A Christian View of Islam

 
A Christian understanding of Islam begins with a simple conviction: God's Spirit is at work in all of history, not only in the Christian church.

Any genuine search for God, any movement toward justice, and any community that resists oppression stands under the horizon of God's future. Therefore, Christians must not approach Islam through the lens of fear, nationalism, or Imperial Christianity's (also known as Christendom's) polemics, but through the lens of hope. We should ask:
  • How is God present in Islam?
  • How does Islam contribute to humanity's hope for liberation?
  • How does Christendom's misuse of power distort our view of Islam?
This is not relativism. It is the theology of hope applied to interfaith understanding.

Christendom's Misrepresentation of Islam
Western Christianity has rarely encountered Islam honestly. It has encountered Islam as an empire meeting an empire. For centuries, Christendom has defined Islam as:
  • a threat
  • a rival civilization
  • a false religion
  • a justification for holy war
When Christianity aligns with empire, it ceases to follow the crucified Christ. Thus, Christianity's historical view of Islam reflects its own fall from the gospel, not an accurate account of Islam. Stating it plainly:
Christendom's hostility toardIslam is theologically invalid.

Islam as a Monotheistic Faith of Hope 
Islam's central confession- There is no god but God- resonates profoundly with Christianity's insistence on:
  • the unity of God
  • The sovereignty of God over all powers
  • the rejection of idols
  • the liberation of human beings from domination
Like the prophets of Israel, Islam:
  • calls the powerful to justice
  • demands the protection of the poor
  • insists on God's compassion and mercy
  • criticizes religious hypocrisy
  • envisions a future where God's will is done on earth
In this sense, Islam participates in the universal horizon of God's kingdom.

Jesus in Islam: A Point of Convergence 
Christians often assume Islam denies Jesus. Nut Islam honors Jenus in ways that deeply interest an honest theologian:
  • Jesus is Messiah
  • Jesus is born a virgin
  • Jesus is a miracle-worker
  • Jesus is the Word of God
  • Jesus will return to judge injustice
Islam rejects not Christ, but the Imperial Christology of Christendom- the kind that makes Christ a warrior, a symbol of national greatness, or a divine sanction for violence. We are also to reject those distortions. Thus, Islam becomes a surprising theological ally: A faith that preserves the prophetic, justice-centered identity of Jesus.

Revelation: God Speaks Beyond the Church 
​The idea that God has stopped speaking is to be rejected. God is the living God of history, still acting, still revealing, still calling humanity toward the future of the kingdom. From this angle, Islam is not an interruption of Christian revelation but part of:
  • God's continuing address to humanity
  • the global movement toward justice
  • the divine protest against injustice and idolatry
  • the Spirit's work outside the boundaries of institutional Christianity.
This does not mean Christians affirm the Qur'an as Christian Scripture. But it does mean:
Christians must acknowledge that God's Spirit has stirred faith, devotion, hope, and moral transformation among Muslims for fourteen centuries. We can never deny God's work in such a vast community.

Islam and Empire: Shred Human Failure 
Both Christianity and Islam have histories entangled with empire: Christianity became:
  • Christendom
  • Colonial expansion
  • nationalistic civil religion
  • justification for violence
Islam, too, developed:
  • Caliphates
  • Dynasties
  • Imperial structures
  • political domination
But a theology of hope is clear: Empire corrupts every religion it touches.
The problem is not Islam. The problem is not Christianity. The problem is empire- the will to dominate, control, and sanctify power.
   Jesus, the Crucified One, stands against all empires. And any faith- Christian, Muslim, or otherwise- that aligns with empire betrays its own origins.

Hope For A New Future: Christians and Muslims Beyond Empire 
We are to imagine a future in which humanity is drawn into the new creation, a reconciled and liberated reality where God is all in all. How might Christians and Muslims already participate in this future? Through:
  • Shared commitment to justice
  • Shared refusal to worship political power
  • Shared hope for a world where God's peace reigns
  • Shared recognition of human dignity
  • Shared longing for God's future.
A Christian view does not flatten differences. It preserves Christian confessions- but without denying the truth, dignity, and hope present in Islam. The goal is not triumphalism. The goal is fellowship under God's coming kingdom.

Closing Reflection 
A Christian view of Islam begins with humility and ends with hope. God is not owned by the church. God is the God of the whole world.
Wherever people seek justice, worship the One God, honor the prophets, pursue peace, and stand against oppression, the Spirit of the living God is present. Christians and Muslims, in different ways, await the God who will make all things new. And in that shared hope, we find each other not as enemies, but as fellow human beings living toward God's promised future.