[Day 19] The Caliph is the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, the worldwide Islamic community or nation which should ideally be ruled by the religious law, the Shari’ah. The word is derived from the Arabic word which means “successor” or “representative.” The early Caliphs in particular were seen as Mohammed’s successors.
There are about 220 Muslim peoples around the world with over 100,000 members each, and these peoples have no local committed Christian witness. In addition, there are no known believers who are specifically planning to take the Gospel of the Kingdom to them.
Believers in the Messiah, Jesus, have many beliefs and values in common with Muslims, not only concerning faith-related issues but also moral values. People from both faith communities agree that our world has become a dangerous place.
Whether you are meeting at a Muslims home or doing business in a Muslim country, there are certain social graces, customs and behavior which must be understood
Muslims follow the Islamic Lunar Calendar which is 354 days long compared to the western gregorian calendar. Lunar months shift annually. Ramadan is often 30-day
Most Christians are fairly uninformed about Islamic beliefs. In a similar way, many Muslims do not understand or are ignorant of Christian teaching about Jesus. Muslims claim that Jesus did not die on the cross – such a death is considered to be unworthy of such a good prophet. They affirm that Jesus was taken up to heaven without dying.
Muslims believe that God is only one and He has no associates. Christians do not believe that Jesus is an associate of God but that He is God in the flesh (John 1:1-18). Knowing God as a Trinity is a profound thing. In the words of Francis Schaeffer: Love, communication and friendship have always been present between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity gives us an example of how to live.
The abundant references to Biblical characters in the Qur’an definitely show that Mohammed (Muhammed) was influenced by many aspects of Jewish and Christian teachings. However his idea of God does not include very significant Christian concepts about God. For example…
They have a sense of being under attack through events in Israel, Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq. They hate the repressive regimes in the Muslim world, which are often supported by the “Christian” West.
