I am not muslim, married to a muslim.
I am to be baptised this coming Easter.
In my time I have come to love Islam deeply.
What about islam/muslims do you admire so much?
I love the commitment of muslims to their faith.
It is rare to find this commitment amongst christians and even more rare amongst jews.
My position is completely different than yours when it comes to faith. For the commitment, it may be generally true in your observation that Muslims are seen to be more committed but you have to look closely how and why is it so. What you have chosen is based on reaction and interaction of yourself with people whom you think influences your mind so that you can become what you think is the rightful way of living in this created world of God.
My position is about whom we should trust our souls. The difference between Christians and Muslims is how they were brought up, and of course the true words of God. Faith of course came from knowledge our parents or teachers gave us, for muslims it was rigid, and its adherence are strict because of what is taught by its founder. Muhammed and his followers. For Christians, we are taught with the knowledge about God, with the Bible, its prophesies, and of course the great miracles that showed God’s power and Glory. We are given more of freedom to obey rather than full submission.
Full submission is a the best way to follow God however, although this is God’s original plan, Man disobeyed and knowledge sets in with Adam and Eve and therefore God treated this beginning to be what it is (although He must have known that it is going to happen) and let man have the freedom to think and choose. With the devil on the other side, men are vulnerable to sin but God showed His Power and Glory through His chosen people. The story in the Old Testament just proves that with countless wars, and then forgiveness, but with prophesies that comes true.
The story also suggests progression of man’s knowledge especially about God because our intellect also evolved and advances. God wanted to stop all those tests when He decided to show His true feeling to His creation. This is about how He would send His own self into the world through the Holy Spirit, conceived by the flesh (Virgin Mary) so that the Son, who is called the Son of Man, and with Holy Spirit that is God’s would prove to his creation how He truly loves them. To suffer, so to feel the pain a human would feel, and to die for them to prove how much He love them, to be sacrificed, in order to ransom us, but to prove also that by dying He conquered death by His resurrection, promising those who wants to follow and obey Him will have eternal life
Now, the Islamic phenomena came by way of Muhammed 600 years after Jesus’ death. A religion He wanted to teach to his people. But where did he get his knowledge? Obviously you know the answer. So ask yourself why would he wanted the people of the book slaughtered if he thought that the Book is for guiding you the truth? Why would reveal a message so contradicting to the Book?. Why would a prophet could lead a life full of sin and make laws that are way out of bounds by human standards? Even his encounter with an angel is not credible because we know that the angel he referred to was an angel of restraint not physical restraint like how he described being squeezed tightly. The angel described in the Bible is harmless and communicated with his subject in the tone of an angel.
Now would you live a life believing because your criteria for faith is about the way you live and how you are restrained because Muhammed said so? Or, would you rather live because of how you know the truth about God? For the truth were set before us and the truth can set you free not bondage to the treats of one man’s law. It is you who decides your destiny with God, not your wife or your Muslim friends. It about you and God alone.