God's War on Terror: Islam, Prophecy and the Bible

by Walid Shoebat

  Islam was wounded and nearly killed. But now it is attempting to resurrect itself, is it any wonder that in so many Muslim demonstrations you can see the same message.

  Al-Muhajirun, demonstrating in England, set their main speaker to shout that “the world will soon recognize that Islam is the truth, and the giant of Islam shall rise again.”

  Why “rise again?”

  Why use that word “again?”

  It was two thousand years ago, the Bible predicted the Empire of the Antichrist would suffer precisely what we see in the wounded (and rising) Empire of Islam: “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed and the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast.” (Revelation 13:3)

  The Muslim world will revel as their confidence, pride, and a sense of strength increases every time they gain Western concessions and victories. This confidence is depicted in Scripture, “Who is like the Beast, and who can wage war with him?” (Revelation 13:4)

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  Both Work False Miracles

  The Bible states that the Antichrist will display supernatural signs and perform false miracles in order to persuade the world that he is indeed the awaited Messiah: “Then that lawless one will be revealed…the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders.” (II Thessalonians 2:8-9)

  The similarities between the Mahdi and Antichrist here are clear. Islamic tradition even confirms this: “Allah will give him power over the wind and the rain, and the earth will bring forth its foliage. He will give away wealth profusely, flocks will be in abundance, and the Ummah [Empire of Islam] will be large and honored…”45 Antichrist is said to produce all kinds of false miracles while the Mahdi is said to have supernatural control over nature. This is yet another clear parallel to add to the probability chart. But don’t put your pencil away just yet—we’ve just begun.

  20

  Both Ride A White Horse

  What might be shocking to Western Bible Prophecy analysts is that Islam even confirms what is written in Scripture regarding Antichrist, who is described in Revelation 19:11 as riding on a white horse being none other than Imam Mahdi. The early Muslim transcription of prophet Mohammed’s Hadith, Ka’b al Ahbar confirms this: “I find the Mahdi recorded in the books of the Prophets…For instance, the Book of Revelation says: ‘And I saw, and behold a white horse. He that sat on him…went forth conquering and to conquer.’”46 Egyptian authors Muhammad Ibn ‘Izzat and Muhammad ‘Arif then go on to say, “It is clear that this man is the Mahdi who will ride the white horse and judge by the Qur’an (with justice) and with whom will be men with marks of prostration on their foreheads.”47

  Muslim scholars do not reject the roll of Islam being Antichrist—they fully accept it. Even taking pride in marking their foreheads is in Islam. This is the work of Antichrist who will come riding on a white horse: “I watched as the Lamb (Jesus) opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.” (Revelation 6:1-2) The seals that follow this rider are—war, famine, plagues, death, persecution, martyrdom of God’s people, a great earthquake, and even the wrath of God. After this, the rider appears bent on conquest and the world completely slides in chaos. The rider is given a white horse, which is an attempt to imitate Jesus when He returns (Revelation 19:11). This imposter—the Antichrist—is also carrying a bow without any arrows. He is the bearer of false peace.

  Our Antichrist is their Messiah—Muslim scholars open the Bible, read about the Antichrist, and see their Savior. This must be seen as quite ironic, if not entirely prophetic. Now you are beginning to see what I was faced with when I began to study the Bible, the True Word of the Almighty God.

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  Both Attempt To Change The Law

  So, who are the imperialists: Christians or Muslims? Who attempts to rule the world and force everyone to submit or be killed, Islam or Christianity? Who wants to change all laws globally and replace them with Sharia, Islam or Christianity?

  According to the Prophet Daniel, “He [Antichrist] will speak against the Most High and oppress the saints and try to change the set times and the laws.” (Daniel 7:25)

  In this passage, we find an important clue; for by his actions, we can assess his origin. Not knowing how to deal with this piece of the puzzle, many students of Bible prophecy have speculated that the Antichrist will try to change cosmic laws. But the text infers no such thing. It simply says that he will desire to change two things: times (the accepted world calendar) and laws.

  If we simply take the text at its face value, we find a simple warning that the Antichrist will attempt to change the times (calendar), legal systems, and constitutions. He will attempt to invoke Islam’s evil laws worldwide to replace every other law and constitution.

  Only God can change cosmic laws. So why teach that the Antichrist will change cosmic laws? Always be careful never to give attributes that belong to God and apply them to Satan.

  The Mahdi fits the bill, for he will attempt to change the law by instituting Islamic Sharia law as far as he is able to do so. Who else other than a Muslim would desire to change the “times and laws”? Every Islamic activist organization is crying it—“Islam to the world!” What does this mean? It means they want Islam to replace everything—worship, law, and even the calendar. This activism already exists in every nation of the world. Behind all of the masks, they all desire to replace non-Islamic legal systems with Islamic Sharia law and replace every constitution with the constitution of the caliphate.

  Do you think I am exaggerating? Earlier I gave the example of Siraj Wahaj. Again, he was the first “moderate” Muslim to deliver the opening prayer before the U.S. House of Representatives. Yet, when he spoke to a Muslim audience in New Jersey, what did he declare? Muslims should “take over the United States and replace its constitutional government with a caliphate.”

