The material on the Qur'an, however still seems to pack in the crowds, due to its controversial nature. In late April I was knocked off my ladder twice by a Muslim who objected to my analysis of the prophethood of Muhammad. The police had to come over and surround me, and then escort me out of the area (‘for my own safety’). It was a bleak day at the corner for freedom of speech. The week earlier a Lebanese Christian had been slightly wounded in a stabbing, and the corner was closed, the first time in 120 years. Since then a number of newspapers have run stories on the Muslim violence at Hyde Park.
I returned to the Corner on Sunday May 5 and was again surrounded by a large crowd of Abdul Green’s disciples chanting for me to get down, while others brought a ladder over for Mr Green to debate me on-the-spot. By the time he got to his ladder (a few feet from mine) the crowd had grown to a few hundred, and we were ready to start an impromptu debate when the police came, and this time demanded that he get down and leave the area. I was then permitted to finish my presentation without mishap (quite a contrast from the week before). Once I descended from my ladder some of Mr Green’s disciples came to me with a movie camera trained on me and challenged me to a formal debate, which I accepted. [This debate took place at Southbank University on May 29 before an audience of 300 people. See LATEST INTERNET ACTION for more details - Ed]
Abdul Green is the best person they have in this area of discussion, as he has spent the last year studying my paper, and has had the help of Dr Daniel Lomax from North Carolina, Robert Squires from Kuwait, and Muhammed Rafiq from Birmingham, all of whom have put forward extensive rebuttals to my material. He has been a regular speaker and Muslim apologist/polemicist at Speakers’ Corner for over eight years, was at my Cambridge debate, and has done a series of lectures debunking my paper plus other lectures on various university campuses concerning the pagan sources of the Bible.
I have had other debates this Spring scheduled and cancelled, sometimes by the Christian Unions (Nottingham and LSE) and sometimes by the Muslims. One that did take place was on May 2nd at Teeside University, in Middlesborough. About 80 Muslims turned up (it seems you really do need a debate to pack them in), some of whom had driven two and a half hours from Manchester to ‘take me on’. This group attempted to take over the meeting which eventually broke up with quite a bit of noise and jostling at the front; but not before I had lectured for an hour on the reliability of our Scriptures versus the Qur'an (using manuscript, documentary and archeological evidence). A number of the Muslim students came up to me afterwards and apologised for the rude interruptions by the older men. It was obvious to us that they were embarrassed by their elders, who, in reality had no rebuttal to the arguments we were presenting.
There has been a surge of interest in this area (Bible vs Qur'an) over these months. The official magazine for the Muslim party of Great Britain, ‘Common Sense’ has featured a well-thought-out rebuttal to my paper by Muhammad Rafiq. The editor of the magazine, Mr Sahib Mustaqim Bleher, has also challenged me to a public debate.
This material is having a tremendous impact. On our website [see LATEST INTERNET ACTION - Ed] over 6,000 people world-wide have pulled down last Autumn’s Cambridge debate; and crowds at Speakers’ Corner have seen packed crowds (100-300 people) listening to the material; while the Muslims have done all they could to disrupt the talks. Indeed it seems that we have hit a nerve amongst the thinking Muslims. This is what we would expect; because this new material challenges the foundations for everything they believe. It casts doubt on the two central pillars on which the whole of Islam rests: the Qur'an and the prophet.
I believe we must seize the day of opportunity. I will continue with my research and with public debates; but I will need a lot of help with the continuing investigation and with furthering the investigation in other parts of the country. I am going to the USA for five months from July-Jan and am praying that others may pick up the gauntlet in my absence. Keep it in your prayers, as we may be on the verge of finally bringing a giant to its knees, providing there are those who will take up the challenge. As Matthew writes: ‘From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men [and women] lay hold of it’ (Mt 11:12).
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