Back in 2008, we went to an Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. There were Christians, Jews, Buddhist, Hindus, and Muslims each offering prayers of Thanksgiving. Each prayer was written out in English in a church bulletin. At first it seemed strange, especially when they were praying in Hebrew, Sanskrit, and Arabic. Obviously the only approach to God that we were familiar with was from a Christian perspective. Our inherent bias conditioned us to feel a sense of ‘us verse them'--we were right, and they were wrong. We had the truth, and they had a false religion. But our heart softened, by recognizing the reality and validity of their experience of God. As the service progressed, I heard a Muslim man praying while I read the English translation. I leaned over and whispered to Rich, “They believe in the same God we do!” At first, Rich thought, “No they don’t.” But then listening more, he realized the words of their prayers were just like the Psalms—expressions of supplication, intercession, and thanksgiving to the one and only God. I think we both walked out of that service changed people. God had opened our eyes. Just like he did with Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10.34-35 “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right."
After that God began moving us to build genuine friendships with Muslims. We still recognize the differences between certain beliefs held by Christians and Muslims. But we also realize how much we have in common, and how many misperceptions Christians have about Muslims.
Here are 10 misperceptions that have been cleared up by getting to know Muslims first-hand:
1-The Hijab —
Many Americans think the hijab (or headscarf) is a symbol of oppression and male dominance in the Muslim culture.
We’ve come to learn that a hijab is a token of commitment to modesty—a way to please God. I’m sure you’ve met many Muslim women who don’t wear hijabs. It is a personal choice that the woman makes for herself. She isn’t doing it for her husband, but for God (much like a Catholic nun). By the way, some of the most liberated, outspoken Muslim women we know wear a hijab. And they are most definitely not oppressed.
2-Jihad --
Most Americans think that Jihad refers to a holy war against infidels (Christians and Jews, and The West). Actually the term as used predominately in the Quran refers to the spiritual struggle of a Muslim believer. Just like in the New Testament the Apostle Paul uses the expression ‘spiritual warfare’. We have several good friends who are heavily involved in a Muslim American public relations campaign called MyJihad. It’s purpose is to reclaim the word jihad from terrorists and the American media who have hijacked it to mean something evil. For instance, our friend, Angie’s jihad is to keep moving forward as she copes with the loss of her son who died at a young age. For others, their jihad is trying to pay off their school loans while working two jobs. For us (Rich and I), our jihad has been our frustration with extreme Right-Wing Christians who portray Christianity in such a negative and narrow-minded way. They can be so anti-Muslim, anti-gay, anti-Obama, anti-liberal media. But the point is they are all about hate and fear, rather than love and peace.
3-Acceptance of Abrahamic Faiths
Those of us who are Christian grow up with the misconception that Muslims are taught from the Quran to hate Christians and Jews. We have learned a different viewpoint from our Muslim friends. The Quran teaches them to have a high respect for Christians and Jews because all three religions go back to Abraham. They believe that Moses (and other contributors to the Old Testament) and Jesus are prophets of God. And consequently have a high view of the Bible. Granted there are points of disagreement, but they believe that Jews and Christians who actually love God and love their fellow man are believers who know God. And the only Jews and Christians they are taught to resist are those who unjustly persecute Muslims (e.g., if they can’t build a mosque in a town where there are Muslims who seek to worship, if they are harassed for wearing a hijab or reading the Quran, or if their freedom to practice their religion is threatened). When I first met Sarah, a lovely young Egyptian Muslim, she told me how much she loved Israel, Christians, and the Jewish people (but not Zionism). She said, my heart for Israel is: One land, three faiths. I thought that was beautiful.
4-Views on Jesus—
There is a popular misperception that Muslims reject Jesus. In actuality, they have a deep reverence for him. One day we were having lunch with some of our interfaith friends. Over pizza the subject turned to Jesus. Mohamed was telling us the story about how someone questioned him about Jesus. He was standing and smiling looking larger than life recounting the story. "Jesus!!! I love Jesus. And when he returns, I’m going to follow him.” That was one one of those moments in time that is forever etched I’m my memory. I was flabbergasted as my misconception melted away. It almost brought me to tears because he was so sincere in his love for Jesus. Certainly there are divergent views regarding the incarnation and the resurrection and the meaning of the cross. But Muslims are very Jesus-friendly. And their religion teaches that Jesus will be the one to establish God’s kingdom on earth.
