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 PERFECT RELIGION 45

But the difference between the two systems of belief is very apparent. The heart of the Christian faith is ignored the cross and all that it means of sacrifice for others. The kernel has been extracted; only the shell is left. But without further comment let us look at the separate articles of the Islamic creed.

THE MOSLEM'S ARTICLES OF FAITH

1. "/ believe that there is no God but Allah." We read in the Koran, "God is one" the very echo, as it were, of the words of Moses, "Hear, Israel, the Lord thy God is one God." This emphasis on the unity of God is asserted in countless ways in the daily life of the Moslem: for example, in the simple creed, or kalima, which must be repeated at every time of worship, "There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is the apostle of Allah," and in the extension of the forefinger of the right hand in one of the postures of prayer. Islam bitterly opposes polytheism, and during the early centuries of expansion the Moslem invaders were ruthless in their destruction of temples and idols throughout the length and breadth of the East.

The Moslem's idea of the character of God, however, is quite different from that of the Christian. In Islam God's will is arbitrary, his power is infinite and his authority is absolute. He creates all that exists and he wills and does everything that happens in the universe. In the Koran Allah is frequently described as kind and loving, as merciful and compassionate,