Christian, Islam & the Fear of the Unknown

History displays a variety of responses from Christians against Muslims, ranging “from friendly to hostile, from condescending to fearful, from calls for crusade to plans for alliance” (Tolan 2000:xix). For centuries these attitudes impeded Western understandings of Islam. 

A George-Barna poll recently noted that American Christians are more likely than average Americans to hold hostile attitudes toward their enemies and approve of violence, even torture (Boyd 2011: podcast). Western orientations about Muslims is not a recent phenomenon sparked by radical terrorism, but rather a historically consistent narrative surrounding Islam’s beginnings. Phillip Jenkins writes:

. . . the long-term prognosis for interfaith relations is not good. This does not mean that either religion is of itself violent or intolerant, but both have potent traditions of seeking to implement their views through political action: the two sisters are simply too much alike to live side by side. (Jenkins 2002:168-9)

As global civilization continues to develop, understanding between Christians & Muslims is essential.  Dr. Sidney Griffith writes, “It is important to take cognizance of the seldom acknowledged fact that after the consolidation of the Islamic conquest and the consequent withdrawal of “Roman”/“Byzantine” forces from the Fertile Crescent in the first half of the seventh century, perhaps 50 percent of the world’s confessing Christians from the mid-seventh to the end of the eleventh centuries found themselves living under Muslim rule.” (Griffith 2010:11). 

The Western world's knowledge of Islam is essentially null during its first four centuries. Peter the Venerable visited Spain in 1142 with the intention to undergo “more precise studies of the sources of Islam” (Kung 2007:9). The following year, Robert of Ketton completed the first English translation of the Qur’an. Despite this translation, its publication did not occur for another four centuries.

Had European Christians read the Qur’an they may have been surprised at how much in 

common the two faiths shared with one another. The Qur’an repeats a collection of various Christian traditions held sacred throughout the world in the seventh century. Is it possible that the Qur’an’s editors sought to unify a fractured Arab-Christian & Arab-Jewish community under the newly formalized Arabic empire of the seventh-century?

There are over 90 occurrences of Jesus within the Qur’an. Is it likely that Western Christian interactions with Muslims through the Crusades fostered an exegesis of the Qur’an which began to take an increasingly negative stance on Christianity? The Qur’an could be appropriately exegeted to confirm both Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. However, it is almost universally believed within Islam that Jesus did not die on the cross. Could this influence have originated in Crusade’s adoption of the Cross as symbol for military conquest? 

While Thomas Aquinas was familiar with Islam’s philosophies and confident in his ability to defend Christianity against them, he was interested in neither the Qur’an nor dialoguing with Muslims. (Kung 2007:9)  Tensions between Muslims and Christians during the period of the fifteenth through nineteenth century became more political than theological. Notably the Spanish Inquisition put to death or expel many Muslims, Jews and Protestants as a means to secure a more Catholic Spanish national state (McKay 2004:466). Wars in Europe over competing Christian kingdoms led to further alliances with the Ottoman Empire (McKay 2004:631-2). According to McKay, “Ottoman pressure proved an important factor in the official recognition of Lutheran Protestants at the Peace of Augsburg in 1555” (McKay 2004:632). 

Early American Colonists became familiar with Islam through reports of Muslim Barbary (Northwestern African/Spanish) pirates kidnapping sailors to use as slaves and convert them to Islam. The threat of losing parishioners to Islam inspired many American pastors to write polemics against Islam declaring the superiority of Christianity in order to motivate faithfulness. Thomas Kidd notes that Cotton Mather wrote several works on the Barbary Captivity writing:

As was Mather’s wont, he penned A Pastoral Letter as if he meant the captives themselves to read it, but the letter was actually meant for readers in New England itself. In it, he promoted Christianity as a superior religion to Islam, and warned the captives to stand faithfully against the ‘Mahometan Tempters.’ Mather demonstrated some knowledge of the Qur’an by citing an English translation to prove that if Muslims read their holy book correctly, they would see that it pointed to Christ as the true Messiah. He cautioned prisoners to realize that their captivity in Africa was temporary, but captivity to sin was much worse and only gave a foretaste of the eternal torment to come in hell. (Kidd 2009:5) 

