Why Islam’s growth, the influence of Sharia law, and Christianity’s struggle with hypocrisy should awaken the church

There is something happening in America and throughout the Western world that I believe Christians need to understand. People are searching for meaning, purpose, identity, belonging, and certainty. They are looking for something that will give their lives direction in a world that seems increasingly confused about truth, morality, family, and even the meaning of life itself. And while Christianity continues to have a significant presence in Western society, Islam has become increasingly visible, both culturally and politically.

As I began examining the growth of Islam in America, one thing became clear. Much of that growth has come through immigration and the families of immigrants, not through some extraordinary wave of Americans converting to Islam. According to Pew Research Center’s 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study, 59 percent of Muslim adults in America were born outside the United States. Approximately one in five Muslim Americans was raised outside Islam, which means conversion is real, but it is not the entire story.

Yet there is a deeper question that concerns me. What is attracting people to Islam, what do its foundational teachings actually say, and what happens when those teachings move beyond personal religious conviction into political authority?

And perhaps an even more important question for Christians is this: Why are so many people searching for what religion offers when Jesus Christ offers something infinitely greater?

The Religious Ladder: Humanity’s Attempt to Reach God

In my writing about religion and the systems of this world, I have repeatedly addressed what I call the religious ladder. It is the belief that humanity can somehow reach God through religious performance, obedience, discipline, and human achievement. Different religions construct their ladders differently, but the underlying temptation is remarkably similar. If I pray enough, sacrifice enough, perform enough, obey enough, and climb high enough, perhaps I will finally become acceptable to God.

Religion offers people something tangible. It gives them rules to follow, rituals to practice, communities to belong to, and an identity to embrace. There is comfort in knowing what is expected. There is security in belonging to a larger movement. There is satisfaction in believing that our religious accomplishments make us righteous.

Islam provides a particularly visible example of structured religious life. Its Five Pillars establish recognizable practices involving confession of faith, prayer, charitable giving, fasting, and pilgrimage. These practices provide discipline, identity, and a shared rhythm of life for millions of people. Many Muslims sincerely understand them as expressions of devotion to God, rather than merely attempts to earn His approval.

But Christianity can fall into the same trap of religious performance. We can take the beautiful message of grace and transform it into another ladder. Church attendance becomes a measure of spirituality. Giving becomes a measure of faithfulness. Religious knowledge becomes a measure of maturity. Conformity to church culture becomes evidence of belonging.

Before long, people know how to behave religiously without ever discovering what it means to walk intimately with Jesus Christ.

That is the tragedy of religion when it becomes a substitute for a relationship.

Understanding Islam: Muhammad, Sharia, and Religious Authority

If Christians are going to understand Islam, we must be willing to examine its foundational beliefs rather than simply admire its outward discipline or condemn what we do not understand.

At the center of Islamic theology is tawhid, the belief in the absolute oneness of Allah. Muslims believe Muhammad is God’s final prophet and the Quran is divine revelation. They also regard Muhammad’s example, preserved through the Sunnah and accounts known as Hadith, as an important source of guidance for religious life.

This brings us to Sharia.

Sharia is often described simply as Islamic law, but its meaning extends beyond courtroom legislation. It encompasses religious duties, moral obligations, family relationships, personal conduct, and principles of social order. Islamic jurists developed different schools of interpretation, and Muslims today disagree about how Sharia should be understood and applied.

Nevertheless, there is an important historical reality that cannot be overlooked. Muhammad was not only a religious teacher. He also exercised political and military leadership. The community he established in Medina combined religious authority with governmental responsibilities and military conflict. His example subsequently became influential in Islamic discussions of leadership, warfare, law, and political authority.

This is a significant difference between the historical ministry of Muhammad and the earthly ministry of Jesus.

Jesus did not establish His kingdom through military conquest. He did not command His disciples to take political control of Rome. When Peter drew his sword, Jesus told him to put it away. When questioned by Pilate, Jesus declared in John 18:36 that His kingdom was not of this world.

That distinction deserves serious consideration.

