Muslims and Christians have much in common, both groups have enjoyed an amicable relationship throughout history (apart from a few unfortunate hiccups). After all, it was the then Christian ruler of Abyssinia who granted refuge to early Muslim converts who were fleeing persecution from the Polytheists of Makkah. They were advised to go there by the Prophet Muhammad himself (peace be upon him).
The following are 6 Muslim beliefs about Jesus (peace be upon him) every Christian must know.
1. One cannot be a Muslim without believing in Jesus
Muslims must believe in and respect all of the prophets in order to be counted as a believer. From Adam to Noah and from Moses to Jesus up to the final prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon them all).
Say, [O believers], “We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.” Qur’an, 2:136
Muslims also believe Jesus was born miraculously without a father to the Virgin Mary. His mother is also respected and venerated across the by Muslims and she is known to have been a pious and devout person. An entire chapter of the Qur’an is named after her.
3. He performed miracles
Muslims believe Jesus performed many miracles such as creating a bird from clay or curing the blind and leper and bringing the dead back to life.
And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], ‘Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of God . And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead – by permission of God. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers. Qur’an, 3:49
Notice how God explains that all the miracles were carried out only with the permission of God lest people start thinking he was God.
4. He is not God
Muslims believe he was one of the greatest prophets sent by God but he was not divine. Muslims do not believe he was the son of God or God incarnate, they believe he was a human being who was given the task of conveying the message to the people and to preach that there is only One God.
5. He was not crucified
Christian belief holds that Jesus was crucified but Muslims differ. Muslims believe Jesus was raised to the heavens by God and instead, one of his foes was made to look like him who was crucified instead.
And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. Qur’an 4:157
6. Jesus will return
Muslims believe Jesus will return before the final days and will establish peace and justice on Earth. As part of a longer narration, the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said:
“By the one whose hands my life is in, surely the Son of Mary will descend amongst you as a just ruler…” Sahih Al Bukhari
KUALA LUMPUR: LESS than a decade after local militant groups were thought to have been neutralised, security agencies are warning of the emergence of four new terror organisations.
Intelligence sources told the New Straits Times that these four groups, permutations of earlier terror cells, such as Jemaah Islamiah and Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, are embarking on an aggressive recruitment drive and pushing their agenda ahead. They are believed to be operating from, among others, Perak and Selangor.
Under an understanding with intelligence sources, the NST will only refer to these organisations by their acronyms: BKAW, BAJ, DIMzia and ADI.
Their endgame is the establishment of a “super” Islamic caliphate, called Daulah Islamiah Nusantara, comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, southern Thailand and southern Philippines.
This was, more than a decade ago, the ultimate goals of several regional terror groups which was forced to be shelved after many of their leaders were picked up in a global terror clampdown.
Although the four groups currently operate independently of one another, sources revealed that they subscribe to the same salafi Jihadi ideology, which mirror that of terror group al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
The cornerstone of the ideology is to fight and reject the democratic system applied by Muslim nations, including Malaysia.
Leaders and senior members of these terror groups, according to sources, had established solid links with similar groups in the region, active in places such as southern Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, as well as Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf and Isil, which has a strong presence in the Middle East.
Police are also monitoring a terror organisation based in Sabah, called Darul Islam Sabah, whose members were the last to be released from detention under the Internal Security Act.
United by a common agenda, it is believed these groups may eventually cooperate with other far-flung terror groups such as Isil, to achieve their ultimate aim.
Authorities, who have their pulse on the groups’ communications and movements, said intelligence revealed that the members of these groups, which are slowly gaining strength, had gone through training to perfect their battlefield knowledge and tradecraft, including producing their own weapons and explosives.
Experience gleaned by Malaysian militants from their Syrian and Afghan campaigns, sources believe, could also be tapped and put to use, eventually, by groups here.
They have strong local financial backers, including businessmen and professionals, as well as those whose employment status had not been ascertained.
One of the more high-profile Malaysian militants was a former drummer of a local rock outfit.
These terror groups go though great lengths to ensure that their set-up and agenda are not disrupted. In their meetings, members are constantly warned that death is the punishment for betrayal.
Authorities revealed that these groups were also behind the sending of Malaysians to be embedded in jihadist groups in Syria.
