Understanding Islam

Following the recent events in Fort Hood, it seems that all forms of media are dominated by discussion of the relationship between Islam and Christianity and between Church and State. The information being scattered via the media ranges from excellent to horrific. So where do you turn for accurate well balanced information?

The following sources of information on Islam are noteworthy and may be useful to you and those in your care:

1) Available free of charge from BiblicalTraining.org is a seminary level study Introduction to Islam, by Dr. Timothy Tennent. 24 lectures (about 16 hours) on free downloadable Mp3

2) BeThinking.org has a collection of free helpful lectures and discussions on Islam at http://www.bethinking.org/islam/ . Most listeners will find these to be both accessible and interesting.

3) The Veritas Forum has a group of free talks related to Islam, Terror, violence, problem of evil, etc. They can be found at http://www.veritas.org/media/talks/ .

4) The videos “Understanding Islam” and “Understanding Religious Terrorism” are available as a free movie download from WatchmanFellowship.org

5) There is a four-session DVD based curriculum called Christianity and Islam. No fancy graphics or flashing lights but the information is well-balanced and useful. It is presented by Timothy George of Beeson Divinity School. It runs about $25 from Amazon but it is well worth it. Topics include:

The Tenets of Islam
The Trinity
The Bible and the Incarnation
The Cross and Salvation

6) Another related DVD small group study is volume #3 of Lee Strobel’s Faith Under Fire which addresses Islam. It doesn’t have a great deal of informational value but does a very good job of creating an environment for pursuing and discussing the topic.

7) Books: One of the very few books on the history of the Middle East that is respected by those on all sides of the issue is Albert Hourani’s History of the Arab Peoples. However, having myself worked through both the text and audio versions, I can tell you that unless someone has an academic bent they won’t get very far into this. Perhaps the small book written by my friends Ergun and Emir Caner Unveiling Islam or Abdul Saleeb and Norm Geisler’s Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross might be a better direction for someone looking for information in a print format.

8.) And, if you are looking for short but informational video clips available on the internet, I have collected several dozen and you can find the index to them at Islam – Resource Links.

If you have additional resources that you would recommend, please feel free to share them in the comment section below.

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Understanding Islam

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