Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity

by Nabeel Qureshi

Ahmadi missionaries were not known for cautious treatment of sensitive matters in moments of passion. His word choice was provocative, but there was some truth in it. He was referring to the main division among Muslims, the division between Shia and Sunni. There are three major branches of Shia Islam, and together the Shia make up approximately 10 – 15 percent of the world’s Muslims. They believe that authority in early Islam passed through Muhammad’s bloodline, so that when Muhammad died, his male next of kin ought to have borne the mantle of Islamic leadership. That would have been Ali. However, when Muhammad died, there was no appointed successor. The Muslims elected Abu Bakr as the first khalifa. For the most part, those that recognize Abu Bakr’s caliphate follow one of the four schools of Sunni Islam, and they make up about 80 percent of the world’s Muslims. The remaining 5 – 10 percent are those who fit comfortably in neither category. That’s where we stood. “Muhammad proclaimed that if we recite the shahada, we are Muslim. We do that. The Quran tells us we must perform the Five Pillars. We do that. Islam teaches us that we must believe the Six Articles of Faith. We do that! So why do they call us kafir?” “They have the audacity to call us kafir because we do not interpret two words in the Quran the way they do. Two words! ‘Khatam an-nabiyeen, the seal of the prophets.’ In the minds of these violent and uneducated Muslims, disagreement over these words justifies murd...