5-Allah or Jehovah—
It’s common for Christians to think that Muslims worship Allah rather than Jehovah (the true God). In the last 7 years, we have come to learn that Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. No different than the word Dios in Spanish, Theos in Greek. Muslims are taught to worship Jehovah--the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus. It was a major revelation for us to realize this fact. We may have different doctrinal beliefs in our religions, but Muslims pray to and worship the same God. This has become a major point of commonality with our Muslim friends. Just like Christians recognize that their Jewish friends worship the same God and can use that as a foundation for aligning on multiple social issues (e.g., civil rights movement, abortion, and freedom of religion, etc.), Muslims also share these same core beliefs. In fact in 2007, a large group of Christian clergy and Muslim clerics drafted and signed a document called 'A Common Word Between Us and You’, that highlights the fact that both religions see love of God and love of our fellow man as foundational to their core beliefs.
This link is the kind of thing that happens ALL THE TIME because of misperceptions about Allah. There is no excuse for this kind of fear-based Christianity..... http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/christian-protesters-shout-down-muslim-kids-singing-national-anthem-at-texas-rally-islam-is-a-lie/
6-Shariah Law—
The American Media has created a scare (particularly more conservative news outlets) and extreme Right-Wing Christians, that Muslims want to impose Shariah Law on the entire world. They also propagate the myth that Shariah Law seeks to repress women, ban other religions, and institute public forms of capital punishment like beheading. In reality, the examples used by the media are distortions of Shariah Law. True Shariah Law is meant to be just, compassionate, and humane.There are radical Christians who make their followers adhere to their strict interpretations of the Bible (Mormon Sects, David Koresh, Phineas Priesthood, Arm of the Lord, Aryan Nation, etc.), if the media focused on these forms of Christianity as the only examples, it would be no different than how they have distorted what Muslims believe. Shariah Law, which is based on the Quran, teaches religious tolerance and that any submission to Muslim teaching should be voluntary.
Our good friend, Qasim Rashid, an American educated lawyer who has appeared on CNN, FOX and HuffPost Live, has given us a lot of insight. He certainly knows what he’s talking about. He’s written Best Selling Books: Extremist, and The Wrong Kind of Muslim. If you’d like to read more on Shariah Law, here is a link to Qasim’s Huffington Post article, Shariah Law: Five Things Every Non-Muslim (and Muslim) Should Know. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/qasim-rashid/shariah-law-the-five-things-every-non-muslim_b_1068569.html
7-Terriorism—
Sadly the only understanding that many American’s have of Islam is the images of terrorists or extremists who represent such a small small fraction of the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. We consider it one of the great blessings of our life to have been able to form close friendships with dozens of practicing Muslims. If more American’s would do this they would not so easily buy into the false stereotypes. Each time there is a terrorist incident of violence caused by a Muslim extremist, our Muslim friends are even more upset than we are at how their religion has been hijacked by a small minority of lunatics or uneducated angry Islamic zealots. These extremist have been misguided by a distorted interpretation of the Quran. This situation is really no different than misguided Christians who have used the Scriptures in the past to justify the Crusades, the Inquisition, Salem Witchcraft Trials, Slavery, or the Ku Klux Klan. Our Muslim friends are looking for understanding and support from fair-minded Christians and Jews who recognize the injustice of condemning an entire religion because of a handful of fanatics. It breaks our hearts to hear story after story of harassment our Muslim friends (and their children) have to deal with after any kind of terrorist incident. The way some Christians vilify all Muslims is just as shameful as watching old video footage of Christians in the South who vilified upstanding Black men and women during the Civil Rights Movement. 95% of all Muslims condemn terrorism and extremism that is done in the name of Islam.