It does not mean every Muslim supports coercive government or that every interpretation of Islamic law endorses violence. It does mean that political authority occupies a different place in the historical examples associated with the two religious traditions.

And when religious authority becomes governmental power, we must ask what happens to the freedom of those who disagree.

The Dangerous Side of Religious Control

One of the most troubling aspects of certain traditional interpretations of Islamic law concerns religious freedom.

Some classical Islamic legal schools prescribed death for apostasy, the act of leaving Islam. Contemporary Muslim scholars disagree about the interpretation and application of those rulings, with some rejecting such penalties entirely. Nevertheless, the historical teaching exists, and in some countries severe punishments for religious dissent remain a genuine concern.

This is not simply speculation. Pew Research Center’s extensive 2013 international study found significant support for making Sharia official law in numerous Muslim-majority countries. Among Muslims who supported official Sharia in certain countries, substantial percentages also supported severe penalties for abandoning Islam.

For example, among supporters of official Sharia law surveyed in Egypt, 86 percent favored executing those who left Islam. In Jordan, the figure was 82 percent, and in Afghanistan it was 79 percent. These figures represent particular surveyed populations in 2013, not Muslims everywhere or American Muslims today. But they demonstrate that coercive interpretations of religious authority cannot be dismissed as imaginary.

Think about what that means.

If a person is threatened with death for leaving a religion, is that genuine spiritual surrender or obedience maintained through fear? If the government has the authority to punish someone for changing religious convictions, where is freedom of conscience? If religious authority determines what a person must believe under threat of punishment, has faith become an expression of the heart or an instrument of control?

I believe these questions matter enormously.

The treatment of women under certain interpretations of Islamic law raises similar concerns. In some countries, women have faced severe restrictions concerning education, travel, marriage, divorce, and participation in public life. The Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan provide a particularly disturbing modern example of religiously justified government control.

We should be precise here. Muslim women are not a single group with identical experiences, and many Muslim women actively oppose these restrictions. But where religious law is used to deny women fundamental freedoms and opportunities, Christians should be willing to identify those injustices.

Then there is religious violence.

Extremist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qaeda have justified acts of terrorism through their interpretations of Islamic scripture and tradition. They have murdered Muslims and non-Muslims alike, including people they regard as religiously disobedient. These movements are not representative of every Muslim, and many Muslims have been among their victims and opponents. But the fact that such groups use religious arguments to justify violence makes it essential to examine their teachings, not merely their actions.

The spiritual issue reaches beyond Islam itself.

Whenever a religious institution claims the authority to dominate the conscience, threaten dissenters, or use violence to compel obedience, something deeply destructive is taking place.

And Christians must recognize that this temptation has appeared in our own religious history as well. Religious persecution, coercion, and abuse committed under Christian banners are not evidence of the character of Jesus. They reveal what happens when human beings exchange the humility of Christ for the desire to control others.

What About Sharia Law in America?

This is where the conversation becomes particularly relevant to American society.

There are Muslims and political Islamist movements that advocate a greater role for Islamic law in public government. Others believe Sharia should guide their personal religious lives while supporting constitutional democracy and freedom of religion. Those positions are not the same, and it would be inaccurate to assign one political objective to every Muslim living in America.

But neither should Christians ignore the political dimension of religious movements.

In February 2026, a subcommittee of the United States House Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled Sharia-Free America: Why Political Islam & Sharia Law Are Incompatible with the U.S. Constitution. Witnesses and lawmakers debated whether particular forms of Islamic law conflict with constitutional liberties. Others disputed the characterization of Sharia and warned against treating ordinary Muslim religious practice as a threat.

The hearing itself did not establish that American Muslims collectively seek to replace the Constitution. But it demonstrated that the relationship between political Islam, religious law, and American constitutional principles has become a subject of serious public debate.

I believe Christians should approach this discussion with both discernment and courage.

The freedom to worship according to one’s conscience is a fundamental liberty. Muslims should enjoy that freedom, just as Christians, Jews, and people of other beliefs should. But religious freedom cannot mean granting any religious institution the authority to deprive others of their constitutional rights.

