Dear Wumi Tuase,
I woke up this morning to your post on X where you said that you found it very weird that Lekki Central Mosque had a banner that says, “Jesus Christ is not God. He is a Prophet and Messenger of God!” in front of their gate. I was also in that state about sixteen years ago (as a Christian) when I saw a flyer that said, “The Advent of Jesus in Islam.” That you found the banner weird is understandable; it is the fault of the Muslim preachers who do not talk about Jesus in Islam enough. Let me make things clear.
Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are Abrahamic religions. While Jews believe in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, etc., they do not believe in Jesus. Islam and Christianity, on the other hand, promote the belief in Jesus, which is fundamental to the belief of their adherents. So, if Muslims do not talk about Jesus enough, He is not exclusive to Christians. As a matter of fact, no one can be a Muslim unless he believes in Jesus. The nature of Jesus’ existence is where not just Muslims and Christians disagree, but even within Christianity itself. Here are some Qur’an verses to buttress the fact that Muslims believe in Jesus:
“There is also the example of Mary, the daughter of ‘Imrân, who guarded her chastity. So We breathed into her ˹womb˺ through Our angel ˹Gabriel˺. She testified to the words of her Lord and His Scriptures, and was one of the ˹sincerely˺ devout.” – Qur’an 66:12
“And remember when the angels said, ‘O Mary! Surely Allah has selected you, purified you, and chosen you over all women of the world.'” – Qur’an 3:42
The two verses above extol Mary, the mother of Jesus. Wumi, have you come across these verses before, and do you know Muslims revere Mary? Let us talk about Jesus:
“Remember when the angels proclaimed, ‘O Mary! Allah gives you good news of a Word from Him, His name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary; honoured in this world and the Hereafter, and he will be one of those nearest to Allah.'” – Qur’an 3:45
“Say, O Prophet, ‘We believe in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and his descendants; and what was given to Moses, Jesus, and other prophets from their Lord—we make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we fully submit.'” – Qur’an 3:84
I can go on quoting several other verses, but let me quickly get to why you found the inscription on the banner horrendous. You must have found it disrespectful for a Muslim to say Jesus Christ is not God and that He is a Messenger of God. One thing you should understand is that it is not just Muslims who hold this belief. There are many Christian denominations who do not believe in the concept of the Trinity; they do not believe Jesus Christ is God. Turns out that the Bible itself supports Muslims and non-Trinitarian Christians in this regard. Let us read the Bible:
This verse calls Jesus God’s servant:
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.” – Matthew 12:18
“The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.” – Acts 3:13 (NIV, ESV)
Matthew 24:36
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the Son, but the Father only.
Here, Jesus makes a distinction between what he knows and what the Father knows.
John 5:30
By myself, I can do nothing: I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who has sent me.
Jesus says, “by myself, I can do nothing.” This indicates that Jesus is relying upon his relationship with God. He is not trying to “please myself” but rather is seeking to “please the one who sent me.”
John 14:28
The Father is greater than I.
This is another strong statement that makes a distinction between Jesus and God.
Wumi, there are over 50 verses in the Bible that prove Jesus Christ is not God. The idea that Jesus is God can only be drawn by inference, not explicitly, like Jesus not being God. Think about it for a moment. How can Jesus be God? Someone who was in the womb of Mary, circumcised, breastfed, pooped, cried, and, to cap it off, grew in wisdom. Does God grow in wisdom? When Jesus was on earth, which God was in heaven? The Bible says Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God. How can God sit at His own right hand unless there are two gods or a God and His beloved?
TOLERANCE
Wumi, we know you found the inscription on the banner weird. Did you find it obnoxious too? Now, you and other Christians can feel what Muslims have been going through, even though they do not come online to say they find it weird. They have been silenced and have now made peace with the excesses of Christian evangelists. Let me give you examples:
An Evangelist gets on a public bus in Lagos with 18 passengers. Of these 18 passengers, 8 are Muslims. The Evangelist starts with a praise and worship session, prays, then proceeds to preach. He tells the passengers to accept Jesus as their Lord and personal Savior, for without Him, they will be damned. He tells them Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and there is no other way to the Father except through Jesus. He further tells them to believe that Jesus was crucified for their sins and to accept Jesus as the Son of God.
The Evangelist says this while the 8 Muslims listen to him. In their own Qur’an, God has said He begets not, neither was He begotten. These Muslims believe Jesus is not the Son of God. They accept Jesus as a Messenger of God, as the Messiah, but not as their Lord and Savior. Does this Evangelist care that he hurts the sensibilities of the Muslims?
You could be in your house on a Sunday afternoon with your daughter in hijab and “Allahu Akbar” inscribed on your door, yet Jehovah’s Witnesses will approach you to share the good news. How about the bus stop? It doesn’t matter if you write “Imam” on your forehead, an Evangelist may approach you to accept the Bible as the word of God!
When you celebrate Easter, it contradicts the beliefs of Muslims. Muslims do not believe Jesus was crucified according to Qur’an 4:157-159, but we do not feel triggered or disrespected. When you celebrate the birth of the ‘Son of God,’ Muslims do not believe Jesus is the Son of God, and we do not feel disrespected when you celebrate that, even though we cannot be Muslims unless we believe in Jesus.
Wumi, if we turn the tables, Christians cannot take half of what Muslims take. Guess who is always accused of intolerance? It is Muslims, and that happens only when they state the obvious.
Jesus is not your property. It is not in your position to tell us what to write or say about Jesus, especially when what we say or write is even backed up by the Bible. Think outside of the box, learn more about Jesus in Islam. Perhaps, it will be the beginning of true enlightenment for you.
Bashir Lucas Samson Lukman
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