Posted on 09/24/2001 9:07:47 AM PDT by LoneGreenEyeshade
In his role as president of the United States, George W. Bush publicly defended Muslim-Americans while visiting the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. last Monday. Bush strongly condemned the victimization of Arab-Americans that has followed the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and underscored an Islamic group's reports of a widespread backlash.
At a press conference [last] Monday, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) claimed to have received reports of more than 350 attacks against Arab Americans around the country, ranging from verbal harassment to physical assaults. They also received reports of dozens of mosques firebombed or vandalized.
Attorney General John D. Ashcroft said the FBI had initiated 40 hate crimes investigations involving reported attacks on Arab American citizens and institutions. Among them is the case of a Pakistani Muslim store owner who was shot and killed in Dallas Saturday evening.
Imam Hassan Qazwini, religious leader of Islamic Center of America in Detroit, echoed these concerns, saying, "I know Arab-Americans are loyal citizens to this country, and they are saddened and shocked for what happened to their fellow Americans in New York and Washington. I don't want to see Arabs and Muslims in America being accused or viewed with suspicion."
In his remarks, Bush said, "Both Americans and Muslims ... were just appalled and could not believe what we saw on our TV screens. These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith. And it's important for my fellow Americans to understand that."
Bush added, "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war."
But one leader of a ministry that serves the persecuted church in the Islamic world disagrees. Speaking only under condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivities associated with his position, he explained: "Islam does not mean peace; Islam means submission." Many American Muslims "are in complete ignorance of what their faith really teaches," as some Christians are about theirs.
He pointed to a verse in the Koran that says, "When war becomes inevitable, it must be pursued with vigor, the fighting may take the form of a slaughter, or capture ... or ambush or other stratagems." That is not "peaceful."
Yet this minister also emphasized that Christians should pray God will show Muslims that Jesus is the lamb of God.
This, perhaps, is one of the most troubling aspects of the attack on America ... this undercurrent of "Holy War." Not to mention grappling with the seeming contradictions of Islam. And how do Christians reconcile righteous indignation over the attack with the command to love even their Muslim neighbors? Hate the sin but love the sinners? Certainly, there are no easy answers.
Understanding the Dichotomy
According to The Barnabas Fund, a ministry that serves the suffering church in the Muslim world, Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was a complex character whose attitudes and opinions changed and evolved during his lifetime in response to events around him. It is not surprising, then, to find that Islam is a complex faith, and cannot be pigeon-holed as peaceful or violent or under any simple heading.
"Islam" means "peace" we are often told by Muslim and non-Muslim alike, says The Barnabas Fund News. "Even before Tuesday, some newspapers and TV broadcasts tended to paint a glowing picture of Islam as a religion of peace, modesty, morality, self-discipline and family values, sadly tainted by the violence of a few fundamentalists. Muslim minorities nevertheless continued to complain of Islamophobia, and felt themselves unjustly portrayed in the media as terrorists."
The truth falls not so much in the middle between these two extremes of peace and violence, says The Barnabas Fund News, but manages to embrace both extremes at the same time.
"It is true that many individual Muslims are peace-loving and law-abiding," agrees The Barnabas Fund News. "But it is not true that peace is the main characteristic of Islam. It is not even true that the word 'Islam' means 'peace.' In fact it means 'submission.' Islam as a faith emphasizes submission of Muslims to God and, by a logical extension, the submission of non-Muslims to Muslims."
Joseph P. Gudel, writing in the Winter/Spring 1990 issue of the Christian Research Journal, said, "The Muslim world view does not compartmentalize and dichotomize the various areas of life. It is holistic: its beliefs are incorporated into every area of daily living.
"This is evidenced by the all-encompassing Islamic rules which regulate all aspects of daily life," Gudel continued, "including how one should dress, bathe, eat, and so on. The devout Muslim is called to prayer five times each day, an obligation assiduously obeyed. In sum, no part of the Muslim's daily life is separate from his Islamic beliefs. Even the word 'Muslim' means 'one who submits' (to Allah)."
And what about "Allah?" some may wonder. Isn't that simply another name for God? Lee Strobel interviewed Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias about such questions in his book, "A Case for Faith."
"Some people say that when you strip away everything," Strobel said to Zacharias, "all the world religions are essentially teaching the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of humankind. That would mean all the world's faith systems are equally valid."
According to Strobel, Zacharias shook his head, his face registering dismay. "Only someone who doesn't understand the world religions would claim they basically teach the same thing. Islam ... and Christianity are distinct and mutually exclusive doctrines."
In addressing the charge of "intolerance" when Christians assert that Jesus is the only way to heaven, Zacharias explained, "Muslims also radically claim exclusivity - not just theologically, but linguistically. Muslims believe that the sole, sufficient and consummate miracle of Islam is the Koran."
He added, "I know of no Christianized country where your life is in danger because you are from another faith. But today there are many countries in the world - such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran - where to become a follower of Christ is to put your life and your family at risk."
Christian commentator Cal Thomas noted: "While it is important not to condemn all Muslims because of [the] terrorist attack, it is also crucial to understand the mindset and intentions of those who hate us.
"America's enemies know us better than we know them," Thomas said. "They take their faith in a false god more seriously than we take our faith in the true one. Be careful with what you see and hear."
Compassion Without Compromise
Jerry Rose, president of Total Living Network, and author of "Deep Faith for Dark Valleys," tries to strike a balance without compromising: "Yes, we need to bring these people to justice, but we do not need to marginalize the rest of the Muslim world," he told Religion Today.
