Here’s a woman of remarkable courage and clarity. It’s a fascinating dialogue between a secularist critic of Islam, an interviewer, and, I assume, an Islamic teacher. Update: A friend of a friend writes to say, “Al Jazeera TV station had the program . . . Continue reading →
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Office Hours—To the Church at Smyrna: The Story of Fikret Bocek
This week Office Hours talks with Fikret Bocek, graduate of Westminster Seminary California and a Reformed church planter and pastor in Izmir (Smyrna), Turkey. In this interview, recorded last summer, just after the planting of the congregation in May, 2009, Fikret tells . . . Continue reading →
Sons of the Cross
In recent days, in association with the eleventh anniversary of 9/11, chaos has once again broken out across the Middle East. One of the first parts of the chaos was a mob assault on the US Embassy in Cairo. As events have . . . Continue reading →
Why “Nice” Is Such An Impotent Category
The news is filled with comments made by people who knew the Boston Marathon bombers that they were “nice”, regular people. They cannot believe that the Tsarnaev brothers could be violent. This is not the first time we have heard such observations, . . . Continue reading →
Mohammad Talked A Lot About Jihad Because It Worked
Mohammed preached the religion of Islam for 13 years in Mecca and converted only a 150 people. He was driven out of Mecca and went to Medina. In Medina he became a politician, jihadist and warlord. He averaged a jihad event on . . . Continue reading →
They Carried Out Rudimentary Tests
The killers, who were dressed in Western clothes, ordered all Muslims to leave, before carrying out rudimentary tests to see if hostages could recite the Koran and name the mother of the Prophet Mohammed. Read more» Paul Bentley and David Williams RESOURCES . . . Continue reading →
Don’t Ignore The Conditions of Omar
A jihadi group occupying the Syrian town of Raqqa recently gave Christian minorities living there three choices: 1) convert to Islam, 2) remain but pay tribute and accept third-class subject status, or 3) die by the sword. According to the BBC, the . . . Continue reading →
Are We All Really Abraham’s Children?
Something I heard recently led to me think about the claim that is frequently made about the three great Western religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We are all frequently said to be “people of the book” and just as frequently said to . . . Continue reading →
What American Journalists Once Did
Shi’a Islam Celebration Of Ashura (Caution: Hard To Watch)
This is part of the Shia observance of Day of Ashura.
Inventing Grievances
As Riley-Smith explains, however, the Muslim memory of the Crusades is of very recent vintage. Carole Hillenbrand first uncovered this fact in her groundbreaking book The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives. The truth is that medieval Muslims came to realize that the Crusades were . . . Continue reading →
Can Sharia And Freedom Be Friends?
(HT: Prager University)
ISIS Is Islamic Apocalypticism
The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from . . . Continue reading →
Muslim Immigrants To America: Sharia Is Better Than freedom
How Many Radical Muslims Are There In The World?
Spiritual Weapons For A Spiritual Battle
The radicalization of the vulnerable is a sobering reality. Guilt, shame, and the longing for lost innocence can make people do the most terrible things—as long as salvation awaits on the other side. Whether it’s drinking Kool-Aid or strapping on a suicide . . . Continue reading →
The Bible And The Qur’an
It has been a conviction of a certain segment of scholars since at least the middle period of the German Enlightenment that all religions are essentially the same. The current twin controversies in the West (chiefly Europe and the USA) over what . . . Continue reading →
A Muslim Approaches The Truth About Global Islamism And Jihad
(HT: @muddygravel) It should be added that the Ft Hood and San Bernardino attacks and others suggest that the line between ideological Islamism and violent jihad is fluid and rapidly crossed. The high percentage of Islamic Study Centers (mosques) in the USA . . . Continue reading →
Jesus And Allah: Do Christians And Muslims Worship The Same God?
Larycia Hawkins, an associate professor of political science, who studies and teaches courses on the intersection of religion and politics at a leading evangelical college in the USA, has created controversy in two ways: first, by wearing the Muslim hijab, as a . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: Do Christians And Muslims Worship The Same God?
What A Difference Christ The Mediator Makes
For this reason I subscribe to the common saying that God is the object of faith, yet it requires qualification. Continue reading →