My (earnest, irate) thoughts

Bridge building between Christians and Muslims is an article written by Dr. Jamal Badawi about dialogue between Muslims and People of the Book (Jews and Christians), the meaning of Islam, Islamic monotheism, the nature of the human, the relationship between God and humankind, the role of Muhammad, accountability and salvation, and the attitude of Muslims toward non-Muslims. Here is an excerpt:

The Qur’an teaches us that the human race is given an innate pure nature called fitrah. Knowledge of Allah and innate spirituality are inherent in human existence, but this spirituality can betray us if it is not led in the right direction. To depend on a merely human feeling of the guiding Spirit is dangerous. Many groups, even cults, claim to be guided by the spirit or by God or by revelation, yet these groups hold divergent, even contradictory, beliefs. We find people behaving in contradictory ways who claim nonetheless that each is doing the will of God. “I feel,” they say, “that the spirit guides and directs me.”

This reminds me of people I met recently — Christian missionaries in southeast Asia who had some troubles with the government, which was annoyed because other Christian missionaries claiming to be “children of God” had danced in the nude and encouraged promiscuous sex as a path to enlightenment. See, the government had trouble making distinctions between which groups of white Americans were going to teach literacy and the Bible, and which groups of white Americans were members of wacky cults. Talk about delusional. Far be it from me to judge — I’ll leave that role to God — but I’m insulted on behalf of Christianity and Islam that folks would say Jesus made them behave in such a bizarre, disrespectful manner. This is why it’s so important not just to have the light of the candle (belief/right thought), but the lantern in which to protect its flame (methodology/right action).

A credible source of revelation is imperative. Throughout history Allah has selected particular individuals to convey His message, to receive His revelation and to exemplify it for mankind. For some of these prophets, holy books or scriptures were given revealing Allah’s commands and guidance. For most of you the names of these prophets found in the Qur’an will sound familiar: Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, John the Baptist, Jesus, and, finally, the last prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon them all. These prophets carried the same basic message: “Not an apostle did We send before you without this inspiration sent by Us to him: that there is no god but I; therefore worship and serve Me.” (al Anbiya 21:25)

I am annoyed with my Muslim brothers and sisters who would throw out the baby with the bathwater, and discard the holy writs of Judaism and Christianity because they have been changed. To best study the Qur’an, Muslims must be familiar with the Bible. The Qur’an tends to be poetic, not chronological, and usually hits the high points without going into meticulous historical detail. In fact, it’s my understanding that the early Muslims were devouring Jewish texts, etc. in their quest to be the best Muslims possible. For God’s sake, it was the fact that I recognized biblical stories in the Qur’an that caused me to stop, ponder and consider the incredible possibility that God had revealed and safeguarded a Final Testament for us. I think it’s high time we return to the philosophy of the early Muslims. Seek knowledge, even if it’s all the way to China, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did say.

It is to my great dismay that bridge-building is something I struggle with personally. You’d think I would know how to talk to Christians because I was one, and yet, I can only talk to Christians who a) know some history; and b) are not brainwashed. Otherwise, I feel a little bit like I’m trying to explain calculus to someone who doesn’t know how to count. I do try to talk to them anyway, but I usually just end up making them mad. I comfort myself that anger must be the default state of mind of people who maintain either of the following: a) American militarism goes hand-in-hand with Jesus; and b) Arabs and Jews are not related. It’s hard work believing stuff that ain’t true.