How do we respond to Christians who say that Muslims are compelled to believe in Jesus (peace be upon him), while they are not compelled to believe in Muhammad (peace be upon him)?

The statements made by Christians contain both truth and falsehood. The truth is the obligation of Muslims to believe in the prophethood of Jesus, peace be upon him, for belief in all prophets is a pillar of faith. Allah Almighty says: "The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], "We make no distinction between any of His messengers." And they say, "We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination.""

As for the falsehood, it is the Christians' claim that they are not compelled to believe in the prophethood of Muhammad, peace be upon him. This is a lie, for the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "By Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, no one from this nation, neither a Jew nor a Christian, hears about me and then dies without believing in that with which I have been sent, but he will be among the people of the Hellfire." And it has been narrated in the Gospel what foretells the prophethood of Muhammad, peace be upon him, and they know him truly but deny him out of obstinacy.

We draw attention to two matters: First, the People of the Book are disbelievers in this world, and they will abide eternally in Hellfire in the Hereafter if they die upon their disbelief. Second, it is not permissible to engage in discourse and argumentation with Christians unless one is qualified for it and deeply knowledgeable in Islamic sciences, so that one does not fall into the doubts they cast, even though these doubts are inherently refutable.