'Even as a Christian I have to answer yes to that' says Professor Robert F Shedinger, head of the Religion department at Luther College in Iowa. In his book titled (Was Jesus a Muslim?') he presents a reasoned and researched thesis concluding that Islam is a better fit for Jesus (as) as Islam is not a religion but a 'social justice movement'. And states that both Muslims and Christians need to come together and recognise their similarities to bring the world back from the precipice of destruction where it stands today.
While this has led to a storm of obscene objections by many lay Christians, Professor Shedinger presents nothing new, simply a view already held many modern Christian and Western scholars and one shared by over 1.4 billion Muslims, that's more than 21% of the world!
Originally explained over 1400 years ago by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and by the Holy Qu'ran. The same law bearing prophet as prophesied by Jesus (as) himself in John (16:7-14). 'I had to rethink what Islam is...I came to the conclusion that it was a social justice movement and I think that's who Jesus was in the first century so I conclude Jesus is more like a Muslim' explained Professor Shedinger. Realising that Islam cannot be labelled simply a religion or as a refinement of an earlier law bearing Prophets teachings, but is in itself a completely new way of life. Carrying with it a moral code of ethics that if adhered to correctly will lead to an utopian socio economic system governed by the oneness of God.
What surprised many is that Professor Shedinger could have said the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) was a Christian but his research concluded it was a better fit the other way around. This drew us to another book 'The Muslim Jesus', published in 2003, written by the former Cambridge Professor of Arabic and Islamic studies Tarif Khalidi. He brought together, a vast range of sources, 300 plus stories, sayings and traditions of Jesus (as) that are found in Muslim literature, from the earliest centuries of Islamic history. Painting a beautiful picture of Jesus son of Mary (as) similar to the Christ of the Holy Bible.
Christians, perhaps because they call themselves Christians and believe in Christianity, like to claim ownership of Jesus son of Mary (as). But the veneration of Jesus (as) by Muslims began during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw). Perhaps most telling is the story in the classical biographies of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), who triumphantly upon entering the city of Mecca in 630AD, proceeded at once to the Ka'aba to cleanse the Holy Mosque of its idols. As he walked around, ordering the destruction of the pictures and statues of the 360 or so pagan deities, he came across a fresco on the wall depicting the Virgin Mary and her Child. He is said to have covered it reverently with his cloak and decreed that all other paintings be washed away except that one.
Jesus, or Isa (as), as he is known in Arabic, is deemed by Islam to be a Muslim prophet rather than the Son of God, or God incarnate. He is referred to by name in as many as 25 different verses of the Holy Qu'ran and six times with the title of "Messiah" (or "Christ", depending on which Quranic translation is being used). He is also referred to as the "Messenger" and the "Prophet" but, perhaps above all else, as the "Word" and the "Spirit" of God. No other prophet in the Holy Qu'ran, not even Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), is given this particular honour. In fact, among the 124,000 Prophets said to be recognised by Islam - a figure that includes all of the Jewish prophets of the Old Testament - Jesus (as) is considered second only to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), and is believed to be the precursor to the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw).
Islam reveres both Jesus and his mother, Mary (Joseph appears nowhere in the Islamic narrative of Christ's birth). 'Unlike the canonical Gospels, the Holy Qu'ran tilts backward to his miraculous birth rather than forward to his Passion,' writes Khalidi. 'This is why he is often referred to as 'the son of Mary' and why he and his mother frequently appear together.' In fact, the Virgin Mary, or Maryam, as she is known in the Holy Qu'ran, is considered by Muslims to hold the most exalted spiritual position among women. She is the only woman mentioned by name in Islam's holy book and a chapter of the Holy Qu'ran is named after her. In one oft-cited tradition, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) described her as one of the four perfect women in human history.
With Christianity and Islam so intricately linked, it might make sense for Muslim communities across Europe, harassed, harangued and often under siege, to do more to stress this common religious heritage, and especially the shared love for Jesus and Mary. There is a renowned historical precedent for this from the life of the Holy Prophet (saw). In 616AD, six years in to his mission in Mecca, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) decided to find a safer refuge for those of his followers who had been exposed to the worst persecution from his opponents in the pagan tribes of the Quraysh. He asked the Negus, the Christian king of Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia), to take them in. He agreed and more than 80 Muslims left Mecca with their families. The friendly reception that greeted them upon arrival in Abyssinia so alarmed the Quraysh that, worried about the prospects of the Holy Prophet Muhammad's (saw) Muslims winning more allies abroad, they sent two delegates to the court of the Negus to persuade him to extradite them back to Mecca. The Muslim refugees, claimed the Quraysh, were blasphemers and fugitives. The Negus invited Jafar, cousin of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and leader of the Muslim group, to answer the charges. Jafar explained that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) was a prophet of the same God who had confirmed his revelation to Jesus (as), and recited aloud the Quranic account of the virginal conception of Christ in the womb of Mary:
And relate the story of Mary as mentioned in the Book. When she withdrew from her people to a place to the east,
And screened herself off from them, then We sent Our angel to her, and he appeared to her in the form of a perfect man.