He pointed out that both the terrorist attack and the immediate backlash against Muslim Americans are "unscriptural, illegal and immoral."
Our anger needs to be directed toward those responsible, says Rose, not the people in our neighborhoods who often moved to the United States to get away from the more radical countries.
Regarding Islamic theology, Rose says it is wrong. "But Christ sees Muslims as lost and it is our responsibility as His followers to reach out sensitively without compromising our own faith. We need to remember the church is an organization that exists primarily to take care of nonmembers."
Rose cautions that, above all, Christians should not blame God for this horrendous act of terrorism. "There is sin in the world and sin destroys. We are told in Romans that 'The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.' If mankind chooses sin, then death will inevitably follow. If we choose His gift, then salvation follows, along with the blessing that comes with following His plan for us."
Brother Andrew of Open Doors said in his book, "For the Love of My Brothers" - "I cannot stress strongly enough my sense of urgency that we reach out to as many Muslim and Arab groups as possible while they are still reachable, because anyone who is reachable is also winnable. We've seen that there is a startling openness to the gospel among some of these people. But unless we go to them now in love and influence them in a Christian direction, the ongoing cycle of violence and revenge will force them to take hard-line, extremist positions. Then they will come to us - the Christian West - in judgment."
And, prayfully, is still growing and getting to know God, rather than "religion."
Have you LOST your Freeping mind?????
" (Sorry, I am a novice at HTML and still do not know how to change font size or color to correctly duplicate your post. :~))
MAYBE IF WE IGNORE HIM / HER (WHO KNOWS THESE DAYS), HE/SHE WILL GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!
Or rather the Holy Trinity - God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit one in essence.
This is the reason why many Muslims embrace the racially-tinged philosophy of panArabism.
You could not be more wrong, KB.
The vast majority of Europe's Jews lived and worked in the Holy Roman Empire until it was broken up in the early 1900s.
The Jewish communities of Hungary, Austria, Galicia and Bohemia were subjected to random localized persecutions from time to time (once every 150 years or so) but these communities were vibrant and thriving at the time Napoleon broke up the Empire and were still strong and vital up until 1936.
Jews were permanently banned from England for centuries - they were never expelled by the emperors.
It is true that the extremists interpret it in a very sick and perverted way. But that is hardly news.
The problem as I see it is that the actions of a tiny minority of Muslims is used to represent the teachings of the entire religion. I think that's wrong.
"And as for Ishmael...I will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly....BUT my covenant will I establish with Isaac... (Genesis 17:20)
One of his decendents later was stated to serve Baal as an enemy of Judah. And so the story continues....
That says very little about religion, and a great deal about human nature.
Quite the opposite. No one can take your free will away from you, not even God. But you can USE that will to submit to God, of your own choice.
That act is the most sublime in human existence.
Shalom in Hebrew and salaam in Arabic are cognates indeed. But Hebrew and Arabic are no more alike than French and English - what does "preservative" mean in English and what does preservatif mean in French, for example?
In English it's a food additive - in French it's a birth control device. Yet they come from the exact same root: "preserve"/preserver with the same root meaning.
This is a problem that Christians MUST deal with. There is too much political correctness existing with Christians these days. We are not one in the Spirit with all other religions, and somehow the differences mustn't be ignored for the sake of unity. YET, we are all one nation---We are all Americans. In that sense, we can unite.
A sticky wicket.
..It was always my understanding that it was the beginning of the Arab people..however in the last few years I have heard Islam traced to Jacob and Essau...
It is interesting to note that in the Muslim "bible" it is Ishmael ,not Issac that Abram was told to sacrifice and it was Ishmael that submits to His Fathers authority and climbs on that altar (interesting that Islam means submission huh?) what say ye Jerry??
Wholeheartedly agree. Although, as a Christian, I do not agree with Islam but rather see it as the branch that was cast off to be the enemy of God's chosen, I leave judgment to God. Personally do not want the responsibility as it would be way too much for me to bear. I agree that our war against terrorism is not against Islam, but against the terrorists and those that help them. Those individuals who take it upon themselves to take retribution against any one individual or group merely because of their religious beliefs or ethnic background are terrorists themselves and should be treated as such.
OUR WAR IS AGAINST TERRORISM AND FOR LIBERTY, and should not be against Islam and for Christianity. But, because the terrorists acted for the sake of Islam as they understood it, I believe we need to understand their perspective in order to understand the enemy. Unfortunately, the terrorists themselves created a "Holy War."
The problem is in seperating the terrorist Islam from the non-terrorist Islam---as far as defense of our Nation is concerned.
"America's enemies know us better than we know them," Thomas said. "They take their faith in a false god more seriously than we take our faith in the true one. Be careful with what you see and hear."
I couldn't agree with Thomas more. Our government needs to understand AND take seriously the mindset of these terrorists. It's no wonder they are spred out all over our country, freely planning and executing their destructive goals. Perhaps our government will now be forced to know your enemy. . . information is power.
A note about Lee Strobel: He is a God-fearing man, a superb pastor/teacher, and a fine person as well. One can see how much he cares about the lost by lovingly and boldly bringing the message of sin and repentance from the pulpit.
Lee's salvation testimony tracing his journey from being one of the top reporters at the Chicago Tribune to becoming a child of God is not one to be missed. A couple of his more famous books are: "The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus," and "The Case for Faith."
What a man of God he is!
How does he know that since there were no Muslims on the planet in Christ's time. Is this another guy who communicates with supernatural beings? - Tom
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