One of the largest problems with American Christianity and the polarization of Islam is lack of education. Excluding scholars, as Americans, we are widely ignorant of the Islamic faith and its people. Let me explain.
Last year I wrote an article titled “How Reading The Qur’an Affirmed My Faith In Jesus,” in which I claim that Islam is a religion of hate, and reading it confirmed my faith in Christianity. Not only was I completely ignorant of the true faith of Islam, but the claims that I made prove my lack of knowledge of the Islamic faith. I claimed that the Qur’an is a short book—however, it has 114 chapters or Surahs, and my recently acquired copy is 530 pages. Furthermore, I had only read one chapter, mistaking it for the book in its entirety. Additionally, I nit-picked the sentences and phrases that “gave me chills,” but failed to read the book as a whole, as we Christians often say the Old Testament must be read. This was extremely hypocritical of me. How can I, a Christian, tell others that they must read the Old Testament in context, and not do the same for a different religious holy text that I pick up?
Therefore, I rescind the claims that I have made in my previous article. I think that the constant dialogue that we can have with other religions is important—we can learn from our past mistakes and our past misunderstandings and ultimately grow to be a more knowledgeable, well-rounded, informed individual. Even though I reject the assertions that I made in my previous article, I do not reject my faith. I love and claim the Triune Christian God as truth, and I see and appreciate his works in my life.
However, what I wrote, and believed, in my previous article is how many Christians and even churches act towards Islam. We believe the lie that the Quran teaches hate, when really the religion is dynamic and complicated, much like our own. If we want to assert that the Quran is a hateful text, then we must first address the passages in our own text, the Old Testament, such as God’s command for genocide in the Flood (Genesis 6-8), the cities of the plain (Genesis 18-19), the Egyptian firstborn sons during Passover (Exodus 11-12), the Caananites (Numbers 21:2-3, Deuteronomy 20:17, Joshua 6:17, 21) and the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15). We too, have passages that we have to wrestle with, so we should not condemn those of a different faith tradition when they have similar passages to grapple with.
The temptation to demonize Islam is overwhelmingly prevalent in American Christianity. The extent that churches and groups of Christians will go to support their preconceived notions about the Islamic faith even include accepting and spreading fraudulent Muslim-to-Christian converts, such as Kamal Saleem. I myself, before I took a course on Islam, fell trap to this type of Christian propaganda at a church in Grand Rapids. I admit to my ignorance—and hence my utter acceptance of the lies that the theologian was speaking about Islam.
Muslims are still people. Even though they have not accepted the redemptive love of Christ into their lives, they do not have lesser value than Christians. They are not evil. Despite what many Christians love to proclaim, Muslims are made in the image of the Triune God, though they would most likely not accept this statement. As Orthodox Christians, we believe that every person is made in the triune image of God, so that God, if we accept him into our lives, may participate and commune with us, just as he does within the persons of the trinity. God extends this invitation to all human beings, which includes Muslims.
So, if our God is willing to commune and open himself up to Muslims, shouldn’t Christians as well? We should be showing love to our neighbors, showing how Christ has changed us and called us to our ministry. This does not mean that we Christians should follow the Qur’an or believe in a type of inclusivism or pluralism, but we should strive to understand our neighbors better and treat them with respect. They deserve to be understood and treated as equals.
The Christian-Muslim dialogue is something that I believe cannot be resolute or confined to one statement or stance. It is a dynamic conversation that I believe I will be engaging in for the rest of my life. This conversation is so important because of the world that we are living in today. We should strive to love our neighbors and live peacefully together, while being able to participate in interfaith discussions. Furthermore, to be effective citizens of the world, we owe it to those of other faiths, including Muslims, to attempt to understand where they are coming from, and recognize the differences while simultaneously uniting in our similarities. Revelation 7:9 says that in the eschaton there will be “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language.” While most certainly we are not worshiping alongside Muslims, we can hope to achieve a peace and understanding with our neighbors that attempts to mirror this picture in Revelations, which I believe is a sign of God’s artistry and foreshadows a time when millions will live in complete peace and perfection.
