Book Review: Cracks in the Crescent - Islamic Contradictions

By Philip Blosser
Philip Blosser is Professor of Philosophy at Sacred Heart Major Sem­inary in Detroit, Michigan.
Cracks in the Crescent.  By Hussein Hajji Wario. Bethany Press. 252 pages. $24.95.

Since the events of 9/11, Christians in the West have become increasingly interested in what makes the Muslim world tick. Writers and publishers, for their part, have begun turning out a growing number of books introducing Western Christians to the world of Islam. Offerings from Catholic publishers include Jacques Jomier's The Bible and the Qur'an (Ignatius Press, 2002), Dan­iel Ali and Robert Spen­cer's Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics (Ascension Press, 2003); Spen­cer's Islam Unveiled (Encounter Books, 2003), and Giorgio Pao­lucci and Ca­mille Eid's interview-based volume, 111 Questions on Islam: Samir Kha­lil Samir, S.J., on Islam and the West (Ignatius Press, 2008), to mention but a few.
Hussein Hajji Wario's Cracks in the Crescent warrants special notice. Two facts set this book apart. First, Wario is not only a former Sunni Muslim with years of experience in an Islamic culture, but unlike many Muslims was thoroughly educated in the esoteric aspects of Islam. Second, the arguments he uses to expose Islam — arguments honed by years of experience of debating Muslim peers after his Christian conversion — are drawn from the extensive literature of Islam itself, not merely the Qur'an, but Islamic history, Seerah (the life of Muham­mad), Sunnah (specific words, actions, and practices of Mu­hammad), and Hadith (narrations based on the words of Muhammad shedding light on the Qur'an and matters of jurisprudence), and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). The purpose of his book, Wario says, is to help both Muslims and non-Muslims seeking answers about the true nature of Islam.

Continue reading at New Oxford Review

An Interview with Archbishop Basil Georges Casmoussa, Archbishop of Mosul for the Syrian Catholic Church in Iraq.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) News - Interview on 19/7/2010.

Since the first century Christians have been present in Iraq and have contributed actively to the cultural development of the Arab world. Today Christians make up only 3% of the Iraqi population. Rev. Basil Georges Casmoussa is the Archbishop of Mosul for the Syrian Catholic Church. In 2005 he was abducted at gunpoint only to be released 24 hours later unharmed.

Continue reading - An Interview with the Archbishop Basil Georges Casmoussa

Deceptive God, Incompetent Messiah: What Islam Really Teaches About Allah and Jesus

By David Wood via answering-islam.org

For nearly two thousand years, Christians have proclaimed Jesus’ death and resurrection. Islam rejects both of these doctrines and offers a different account of what happened at the cross and afterwards. However, the Muslim explanation comes at a tremendous price: Their version of the story portrays God as a horrible deceiver, and Jesus as the most stupendous failure in the history of the prophets. Hence, while Muslims claim that “Allah is Truth”^[1] and that Jesus is to be revered as one of Allah’s mightiest prophets, these claims are hollow, for Islamic dogma comes with a great deal of heresy.

Continue reading at Answering Islam.

Image from Tinette.