Chrislam

This article is about the real religion. For the ctional and Sultanates of Central Asia maintained a balance bereligion of the same name, see The Hammer of God tween Christianity and Islam often with signicant Jew(Clarke novel).
ish inuence (e.g. Khazars) with migrants into Europe such as the Khalyzians leaving chroniclers confused
about their religion.[4] As the expansion of the Rus abChrislam /krslm/, is a pejorative term, dened by
William Lane Craig as neither Christianity nor Islam",[1] sorbed many of these lands, the Spiritual Christian orders
referring to certain interfaith branches of Christianity and emerged in their territories, derived from the Church of
Islam. Chrislamic Christian sects would be those which the East and inuenced by the Shia Su Orders, they were
reject the position of John of Damascus on Muhammad not entirely assimilated by Eastern Orthodoxy or Islamic
viewing him instead as an inspired Christian graced with Orthodoxy but continued to survive as Spiritual Orders
the spiritual gift of prophecy. Chrislamic sects of Is- in isolated pockets across the expanding Russian Empire,
lam would be those which reject any interpretation of China, and throughout the Islamic world.
the Quran causing contradiction with the Christian Bible
faith. The views are very similar to those expressed by
the Nestorian Catholicos-Patriarch Timothy I of Baghdad in his famous Apology for Christianity.[2] Nevertheless, critics describe these sects as a new syncretic religion which mixes elements of Christianity and Islam.

More notable were the Christian pilgrimages to the

Shrines of Shia saints in Iraq, and the Imam of the Central
Mosque in Istanbul who was required to have memorised
the entire Hebrew Bible, Christian Gospel, and Islamic
Quran before the collapse of the Caliphate in the 1920s.
The subsequent emergence of Chrislams following the
demise of 20th Century Socialism might therefore be regarded as having been inevitable.

Background
2 Belief and worship

Although the term Chrislam is generally attributed to

Craig, a Dutch comical TV duo, Van Kooten en de
Bie used the term in a sketch that was aired march 16th
1986.[3] In this sketch their religious screen characters
The Positivos invented Chrislam to settle cultural differences in the Netherlands. However attempts to unite
Christianity and Islam are as old as Islam itself. In the
late 6th century, Muhammad who is described variously
as a Tsabi and a Hanif was married to a Nasrani (JewishChristian) called Khadija bint Khuwaylid, by her cousin,
a Nasrani Bishop (Waraqah); he encouraged his followers to seek refuge among the Nasara (Alexandrian Christians) of Abyssinia; and he also established a peaceful
society consisting mainly of Nasara and his own sect of
Hanifs in Medina by the 630sAD.

Chrislamic people, derogatorily called Chrislims, may

call themselves both Christians and Muslims as Chrislam
uses both the Bible and Qur'an and sees them both as holy
texts. They point out that the Arabic word Muslimeen
is equivalent to the Hebrew word Meshalomim which
Christ used in the beatitudes to refer to the Peacemakers.
In worship, verses of the Bible are read with commentary
from the Ahadith Qudsi or Arabic Qur'an in the Homily.

Christian Muslims believe that Muhammad, Moses and

Jesus were all great prophets equally deserving of love
and respect but with very distinct and dierent roles.[5]
Worship services include singing of Christian hymns and
Islamic nasheeds to praise God and attract his presence.[6]
Islamic literature makes reference to the 7th century Christian Muslims in congregation freely to call out in
Emperor Heraclius and Pope Honorius I both taking a The Name of Allah (Elohim) during worship.
favourable view on Islam, and indeed both men were ac- Christmas, Easter, Ramadan and other Christian and Iscused of heresy by other Christians for taking an inclusive lamic religions celebrations are accepted and celebrated
approach to oriental views on Christ. While the Caliphs without judgment or hostility. They use the historical
managed to establish a distinct Arabic identity for Islam, calendar which Muhammad used throughout his lifetime
the attacks of John of Damascus on Muhammad in the where Ramadan falls in December (Nativity Fast) and
8th century precipitated a nal break-down of relations Hajj in March (Holy Week) but reject the adjustments inwith the Church of the East which recorded its response troduced by Caliph Umar. Christmas is observed as both
in the form of Timothys Apology for Christianity.
a time to celebrate Christs sovereignty and to celebrate
For some time the mediaeval Turco-Mongol Khaganates the revelation of the Qur'an. Children are baptized and
1

2
boys are circumcised.

5 SEE ALSO
Ifeoluwa has very strict regulations that Tella calls commandments. These commandments deal with behavior,
morality, discipline, how to dress, what not to eat and how
to eat it, and hygiene and purity. Tella says that these
commandments were given to him when he was on the
Mount of Authority.[5]

Inside their places of worship there is an altar similar to

those built by Abraham where the worshipers pray and
seek the face of God most of the day centered mainly
around the Morning service (Fajr) Afternoon service
(Zohar/Asr) and Night service (Maghrib/Isha).[6] Friday
Jummah initiates preparations for the sanctication of
the Sabbath with a meal in the evening Ma'ida Al-Hamd 3.2
comparable to a Christian Mass.

