Crescent-200 In a world where the fear of Muslims is very high most of us are not sure how to respond to the Muslims we meet from day-to-day. Increasingly Muslims live in our neighborhoods. You almost have to live in a small rural area or a remote place to not see Muslims on a daily bases. They live in many of our neighborhoods and I deal with them on a regular basis. What are we to do?

I suggest the first and most important thing we are to do is not be suspicious of our neighbors unless there is clear and obvious reason to become so. Most have the same hopes, dreams and fears that we do. And most will be good neighbors just like non-Muslims. Our job, as Christians, is to build bridges to our neighbors, not react with fear and enmity. Such bridges can foster harmonious community relationships based on mutual respect, which is always the starting point for our witness as believers. We best engage Muslims when we engage them as human persons made in the image of God just as we are. They have joys and trials just as we do and it is natural to share in these as fellow human persons.

We can look to Muslims as neighbors who want to solve problems just as we do. They want safety, good schools, good jobs, etc. If we know them as people we can share a great deal with them. This means we are called to practice hospitality. "Inter-faith hospitality" is always appropriate. We should allow, indeed encourage, other faiths so that they feel welcome in our midst. My friend Gerald R.McDermott  says there are striking lessons Christians can learn from Muslims, truths that are not absent in our own tradition but truths which we too easily forget. I agree.

BM When my friend Brian McLaren recently announced that he was going to fast during Ramadan thousands of Christians jumped on him with incredible opposition. I was not one of them. I do not always agree with Brian, especially when he speaks about social solutions to cultural problems, but I found his actions and statements in this instance completely consistent with radical hospitality and Christian love of neighbor. He did not say he fasted because he thought Islam was equal to, or parallel with, Christian faith. He clearly said he did this to show solidarity and to join his neighbors in something that was important to them. I frankly see nothing wrong in his approach unless he said or did something I missed along the way. 

I am reminded that a study undertaken by Fuller Theological Seminary revealed that the number one reason Muslims who converted to faith in Christ gave for becoming Christians had to do with the reality of the love they saw in their neighbors who were Christians. I am not surprised by this in the least. Must we turn every Muslim into a potential terrorist or enemy? Must we fear Muslims because we do not understand them or know them? What ever happened to building bridges for the sake of the gospel? Whatever happened to love, period?

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Comments

  1. Albert Anthony Cota November 30, 2009 at 6:20 am

    I have lived in the San Diego area for close to nine years. In my most recent job, which covered over five years, 1/3 third of my co-workers, and about the same ratio in my client base of close to 4,000 were Muslim. Some are among my dearest friends.
    This article is right on the money! Muslims have many of the same hopes and dreams that we have. Many came over from different parts of the Middle East in order to escape the “collateral damage” caused by wars, bloodshed or terrorism. In some ways, they appreciate their freedoms here more than we do.
    Hospitality and bridge building are the first steps in order to build the relationship that ultimately may introduce another soul to Christ. Then, a Christ-like example, prayer, and the work of the Holy Spirit will turn a Muslim into a Christian, just as it will work for any person that is lost.

  2. Clare Albright November 30, 2009 at 9:46 am

    I agree. The media has been telling us to be suspicious for about 8 years now.
    Makes sense. People in the U.S. are now brainwashed by the media saying this.

  3. Nick Morgan November 30, 2009 at 9:53 pm

    Good post John. It’s so easy to be fear driven, but as Christians we are called to be “faith-driven” in our actions with our neighbors, whoever they may be. Thank you for this reminder!

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