The moment a religious movement seeks governmental power to compel belief, punish conversion, restrict the rights of women, or silence religious disagreement, its proposals deserve rigorous scrutiny.

This is not a question of whether Muslim people should be welcomed or treated with dignity. They absolutely should. It is a question of whether any religious system should be permitted to replace freedom of conscience with enforced religious obedience.

And that principle must apply equally to Christians.

We cannot oppose religious coercion when it comes from another faith while excusing it when someone claims to act in the name of Jesus.

The Spiritual Root of Control

Now I want to move beyond politics and look at something much deeper.

I believe the desire to control others is rooted in the flesh. It reflects humanity’s fallen inclination toward power, independence, self-exaltation, and domination.

Go all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve were created for fellowship with God. They did not need religious systems to earn His presence. They did not need to climb a ladder to reach Him. Their lives were designed to be lived in complete dependence upon their Creator, trusting His goodness, receiving His love, and enjoying intimate fellowship with Him.

Then came the temptation to live independently from God.

The serpent challenged God’s character and His Word, suggesting that humanity could determine good and evil for itself. The temptation was not merely to eat forbidden fruit. It was to exchange surrendered dependence upon God for independent authority.

And humanity has been struggling with that desire ever since.

Religion can become one of the most sophisticated expressions of this independence. We construct systems, establish requirements, create hierarchies, and measure spiritual achievement. We attempt to control behavior while neglecting the transformation of the heart.

Even worse, religious leaders can begin using spiritual authority to secure personal power.

Jesus repeatedly confronted this problem among the religious leaders of His day. In Matthew 23, He condemned those who placed heavy burdens upon others while failing to live consistently with what they taught. They possessed religious knowledge and authority, yet often lacked the humility, mercy, and love that should have accompanied them.

In John 10:10, Jesus contrasts the destructive work of the thief with the abundant life He came to give. In context, He is describing false shepherds who exploit the sheep rather than care for them. That passage should make every religious leader examine how authority is exercised.

Satan’s work is destructive, deceptive, and opposed to the purposes of God. Scripture warns that spiritual darkness can operate through deception and the misuse of what appears righteous. But we must be careful not to equate every person in another religion with evil or presume to know the spiritual motives of an entire population.

The real issue is the character of the system, the nature of its teachings, and the fruit produced when those teachings are put into practice.

Where there is coercion, cruelty, manipulation, and domination, we are witnessing behavior contrary to the character of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Did Not Come to Build Another Religious Ladder

This is where the beauty of Jesus becomes overwhelming.

Jesus did not enter the world to introduce another religious system through which humanity could earn acceptance from God. He came to accomplish what humanity could never accomplish for itself.

He came to reconcile us to the Father.

Consider the contrast between Jesus and the religious leaders who opposed Him. They were concerned with status, appearances, rules, and the preservation of their authority. Jesus was concerned with the heart. They often measured righteousness by outward conformity. Jesus exposed the motives beneath religious behavior. They placed burdens upon people. Jesus invited the weary and heavy-laden to find rest in Him.

And look at the way Jesus treated women.

He spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well, crossing social and religious boundaries that others considered unacceptable. He welcomed Mary of Bethany as a disciple learning at His feet. He treated women with dignity and compassion in a culture where their opportunities were often restricted. Women were among the first witnesses to His resurrection.

Jesus did not treat women as spiritually inferior. He revealed their worth before God.

Look at how He treated sinners. He did not excuse sin, but neither did He approach broken people with the controlling spirit of religious superiority. He extended grace, spoke truth, invited repentance, and offered new life.

Look at His treatment of enemies. Rather than commanding His followers to destroy those who rejected Him, He taught them to love their enemies and pray for those who persecuted them.

And ultimately, look at the cross.

The One who possessed all authority surrendered His life for the very people who had rebelled against Him.

That is not the picture of a religious ruler desperately trying to maintain control. It is the revelation of divine love.

Philippians 2 describes Jesus humbling Himself and taking the form of a servant. He did not use His divine status as an excuse for selfish domination. He entered our broken humanity and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

This is why I believe Jesus is incomparable.