Prior to them being deployed to Syria, recruits would be sent for basic training in southern Thailand and with the Abu Sayyaf group.
The main Abu Sayyaf training camp was called Camp Hudaibiyah. It was here that recruits were taught, among others, the art of combat, urban warfare, hand-to-hand techniques, how to set up booby traps and construct improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and how to field strip weapons.
It is understood that the BKAW group, in building its strength, had been recruiting members through Facebook as well as through a series of ceramah. Their primary targets are youth and students from local institutions of higher learning.
Its members had pledged to procreate to give birth to a fresh supply of fighters.
It is understood that Ahmad Tarmimi Maliki, 26, the Malaysian linked to Isil and credited with blowing up 25 elite Iraqi soldiers at Iraq’s SWAT headquarters on May 26 in a suicide attack, was part of BKAW. He, and several others, had undergone training in Port Dickson late last year.
The NST learnt that the DIMzia, established earlier this year, was a splinter group of the BAJ. The split happened when two BAJ leaders had a falling out over the misappropriation of funds.
The sources said while the leader of DIMzia had been picked up by authorities, their members had been keeping the group active.
DIMzia had, in early April, held an orientation programme in Ijok, Perak, where members were put through rigorous physical training, which included scaling up the seventh level of a waterfall. Members were also made to soak in cold water as a test of their mental strength.
There, they were also supposed to get lessons on how to detonate a bomb using a handphone as the trigger mechanism. However, the local man who was supposed to teach them did not turn up.
It was also revealed that these groups refer heavily to “manuals” penned by militants, including Indonesian Abu Bakar Bashir, leader of Jemaah Islamiah, who in 2011 was sentenced to 15 years in prison for supporting a training camp.
Although barely a year old, ADI, which is allegedly headed by a respectable academic figure, was believed to have strong links with foreign militant groups, including Indonesia’s Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT).
Abu Bakar had, in 2008, reportedly announced his intention to create JAT, which also meant “partisans of the oneness of God”, when the Indonesian government was preparing to execute the three convicted Bali bombers. JAT is on the United States’ terror list.
Malaysian authorities share the concerns of their counterparts in the region that locals who join their militant brethren in Syria and Iraq would then return to their country of origin to “export” their knowledge and ideology.
“We are also looking at Syria and Iraq as a petri dish for local militants to establish international contacts and propagate their goals, not only in their respective countries, but in the region as a whole.
“Those countries (Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan) are real battlegrounds, unlike the basic training they went for in the southern Philippines or in other training camps.
“When they return, their insurgency tactics and battlefield knowledge would have been highly honed.
“To their supporters here, they will be seen as high-profile jihadists and it would be easier for them to pull in more young members,” a high-ranking intelligence officer said.
Police are seeking an Islamic studies lecturer with Universiti Malaya (UM) and a staffer with the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) among five Malaysians suspected of recruiting members for militant Islamic groups in conflict-riddled Syria and the Philippines. – See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/wanted-for-islamic-militancy-um-lecturer-selayang-council-staffer#sthash.Y8dgMsTQ.dpufProfiles of the five men, complete with their pictures, were released in a wanted poster by Bukit Aman’s counter-terrorism unit.
Inspector-general of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said three of the suspects are believed to be serving the Islamic State of Iraq and The Levant (ISIL) while the other two are members of Darul Islam Sabah, a group now affiliated with the Abu Sayyaf terrorist sect based in South Philippines.
Among those identified as ISIL recruiters is Dr Mahmud Ahmad, otherwise known as Abu Hanadzalah, a lecturer attached with Universiti Malaya’s (UM) Academy of Islamic Studies faculty.
Also linked to ISIL is Mohd Najib Husen – who also goes by the name of Abraham – the operator of a photocopy and stationaries shop in UM, and Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee or Abu Nur, a secretariat staff with the Selayang city council.
Linked to the Darul Islam Sabah group, meanwhile, were Mohd Amin Baco and Jeknal Adil, both from Tawau, Sabah.
Polis Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysia Police)Polis Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysia Police)Polis Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysia Police)Polis Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysia Police)Polis Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysia Police)Polis Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysia Police)Polis Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysia Police)