She said, ‘I seek refuge with the Gracious God from thee if indeed thou dost fear Him.’
He replied, ‘I am only a Messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a righteous son.’
She said, ‘How can I have a son when no man has touched me, neither have I been unchaste?’
He replied, ‘Thus it is.’ But says thy Lord, ‘It is easy for Me; and We shall do so that We may make him a Sign unto men, and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing decreed.’
Holy Qu'ran - Sura Maryam 19:17-22
Karen Armstrong writes, in her biography of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), that 'when Jafar finished, the beauty of the Qu'ran had done its work. The Negus was weeping so hard that his beard was wet, and the tears poured down the cheeks of his bishops and advisers so copiously that their scrolls were soaked.' The Muslims remained in Abyssinia, under the protection of the Negus, and were able to practise their religion freely.
However, for Muslims, the Virgin Birth is not evidence of Jesus's (as) divinity, only of his unique importance as a Prophet and a Messiah. The Trinity is rejected by Islam, as is Jesus's (as) death upon the Crucifix and subsequent Resurrection. The common theological ground seems to narrow at this point - as Jonathan Bartley, co-director of the Christian think tank Ekklesia, argues, the belief in the Resurrection is the 'deal-breaker'. He adds: 'There is a fundamental tension at the heart of interfaith dialogue that neither side wants to face up to, and that is that the orthodox Christian view of Jesus (as) is blasphemous to Muslims and the orthodox Muslim view of Jesus (as) is blasphemous to Christians.' He has a point. The Holy Qu'ran singles out Christianity for formulating the concept of the Trinity:
O People of the Book, exceed not the limits in your religion, and say not of Allah anything but the truth. Verily, the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only a Messenger of Allah and a fulfilment of His word which He sent down to Mary, and a mercy from Him. So believe in Allah and His Messengers, and say not ‘They are three.’ Desist, it will be better for you. Verily, Allah is the only One God. Far is it from His Holiness that He should have a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. And sufficient is Allah as a Guardian.
Holy Qu'ran - Sura Al Nisa 4:172
It castigates Christianity for the widespread practice among its sects of worshipping Jesus and Mary, and casts the criticism in the form of an interrogation of Jesus (as) by God:
And when Allah will say,
“O Jesus, son of Mary, didst thou say to men, ‘Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?’”, he will answer, “Holy art Thou. I could never say that to which I had no right. If I had said it, Thou wouldst have surely known it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. It is only Thou Who art the Knower of hidden things.
Holy Qu'ran – Sura Al Ma'idah 5:117
Jesus (as), as Khalidi points out, 'is a controversial prophet. He is the only prophet in the Holy Qu'ran who is deliberately made to distance himself from the doctrines that his community is said to hold of him.' For example, Ahmadi Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified but survived the crucifixion and went on to fulfil his mission of preaching to all the tribes of Israel.
And when we read about what many eminent scholars think of the Holy Prophet Muhammas (saw) we find many agreeing with William Montgomery Watt, an Emeritus Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh. One of the foremost non-Muslim interpreters of Islam in the West in his book (Muhammad at Madinah) says 'The more one reflects on the history of Muhammad and of early Islam, the more one is amazed at the vastness of his achievement. Circumstances presented him with an opportunity such as few men have had, but the man was fully matched with the hour. Had it not been for his gifts as a seer, statesman, and administrator and, behind these, his trust in God and firm belief that God had sent him, a notable chapter in the history of mankind would have remained unwritten. It is my hope that this study of his life may contribute to a fresh appraisal and appreciation of one of the greatest of the sons of Adam.'
Even the encyclopedia Britannica states that 'Muhammed is the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities.'
And Michael H. Hart in his book 'the 100 a ranking of the most influential persons in history', says 'My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels'
So when analysing the semantics in the title and conclusion of Professor Shedinger's it becomes a forgone conclusion. The word 'Islam' means peaceful submission to the Will of God. From the root word Salema, meaning peace, purity, submission and obedience. And naturally a 'Muslim' is the follower of a religion of peaceful submission to the Will of God. So when we ask the question 'Was Jesus a Muslim?' Professor Shedinger replies 'Even as a Christian I have to answer yes to that' to which we find ourselves replying the - how could Jesus (as) have been anything else but a Muslim?
By Ansar Khan, Regional Nazim Ta'leem Tahir Region
With an appreciative contribution by Mehdi Hasan - a contributing writer for the New Statesman and the co-author of Ed: The Milibands and the Making of a Labour Leader. He was the New Statesman's senior editor (politics) from 2009-12.
To read more by Ansar Khan or any by any of our regional writers visit our site at www.tahirregion.weebly.com/blog