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Then there is From 9/11 to 666: The Convergence of Current Events, Biblical Prophecy and the Vision of Islam (acw Press, 2005). Unlike the previously mentioned authors, Ralph W. Stice is not well known, but he at least has spent eight years in Muslim outreach. Stice dedicates this book to the American church, to the 1.3 billion Muslims who desperately need Christ, and (oddly) to a man who asked Stice to autograph his lecture notes.

The preface says he turned to his wife on 9/11 and said, "We should have warned them." Stice knows why the "whitecap looks as it does," has a clear vision of how current events will end, and asks readers to trust him. His goal: "Prepare the church for the fulfillment of these awful prophecies."

As the only true prophetic voice for the end times, Stice has no need to consult others who may have spent decades studying the sacred writings of both Christianity and Islam. He is to be faulted most, however, for presuming the Antichrist will be a Muslim. (Stice even sets dates for the Beast's appearance and describes in dramatic detail what life will be like in the United States under the tyranny of Islam—a scant 13 years from today.) I suppose anything is possible, but such presumptuous statements damage Muslim-Christian relations to the extent that people take them seriously.

Despite a dubious title, there is much to be commended in The Dark Side of Islam by R. C. Sproul and Abdul Saleeb (Crossway, 2003). The authors are right to list the contrasting views of Christianity and Islam on Scripture, God's nature, the sin problem, and Christ. But calling this book Islam: The True and False would have more clearly portrayed the authors' intentions.

The only real discussion of Islam's "dark side" comes in chapter eight, but Sproul and Saleeb rightly counsel that we must not "stereotype Islam as a simple religion that promotes violence." They concede that Christians also have done evil. The difference, they maintain, is that Muslims have a sanction. Possibly, but I wish the authors had devoted more space to examining subjects that believers in both faiths could profitably discuss. One such bridge they suggest is the Cross, and, indeed, Muslims have considered various interpretations of this vital topic historically, including that Christ physically died.

Another volume, How Islam Plans to Change the World (Kregel, 2004) by William Wagner, is worth reading with some significant reservations. With much experience in Muslim ministry, Wagner has done his homework, but again, the title is misleading. What Islam is he talking about? Surely he intends to uncover how some Muslims plan to change the world. Yet in his view, even regional clashes—including Kashmir, Chechnya, and Palestine—are rooted in a worldwide Islamic conspiracy to take over the world.

Whether he intended to or not, Wagner gives the impression that there is no such thing as an honest Muslim: "I began to question what Muslims considered truth. I discovered that truth has different meanings for different religions." And like Stice, he believes the 9/11 attacks "testify to the fact that the official beginning of the 'clash' has already occurred."

Two authors exhibit greater understanding and sensitivity. In Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad? (Zondervan, 2002), Timothy George addresses Christians but does not attempt to "demolish the arguments of opponents." George correctly says that nothing much comes from vilifying or demonizing Islam.

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June 2006, Vol. 50, No. 6