In March 2002, Shabir Ally and William Lane Craig held a truly remarkable series of four debates at four Canadian universities on four questions distinguishing Christianity and Islam.

The first of these debates was held at the University of Toronto on the topic, "Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?" Ally counters Craig's argument for Jesus' resurrection by defending the apparent death theory with a novel Islamic twist: Jesus was taken down from the cross alive and placed in the tomb, where God assumed him into heaven before he could die.