Unleashing the Beast

R EVELATIONS IN THE A RABIAN D ESERT / 71

witnessing to Muslims simply by quoting Scripture seldom wins them to Christ. It is love and the presence of the Holy Spirit that can impact their hearts. This book is not intended to debate the doctrines of Islam. However, one will not understand how Islam will fulfill many of the Bible's predictions of an eighth kingdom that seeks to destroy Israel and the Jews unless one understands certain Islamic beliefs and traditions. M OHAMMED ' S D EATH AND THE T WO B RANCHES OF I SLAM The death of Mohammed left a void in the leadership of the Islamic religion. He announced no successor; therefore, the battle for top position began immediately. Muslim elders elected Mohammed's second convert and the oldest man in the group, Abu Bakr. Abu's title was caliph. Most Muslims accepted this decision, but a small minority did not. The smaller group believed Ali, Mohammed's adopted son and the father of Mohammed's two grandsons, Hassan and Hussein, should be the leader. A struggle began that led to the deaths of many of Islam's first caliphs. The Sunnis and the Shiites became the two branches of Islam, with the Sunnis accepting Abu as successor and the Shiites believing Mohammed's successor was Ali. Abu Bakr, the first caliph, brought the tribes of Arabia under Islamic rule. The second caliph, Omar (634-644), began an expansion that lasted for 100 years. Under Omar, the mosque in Jerusalem was built on the Temple Mount. During this 100 years, Muslim armies extended the