"Jesus is Muslim" Billboards Popping Up in Ohio

A group of Muslims in Ohio have been waging a billboard campaign to spread their unconventional ideas about Jesus in hopes of helping Christians and Muslims get to know each other better (see the story and photos here).

The "Odd News" story provides a link to the "Ask a Muslim" web site which provides the following rationale under the heading:

"JESUS WAS MUSLIM"
"MUSLIMS ARE CHRISTIANS"

Want more? Here is a sample of how they came to these odd conclusions.

"For starters, Muslims are Christians – if 'Christian' means someone following the teachings of Christ, so by learning about Islam you are not disobeying Jesus.
For example the Quran forbids Swine, (Holy Quran 2:173) and so too does the bible (Deuteronomy 14:8). This is also the case with interest whereby it is forbidden in the Quran 3:130 and also in Deutronomy 19:20. This is the case of many others as well. So why is it that Muslims are the only one’s forbidding swine and forbidding Interest – as Jesus taught?
Muslims are following the teachings of Jesus, while most Christians have began to follow the Church – this is why the Quran needed to be revealed. (Holy Quran 9:31)"

I won't quibble with the grammar since I mess up all the time, but I don't understand their reasoning either. I guess they are not familiar with Peter's dietary vision in Acts 10.

Let's see how they answer questions about Jesus being the only son of God since that is something that Islam traditionally denies.

"DOES SON OF GOD MEAN BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD?" 

"For starters the word begotten has officially been removed from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
John (5:7) For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
John (3:16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
(These verses do not exist anymore in the RSV)."

Actually the "begotten" word has been cut from John 3:16 in the RSV and not the whole verse so they are still stuck with the part about "his only Son". The first reference should be from 1 John 5:7 which becomes 1 John 5:7-8 in the RSV, "7 And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth. 8 There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree." And  no, I don't understand their reasoning here either.

As if that was not bizarre enough, read on...

"DID JESUS EVER SPEAK OF MUHAMMAD?" 

"Jesus has said that 'Every spirit (meaning every prophet) that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in flesh is of God' (John 4:2). Muhammad did indeed confess Jesus Christ as a messenger of God.Muhammad is also mentioned by name in (Song of Solomon 5:16). In the original Hebrew transcript it clearly states the word 'Muhammad' when Solomon is talking about His 'friend' and 'how sweet his words are'.

Once again the author meant 1 John 4:2. As far as I can tell, the name Muhammad does not appear in the Song of Solomon. Let me quote from the following,

Some refer chapter 5:16, of the Song of Songs, to Muhammad, simply because in the Hebrew the word mahamaddim, "delights," "delightfulnesses," occurs there, and is derived from the same root ([1], [2])
But we find that the word in Hebrew is a common, and not a proper noun (i.e. not a name), as the use of the plural here shows.
The same word occurs again as a common noun in Hosea 9:6,16; 1 Kings 20:6; Lamentations 1:10,11; 2:4; Isaiah 64:10; 2 Chronicles 36:19; Ezekiel 24:16,21,25. In the last passage (Ezekiel 24:16, "the desire of thine eyes") it is applied to a woman, Ezekiel's wife (compare verse 18), and to the sons and daughters of the idolatrous Jews (verse 25). It would be just as wise to apply the word to Muhammad HERE as in the Song of Songs.
In Arabic many words are formed from the same root , but they do not on that account denote Muhammad. An ignorant Muslim might just as well assert that Muhammad's name occurred in Surah 1, Al Fatihah, verse 1: Al hamdo lillahi Rabbi 'lalamin ("Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds"). In the same way a Hindu might assert that the name of Ram or some other of his deities was mentioned in the Qur'an, because in Sura 30, Ar-Rum, verse 1, we read " the Romans have been overcome," where Arabic dictionaries give "Rum" as if derived from the root "ram". This kind of argument is unworthy of men of learning and judgement.
A newsgroup article in regard to that:

      Song of Songs 5:16                       shyr hshyrym 5,16
      his mouth is sweets                      Hkw mmtqym
      and all of him is delights              wklw mHmdym
      this is my love                              zh dwdy
      and this is my darling                   wzh r`y
      daughters of Jerusalem                bnwt yrwshlm 

      Song of Songs 5:16 is no more a reference to Muhammad than it is to
      Mumattaq or to David.  Finding the name of Muhammad is child's play.
      Because Arabic and Hebrew share a cognate word [Hmd], there are of
      course several other similar occurrences in the Hebrew scriptures. 

      The New Bantam-Megiddo Hebrew & English Dictionary lists...
              Hmd (yHmwd) p           covet, lust after
              Hmd z                          delight, loviness
              Hmdh n                        desire, object of desire
              Hmdnwt                        covetousness, lustfulness

Ooops...

What follows next is a bit about Jesus' promise in John 14:16, "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." I guess that Comforter = Mohammed. Once again, I cannot figure out how the author gets there, but  I believe the ultimate conclusion is this,

"His teachings are in tune with the Quran, the Quran IS the final testament. So what is stopping you from accepting Muhammad, when Jesus told you to. I hope I have shed light on this."

"Please remember Islam = following Jesus. Muhammad confirmed Jesus."

Oh yeah, that is clear as mud.

Clear enough to stick on a billboard?

Can't the truth in advertising statutes be applied to this?

Let us pray that no souls are duped into believing this deception.