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2 - The Facts on Islam
SECOND 1
Religion of Islam: Introduction
2. Why is Islam important?
In brief, Islam is important
for the following reasons. First, there are more than one billion followers of
Islam in the world. Second, the collective power of Islam is able to
dramatically influence the world economy through OPEC. Third, the growing
religious influence of Islam outside Islamic nations is unmistakable. Fourth,
Islam has the ability to play a key role in the social stability or instability
of dozens of governments around the world. Fifth, a principal goal of Islam is
to bring Islamic law to every nation.
Islam is important because it has the power to change the
destinies of hundreds of millions of people - and perhaps the West itself.
Further, Arab nationalism and the Muslim religion have become the single most
crucial issue in the volatile Middle East, now a focal point for the attention
of the entire world. No one can know how a major crisis in that region may
ultimately affect the rest of the world, but the possibilities are sobering.
The influence of Islam in the modern world is increasing
daily in other ways. With its recent rise to more than one billion people in
membership, it claims to be the fastest-growing religion in the world, and it
dominates more than 40 countries on three continents. It is the driving force
behind numerous nations in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Indeed, well over
30 countries now have populations that are at least 87% Muslim. It has also
become the second largest religion in Europe and the third largest in the U.S.
Islam is now Britain's third largest religion. In 1974, France had one mosque -
today there are more than 1,600. In the U.S. there are more than 1,700 mosques
and Islamic centers, some 400 Muslim student organizations, and dozens of
professional organizations.
Finally, the ideological influence of Islam expands to other
nations on a daily basis, and Islamic fundamentalism is increasingly aggressive.
Religiously, socially, politically, economically, and militarily, Islam will
continue to powerfully impact our world. For example, Christian readers of this
book should not think Islam is of little concern to the church. The January 1996
World Watch Persecution Index, published by Open Doors, revealed that, apart
from North Korea and China, Islamic-dominated countries occupied every single
spot on the top ten list of countries where persecution of Christians is most
severe. Some of the reasons for this unfortunate situation will become evident
as we proceed.
John Ankerberg & John Weldon
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