This past Sunday, I visited the Islamic Institute of Orange County in Anaheim, which was one of many mosques in Southern California hosting Open Mosque day. During the visit I sat in on an Islam 101 presentation by Imam Mustafa Umar. Part of Umar's talk was based on the similarities between Islam and Christianity, such as the Islamic acceptance of past prophets, like Jesus as well as the Torah and Bible.As mentioned previously, he refused my request to videotape his presentation.
Now I can understand why.
On February 24, 2011, Umar was supposed to participate in a debate with a Christian at Cal Poly Pomona sponsored by the Muslim Student Association and Campus Crusade for Christ. The debate arrangements fell through, and as a result, only Umar spoke.
Had he stopped his speech at the 15 minute or so mark, there would have been no issue. As it was, his talk on the Islamic view of Jesus basically told the Christians in the audience that the Biblical interpretation and the Christians' concept of Jesus were wrong and distorted. Below is his speech:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_6bFkQMzdk
Here is a response to that speech by my friend and colleague Joe Carey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktyghz25RD4
Without getting into theological or religious arguments as to Jesus, I really wonder if Umar would have given that same speech (at Cal Poly) at an Open Mosque presentation. I doubt it seriously.
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