Posted by Mohamed Ghounem on November 09, 1997 at 16:33:27:
In Reply to: re: Jesus is a Muslim posted by Leesa Hejazi on November 08, 1997 at 20:23:45:
Dear Sister Leesa,
I will start where you do;
{Christians and Muslims alike never rise to the threshold of perceiving truths beyond the boundaries of their own traditions.}
This statement is similar to the recent racist remarks posted which are without content. Although you reflect a misunderstanding that if I may be allowed, I would like to clarify;
The church traditionally does not encourage it's members to read the Koran, I agree there. The Koran {The Third Warning} on the other hand, encourages it's reader to look upon the Torah (of Moses} and Gospel {of Jesus} as messages of Enlightenment. "Go as Far as China to Seek Knowledge" {Prophet Muhammad}.
{The basic meaning of the "s-l-m" in Islam means "peace through commitment." However, Biblical scripture clearly indicates that Jesus was a Muslim, in the context of the meaning of the word itself}
So close.
{Accepting this does not mean that Jesus was a Muslim in the sense that he was a follower of Islam as an organized religion. For obvious reasons, that would be a PREPOSTEROUS claim.}
And yet so far.
{Christianity, as an organized system of beliefs, resulted long after Jesus' death. Jesus was a Jew and, by and large, he submitted himself to the organized practices of Judaism.}
Lets look at the Facts. All Prophets from Adam to Muhammad were sent w/ the same message "Total Submission of humans to Allah" (i.e. Islam).
Unlike the human made names of Judaism and Christianity, The name Islam is given by God. "This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed My favor on you, and have chosen for you as way of life Al-Islam as your religion" {Koran 5:3}
Lets see where the name Jew comes from. {Gen 11:31} we see that Abraham took his family out of his home land "Ur of the Chaldees"
Therefore, Abraham could not have been a Jew because that is a part of Iraq. He was more an Arab than a Jew. Secondly, the name Jew came after the existence of Judah, the great-grandson of Abraham.
Abraham in the Bible is called "a Hebrew" {Genesis 14:13} which means a human from the other side of the Euphrates. It also means pertaining to Eber a descendant of Shem, clearly not "a Jew".
The descendants of Jacob were called Israelites {Gen 32:28} consisting of twelve tribes. Judah was nicknamed "Jew" so that only Judah's descendants were called Jews originally.
Moses, was from the tribe "Levite" {Exodus 6:16-20} therefore also not a Jew. The name Jew {according to the Bible} is not a reflection of "an organized religion" as you put it, but a Tribe, a fore name, an ancestor branch off of a large family tree.
Jesus may have been a Jew by birth right, but a Muslim by Faith, as you agree above.
Now lets look at the name "Christian". It is mentioned 3 times in the Gospel and first by Pagans in Antioch about 43 AD, long after Jesus left this earth. {Acts 11:26}, so the name Christian was given by foes, not friends, long after Jesus.
Bottom line, the Religion of Jesus is Islam as all the Prophets before him.
The Koran is here to remove the Boundaries between the Jews and Christians.
Which is slowly happening According to "The Almanac Book of Facts", the population increased 137% withen the past decade, Christianity increased 46%, while Islam increased 235%.
In a recent pole in the (US), 100,000 people per year in America
alone, are converting to Islam. For every 1 male convert to Islam, 4 Females Convert to Islam, only ignorance and close mindedness hinder the Peace.
Despite the errors in the Bible, even if we read the content, Jesus is a Jew by ancestry, not Faith, certainly not a Christian, and clearly a Muslim. Fore a Jew is also a Muslim, who believes in Jesus, and I think Jesus believed in himself.
Jesus is Muslim as Confirmed by the Faultless message From God, The Koran.
Peace and Blessings,
Your Brother in Islam: Mohamed.