A
visitor comments on "Muslims as neighbors"
The Rev. Robert Campbell sends his comments on the
Rev. Alex
Awad's essay about his (Awad's) view - as a Christian living among Palestinian
Muslims - that American conservative Christians are harming the cause of
Christ among Muslims by their hostile rhetoric.
We've also received a comment, apparently responding
to this essay, from a Christian in
Pakistan. [9-18-02]
[9-13-02]
Dear Doug:
A couple of comments on the article by Alex Awad.
First, I agree with him. We need to be Christians and
love all people, even those who fly jets into buildings. Further, we
need to recognize that the average Muslim on the street in any primarily
Muslim country is poor, undereducated, and subject to the rhetoric of
zealots. Ask Christians in Pakistan about their condition. They are
under constant threat by their neighbors who simply have to say that
this Christian tried to convert me and that person goes to jail. And
American policies overseas don't help. The average Muslim in Pakistan
sees Saddam Hussein as a hero fighting against Western immorality.
I also think that a war against Iraq is the height of
stupidity. It certainly doesn't meet just war criteria, particularly the
last item about success. If America wants to revisit the problems of
Vietnam, sending troops into the streets of Baghdad is a good way to
start. On top of that, the Sanctions against Iraq has destroyed the
middle class, killed babies, and strengthened Saddam Hussein's hand by
allowing him to blame the misery on the United States.
Those issues aside, I think our brother in Christ Alex
missed a few points. First, Islam started out as an evangelical/military
religion. If Mohammed had simply sent missionaries out across the Middle
East, Asia, Africa and Europe Alex's analysis might be completely true.
The original Muslims, however, converted by the sword. Some of your
readers may remember Charles Martel who defeated a Muslim army in France
thus preventing the conquering of Europe and the end of Western
Christianity. The military conflicts between so called Christian nations
and Muslim nations began long before the Crusades. The Muslims seem to
forget about that.
And yes, for many centuries Christians and Jews were
well treated in Muslim countries. Nevertheless they were second class
citizens. For example, the testimony of a Christian or Jew against a
Muslim was never taken seriously. The Muslim was always considered to be
the truth teller unless other Muslims testified against him.
I think there is no justification for the Crusades.
They were foolish, brutal wars fought for reasons that had nothing to do
with Christianity. The Crusades were really about economic access to the
far east. While many who fought may have done so out of faith in Christ,
they drastically misunderstood the nature of Christianity. Furthermore,
the sacking of Byzantium during the first Crusade suggests that there
were less than Christian motives involved.
A second important point. Most Muslims around the
world do not believe in any separation of Church and State. Consider the
application of Muslim law in Nigeria, Pakistan, and across much of the
Middle East. Consider the attacks on Christian villages in the Muluccas.
Consider, for that matter, something that our brother Alex does not
mention: the desecration of the Church of the Nativity and the use of
Christian villages and houses to shoot at Jewish settlements. Consider
the lack of freedom for Christians to worship at all in Saudi Arabia.
Consider the attacks on Christians and the destruction of church
buildings in Egypt. Most Muslim countries, with the exception of Turkey,
never went through any kind of division between religious institutions
and government. They certainly never went through the part of the
Enlightenment that encouraged religious toleration.
All this is to suggest that the whole question of
Christian/Muslim relations is a bit more complicated than anyone,
Evangelicals like Franklin Graham, or our brother Alex suggest. Careful
listening to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted for
their faith is an important first step in Christian/Muslim dialogue.
Understanding the whole history of Christian/Muslim relations going back
to the beginning is another important step. More important, and maybe
most important, understanding the effects of British and French
colonialism throughout the 19th Century and the promise breaking of the
British following W.W.II (to both Jews and Arabs) about Israel/Palestine
is another critical piece.
Finally, we Christians in the West need to hear our
Muslim friends and even the radicals. The United States is identified as
the great Satan not just because of our foreign policy but because of
the immoral messages we send out on TV.
While Brother Alex made many important points, I think
we need to consider the whole picture.
In Christ
Robert Campbell, pastor
First Presbyterian Church
Titusville, NJ
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