Oke Tude

Like a number of other proselytizing religions, they be- Oke Tude is slightly less recognisable to mainstream
lieve in evangelism and are actively involved in winning Christianity, resembling more interfaith worship with
three dierent sessions or services that take place on Sunconverts on a day-to-day basis.
day. The rst is a Muslim session, then a Christian session, and nally there is a joint session that Saka leads.
During this he stresses the similarities between Christian3 Yoruba Chrislams
ity and Islamic beliefs.[5]
The most famous branches of Chrislam in recent years
inspired by more agreeable elements of the Ansar movement of the Nation of Islam are two dierent religious
movements in Nigeria, one called Ifeoluwa founded by
Tela Tella in the 1970s and 80s[7] and another called OkeTude founded by Samson Saka in 1999. They are also
known as The Will of God Mission or The True Message
of God Mission respectively[8]

4 Criticisms

Rick Warren, Pope Francis and the Lebanese IslamicChristian National Dialogue Committee have all been
attacked by the critics of Chrislam who cite alleged
irreconcilable dierences between its two component
religions.[9] Chrislamic people themselves see no problem
with the basic unity of the two religions, because they say
that God loves all people and wants us to love all people.
The Messianic Jewish channel Jewish Voice Today is
3.1 Ifeoluwa
particularly scathing of Chrislam. Nevertheless, ChrisIfeoluwa comprises about 1,500 adherents predomi- tian Muslims take solace in regarding themselves as the
nantly in Lagos. As in other Chrislamic movements, Muslim followers of Christ at his second coming.
its followers recognise both the Bible and the Qur'an According to Stephen Ellis, who together with Ineke
as holy texts, and also practice running deliverance, Van Kessel edited the book, Movers and Shakers: Social
a distinctive practice of spiritual running likened to Movements in Africa, the religion in Africa is rather exJoshua's army circling Jericho, or the practice of Pil- ceptional and increasingly so. According to Sidney M.
grims circumambulating a Church for Palm Sunday or the Greeneld, who wrote the book, Reinventing Religions:
Kaaba, and Jews around the Synagogue during Sukkot. Syncretism and Transformation in Africa and the AmerIn ancient Nestorian tradition, Ifeoluwa is still Sabbatar- icas, Chrislam is a logical solution for the Yoruba peoian with formal worship sessions being held three times a ple because they want to be able to work out their own
day on Sabat (Arabic for Saturday). This is seen as a suit- destiny. Since the people of Nigeria are struggling in all
able mid-way solution to avoid favouritism between main- areas of life and Chrislam oers miracles and deliverstream Christians who worship on Sundays and main- ance they see this as a good spiritual way to help them
stream Muslims who worship on Fridays.
get through every day living. Others disagree with the
However, in contrast to other Chrislamic sects, Tela Tella,
while claiming to believe in both the Qur'an and the Bible,
says they are incomplete, and is writing his own book
called the Ifeoluwa Book.[5]

religion because they believe Christianity and Islam are

dierent religions with dierent beliefs.[5] Saka says that
when people criticize Chrislam he takes solace in what
Jesus says about loving others in all religions.[6]

Tela Tella claims that an angel of God came to him and

told him that he gave him the mission and the name Ifeoluwa: The Will of God Mission.[5]

5 See also

In Ifeoluwa there is an annual pilgrimage to The Mount

of Authority, where the people pray for three days, and
other annual festivals put on by Tela Tella. Tella also leads
the singing of hymns during the Saturday service. Tella
claims that these hymns were revealed to him by the angels Gabriel and Michael.[5]

Christian holidays
Muslim holidays
Church of the East
Timothy I (Nestorian Patriarch)

References

[1] Chrislam, William Lane Craig. YouTube. 22 February

2012.
[2] Timothy I, Apology for Christianity (1928) pp.16-90.
tertullian.org.
[3] De Chrislam - Van Kooten en De Bie | Algemeen - NUjij.nl (21 mrt 2015)". www.nujij.nl. Retrieved 2015-0706.
[4] CHALYZIANS - JewishEncyclopedia.com. jewishencyclopedia.com.
[5] Chrislam: Forging Ties in a Multi-Religious Society.
egodiuchendu.com.
[6] allafrica.com
[7] Marloes, Janson. Chrislams Healing School in Lagos. p.
3, footnote 4.
[8] The Christian Science Monitor. In Africa, Islam and
Christianity are growing - and blending. The Christian
Science Monitor.
[9] Rousseau, Richard. Christianity and Islam: The Struggling
Dialogue. University of Scranton Press. 2005. ISBN 9780-940866-03-4. p. xvi.

7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1

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Chrislam Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrislam?oldid=679429811 Contributors: James Arthur Reed, Michael Devore, Andycjp,
Rich Farmbrough, Kwamikagami, Stesmo, Kappa, I9Q79oL78KiL0QTFHgyc, Sherurcij, Embryomystic, Kelly Martin, Mpatel, Ashmoo,
MatthewDBA, Dawud, Astral, Caerwine, Johndburger, Carabinieri, SmackBot, Bluebot, Bo99, Caviare, JMK, Toddsschneider, LadyofShalott, Namiba, Picaroon, Peripitus, West Brom 4ever, Deective, Guyinthehall8, Simon Peter Hughes, Belovedfreak, John Carter,
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Addbot, Mjc427, Tassedethe, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Symmerhill, Fraggle81, AnomieBOT, LilHelpa, FrescoBot, RoboBlaster, John of Reading, F, Dopegbanga, Giuseppe Fusco, Senjuto, Mcc1789, Khestwol, ClueBot NG, Jillm06, Mightymights, BZTMPS, EmirAsad, Marcocapelle, Eruditescholar, Lwrodgers, Wvpspdude, ChrisGualtieri, Mogism, , Solomon kebede Endayehu, D Eaketts, Bladesmulti,
Chrislamic.State, KootBieCorrectie and Anonymous: 61

7.2

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