Idris Tawfiq is a British writer who became Muslim a few years ago. Previously, he was head of religious education in different schools in the United Kingdom. Before embracing Islam, he was a Roman Catholic priest. He now lives in Egypt.

One Religion or Two?
The Case of Anne Holmes Redding

[...] The question is, "Can you be Christian and Muslim at the same time?" I believe the answer to be a very resounding "No," but it needs a bit of unpacking so we can understand exactly what is going on.

When I first heard the story, my immediate action was to go and look through some of my own papers. Some of you may know that I declared Shahadah and embraced Islam nearly seven years ago in Regent's Park Mosque in London. Before being Muslim, I was a Roman Catholic priest. Not too long after embracing Islam, I came to live in Egypt.

[...]

I remember very clearly the words I had declared at Al-Azhar. The certificate, signed by the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar himself, contained the words I had uttered.

It says quite clearly that I reiterated [my] acknowledgement of the Islamic Faith, saying [first in Arabic and then in English]: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

The next paragraph is most interesting, because it contains the other words that I said: I also acknowledge that Moses, Jesus and all other Prophets are servants and Messengers of Allah. I renounce all religions other than Islam. Furthermore, I hereby and henceforth adhere to Islam as my Faith and Shari`ah.

So there we have it, quite clearly. I remembered saying the words, and I know that the words make sense. In becoming Muslim, we renounce all other religions.

The problem doesn't lie in Islam accepting what had gone before. Because Muslims accept all former Prophets, as Prophets of Islam, they could not call themselves Christian or Jewish, but they would have no problem in saying that they are followers of Jesus or followers of Moses, since both of these men were Prophets of Islam.

Muslims believe that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets. The problem, in this situation, lies in what Christianity teaches. Christians believe that the final revelation of Almighty to God to humankind is in the person of Jesus Christ.

According to this belief, there are no more prophets after Jesus. A Christian would be unable to accept Muhammad as a prophet of God, because his Message denies some of what Christians have come to believe.

Anyone who claims to be Christian, then, can't believe in Muhammad as a prophet. One of the central tenets of Christianity, regardless of the belief in Jesus as divine, is that Jesus died on the cross. The Message revealed to Muhammad in the Qur'an is quite clear: Jesus did not die on the Cross (An-Nisaa' 4:157). So, anyone who claims to be Christian cannot be Muslim. And as we have said, anyone who claims to be Muslim cannot be the follower of another religion.

The situation of Reverend Redding is only fully known to Allah alone, who knows our intentions and the secrets of our hearts, but as the facts appear, she is neither Christian nor Muslim. Anyone in such a dilemma, having been a Christian minister and wanting to embrace Islam, has a very difficult choice to make.

As Muslims, we should never underestimate what it takes to renounce one's former religion and embrace Islam. Just as we spend a great deal of time and money on calling others to Islam, we need also to spend similar, if not more, on helping those who have embraced Islam to grow in their new faith.

As an outsider to this particular case, it seems to me that her dilemma much reflects the doctrinal dilemmas being experienced by the Episcopal Church in the US, as much as her personal conversion story. It may be possible in her church to have a variety of beliefs, catering for a wide range of different points of view.

From the website Reading Islam. The full article is here.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Conflicts • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Faiths • Islam • Muslim-Christian relations • * Theology

1. dpchalk+ wrote: Many, many thanks for running this. What a revealing! July 14, 12:36 pm | [comment link]

2. Irenaeus wrote: “As an outsider to this particular case, it seems to me that her dilemma much reflects the doctrinal dilemmas being experienced by the Episcopal Church in the US, as much as her personal conversion story. It may be possible in her church to have a variety of beliefs, catering for a wide range of different points of view.” Bullseye! July 14, 3:08 pm | [comment link]

3. Terry Tee wrote: Mr Tawfiq converted from Christianity to Islam.  I have one simple question for him:  will you support the right of Muslims to convert to Christianity?  Under Islam this merits the death penalty.  In many countries Muslims are not legally free to convert. July 14, 6:35 pm | [comment link]

4. JonReinert wrote: Terry, Mr Tawfiq would not be able to support the right of Muslims to convert, to do so would be to allow them to commit blasphemy against the prophet.  Something which In point of fact, from a Christian perspective Mr Tawfiq has done. JonR July 14, 10:21 pm | [comment link]

5. Ed the Roman wrote: Blasphemy, no; apostasy and sacrilege (he was in orders), yes. July 16, 9:34 am | [comment link]

6. StayinAnglican wrote: Something always strikes me when I hear these conversions stories. In every one of them, the person makes the statement “I wasn’t happy. Something wasn’t right. My heart wasn’t in it.’ I was just reading this fellas testimony and he never mentions seeking any help or revealing his heart to any of his superiors especially when he first started to be attracted to Islam. Its the same with Redding. By the time anyone knew about it, she was already too far down the road of infatuation with it to turn back. And how often do these people get the idea that such unhappiness or a feeling of lack ought to be covered up rather than taken to a spiritual director. I think the idea may be rampant, that one’s faith ought to make one happy all the time, and that once it doesn’t, then it can’t be true or else one can’t be a good member of a faith unless one is always happy. Its as if the person somehow gets the idea that to admit to a time of dryness would cause others to condemn them for lack of faith. The problem before the Church is how to effectively communicate that such times of unhappiness are normal. They pass. If you should experience such a time, then seek counsel and perspective from someone else. All converts, to a one, either did not think to seek counsel or felt that such counsel was unavailable to them. So their free fall into Islam brought about by spiritual crisis goes unchecked. One girl that I read about went to her pastor with questions and he was too busy to get back to her. Another told her to “just have faith” without really bothering to teach her what that means assuming apparently that she understood it. She took it to mean “don’t think too hard about your faith” There is so much that can be done by pastors in this area by simply opening the lines of communication and not being afraid of building a long term, in-depth teaching relationship with anyone who is being tempted to convert to another faith. Most of all, we can’t be afraid to admit to the allure of other religions and to prepare people for their encounters with them before they encounter them. Its time to take our heads out of the sand. There is a lot of competition out there. We no longer have a monopoly that we can rely on as a faith. July 16, 1:59 pm | [comment link]

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