Arabic Christian Perspective has posted an open challenge to Zakir Naik, Jamal Badawi, and Shabir Ally, to debate myself, David Wood, and Sam Shamoun. You can read about the open challenge here. I know I would very much like to engage Shabir Ally in debate on an Islamic topic, as I have twice defended the Christian faith against him. I would love to ask him if he can consistently explain the Qur’anic parallel passages where differences of language, sequence, etc, exist, in light of his comments about the Synoptic Gospels in our debate at Biola in 2006. I have sought to have Jamal Badawi debate repeatedly as well. And I realize that Zakir Naik is seen by many Muslims in India and elsewhere as their leading intellectual spokesman. I would dearly love to correct him on his many, many misapprehensions of the Christian faith.
It certainly must be admitted that it is the Christian side who is seeking open and scholarly debate with the leading proponents of Islam. I note that in light of the constant effort on the part of Muslim nations to stifle any and all criticism or rebuttal of Islam, we need to take advantage of our freedoms to engage in honest and scholarly debate while we can. There are many in Muslim nations who wish to use the UN to silence all “blasphemy of the prophet,” which, of course, means all disagreement with Muhammad’s teachings and claims, and given the fact that many in the West drop to their knees in the attitude of dhimmitude at the first sign that a Muslim might be offended, we are truly in great peril. Of course, the fact that Islam by its very teachings denigrates and denies the Christian faith seems to get lost in the discussion, somehow, so that in essence, what is being promoted by Islamic nations is a silencing of Christians and a granting to Islam of uber-rights to preach without opposition or challenge.
Well, whether the UN tries to silence us or not, we will continue preaching and teaching the truth. And I would like to add my willingness to debate two other gentlemen as well, who I believe, from what I have watched and read, are significantly more familiar with the Christian faith than the three gentlemen noted previously: I would very much enjoy the opportunity to engage in respectful, open, honest debate and dialogue with Islamic scholars Hamza Yusuf and Gary Miller. I have watched or listened to many of Hamza Yusuf’s lectures, and have found him a very articulate spokesperson. And Gary Miller’s lectures are widely available on YouTube and the web in mp3 format. I have read that Miller is no longer active in such fields, though I have not heard why this is. But since his materials are still being distributed, I am surely open to debate with him.
We have proven, repeatedly, our ability to engage in fair, honest, scholarly debates. I hope these gentlemen will respond positively to our invitation and challenge.
Alpha and Omega Ministries is a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. James White, director, is a professor, having taught Greek, Systematic Theology, and various topics in the field of apologetics for numerous schools.
