Confronting the World's Fastest Growing Religion, published by Harvest
House Publishers, Oregon, US, 1992. The author, Dr. Robert Morey, sees
Islam as an invasion into North America and a threat to his religious
heritage.
Unfortunately, Dr. Morey has resorted to dishonest tactics in
combating Islam. To prove his contention that Allah is not the God of
Christians and Jews, he quoted from several books in such a dishonest
fashion that thequotations say the opposite of what we find in those
books (see quotations on pages 47-53 of Dr. Morey's book).
Dr. Morey quoted from the Encyclopedia Britannica to support his case.
But in fact the Encyclopedia says:
Allah is the standard Arabic word for "God" andis used by Arab
Christians as well as by Muslims (Britannica, 1990 Edition, vol.1,
p.276).
Dr. Morey also quoted from H.A.R Gibb to support his case. But Gibb
actually says the opposite.In his book Mohammedanism, Gibb says on
page 26 that bothMuhammad and his opponents believed in"the existence
of a supreme God Allah." Gibb further explained this on pages 37-38
(see Mohammedanism by H.A.R. Gibb, Oxford University Press, 1969). Dr.
Morey should have checked his references more carefully before his
book went into print.
Dr. Morey said that Alfred Guillaume agrees with him, and he refers to
page7 of Alfred Guillaume's book entitled Islam. But here is what
Alfred Guillaume actually says onpage 7 of his book:
In Arabia Allah was known from Christian andJewish sources as the one
God, and there can be no doubt whatever that he was known to the pagan
Arabs of Mecca as the supreme being (Islam by Alfred Guillaume,
Penguin,1956, p.7).
How could Dr. Morey misquote like this? Furthermore, Dr. Morey quoted
from page 28 of a book by another non-Muslim writer Caesar Farah. But
when we refer to that book we find that Dr. Morey gave only a partial
quotation which leaves out the main discussion. The book actually says
that the God who was called Il by the Babylonians and El by the
Israelites was called ilah, al- ilah, and eventually Allah in Arabia
(see Islam: beliefs and Observances, by Caesar Farah, Barron's
Educational Series, 4th Edition, p.28). Farah says further on page 31
that before Islam the pagans had already believed that Allah is the
supreme deity.Of course they had 360 idols, but, contrary to Dr.
Morey's assertion, Allah was never one of the 360 idols. As Caesar
Farah points out on page 56, the prophet Muhammad, on whom be peace,
personally destroyed those idols.
Dr. Morey also quoted from William Montgomery Watt. But Watt says on
page 26 of his book that the Arabic word Allah is similar to the Greek
term ho theos which we know is the way God is referred to in the New
Testament (see Muhammad; Prophet and Statesman by William Montgomery
Watt, OxfordUniversity Press, 1964, p.26).
Dr. Morey also quoted from Kenneth Cragg's book entitled The Call of
the Minaret. However, on page 36 of Kenneth Cragg's book we find the
following:
Since both Christian and Muslim faiths believe in One supreme
sovereign Creator-God, they are obviously referring when they speak of
Him, under whatever terms, to the same Being. (The Call of the Minaret
by Kenneth Cragg, Oxford University Press, 1964, p. 36). Further on
the same page,Cragg explains that the One whom the Muslims call Allah
is the same One whom the Christians call 'the God and Father of
ourLord Jesus Christ', although the two faiths understand Him
differently.
Dr. Morey should know that as a scholar he has the academic obligation
to quote honestly. He should also know that as a follower of Jesus, on
whom be peace, he has an obligation to speak thetruth.
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