Are Christianity And Islam Equally Hostile?

By Jim Croft

Christianity does have numerous shameful islands in its history. The Crusades and some of the early missionary tactics of the Europeans prior to the 19th Century are such. Within the same time period, the extent to which some sections within Christendom used texts from the Old Testament to rationalize slavery and the barbarous treatment of indigenous people groups, along with their own wives and children, are also regrettable. However, in regard to atrocities committed in the name of and/or justified by the sayings of a deity/alleged holy writ, to this very day Islam excels Christianity and all other organized religions. Historically, when it comes to evil incited by religious fervor there are far more dissimilarities than there are similarities between Islam and Christianity. For your convenience I will list some of them:

The Old Testament of the Bible and the chapters of the Koran written in Mecca have something in common, their use as a primary guide to establish religious policy were nullified/abrogated by later revelations. The difference is that the harsh injunctions of the Old Testament were made obsolete by the mercy-based teachings of Christ in the New Testament. On the other hand, the peaceful and conciliatory portions of the Koran that Mohammad wrote while in Mecca were nullified by the harsher and more militant texts that he conjured while in Medina. In other words, the Bible’s New Testament’s mercy replaces the Old Testament’s cruel legalisms. The Koran’s merciful Mecca texts are replaced by the intolerant and harsh ones that were written in Medina.
Within the aforementioned context, the Christian groups that committed atrocities were acting in direct opposition to the express commands of Jesus and the Apostles of His Church. The doctrines of the New Testament do not provide justification for barbarisms toward any person or armed conflict to expand the Christian cause. The Medina portions of the Koran and the Hadith provide terrorists and Muslim clerics/Jihadists throughout the world with continual justification for every form of inhumane acts.
Jesus forbade His disciples to use armed force as a means to propagate Christianity. The Crusades that ran from 1095-1464AD were the result of Church-State policies that were contrived from an errant Old Testament model. The New Testament does not support the concept of the clergy having a primary influence in dictating civil policies. The terror of the Crusades lasted less that 400 years and ended after the Protestant Reformation in the 15th Century. On the other hand, the later writings, sayings and actions of Mohammed encouraged his followers to pillage Arabian tribal cities while he lived and entire nations after his demise. We must not forget that it was the Muslims who started Jihads against other nations early on in their history. Charles Martel turned them from taking France in 732AD. El Cid drove the Muslim hoards away from Spain and Portugal in the 11th Century. In part, the Crusades were a backlash against the Muslims for their attempts to overrun European Christendom from the 8th – the 11th Centuries. And as we all know, militant Jihad, unlike the Crusades, is still being waged today.
Unquestionably, there are isolated aberrations of authentic Christianity in the world today. However, unlike those of Islam, these do not draw financial and manpower support from throughout the world. When the Protestants and Catholics of Ireland were at odds one with another, the clergymen of other Western nations did not incite their young men to join the fight and they did not solicit funds to finance the hostilities from their parishioners. Not so with Islam. Its wars and terrorism are supported in every way from Muslim groups around the globe as they are incited to do so from the Mosques that naïve democratic policies overly protect.
When it comes to slavery and other human rights violations it is interesting to note that not one Islamic nation has ever instigated the initial international investigations of such. On the contrary, slavery is still alive and well in more than a few Muslim countries. We don’t have to look any further than the Sudan to see how Arab Muslims view non-Arab Muslims and Christians. Around the world the chief initiators of investigations into human rights violations are Western Democracies. Among those in violation, Muslim dictators are often found at the head of the lists.
For those who claim that Allah is also the God whom Christians worship, I would like to direct you to a book by G. J. O. Moshay. It is titled, "Who is this Allah" and is published by Bishara Publishers, Box 741702, Houston, TX 77274. It utilizes Middle-Eastern historical references to prove that Allah was a false deity that was worshipped by Arabian polytheists prior to the birth of Islam. It renders ludicrous the assertion that Allah and the Christian God of All Creation are identical.

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