It is a good idea to read this passage in its context.  Isaiah 42:10-11 has, “Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.  Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.”  This is beautiful poetry.  The “ends of the earth,” the “islands,” the “wilderness and its towns,” and the “settlements of Kedar” are all used metaphorically to represent all the peoples, and not just the Jews, who will celebrate the coming of the Messiah.  Please read the entire chapter (for example Isaiah 42:1-4) and you will see that this is a prophecy about the coming of the Messiah, not just to the Jews, but to all the nations.  Exactly where “Kedar” is is not clear. Probably it represents the peoples of the desert to the East of Israel, not those living hundreds of miles to the South, but Kedar is being used metaphorically and poetically in any case.

To take the part about Kedar and remove it from its context, including the mention of the islands and the wilderness is to do damage to the context of this Scripture.  Jesus did not literally visit the islands. Neither did he go the ends of the earth, or Kedar, for that matter (but then again, neither did Muhammad!), but since his death and resurrection, his message certainly has gone to all these places.  That is what this beautiful poetic prophecy is about.

To make this prophecy of the Messiah into one about Muhammad is so blatantly to take this passage out of context, that Muslims ought to be embarrassed that any follower of Islam had the audacity to abuse this passage in this way.  Shame!

John Oakes