New Documentary Shows Gospel
is Best Answer to Radical Islam

John Rabe, co-producer with Dr. Jerry Newcombe of the brand new Coral Ridge Hour television special, Radical Islam on the March, discussed the documentary in an interview. The documentary aired nationwide in two parts on September 20 and 27. (A DVD home version is also available from Coral Ridge Ministries).

Q:	What message did Coral Ridge Ministries most want to convey by way of this Radical Islam on the March television special?
Rabe:	I think that many people are failing to understand the threat posed by radical Islam. This is, in part, because of a failure on the part of many, even in our own government, to name the threat. We want people to recognize that radical Islam is extremely dangerous, and that it is advancing at an alarming rate—even into the United States. And yet, there is hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ in rolling back the onslaught.
Q:	Give us a short synopsis of the special.
Rabe:	On the first week’s program, which airs September 20, we take an in-depth look at the theology of radical Islam and how it has led to violent “jihad” (coming from the Muslim word for “struggle”) all around the world. Jihad is most evidenced in incidents like the 9/11 attacks, the 7/7 London tube bombing, the conflagrations in Mumbai and Beslan, and on and on. On the second program, we examine Islamic sharia law, the imposition of which is the goal of radical jihad. It is being used in Muslim enclaves in major European capitals like London, and it is being taught in America in places like Alexandria, Virginia, and Dearborn, Michigan.
Q:	What is the real threat radical Islam poses to America and what should be the Christian response?
Rabe:	Unfortunately, though Muslims talk about the mercy of Allah, they have no way as individuals to be assured of receiving his mercy. There is no “assurance of salvation,” as Christians might put it, in Muslim theology—except via one means: martyrdom. As a result, a whole generation of Muslims is being taught that they can earn God’s favor by attacking and killing “infidels”—and themselves in the process. These people are not “crazy” or irrational. Violence is a very logical and consistent outgrowth of radical Islamic theology. This is not a mindset that can be reasoned or negotiated with. It is a mindset that needs to be converted. The Christian response to violent jihad is first and foremost to spread the Gospel of Christ, in which all people can find forgiveness of sins, mercy, and acceptance with God. Christians need to be personally working, and supporting others who work in the mission field taking the gospel of Christ into the heart of Islam. When the love of Christ springs forth in a human heart and someone is born again, there is no longer any place for jihad. Some in these politically correct days would call that “religious imperialism,” but the truth is that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, including Muslims. Mushy secularism utterly lacks the tools to stand against radical Islam, as is being demonstrated all over Western Europe in the present day.
Q:	After the documentary airs, will Christians walk away fearful of Muslims or encouraged to reach them?
Rabe:	Our hope is that Christians will have a more realistic picture of the threat of radical Islam, while also being better equipped to reach them for Christ. Muslim people are not the enemy—their theology is. The assurance of God’s love, favor, and mercy that Muslims lack under Islam and that too often leads to violent jihad, can instead be found in Christ, and we want people to know through these programs that Muslims can and are being reached—and are responding to Christ’s grace in amazing ways.
Q:	What hope is there in reaching Muslims?
Rabe:	There is great hope in reaching Muslims for Christ. Missionaries are conveying amazing stories about how Muslims all over the world are seeing visions of Jesus (or Isa, as they call Him) drawing them to himself. It’s hard to know the number of converts because the penalty for converting from Islam to Christ under the sharia law practiced in many Muslim countries is death, so many of the Christians remain hidden. But God is on the move in the Muslim world drawing people to Christ. No unbelief is so powerful that God cannot overcome it, and He does not do so by violence, but by drawing and persuading and opening hearts to the truth of the gospel of Jesus.