The gospel is not another ladder reaching upward toward God. It is the glorious announcement that God has come to us through His Son.

Surrender Is Not the Same as Religious Control

Some might ask whether surrendering our lives to Jesus is simply another form of control.

The answer lies in the character of the One to whom we surrender.

Human religious control often operates through fear, manipulation, coercion, and the pursuit of institutional power. Biblical surrender is rooted in trust, love, grace, and the goodness of God.

God is not seeking to exploit us. He is seeking to restore us.

When we surrender to Jesus, we are not handing our lives over to another imperfect human being who claims spiritual superiority. We are entrusting ourselves to the One who created us, loves us, redeemed us, and knows what we were designed to become.

This does not mean the Christian life has no commands, responsibilities, or discipline. Jesus calls His followers to obedience, self-denial, and holiness. But those things flow from our relationship with Him. They are not payments made to purchase His love.

Ephesians 2:8–10 explains that salvation comes by grace through faith, not by works, and that believers are created in Christ Jesus for good works. The order matters. Good works are the fruit of God’s saving grace, not the foundation upon which we earn it.

And as we walk intimately with Jesus, something extraordinary begins to happen.

Our hearts change.

The Holy Spirit begins transforming our desires, our attitudes, our relationships, and our responses to the world around us. We begin to love differently, forgive differently, serve differently, and view people differently.

Second Corinthians 3:18 describes believers being transformed into the image of Christ. Galatians 5 identifies the fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

These are not merely religious behaviors to imitate. They are qualities produced through the Spirit’s transforming work within us.

That is what religion alone can never manufacture.

Why Are Christians Making Jesus So Difficult to See?

Now comes the question that should trouble every one of us who claims to follow Jesus.

If Jesus is so beautiful, so loving, so gracious, and so radically different from the religious systems of this world, why do so many Christians do such a poor job of representing Him?

Why do people encounter churches filled with religious activity but so little evidence of spiritual transformation?

Why do we preach grace while practicing condemnation? Why do we teach humility while pursuing recognition? Why do we proclaim love while treating those who disagree with us as enemies? Why do we speak of freedom in Christ while creating religious environments filled with fear, shame, and control?

I am not suggesting that Christians must be perfect. None of us is. We all stumble, struggle, and remain dependent upon the grace of God.

But there is a difference between being imperfect and being content with a life that consistently contradicts the character of Jesus.

When we claim that Jesus transforms lives, the world should be able to see evidence of that transformation.

And this is where discipleship becomes so important.

True discipleship is not simply teaching people biblical information. It is helping people learn to walk intimately with Jesus Christ. It is teaching them to recognize what is discipling their hearts, surrender to the Holy Spirit, understand God’s Word, and live from their relationship with Him.

The purpose of discipleship is not to create religious performers who know how to impress other Christians. It is to help people become increasingly like Jesus.

Imagine churches filled with people who genuinely reflected His character.

Imagine marriages marked by forgiveness, humility, patience, and sacrificial love. Imagine families where children saw their parents living in fellowship with Jesus rather than merely talking about Him. Imagine churches where visitors encountered genuine compassion instead of judgmental superiority.

Imagine Christians who could engage a Muslim neighbor in serious theological conversation without hatred, fear, or arrogance. Christians who could explain why they believe Jesus is the Son of God, why His death and resurrection matter, and why salvation is a gift of grace, while demonstrating genuine love for the person standing before them.

That kind of Christianity would be extraordinarily attractive.

Not because we had developed a better marketing strategy, but because the life of Jesus was becoming visible through His people.

America Needs Beautiful Christians in Politics

I also believe this conversation has significant implications for American politics.

We need more Bible-believing Christians participating in public life, but not simply because they identify with Christianity or know how to speak religious language.

We need Christians whose lives demonstrate the character of Jesus.

We need men and women who understand Scripture, possess moral courage, defend religious liberty, protect the vulnerable, respect human dignity, and exercise authority with humility.