The decline of Barbary pirate activities in the eighteenth century did not reduce pastoral rhetoric against Islam within the West.  Enlightenment philosophy stirred up unbelief and doubts regarding the truthfulness of Christianity and Islam provided a common enemy for Christians to rally against as a distraction. The True Nature of Imposture Displayed in the Life of Mahomet by Humphrey Prideaux became one of the most popular books in the period to inform American colonial Protestant Christians about Islam (Kidd 2009:7-8). Kidd states: 

Prideaux lamented how many Deists had charged Christianity with imposture, and he meant to hold up Islam as an actual fraught against which Christianity’s legitimacy would become more apparent. . . .Prideaux’s treatment of Muhammad was likely the most influential in eighteenth-century Anglo-America. (Kidd 2009:8-9)

Until we come to grips with our emotions and identify fear as an unhealthy response to threats of the unknown, we are entitled to repeat histories mistakes. Our response and fear of the unknown is what allowed for the terror that exist today. Only education and embrace will deter the terror of tomorrow. Through education we can rid ourselves of false narratives intended to breed fear, hatred and dehumanization. There are Muslims that see Christianity as the closest of all the world’s faiths as friends (Sura 5:82). Equally there existed Christians throughout history who valued the cultural achievements within Islam. May we seek to understand and embrace their example. 

Boyd, Greg (Speaker)

2011 Christmas beyond the pattern (Sermon Podcast 12/04/2011) St. Paul, MN: Woodland Hills Church

Griffith, Sidney H. 
          2010 The Church in the shadow of the mosque. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
Jenkins, Phillip

2002 The next Christendom: the coming of global  Christianity. New York, NY: Oxford University  Press.

Kidd, Thomas S. 

2009 American Christians and Islam. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press

Kung, Hans

2007 Islam: past, present and future. Trans. John  Bowden. Oxford, England: Oneworld Publications

McKay, John., John Buckler, Bennett D. Hill, Patricia Buckley Ebrey 

2004 West and South Asia: The Islamic world powers, CA 1450-1800. A History of world societies 6th ed.  (pp. 627-657). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company

Tolan, John Victor

2000 Medieval Christian perceptions of Islam. New York, NY: Routledge.

Muslims Across The World Speak Out!!!

Around 5 years ago a collection of Islamic Jurist and Imam's got together to write a letter to the Christian Church. You may want to sit down when you read it...

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

A Common Word between Us and You

(Summary and Abridgement)

Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians.

The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour. These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity. The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the necessity of love of the neighbour is thus the common ground between Islam and Christianity. The following are only a few examples:

Of God’s Unity, God says in the Holy Qur’an: Say: He is God, the One! / God, the Self-Sufficient Besought of all! (Al-Ikhlas, 112:1-2). Of the necessity of love for God, God says in the Holy Qur’an: So invoke the Name of thy Lord and devote thyself to Him with a complete devotion (Al-Muzzammil, 73:8). Of the necessity of love for the neighbour, the Prophet Muhammad ( صلى الله عليه وسلم )said: “None of you has faith until you love for your neighbour what you love for yourself.”

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Find more: 

http://www.acommonword.com/

Christianity v. Islam

"...the critical political factors around the world are not decided by attitudes toward class or dialectical materialism, but rather by rival concepts of God."

Christianity vs. Islam

A worldview is hard to transform among any culture. Age-old perceptions of beliefs pass down to each generation. Phillip Jenkins writes:

At the turn of the third millennium, religious loyalties are at the root of many of the world’s ongoing civil wars and political violence, and in most cases, the critical division is the age-old battle between Christianity and Islam. However, much this would have surprised political analysts a generation or two ago, the critical political factors around the world are not decided by attitudes toward class or dialectical materialism, but rather by rival concepts of God. (Jenkins 2002:163)

The Law of Retaliation rules Christian-Muslim relations. If current trends continue, by 2050, twenty of the world’s largest nations will be predominately Christian or Muslim, which could lead to serious interfaith conflicts if the ethos held toward the other faith does not change (Jenkins 2002:166).

