By John Abdalla —
Despite being kicked out and disowned by his family, Enes Ovat of Australia abandoned Islam in pursuit of Jesus – a phenomenon on the rise.
“Islam was never really under that pressure of scrutiny and questioning,” Enes says. “Now that the internet is here, I mean, the information is out there.”
All kinds of information discredits Islam: the shadowy origins of the qur’anic text and the hadiths, the glaring lack of archaeological support, the absence of historical testimonies, the appalling and sexist treatment of women, the violence of those who claim to have the best interpretation of the Qur’an, etc.
Don’t ask Google. You may not like what you find.
Born into a devout Turkish Muslim family, Enes Ovat always thought that Christianity was a lame excuse to keep sinning, since Christians believe their entry into Heaven depends entirely on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
“I always had the thought that Christianity was a religion for white people,” he says. “The Muslims say that the Bible is corrupted, so I thought it was something that wasn’t to be trusted. It was a religion that continually changed, that white people did to just to continue to sin. I thought it was a religion for the weak.”
But it mystified him that the Qur’an reverenced Jesus deeply as the Messiah and coming judge of the Earth. If Mohammed was the final and best prophet, why did Jesus figure more prominently in the Qur’an?
When Enes looked at the life of the prophet, he didn’t like what he saw. Supposedly, Mohammed lived the most exemplary life of righteousness, yet he was married to multiple women and his youngest wife was 6 (he graciously waited until she was 9 to consummate the marriage).
“Is this truly the prophet for all time?” Enes says.
Instead of just accepting what Muslims say about the “corruption” of the Biblical texts (supposedly altered innumerable times throughout history), Enes embarked a his own research. When he contrasted the Bible to the Qur’an, he was frankly startled.
“Seeing the contrast of the teachings that Jesus taught to love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, whereas Mohammad, it was totally the opposite. He says in Quran 9:29 to fight the people of the book till they pay the jizya (a tax on non-Muslims) and that they willingfully humbly submit to you,” he says. “I saw
that big contrast and that was really started to shift my mindset.”
When he decided to follow Christ, Enes kept it secret from his family.
“Of course, my family aren’t going to ‘unalive‘ me,” he says. “However, the consequences of someone leaving Islam, you know, you get ostracized, you get excommunicated, people don’t talk to you.”
But he reached out to Muslims online about the truth of Jesus, and an imam in Sydney recognized the last name and outed him to his brother, who confronted him and smashed tables furiously when he found out. His mother went crazy with disillusion.
Ultimately, Enes had to move out.
Starting in the 18th centuries, scholars began to assail the authenticity of the Christian text seeking to dismiss even entire books of the Bible. In tandem with the emerging theory of evolution, textual criticism spread atheism and agnosticism.
Something unexpected happened. After decades of being cross-examined, the Bible has withstood the onslaught. Mark actually wrote the book to Mark. Matthew, the book of Matthew. Moses, the Pentateuch. At this point, only minor variants are questioned (footnoted in the NIV).
Meanwhile, the Qur’an was left largely unquestioned for decades.
That changed with Patricia Crone (1945-2015), who dominated nine ancient languages as a professor of research in early Islamic history, pre-Islamic Arabia, and Near Eastern studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Crone demonstrated a massive Syriac Christian influence on the Qur’an, the late canonization under the Umayyads rather than ʿUthmān and the unreliability of the traditional Meccan trade narrative.
But Crone’s findings stayed mostly bottled up in academia. It was a man named Jay Smith who brought qur’anic criticism to the world at large. Starting with debates at Speaker’s Corner in London (where Muslims congregated), Dr. Smith moved to YouTube video and conferences.
Meanwhile, Coptic Father Zakarias Botros uploaded videos in Arabic about the inconsistencies and difficulties in Muslims texts that caused millions in Islamdom to abandon their faith (many times, secretly). Botros was so effective that Al-Qaeda put a $60M bounty on his head.
It was Botros who exposed the Egyptian controversy where modern scholars revalidated the hadith admonishing of breastfeeding adult men in order to need the chaperone rule (a woman should never go out or be in the company of men alone unless accompanied by a guardian). On his satellite T.V. program, Botros argued the ruling demonstrated contradictions and absurdities in Islam. His expose brought embarrassment and backlash in much of the world.
Will Islam come back vibrant and dynamic like Christianity did?
“You’re programmed into Islam,” Enes says. “They need to break free from that and be spiritually discerning, be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Related content: It was a German who compiled the biography of Mohammed, Momus Najmi felt alien while his Pakistani schoolmates cheered 9/11, the Muslim Brotherhood became the foundation for all modern jihad. Sources: CBN, others
