A dear friend of mine, Jay McDaniel a professor of religion at Hendrix, wrote an article in response to Brian McLaren's "Evangelical Christians and Islamophobia" which I am sharing with you all.
Eight Steps for Overcoming Islamophobia
by Jay McDaniel (in response to Brian McLaren)
I do no know Brian McLaren personally, but I like much of what he writes. I teach Contemporary Islamic Thought to college undergraduates, and I also have many friends who are Muslim. In addition I edit this website, which has readers in many parts of the world, including the Middle East.
Like Brian McLaren I have evangelical Christian friends in the United States who are Islamophobic. Some send me e-mails with capital letters and exclamation points warning of the evils of Islam. I am always troubled by the hatred in their e-mails, even though I know that the hatred is an outcome of fear.
I am a Christian, too. I know there are things to fear in life, and I do not want to pretend that the world is not a dangerous place. Still, as a Christian, I am not comfortable with hatred. The New Testaments says that perfect love casts out fear. (First John 4: 18). I agree. I think we Christians can be much more loving in our approach to Islam. If you are Christian and tempted by Islamophobia, I offer eight steps for healing.
First, if at all possible, make some friends with Muslims in your community. Get to know them. Don't begin with theology. Begin with shared meals and storytelling. Get to know their children, too. Play soccer together.
Second, recognize that those who are burning embassies and murdering people are a minority. Condemn their actions with as much righteous indignation as you need; advance the cause of free speech with all your might, if this is your issue. But do not hate them. Know that they, too, carry God's image in their hearts. And know that they are trying to defend something they love.
Third, watch portions of the video that produced their rage. I have seen it and, like so many, I find it sad and disrespectful. Ask yourself how you would feel if this video was made about someone you loved very much: say your mother or your father, your sister or your daughter.
Fourth, get to know some of the history behind the animosity of some Muslims toward the United States. Come to understand the realities of European and American domination of the world in the last two centuries. Understand that the domination has been cultural as well as political. As you seek to understand the history of colonialism, do not limit yourself to sources found in "Christian" bookstores.
Fifth, undertake a study of Islam as a complement to making friends with your Muslim neighbors. As you do so, look for what wisdom and beauty it can offer you, but do not expect perfection. No religion is perfect, not even Christianity. Also recognize that any religious tradition -- including Islam -- is much more than its teachings and its ideas. It is a way of living that consists of attitudes, ways of relating to others. art and architectures, sounds and longings. Don't think you learn about Islam by reading the Qur'an. You learn about Islam by making friends with Muslims.
Sixth, reframe the very idea of Islam in your mind. Think of Muslims and Jews and Christians as an extended family, all of whom seek to live faithfully in the tradition of Abraham. Think of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) as a guide in this tradition, who was a messenger of wisdom, too. Think of the Qur'an as a living text from which you can learn, even if you do not think it the very word of God. Recognize that Islam carries within its heart a spiritual tradition -- Sufism -- which touches the deepest aspects of spirituality. Consider the possibility that Jesus was indeed a muslim, not in the sense of belonging to the religion of Islam, but in the sense of seeking to live a surrendered life in which the will God reigned in his own heart: "Not my will but they will, Oh Lord."
Seventh, try a little process theology. Learn to think of Islam and Judaism and Christianity as living traditions which can grow and develop over time, never fully defined by what they have been in the past. Recognize that, today, the leading edge of their growth may well lie in local contexts, where Muslims and Christians and Jews work with people of other faiths and no faith to help build communities that are creative, compassionate, participatory, ecologically wise, and religiously diverse, with no one left behind.
Eighth, try following Christ. It is especially important to follow Christ in response to those Muslims who are frightened by and revile Christianity. Brian McLaren put it so well:
The broad highway of us-them thinking and the offense-outrage-revenge reaction cycle leads to self-destruction. There is a better way, the way of Christ who, when reviled, did not revile in return, who when insulted, did not insult in return, and who taught his followers to love even those who define themselves as enemies.
Know that, as you take these steps, you do not need to give up what is most important to you, your desire to follow Christ is you are a Christian. Rather they are ways of helping you follow Christ even more.
One of the leading Christian thinkers in the United States today, John B. Cobb, Jr. speaks of Christianity as a Way of living that excludes no ways. By this he means that, for those who follow Christ, being open to wisdom from other traditions, and being creatively transformed by that wisdom, is an essential dimension of following Christ. It reflects a trust that, wherever there is truth and goodness and beauty of any sort, it is of God and from God, however named.
For those among us who are Christian, we follow Christ by defending the innocent and affirming our faith, but equally as important, by loving our neighbors as ourselves, including our Muslim neighbors. We have so much to learn from them.
