David Kingsworthy attended last year’s Christian Community Development Association conference, and here are his reflections from one of the breakout sessions he attended.
At CCDA, there are dozens of breakout sessions covering a variety of topics. If you are able to attend this year’s conference – September 7-11 in Chicago – you’ll have even more chances to learn and grow!
MUSLIMS IN AMERICA: BRIDGES OF LOVE
Notes from David Kingsworthy
Of over 1.8 billion Muslims in the world, only 20% are of Middle Eastern descent. This surprising statistic highlights our misconceptions not only about Islam at large, but also about its history and place in our own country. If we can peel away the falsehoods attached to Islam, and meantime encourage Godly relationships with our Muslim brothers and sisters, Christians can build strong bridges with a group of Americans whose religion appears quite un-American.
This workshop, presented by Stephanie Acker of the Vineyard Church of Greater Boston, was primarily intended to help Christians who are in frequent contact with Muslims, but a secondary goal was to help us re-think our perceptions toward these groups, and perhaps seek them out. To that end, some key points about the history of World and American Islam were presented.
Most of us know that Islam shares with Christianity a lineage to Abraham, but Abraham is both a point of similarity and divergence. Similarity because of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael; divergence due to quite different beliefs about the last years of Abraham and his role in the establishment of Islam. The reason this should perhaps be avoided in conversations with Muslims is the sensitivity to the topic. Islam’s history of Abraham does not significantly alter the Christian version, but the Christian version reduces Islam dramatically.
Christians interested in understanding their Muslim neighbors might do well to learn about Islam in America. It was established in the U.S. sometime between 1530 and 1850, during the peak periods of slavery in this country. Africans had carried Islam with them into slavery, but the long-term establishment of the religion on these shores started in the early 1900’s, when immigration from the Middle East began to rise. Asian Muslims solidified the foundation from the 1950’s onward; today the Muslim population in America is close to 2.5 million.
Muslim immigration to America mirrors immigration patterns to Europe, an irony of sorts considering that the locations of origin had suffered extensively under White/European/Christian hegemony. This is not meant as a criticism of well-meaning European Christians, but as a reminder of the perception of paternalism that may linger for westernized Muslims. It is difficult to separate recent Christian attitudes from those at the root of historical colonialism that sometimes masqueraded as missionalism.
Additionally, the basis of conversations with Muslims must also include an awareness of how recent political and military policies of so-called Christian nations has affected Christianity’s world-wide reputation. Military actions against Muslim governments & groups around the world in the past 20 years have eroded the Christian image of peaceful & loving interactions. Echoes of the European Crusades, distant for most of the West, ring loudly for today’s Muslims and add depth to the gulf between our religions.
As for Jesus, while to us he is savior, to Muslims he is merely a prophet (albeit a significant one). One problem Muslims have with our faith in Jesus as savior is our belief that He is God’s son. To Muslims, “Son of God” implies that Jesus was sexually conceived. This implication is offensive to Muslims, who (also) perceive God as perfect and not profane in any way; merely to think of God in this context is unthinkable.
Once we are equipped with historical knowledge & context, how then do we bridge the gaps between us? Ms. Acker begins with a passage from the Book of Luke, chapter 10, where Jesus sends forth 72 disciples as “lambs among wolves…May God’s peace be upon this house.” Pray about it, then look for the “person of peace”; likely they are looking for you, too. Relationships among Muslims are usually male-male and female-female, and modesty in all actions & statements is valued.
Remember that Jesus does not equal Christianity – we must not emphasize aspects of our religion that we’ve attached to Jesus – but don’t be defensive about your faith. Simultaneously, avoid conversations about Mohammed, but be open to shared Bible-Quran study time. And always keep this in mind: Muslims love their God, and they love prayer. At the risk of sounding cliché…maybe we’re not so different after all?!