We need leaders who can speak truth without cruelty, disagree without hatred, and stand for righteousness without becoming consumed by the desire for power.

There is nothing wrong with Christians seeking public office or participating in political debates. Faith naturally influences our understanding of justice, morality, human dignity, and responsibility. But there is a profound difference between allowing biblical convictions to shape our public service and attempting to manufacture spiritual transformation through governmental control.

Political authority cannot regenerate the human heart.

Legislation can restrain certain harmful behaviors, protect rights, and establish standards of justice. Those are legitimate responsibilities of the government. But legislation cannot produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Only God can transform the heart.

Christians must never confuse winning political battles with advancing the kingdom of God. The kingdom Jesus proclaimed is not built through manipulation, religious coercion, or the pursuit of earthly domination.

It advances as people encounter the truth of the gospel, surrender their lives to Jesus, and become transformed through the work of the Holy Spirit.

This is why character matters so deeply in Christian leadership.

If we place people in positions of authority who proclaim biblical convictions but demonstrate arrogance, dishonesty, cruelty, or hypocrisy, what message are we communicating to the world?

We cannot proclaim that Jesus is the answer while behaving as though His character is irrelevant.

America does not merely need more politicians who call themselves Christians.

It needs Christians whose lives are becoming beautiful because they genuinely know Jesus.

The Answer Is Not More Religion. It Is Jesus.

So what should Christians conclude as we examine Islam’s growth, the appeal of religious discipline, the political ambitions of certain Islamist movements, and the dangers of religious control?

We should certainly understand what Islam teaches. We should examine Muhammad’s historical example, the Quran, the Hadith, and the development of Sharia. We should recognize that particular interpretations of Islamic law have justified serious restrictions on religious liberty, women’s rights, and freedom of conscience.

We should defend constitutional liberties and resist attempts by any religious movement to use government to compel belief or punish religious dissent.

But if that is where our response ends, we have missed something extraordinary.

The greater calling of the church is not merely to identify the problems within other religious systems. It is to reveal the beauty of Jesus Christ.

We should never allow our concerns about Islam to become an excuse for hostility toward Muslim people. Every Muslim man, woman, and child is a human being created in the image of God, deserving of dignity, compassion, and love. And every Muslim is someone to whom Christians can offer the hope of the gospel.

We should also never forget that Christians are capable of constructing their own systems of religious control. Whenever we substitute performance for intimacy, institutional authority for spiritual maturity, or political power for the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, we are rebuilding the very ladder Jesus came to free us from.

The world is searching for meaning, identity, purpose, and belonging.

Jesus offers all of these, but He offers something even greater.

He offers Himself.

He invites us into fellowship with the Father through the Holy Spirit. He restores what was broken through sin. He frees us from the endless effort to establish our own righteousness. He transforms us from the inside out, teaching us to live in dependence upon His love, wisdom, and grace.

This is what humanity was created for from the very beginning.

Not religious performance. Not institutional control. Not the pursuit of spiritual status. Not the domination of others.

Intimate fellowship with the living God.

And as we live in that fellowship, His character increasingly becomes visible through us.

I want Christians to be beautiful like Jesus.

I want people to encounter His love in the way we speak, the way we serve, the way we lead, the way we disagree, and the way we treat those who believe differently from us.

I want churches filled with disciples who are not merely knowledgeable about Jesus but who genuinely know Him.

I want Christians participating in politics who demonstrate courage without cruelty, conviction without arrogance, and truth without hypocrisy.

And I want people who are searching for something to give their lives meaning to discover that what they have been looking for cannot ultimately be found in another religious system.

It is found in Jesus Christ.

The greatest threat to the witness of Christianity is not simply the growth of another religion. It is the possibility that those who claim to follow Jesus will become so consumed with religion, control, and worldly power that the world can no longer see Him through us.

We do not need a better religious ladder.

We need to return to the One who came down from heaven, gave His life for us, and invites us to walk intimately with Him.

The question is not merely what Islam is doing in America.

The question is whether Christians are willing to surrender so completely to Jesus that America begins to see what He is truly like.

Who or what is discipling your heart?