. What evidence do they use? The following are quite popular:
    • The character of Muhammad
    • The laws of the Qur'án
    • Conflicts between the contents of the Bible and the Qur'án
    • The behavior of Muslims as a true image of Islám.
    Now that we have taken a look at the whole tree, let us start with the root of all questions: God. Let us see if the lines Christian theologians draw between Alláh of the Qur'án and the Lord of the Bible are real, or they are simply shadows of ignorance, intolerance, and flawed thinking.

    As an example of books written by Christian theologians to introduce Islám to Christians, let us choose the work of a highly respected author and scholar, Dr. Robert Morey, the Executive Director of a Foundation for the promotion of Christianity. In his introduction to Islám-The Islámic Invasion-Dr. Morey tries to show nine critical differences between the God of the Qur'án and the God of the Bible. We should note that Dr. Morey's book is not unique; it typifies the works of other Christian theologians about Islám.

    Let us put to the test each of his nine objections.
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