Eight Steps for Overcoming Islamophobia
by Jay McDaniel (in response to Brian McLaren)
I do no know Brian McLaren personally, but I like much of what he writes. I teach Contemporary Islamic Thought to college undergraduates, and I also have many friends who are Muslim. In addition I edit this website, which has readers in many parts of the world, including the Middle East.
Like Brian McLaren I have evangelical Christian friends in the United States who are Islamophobic. Some send me e-mails with capital letters and exclamation points warning of the evils of Islam. I am always troubled by the hatred in their e-mails, even though I know that the hatred is an outcome of fear.
I am a Christian, too. I know there are things to fear in life, and I do not want to pretend that the world is not a dangerous place. Still, as a Christian, I am not comfortable with hatred. The New Testaments says that perfect love casts out fear. (First John 4: 18). I agree. I think we Christians can be much more loving in our approach to Islam. If you are Christian and tempted by Islamophobia, I offer eight steps for healing.
First, if at all possible, make some friends with Muslims in your community. Get to know them. Don't begin with theology. Begin with shared meals and storytelling. Get to know their children, too. Play soccer together.
Second, recognize that those who are burning embassies and murdering people are a minority. Condemn their actions with as much righteous indignation as you need; advance the cause of free speech with all your might, if this is your issue. But do not hate them. Know that they, too, carry God's image in their hearts. And know that they are trying to defend something they love.
Third, watch portions of the video that produced their rage. I have seen it and, like so many, I find it sad and disrespectful. Ask yourself how you would feel if this video was made about someone you loved very much: say your mother or your father, your sister or your daughter.
Fourth, get to know some of the history behind the animosity of some Muslims toward the United States. Come to understand the realities of European and American domination of the world in the last two centuries. Understand that the domination has been cultural as well as political. As you seek to understand the history of colonialism, do not limit yourself to sources found in "Christian" bookstores.
Fifth, undertake a study of Islam as a complement to making friends with your Muslim neighbors. As you do so, look for what wisdom and beauty it can offer you, but do not expect perfection. No religion is perfect, not even Christianity. Also recognize that any religious tradition -- including Islam -- is much more than its teachings and its ideas. It is a way of living that consists of attitudes, ways of relating to others. art and architectures, sounds and longings. Don't think you learn about Islam by reading the Qur'an. You learn about Islam by making friends with Muslims.
Sixth, reframe the very idea of Islam in your mind. Think of Muslims and Jews and Christians as an extended family, all of whom seek to live faithfully in the tradition of Abraham. Think of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) as a guide in this tradition, who was a messenger of wisdom, too. Think of the Qur'an as a living text from which you can learn, even if you do not think it the very word of God. Recognize that Islam carries within its heart a spiritual tradition -- Sufism -- which touches the deepest aspects of spirituality. Consider the possibility that Jesus was indeed a muslim, not in the sense of belonging to the religion of Islam, but in the sense of seeking to live a surrendered life in which the will God reigned in his own heart: "Not my will but they will, Oh Lord."
Seventh, try a little process theology. Learn to think of Islam and Judaism and Christianity as living traditions which can grow and develop over time, never fully defined by what they have been in the past. Recognize that, today, the leading edge of their growth may well lie in local contexts, where Muslims and Christians and Jews work with people of other faiths and no faith to help build communities that are creative, compassionate, participatory, ecologically wise, and religiously diverse, with no one left behind.
Eighth, try following Christ. It is especially important to follow Christ in response to those Muslims who are frightened by and revile Christianity. Brian McLaren put it so well:
The broad highway of us-them thinking and the offense-outrage-revenge reaction cycle leads to self-destruction. There is a better way, the way of Christ who, when reviled, did not revile in return, who when insulted, did not insult in return, and who taught his followers to love even those who define themselves as enemies.
Know that, as you take these steps, you do not need to give up what is most important to you, your desire to follow Christ is you are a Christian. Rather they are ways of helping you follow Christ even more.
One of the leading Christian thinkers in the United States today, John B. Cobb, Jr. speaks of Christianity as a Way of living that excludes no ways. By this he means that, for those who follow Christ, being open to wisdom from other traditions, and being creatively transformed by that wisdom, is an essential dimension of following Christ. It reflects a trust that, wherever there is truth and goodness and beauty of any sort, it is of God and from God, however named.
For those among us who are Christian, we follow Christ by defending the innocent and affirming our faith, but equally as important, by loving our neighbors as ourselves, including our Muslim neighbors. We have so much to learn from them.
wonderful! Thanks for this.
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