We once had an extensive conversation with a Christian we met who was also the head of the Chicago FBI (Counter Terrorist Division). He assured us that the overwhelming majority of Muslims are peace loving and good people.
Sadly, even our own government officials pander to the fear-mongering and stereotyping such as Texas Rep. Molly White. Just this past week this Republican lawmaker was sending a message to her Muslim Constituents on Texas Muslim Capital Day. She instructed her staff that she left an Israeli flag on the reception desk in her Austin office to mark the occasion. She said, “ If they want to come calling at her Capital office they better pledge Allegiance to the flag. Ask representatives from the Muslim community to renounce Islamic Terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws” White went on to say, “We will see how long they stay in my office.” She expects Muslims to prove their loyalty by coming into her office and jumping through hoops to prove they are American. Seems like we haven’t learned anything from the McCarthy Era.
7-Normal People
Perviously to actually making friends with any Muslims, our general impression was that they were very serious, austere, and cloistered. Much to our surprise most acquaintances that we’ve made with Muslims have revealed to us that they are just normal American’s in every way. Except rather than going to church on Sunday, they go to their mosque. They watch the same TV shows and like the same movie stars. They enjoy popular music, fast food, the latest fashion, and comedy. They go to the mall. Goof off. Their kids are in baseball and softball or dance. They have to work to pay the mortgage and the orthodontist bills, just like us. And boy do they love to cook.
They enjoy having a good time with family or friends. Here are two of our Muslim friends, Eman and Mohamed that were lip syncing and having fun. …………https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422579428&x-yt-cl=85114404&v=35g-OFspcyc. This was hilarious to us. We watched it over and over again and laughed at how Eman talked Mohamed into being goofy.
They enjoy having a good time with family or friends. Here are two of our Muslim friends, Eman and Mohamed that were lip syncing and having fun. …………https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422579428&x-yt-cl=85114404&v=35g-OFspcyc. This was hilarious to us. We watched it over and over again and laughed at how Eman talked Mohamed into being goofy.
9-Palestine / Israel
All of our life as American’s (and even more so as Christians) we were taught that Israel was being pushed around by Muslims in the Middle East—they were like David against Goliath. They were the good-guys and the Arabs were the bad-guys.
Then a few years ago we had the privilege of hearing the son of a high ranking Israeli General, (Miko Peled) give a lecture on how Israel had taken the land from the Palestinians. It effectively created an apartheid state. Palestinians have not only been robed of their land, but of basic human rights. We are against violence of any kind from any side. However, it is interesting that when our ancestors in this country rebelled against the tyranny of England, it was called a fight for independence. But when Palestinians stand up for their freedoms, it is called an act of terrorism. They are desperate and fighting against injustice. If you had coffee (like we have) with a table full of Palestinian men (who let me ask any question I had) you would see there are two sides of the story. Both sides, in our opinion, need to find a better pathway to peace.
Thankfully, Miko Peled wants peace as much as I do between Israel and Palestine. To learn another perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8dKpreiVtk
10 They make really good friends.
Up until 7 years ago, almost all our friends were fellow Christians, we never knew what we were missing. It has been a blessing and a joy to do life together. We’ve learned how much we have in common, they love God, they seek peace and justice, compassion for the poor and needy. They have the same moral values around honesty and purity that Christians do. And they have a great sense of humor and make really, really, really good friends. They have been there for both Rich and I. We can count on them for anything. We love them dearly. Just as many Whites felt like they needed to stand up for Blacks during the Civil Rights Era, and just as many Christians felt the need to stand up for the Jews during the Nazi Regime, Rich and I will continue to stand up for our Muslim friends until they are treated with the respect they deserve as fellow human beings, American Citizens, and believers in God.
When I look back on my own experience before becoming friends and breaking bread with Muslims, I realize that the way I thought was based on ignorance. I was just being spoon-fed rhetoric about Muslims from fear-based pastors or politicians, and well-intentioned friends. I wasn’t using healthy critical thinking. The only way you will truly know for yourself who Muslims are at their core is by questioning your biases and building bridges of commonality and becoming friends. I think that’s what Jesus has called us to do.