  Believe me; this Islamo-imperialist push for a caliphate is far more widespread than most think. Now let’s address the issue of times. Besides the Gregorian calendar used by the West, there is also a Jewish, a Hindu, and a Muslim calendar, among others. But has there ever been a time when Jews or Hindus have tried to impose their religious calendars or laws onto the rest of the world? Islam, however, does have both its own calendar and laws, both of which are the first thing Islam has imposed in every country they’ve ruled.

  Keep in mind that the text says he attempts to change set times and laws, yet he only succeeds partially, but never on a global scale, because like Nimrod in the story of the Tower of Babel, God will never allow the Antichrist to rule the entire world. Unlike most Western students of prophecy who think that the Antichrist governs the entire globe, God will stop Antichrist’s attempt to create a one-world government system. Jesus is the only King who will accomplish a one-world government, and it will be ruled from Jerusalem.

  The Islamic calendar is based on the career of Mohammed. It begins at the migration (Hijra) of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina.

  Why do Muslims not establish this calendar from the time that Islam was founded in Mecca?

  The answer to this is crucial. The Islamic dating system began from the time of its conquests in Medina: “The Islamic calendar testifies to the paramountcy of the Hijra by setting year one from the date of its occurrence. The year of the Hijra, 622 AD, is considered more significant than the year of Mohammed’s date of birth or death, or that of the first Qur’anic revelation, because Islam is first and foremost a political-military enterprise. It was only when Mohammed left Mecca with his paramilitary band did Islam achieved its proper political-military articulation. The years of the Islamic calendar (which employs lunar months) are designated in English ‘AH’ or ‘After Hijra.’”48

  The Muslim calendar is viewed as being mandatory for all to observe: �
�It is considered a divine command to use a (Hijra) calendar with 12 (purely) lunar months without intercalation, as evident from…the Holy Qur’an.”49

  Not only does Islam view as a divine imperative the use of their unique religious calendar, it also has its own week. Unlike the Western rhythm of a week; Monday through Friday being the body of the work-week followed by Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, Islam holds Friday (the sixth day) as its sacred day of prayer. This is the day that Muslims meet at the mosque to pray and listen to a sermon (khutbat). Wherever Islam rules, it uses not only the Hijra calendar, its week also revolves around every Friday as the holy day.

  According to Islamic traditions, Isa, the Muslim Jesus’ primary purpose would be to oversee the changing of these times and laws, for it is he who is said to oversee the institution and the enforcement of the Islamic Sharia law all over the world: “According to Shalabi, Jesus will rule the Muslims according to the Divine Law (Sharia).”50 “Jesus, the son of Mary, will descend and will lead them, judging amongst them according to the holy Qur’an and the Sunnah (law) of the Prophet Mohammed.”51

  So according to the Bible, the Antichrist is said to attempt to “change times and laws.” The religion of Islam fulfills this description to an “absolute T.”

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  Both Deny Women’s Rights

  The Antichrist will have no regard for women’s rights. Women will have no voice in his empire: “Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers nor the desire of women.” (Daniel 11:37) We have already seen Muslim countries in which women struggle to gain their desired rights. In Saudi Arabia, women struggle to acquire rights to drive a car. In Afghanistan, women struggle to gain a desired education. In Turkey, women struggle with laws attempting to gradually re-institute the Hijab.

  The Antichrist will not only change constitutional laws, but civil laws as well. Everywhere in the Muslim world, women struggle to gain rights to be equal to their male counterpart. Women’s rights in Islam are literally a fraction of what their male counterparts possess. According to Islamic law, a woman only inherits half of what a male inherits. In court, it takes the testimony of two women to equal the testimony of one man because Mohammed declared that women have half the mental capacity of a man.

  Many prophecy analysts have speculated that Daniel 11:37 is stating that the Antichrist will not have any regards for that which was the desire of all Jewish women in Daniel’s day—to give birth to Messiah.

  This would be a strange interpretation since Messiah has already come and today we have no women with such desires. This disregard for women in Daniel 11:37 stems from the story of the fall of man: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed. He shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15). This prophecy was made right from the beginning of humanity. It states that Satan will hate the woman and her seed who will crush the head of the Antichrist, the seed of Satan, and like his father, he has a deep disdain and hatred for women.

  This is a commonality found in many satanic cults from fundamentalist Islam to fundamentalist Mormonism. In Daniel 11:37, the verse says nothing regarding a desire of women to give birth to the Messiah. It simply says that the Antichrist will show no regard for women—He hates women. In other words, women’s rights are nil in the Empire of the Antichrist. The verse should be interpreted naturally. This is exactly what we see in Islam today. The subjection of women in Muslim societies—especially in Arab nations—is a reality that is on display for the whole world to see.

  Some Western prophecy analysts have twisted this text and alluded to the idea that the Antichrist will be a homosexual or will simply show no desire for women. The text never said that he does not desire women, but that he does not honor their desires. This is a big difference.