Western prejudice toward Islam shape their perception of history. Islam’s advance into Spain and Byzantium confirmed, for the  West, Islam’s greedy intentions to crush Christianity out in Europe. The capture of Jerusalem by Islamist prompted the Crusades. “Barbaric” Muslim pirates kidnapped European colonists forcing them to convert to Islam or serve as slaves. These examples of historical narratives reinforce Western stereotypes promoting continued retaliatory relations between Christianity and Islam. 

The Islamic worldview cannot separate Western political actions from their religious convictions. Therefore, false perceptions regarding Christianity exist within Islam. Increased secularism and syncretism within the “Christian West” support Islamic repudiation of Christianity. The Law of Retaliation will remain unchallenged as long as false-perceptions persist.

 Toward An Embracing of Retaliatory Love

Just as the transformative Worldview of the Kingdom guided the widowed women to respond to the Aucas the way they did, this Love and Ethic is also the promise of hope for Christian-Muslim relations. Through the imitation of Retaliatory Love the Christian goes out of their way to seek to understand and serve those who oppose them, thereby bringing judgment upon the predominant worldview influencing their enemies and thus defeat the Law of Retaliation. The objective of a worldview shaped by the Kingdom of God is reconciliation made possible through Retaliatory Love. The life and ministry of Jesus clearly demonstrate both Retaliatory Love and the Worldview of the Kingdom, the fruits of which are to define the character of His People.

Jenkins, Phillip

2002 The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

The Law of Retaliation

"Guided by the Law of Retaliation, violent warfare defined the relationship between their tribe and others for centuries. That is until they personally encountered a group operating under a different law."

The Law of Retaliation

Examples in History

The Law of Retaliation has regulated humanity from the beginning of time. The Old Testament law along with Hammurabi’s Code posited that justice is equitably served through obedience to the maxim, “eye for an eye; tooth for a tooth” (Exo 21:24). Within Confucius’ Analects one finds the rule, “That which you do not desire, do not do to others” (Analects XV.24). While this rule sounds wise it is only comprehendible in a culture’s ethos that views retaliation as a form of justice. 

Among the Aucas

The Aucas are a native tribal group living in Latin America whose culture possessed a worldview that held viewed all peoples outside of their tribe as cannibals. Guided by the Law of Retaliation, violent warfare defined the relationship between their tribe and others for centuries. That is until they personally encountered a group operating under a different law. 

Five male foreigners traveled by plane in order to make contact with this Amazonian tribal group. To establish relationship with this notoriously violent people, the foreigners sought a gift exchange by lowering gifts from their crop plane flying above their village. Success of the gift exchange inspired confidence among the foreigners to pursue a personal relationship. Unknown to the foreigners, however, is their pervasive cultural ethos to fear all people outside of their tribal group. In fact, some motivated by their fear believed the foreigners were seeking to entrap them in a cannibalistic plot. Upon the naïve foreigner’s personal contact with the tribal group, warriors among the tribe arose to murder these five men.

To complete the work their husbands started, two of the widowed wives made plans to personally contact the tribal group. Prior to their husband’s deaths they learned the Auca language from a native girl living within their base camp. Assisted by the native girl they journeyed into the jungle to find the Aucas. What awaited the Auca people when the women found them was vastly different from the retaliation they were accustomed to. The women’s response to the Aucas, in light of their husband’s deaths, shattered their ethos and forced them to revaluate their previous understandings regarding foreigners. 

What was the response of the women that caused such a dramatic change in the worldview of an entire group? Instead of seeking retaliation, the women forgave their husband’s murders, lived among them and learned their culture in attempt to develop empathy with them. The ethos demonstrated from this behavior is completely antithetical to the Law of Retaliation that predominates the world’s cultures (Buswell 2007:14-15). 

Buswell III, James O. 

2007 4: Review: Worldview, theology, missions. In Winter, Ralph D., Stephen D. Morad and Beth Snodderly (Eds.), Expanding world lesson overviews 4th Edition (pp. 14-18). Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library. 

Rediscovering Christianity Through Islam

The pictures of the Virgin Mother stared back at me from the front seat of the cab. The sweat resting on the back of my shirt reminding me that Cairo is a very hot place to live. I found it interesting riding in this cab through those chaotic streets swerving around traffic that I was sitting with a Coptic Christian.

