An Australian group, going by the name of Mypeace, has launched a blasphemous, ill-informed “public awareness campaign in that country’s largest city of Sydney. It’s tagline:

Mypeace says that the purpose of the campaign is

to inform, not offend.

Uh huh.

One Catholic bishop has called the campaign

a direct assault on Christian beliefs.

Billboards in the metropolitan Sydney area sport one of four simple slogans:

• Jesus: A Prophet of Islam
• Holy Qur’an: The Final Testament
• Muhammad: Mercy to Mankind
• Islam: Got Questions? Get Answers.

According to Islamic doctrine, the 7th century Arabian Mohammed was the last in a long line of prophets of Islam stretching back to Adam, and including Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Jonah, John the Baptist – and Jesus. The “Got Questions?” ad in Sydney also describes Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed as “prophets of Islam”.

Every billboard invites Australians to get in touch with mypeace by phone or online, for literature and a free copy of the Qur’an. According to the Muslim organization, the ads will stay up for one month.

Later in 2011, the slogans will be seen on numerous public buses in the city.

One of the billboards calling Jesus a Muslim was vandalized a day after it was put up.

According to Mypeace, it is attempting to

address the many misconceptions on Islam, to educate fellow Australians on Islam, invite them to ask any questions that they may have.

On its website, Mypeace states that

“Islām” is an Arabic word which means peaceful, willing submission – submission to the code of conduct ordained by God. So Islam is a religion, but it is also a complete way of life based upon a voluntary relationship between an individual and his Creator. It is the way of life ordained by God which was taught by each of His prophets and messengers, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them). What distinguishes Islam from other religions is that it refuses to accept any form of creation, whatsoever, as a deity worthy of worship. Instead, it emphasizes the exclusive worship of the one God who created the entire universe and to whom all creation will eventually return.

Monotheism is the foundation of Islam and its most important concept which cannot be compromised in any way. Not only is God acknowledged as the sole creator and sustainer of everything in existence, but Islam declares that He is the only true deity and He alone is worthy to be worshipped. Further, it recognizes that the attributes of God are nothing like those of His creation and cannot be compared to it; He is absolute, perfect and unique. By following God’s guidance as revealed in the Quran, an individual can obtain meaning and purpose in this live and eternal paradise in the hereafter. [‘Permission from ‘Saheeh International’]

“peaceful, willing submission”…Daniel Pearl remains unavailable for comment.

Julian Porteous, auxiliary bishop at the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, fought back in an article, writing:

In Australia with its Christian heritage a billboard carrying the statement ‘Jesus A prophet of Islam’ is provocative and offensive to Christians.

Central to Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ is more than a prophet. He is the Son of God. He is acclaimed Lord and Savior of humanity. This statement is a direct assault on Christian beliefs.

According to the Bishop, religions should not

set out to antagonize those with differing beliefs.

Dialogue between the religions can only take place when it is founded in mutual respect. It is not fostered by provocative statements.

Porteous urged Mypeace to withdraw the ads.

In a related story, gallup.com posted a poll on Friday whose results showed that 92 % of Americans still believe in GOD.  This result is only 4 % lower than the 96% figure that Gallup pollsters found when they asked the question in 1944.

Among to those polled, belief in God drops below 90% among younger Americans, liberals, those living in the East, those with postgraduate educations, and political independents. However, belief in God is nearly universal among Republicans and conservatives and, to a slightly lesser degree, in the South.

How many of these American believers in God are Muslim?

Per adherents.com:

According to an academic review of available survey-based data in 2001, informed by information provided by Muslim organizations and mosques, the highest reasonable total number of Muslims in the United States is 2.8 million.

A more realistic number, supported by statistically significant survey data comparable to what has been used to to calculate the sizes of other religious groups, is less than 2 million Muslims in the United States, or about 0.5% of the total population.

Estimates of the U.S. Muslim population of 6 million, 8 million, 10 million or more may indeed be correct, but are not supported by empirical data. Such numbers may best be understood as “spiritual” numbers, rather than actual numbers.

However, according to the American Religious Identification Survey from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, 75 % of Americans identify themselves as Christian.

The vast difference in numbers probably explains why we haven’t seen Mypeace’s “public awareness” campaign in America…yet.