ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 8, 1991                   TAG: 9102080709
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: NABIL F. ALAMI
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ISLAM'S GLORY IS MORE THAN MATERIAL

R.E. KNODEL Jr.'s letter Jan. 24 only adds to the misunderstandings and stereotyping of Arabs and Moslems in this country. The reverend from Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg should note that:

The war between Saddam and George Bush is not between Islam and Christianity, but rather a war of divergent economic interests and geopolitical domination.

The confrontations between Moslems and Arabs and the West in this century were not drawn on theological lines. They were simply wars for justice and freedom from colonialism.

Moslems' faith and belief in the Koran, their holy book, as the true word of God is unshakable; and the belief that Ishmael, not Isaac, was the blessed son of Abraham is a cornerstone of Moslem belief. The continuous existence of Moslems and Arabs for the past 5,000 years in all the land between the Nile and the Euphrates rivers is in fulfillment of God's promise to the descendants of Ishmael.

Scholars believe that present-day Western Jews are not descendants of Isaac or Moses, but are Eastern European converts to Judaism ("History of the `Ashkenazi Jews,' the Thirteenth Tribe," by Arthur Koestler, Cambridge, 1976). If the promise was intended for Isaac's descendants, then modern European converts to Judaism should not claim part of this inheritance.

The glory of Islam goes beyond materialism and secularism. Islamic civilization is embedded in its powerful eternal culture and religion.

Moslems do not need oil to show their worth. Their strength comes from their belief in the one God and his eternal laws as revealed in the Koran. Islam means to submit or to surrender to the will of God. Its doctrine is only a continuation of the revelations and teachings of earlier prophets of the Old and New testaments.

Islam is a religion of tolerance, compassion and devotion to God our creator. It reveres Jesus as the son of the Virgin Mary, and sees Christians as blessed "people of the book" (the New Testament) and not as infidels.

Finally, Islam will continue to be a merciful, compassionate and complete religion, and Christianity should never fear its ascendancy or its message. 


 by CNB