There is a growing number of Islamic web sites that make heavy use of articles at atheist web sites in order to attack the Bible. For example Challenge to Christendom, several links at Islam Answers ([1], [2], ...), all over Answering Christianity ([1], [2], [3]).
The "Bible Criticism Page", originally created by Robert Squires, has now been copied by more and more Muslims and placed on their sites ([1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7] ...), or is a prominently displayed link on other Islamic pages.
We need to reflect on this trend and ask some questions.
For example, Mr. Farrell Till, a prominent figure on the atheist web, was on the Muslim-Christian dialog list (MCD) for a certain time. He is the "mentor" and main force of inspiration behind Adnan Khan and his well known web site Christian-Muslim Debate, praised and linked to by many Muslims ([1], [2], [3], [4], [5], ...).
On this dialog mailing list, Mr. Till mocked both God and Jesus repeatedly. (Some examples are appended below.)
Since Mr. Adnan Khan does not want to endanger the Muslim support for his attacks on Christians and the Bible, he usually keeps his opinion on Islam rather quiet. But there have been some public statements by him revealing his opinion of Muslims, the Qur'an or Muhammad. [Recently (May 14, 1999) Adnan Khan has started a campaign to get his statements removed from the MCD web archive as well as this web page and his approach included blackmailing me. Therefore the archive pages where his statements were documented are now password protected. A link to the discussion about this removal controversy can be found at the MCD archive.] In response, I have therefore decided to display below some excerpts of the postings he orginally made on this public forum. This is warranted under "fair use" guidelines. Adnan Khan stated
[How did the Qur'an come into existence?] Obviously, hallucination. I am sure Muhammad probably was honest -- at least in the beginning -- but I don't think he was mentally normal. [Dec 10, 1997]
I wasted hours collecting Muslim responses to Katz and others. I don't appreciate the un-welcome foot of yours; I feel throwing my page in a garbage.
[Dec 29, 1997]I hesitate to attack Islam, since I do not want to offend Muslims. I always have to depend on them. [Dec 10, 1997]
These statements speak for themselves.
In the Qur'an we find the following verse:
O ye who believe! take not for friends and protectors those who take your religion for a mockery or sport,- whether among those who received the Scripture before you, or among those who reject Faith; but fear ye Allah, if ye have faith (indeed). Surat-ul Maida (5):57
Isn't calling on the atheists to bash the Christians exactly the issue of the above verse, namely "taking as friends and protectors those who take your religion for a mockery or sport"? Does the end justify the means, and as long as atheists mocks Christianity more than Islam, it is useful and therefore right? If you Muslim believers can't handle the questions and arguments of Christians, call in the atheists who have no conscience in regard to the manner they attack the sacred?
What do you think is a true and obedient application of this aya to your life as a Muslim?
In my opinion taking this road of action by Muslim sites displays weakness of character and lack of integrity because the Muslim does not even obey his own rules. Furthermore, it seems to indicate an intellectual weakness of Islam since arguments that are genuinely Muslim are apparently not strong enough because they see the need to refer to the unbelievers when arguing with the Christians.
These are some questions which have been forcing themselves upon me lately, observing the rapid increase on atheist material placed on or linked from Muslim sites.
On "Answering Islam" we will purposely not use atheist articles against Islam, since we know ourselves more connected with Muslims on the basis of our common belief in one God, than with atheists who are mocking both of our faiths. Our goal is not the attack and destruction of faith in God, but that our Muslim co-believers in the Creator God will come to recognize the full truth of what God has revealed about himself and His will for our life. We do not need the help of those who do not believe at all. And certainly we do not need atheists to protect us from Muslim attacks. We are confident that the presentation of the truth and genuine Christian scholarship give arguments strong enough to convince the honest and sincere seeker for truth.
Apart from the above question about obedience to the commands of the Qur'an there is a more foundational problem. It is the same problem when Muslims use the results of liberal theology (prominently Misha'al Al-Kadhi and Akbarally Meherally). Liberal theologians and atheists are acting on anti-supernaturalist presuppositions. If we use their results, we have to accept their presuppositions on which these results are based if we have any intellectual integrity in our reasoning. But if these presuppositions are applied to Islam, they destroy Islam just as well. This is maybe most obvious in the question of miracles. The anti-supernaturalist argues, that because miracles do not happen, therefore the virgin birth story is a myth, and the miracles of Jesus like raising dead people are myth and therefore these reports are not written by eyewitnesses, but are later legends that developed over time and the Bible is "proven" to be wrong. If Muslims accept the result of such modern liberal scholarship that the Bible is not from God, [as they do in many articles that have statements like "even the Christian scholars say ..."] then they have to accept the presuppositions on which these results are based. But with the same argument, if the virgin birth of Christ is wrong in the Bible it is just as false in the Qur'an and therefore the Qur'an cannot be from God.
Nearly all Muslims web sites use the atheist material "as it is" without any own reflection on it, and seemingly without realizing that the set of presuppositions on which these articles are based destroys Islam just as quick as it seems to disprove Christianity. This is one of the most common methods of Muslim intellectual suicide.
The above described lack of intellectual insight and integrity is one reason that I cannot take Muslims seriously who use atheist material without even thinking about the implications. I fail to see the virtue of such Muslim sites or the intelligence of the Muslims who applaud such sites as are listed above.
And a last question mark I have to put behind the action of those many Muslims who so readily contribute to Mr. Khan's pages taking him as their friend, protector and sponsor, ... as if there were not enough genuine Muslim sites to work with.
Some of the mockery by Mr. Farrell Till:
... So Yahweh, Dagon, Chemosh, Bel, Osiris, Vishnu, Ahura Mazda, Allah--they are all just sounds that were invented to represent superstitious concepts that humankind should have outgrown long ago. [third paragraph from the bottom]
If you want responses from me, clean up your writing act. I don't have the time to wade through disorganized messes like this to try to figure out who said what and what you are trying to say. Jesus Christ, you put Dr. before your name. Is that a Ph.D.? If so, where did you earn it? [middle of page]
Together with various idols, he is mocking also the name of God in the Bible (Yahweh) and in the Qur'an (Allah), being sacred to any true believer. Furthermore, he uses the name of Jesus as a curse word which should be as offensive to Muslims as it is it Christians.
When asked by Dr. Romaine to apologize for using the name of Jesus as a curse word:
Mr. Till's response was: