Ahmed Deedat and his critics to basic Christian doctrines

His struggle against missionary activities, which increased considerably in the mid-1990s and his resistance to the onslaught on Islam –which had traditionally been a source of strength to Muslim communities including a profound source of pride in their Islamic identity, and inspired renewed self-confidence- transformed Sheikh Ahmed Hussein Deedat into an important figure in both the East and West. In addition to this, the influence of his studies and commentaries in religious and scientific circles, some of which also attracted public interest, and his being subject to magazine articles, books, academic papers and dissertations, have earned him a scholarly reputation across the globe. This thesis has been composed based on the books written by Deedat; benefitted from careful study of arguments he propounded in his lectures and speeches, as well as debates he had with Western and Christian scholars, and at times has been enriched by third party sources. The study aims to develop consciousness about missionary activities and how one might effectively oppose them by establishing familiarity with creeds and the stories of their construction in Christian history and culture and to develop familiarity with the Tawheed (monotheistic faith) that is the foundation of all Semitic religions. The study has shed light on four topics that constitute the essence of Christian creeds and has revealed the obvious similarity in key issues in the books sent by God Almighty. In addition, Christian doctrines have been dealt with through the ideas put forward by Ahmed Deedat on fundamental issues of Christian theology, such as the Authenticity of the Bible, the concepts of Original Sin, Crucifixion and Trinity, with reference to the Biblical text mainly, supplemented in places by Qur'anic explanation. The four main issues addressed in the second section covers all the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. The study consists of an introduction, one chapter developing our research and one chapter devoted to findings, results, and conclusions. The first chapter focuses on Deedat's life and works. The second chapter is devoted to his views on Christian doctrines gathered under four main headings. The final chapter examines and offers further development of some conclusions preliminarily identified in topics covered in the chapters. Lastly, some research subjects that can be studied with regard to the religions in the field of Kalaam science have been proposed. This thesis aims to provide a comprehensive and representative record of Deedat's views, as well as to give a general idea about Christianity and insight into its fundamental beliefs.