Islam: One's Christian's Opinion

For several years, I was a member of an interfaith dialog with Muslims. I learned a great deal and many of my preconceived ideas about Islam were overturned. Many years ago, a well educated Christian leader with a PhD in comparative religion told me that Islam was essentially a militant brotherhood. The Imam who participated in the dialog was no militant. He was a kind clergyman who tended gently to his flock. He taught a peaceful form of Islam that embraced dialog and respected his Christian and Jewish neighbors.

When Christians complain that Islam is taken over by militant Jihadists, I think of the words of Jerry Falwell blaming 9-11 on lesbians and liberals. I think of Franklin Graham saying that Islam is a terrible religion. I think of the Southern Baptist leader who called Muhammed a pedophile. I think of the General who proclaimed that he had won battles in Afghanistan because the Muslim God was false but the Christian God was not.

Radical militant Muslims are a threat to their own societies and to ours, but Islam itself, the peaceful gentle religion is no threat. Many of my colleagues in the university and in human services consider Christianity a threat to human well-being. However, I have to assure them that Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, and others do not represent the peaceful voice of Jesus - they do not represent the Jesus whose teachings I try to follow.

Inshallah