Book Review: "Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward"

Nabeel Qureshi, Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016.

Posted by Clark Bates

May, 3, 2016

      When finishing author Qureshi's latest book, Answering Jihad, one is left with the impression that the Islamic faith has evolved into such a dizzying maze of counter-intuitive beliefs that it has become immune to accusation. Its origins in the Quranic text are filtered through various hadiths which then become interpretable only by select Imams, resulting in the notoriously fluid system of Sharia Law. Speaking from his Islamic heritage through the lens of his Christian conversion, Nabeel endeavors to bring clarity to the history and tenets of the Islamic faith in light of modern jihad. Answering 18 of the most common questions asked of Islam, the author looks forward to the “phenomenon of jihad in Judeo-Christian context,” and “propose a response to jihad,” today.¹

      On September 11, 2001, author Nabeel Qureshi was an eighteen year old American Muslim. He had been raised in a patriotic Muslim household, believing, as many American Muslims still profess, that Islam was a “religion of peace.” The tragedy of that day became the impetus for Qureshi to understand the nature of Islamic jihad and its validity, or lack thereof, within his faith. Through his investigation and subsequent roadblocks, the author's heart was turned away from his faith and drawn to the teachings of Christ and the faith of Christianity. Now a Christian apologist employed by Ravi Zacharias Ministries, a New York Times bestselling author, and doctoral candidate at Oxford University, Qureshi writes this most recent work as a response to the questions he faced as a young man, and many continue to ask today.

      Acknowledging the speed with which this writing was produced, the author admits openly that it is not meant to be a comprehensive history of the Islamic faith.² Divided into 19 chapters and several Appendices, Qureshi's work reads more like a quick-reference apologetics pamphlet than a deep theological treatise. This is not to detract from the quality of what is contained within, but to merely identify to the reader what may be expected. Conversely, the amount of information contained within this book is formidable, even more so when one realizes the ease with which this information is conveyed. The 19 chapters of Answering Jihad are wisely segmented into three parts covering the history of Islam, modern jihad, and jihad in light of the Judeo-Christian context. In so doing, Qureshi takes readers through the foundations of the Muslim faith into the development of violent Islam and how such actions relate to the Christian worldview.

      While it might be said that the most timely portions of the author's writing are found in the final section of this book, it would inadvisable to jump to the close without the necessary preparation developed in the preceding sections. For instance, the thirteenth chapter of the book seeks to answer the question, “Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?” In light of the recent Wheaton controversy and the national discussion that has resulted, Qureshi states that , “[Hawkins] statement allowed Islamic assertions to subvert the importance of essential Christian doctrine. Yet she ought not be faulted harshly, as these issues are murky.”³ Rather than sounding condescending toward Professor Hawkins, the author has spent twelve chapters elucidating the nature of Islamic theology and its opacity even among Muslims. As a Christian, Qureshi concludes the thought, writing, “Christians worship the triune God: a Father who loves unconditionally, a Son who incarnates and who is willing to die for us so that we may be forgiven, and an immanent Holy Spirit who lives in us. This is not who the Muslim God is, and it is not what the Muslim God does.”⁴

Christians worship the triune God: a Father who loves unconditionally, a Son who incarnates and who is willing to die for us so that we may be forgiven, and an immanent Holy Spirit who lives in us. This is not who the Muslim God is, and it is not what the Muslim God does.

      Possibly the most profound chapter within this entire work is chapter 8, “Does Islam Need a Reformation?”. In this chapter Qureshi offers a startling point, “Just as the Protestant Reformation was an attempt to raze centuries of Catholic tradition and return to the canonical texts, so radical Islam is an attempt to raze centuries of traditions of various schools of Islamic thought and return to the canonical texts of the Quran and Muhammad's life.”⁵ Drawing upon the parallels of the Catholic Church, the author demonstrates that Muslims embrace the peaceful form of Islam primarily because they have been taught it as such through various clerics. In the same way that many Catholics came to believe in the Roman Catholic traditions through the instructions of priests, the rise of Islamic jihad is a reformation of Islam seeking to return it to it's Quranic roots. An affirmation such as this cuts to the heart of modern conceptions of Islam, especially from the Christian perspective, and provides an alternative understanding of the violence seen today. This is not to validate the violence of Islamic jihad however, as the author writes, “. . .what it would take for Islam to become a religion of peace [is] not a reformation, but a re-imagination.”⁶

. . .what it would take for Islam to become a religion of peace [is] not a reformation, but a re-imagination.

       While some might be seeking a deeper and more thorough handling of the complexities of Islam, Nabeel's Answering Jihad provides an excellent introduction to the Muslim faith and the challenges faced by the modern world in light of its more recent radicalization. The author has written this text in such a ways as to make it attainable by all levels of reader and Christian. This resource will serve the student as well as the pastor, the evangelist and the Christian businessman, the teacher and the neighbor. Christians are becoming increasingly exposed to the rapid growth of the Islamic faith, and it will be books such as this that aid believers in preparing a manner in which to listen to them while sharing the faith of Christ in sincerity and love.

Clark Bates is a graduate of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and manages an apologetics and theology blog at http://www.exejesushermeneutics.blogspot.com.

 

I received this book free from W Publishing Group and Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookLookBloggers.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

1  Nabeel Qureshi, Answering Islam, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 19-20.

2  Qureshi, Islam, 12.

3  Ibid., 115.

4  Ibid., 116.

5  Ibid., 75.

6  Ibid., 80.