  Muslim apologists often make the claim that Islam exalts the status of women. If so, where is a Muslim woman’s right to marry a non-Muslim? You rarely ever hear of Muslim women marrying Jewish or Christian men. Why?

  Islam proclaims death to Muslim women who marry out of their Muslim faith. Yet it allows Muslim men to marry non-Muslim women. Christianity on the other hand, admonishes both women and men not to marry out of the faith, yet, no where do we see any Christian edicts demanding the killing of anyone who marries out of the faith. In fact, it urges them to show good character, in order that the unbelieving spouse would see the beauty of Christianity. For anyone who knows Islam, the idea that Islam offers equality to women is simply comical.

  Let’s consider a few more facts. The Qur’an allows, even commands, men to beat their wives into subservience. This is no joke. If a wife doesn’t listen to her husband, the husband is told to admonish her. If this doesn’t work, he is told to make her sleep in a separate bed and is prohibited to have sexual intercourse with her. Out of all the punishments Islam prescribes to women, perhaps to some, this might be the favorite.

  But if the wife still doesn’t respect her husband’s authority, the husband is told to beat her: “Men are in charge of women because Allah hath made the one of them to excel [over] the other, and because they spend of their property for the support of women. So the good women are, therefore, obedient and guard in the husband’s absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them first. Next, refuse to share their beds. And last beat them; but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means of annoyance: For Allah is Most High, great above you all” (Qur’an 4:34).

  It was not until I came to the U.S. that I heard the concept that “He who hates his wife hates himself” and is a slave to evil. Some Muslim translators have tried to water down the Qur’anic injunction for men to beat their wives. Again, they only do this for the English-speaking world. When it comes to wife-beating, Yusuf Ali (Islamic scholar who translated the Qu’ran into English, 1938) added the word “lightly” to his translation. But the word “lightly” is not in the original Arabic “Idribuhonna” (beat them).

  But let’s just say for the sake of argument that it was. What would that leave us with? The Qur’an still commands Muslims to beat their disobedient wives. Compare this Islamic injunction to the Biblical command to men: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25). Compare this with Mohammed, who said, “I was shown the Hell-fire and that the majority of its dwellers are women.”52 Are women more evil or more disobedient than men? If so, were they born this way? Or, did Allah create women with more evil than men? This tradition displays the negative sentiment toward women that has been resident in Islam from the very beginning.

  Muslims are not embarrassed when outsiders find out that Mohammed actually married his youngest wife Aisha when he was aged fifty-one and she was only six years old (some accounts say she was seven). He consummated the marriage when she was nine and he was fifty-four. The fact that this occurred is thoroughly documented within Islamic tradition by virtually every reliable collection of Hadith—it would be impossible to deny. “Aisha narrated that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death).”53

  When Mohammed died, he was 63 and his wife Aisha was only 18. If he had lived longer, he would have married someone even younger. Once, Mohammed looked at a baby girl named Um-Habiba while she was still nursing and said: “If she grows up while I am still alive, I will marry her.”54 This is the man that Islam calls a “prophet of God,” the supreme example for all mankind and the perfect human being? A pervert and a pedophile! Did Mohammed consider whether or not this little baby would have any desire to marry an old man? Of course not, the girl’s feelings were irrelevant to the “prophet.” The simple truth is that Mohammed, and Islam, does not have “regard for the desire of women.”

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  Both Rule Over Ten Entities

  After the Antichrist comes to power, the Bible sa
ys he will rule over ten other kings who will turn their authority over to him: “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have but one purpose—to give their power and authority to the beast” (Revelation 17:12-13). In 2002 a plan for the reestablishment of the Caliphate was written by Abu Qanit al-Sharif al-Hasani of the Guiding Helper Foundation entitled, “The Plan for the Return of The Caliphate.” According to this plan, the Caliph would be assisted in his rule by a ten-member council of “Assistant Caliphs.” These assistants, or council members, are similar to Ministers in many of today’s governments.

  In 2007, al-Qaeda in Iraq was busy attempting to establish its own Caliphate. As in Hasani’s plan for the Caliphate, so also does al-Qaeda set in place ten ministers that we are told will rule under the coming Caliph in Iraq. “A Sunni insurgent coalition in Iraq announced Monday the appointment of an education minister to the group’s so-called 10-member ‘Islamic Cabinet,’ set up in April to challenge the Iraqi government.’”55

  So, once again we are faced with another striking similarity between Biblical prophecy and Islamic tradition. While the Caliph of the Muslims is said to rule over a council, or a cabinet of ten, the Antichrist is explicitly said to rule over ten “kings” or rulers who give their authority to him. The parallels just continue to roll. Did you remember to add this to your “growing probability” chart?

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  Both Are The Source Of Death And War

  In Daniel 11:37-38, we find an almost perfect summary of Islam. There we read about the Antichrist Empire’s attempt to establish it’s law, honor a war-like god, dishonor women’s rights and encourage the Islamic Zakat (obligatory alms for jihad with gold and silver), all in one concise passage. This amazing passage alone should be enough to convince the most hardened skeptic that the Bible prophesied the coming of Islam.