The various images of religious icons hovering on his dash made quite the impression this was a very religious man. Coptic Christians are the minority population in Egypt. They claim their origins began with the missionary journeys of the author of the oldest gospel, John Mark. [Side note: In Alexandria I attempted to visit the cathedral where John Mark is said to have been buried, but alas every cathedral in Alexandria claims to have John Mark buried there.]

Before I left the cab I asked him if there was any way I could pray for him. He then told me a story that he feared for his daughter's soul. She was befriending some Muslim gals and he didn't want to see her lose her faith. It reminded me of the advise we give youth in our evangelical churches. To avoid hanging out with those of other faiths or beliefs. This will in turn strengthen your faith. This advise does not lend much faith in the powerful work of the Spirit who is alone the one who draws us to the Father.

This article by Philip Clayton encouraged me, that we should not fear hanging out with others of different faith or philosophical viewpoints from us. In the end they could be the very source of a renewed confidence in our Hope. Check this article out "How I rediscovered Christianity through Islam."

Heroes of Christian-Muslim Dialogue: Raymond Lull

Raymond Lull was a 12th century Franciscan monk. 

Being a Christian meant more to him than just attending church and occasionally sharing his faith with others. 

His devotional interest in science led him to pen several treaties on alchemy and botany. Beyond science he was also creative, perhaps being the author of the first European novel. 

He pressed the Catholic church to promote the study of Arabic and other then-insufficiently studied languages in Spain for the purpose of discoursing with Muslims. 

He is best known for his Ars Magna. A circular tool, inspired from Arab astrology, to communicate with logic and reason various attributes of God in ways that Muslims would better understand what Christian's thought. Lull had believed that all believers of the three monotheistic faiths, would agree with these attributes and create for them a solid foundation from which to start dialogues. 

“Love is born of remembrance, it lives on understanding, it dies through forgetfulness.” - Raymond Lull

Humble Nomad Affects World History!

Dear Reader, 

Thank you for taking time to read this. I am writing this blog as a realm for my thoughts regarding my ambitions, preparations and aspirations for graduate work. 

Around 2000 BCE a humble nomad known as Abrahm,  had a radical religious experience that has profoundly influenced 55% of today’s global population. His transition to a monotheistic faith issued not only a change of name but of reputation still being felt to this day. Abraham, means “Father of a Multitude,” and these children are best described by their related religious faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is these later two faiths that I intend to concern myself with academically. 

Prior to the rise of Islam, there existed more Christians in the Middle East than there was anywhere in Europe. Before Islam was associated with Arabia, there was a significant history of Christianity among Arabs dating as far back as the day of Pentecost. However, upon the rise of Islam in the 7th century BCE, many Arab Christians, to the horror of many western Christians, embraced Islam, not as a new faith, but a more relevant form of Christianity. The question I wish to ask is “Why?” 

Theological statements and understanding are largely birthed out of questions our contemporary culture is asking. What were the questions that Arab Christians were wrestling with prior to Islam? What were the questions that Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was asking? Why is it that answers within Arabic Christianity and Judaism not satisfy those questions? What answers did Islam provide that struck a relevant chord with those who embraced Islam? How then did Arabic Christianity seek to address questions created by the rise of Islam, and how did Islam itself seek to address similar questions? 

Unfortunately, Western Christianity has been inundated with false narratives and rumors regarding Islam and its origins. What many of us know about Islam comes from biased sources written during the times of the Crusades. These attitudes were however not due to the rise of Islam as much as they were inherited from previous generations of racist sentiment toward Arabs stretching as far back as the First Century BCE, when Christianity was arising. 

Therefore, it is not hard to imagine how this lack of historical understanding greatly hinders many of today’s contemporary Muslim-Christian dialogues. It is my ambition to ReOeient Abraham in order to assist in the academic reconstruction of a historically accurate accounting of Muslim-Christian relations as they existed within the first two centuries of Islam’s birth. I believe that knowing what questions they were asking each other then, and their responses could greatly affect the tone of our Western Christian impressions of Islam.