What Islam Believes.Islam is nowhere near being what we would call Christian. It is not even a cult on the fringe of Christianity. Islam is a non-Christian religion and, although those who are Muslims desperately need the Gospel and salvation in Christ, they are probably the most difficult people in the world to reach with the truth of the Word.This is especially true in view of their belief in the tradition that Allah created all men fifty thousand years before he created the earth.First came Adam. Then all others were created by Allah rubbing Adam’s back. With the first rubbing, those created for paradise came forth. Upon the second rubbing, those created for “the fire” were created!So the tradition states that not only the acts of men, but their ultimate end has been predetermined by Allah, which means that when a man sins (and there are many listed in the Koran) it is Allah’s will that he sin. It is also believed that Allah’s will cannot be resisted.Muslims believe that all dead persons are in some sort of dreamless state. Some Muslims believe that after a person dies, two angels ask him to write down his good deeds and bad deeds. Others believe that there will be a religious examination—with dire consequences for those who fail.On Judgment Day, Allah assigns all dead persons to heaven or hell. Christians and Jews have special areas in hell.Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait all possess a Christian presence, but attitudes towards believers vary in each country.Of these three countries, Iraq actually has the most deeply rooted Christian presence. Tradition claims the apostle Thomas established the first Christian communities there.