Islam has 1.5 billion plus followers and Christianity has even more. It has 2 billion plus followers. These two religions dominate the world. Some are taught that both Muslims and Christians claim that their respective religion is true and others are false or corrupted/ incomplete religions. Christians consider Judaism true but incomplete without Jesus Christ. Muslims consider Jesus Christ a true Muslim and one of the greatest prophets and messengers of God but he is not divine and NOT son of God while divinity of Jesus and the trinity concept are the basic concepts in Christianity. Christians don’t believe in Prophet Muhammad but he is everything for Muslims. Prophet Muhammad is not deity in Islam but he is very important because he delivered God’s (Allah’s) final revelation.

If you’re one of those people who debate that your religion is better than someone else’s, I have a surprise for you. Islam or Christianity: There is no which one is truest? 

So many are confused when they claim that “Both Muslims and Christians claim that their respective religion is true and others are false…” Muslims believe that God is true, not their “religion.” This is an important distinction.

There is no such thing as a “true” religion. Even though I am what most people would call “Muslim,” I do not think even my own religion is “truer” from the sense of this conversation.  It is GOD that we believe to be truest. Don’t confuse belief in God with “religion.” Whether God exists is a separate question from “religion,” behavior of religious people, and content of holy books.

Religions are complex collections of ideas, views, values, and teachings. Some of these ideas are accurate, some are not, and some cannot be quantified either way. Is “love your neighbor” a “true” concept? Is it even a “religious” concept, or is it just common decency?

Furthermore, everyone has a collection of ideas, views, and values, not just people we call “religious.” Some of those include a view of god(s), some do not. Some include rites and rituals, some do not. That’s why the concept of “religions” is a false one.

When a collections of ideas, views, and values gains numerous followers, it becomes an “organized religion.” But was it not the same collection of ideas, views, and values before it organized? When did it become a “religion?”

I say it became a religion as soon as its founder conceived of it. There is really no difference whatsoever between people who follow a “religion” and people who do not. We all have collections of ideas, views, and values.

Now that we’ve established that there is no such thing as a religion that is “true” or “wrong,” let’s add the fact that a “religion” is not the same thing as a “belief in God.” There are religions that include no concept of gods, and non-religious people who believe the universe was created by an entity we call God.

If there is a God, as in a Creator of the universe, then there is no other way it could possibly be that there are many views of such an entity, each a different degree of wrong, and none of them “correct.” Because humans would of course be incapable of fully understanding such a Being.

Religions are filled with views, right, wrong, and unquantifiable. But either there is a God, or there is not. These two concepts are not the same thing.

That’s why no religion could ever be described as “true” or “false.”

But either there is a God, or there is not, so somebody is “right” and somebody is “wrong” about this part of the equation.

Therefore, the common understanding that “some religion is ‘true’ and others are not” is meaningless. So, what do I say about Islam? Islam is not a religion; it’s a lifestyle, or a way of life. 


 

By mabdussalaam

Creator and C.E.O. of Interfaith Library A competent and dedicated educator & theologian, with over 30 years of theological teaching experience as an Imam and spiritual advisor.