Is “a terrorist” and “Muslim” the same thing?
A mistake that lies at the very core of this particular discussion is how media and also many faith(Evangelical and mainline churches,Catholic and protestant, Jewish communities etc), political parties (in the states the democrats and Republicans united on this one) and anti faith movements( like all the new atheists Dawkins, Harris etc) had a field day in linking the fundamentalist maniac terrorist Islam with All Islam.
When Muslims want to build a mosque in New york (which we now know is not a mosque but a faith community far from ground zero) we look at them as the same people who flew into the twin towers.
This is really a grave mistake, the two fields of faith are as far from each other as Night is dark and day is light. I certainly don’t want to be put in the same Christian category as maniac terrorist Christians in India,Northern Ireland, Russia or Uganda (where the christian terrorist groups are known for there usage of children soldiers) who blow up Muslims and others who do not believe as they do. See this is the mistake we now are doing with Muslims who wish to build mosques wherever they want to. They, like us, have nothing to do with terrorism, and want nothing to do
with it. As we find it offensive to be linked with christian,Jewish or western terrorists they find it offensive that we even think the thought.
Only when we put all Muslims in the category “terrorist” will building a mosque in New York be a sick and horrendous provocation. And when we don’t, it certainly isn’t a provocation.
Now if we still want to put them in the same category as terrorists, my thoughts below might be food for thought;
The only Christian thing to do
I am a dedicated follower of Jesus and try to live my life as close as I can to how I understand who he is all about! The reason this whole act of allowing a mosque in a place so linked with suffering and pain caused to the christian west by some maniac far out fundamentalist Muslims, and how that again created so much pain,injustice and suffering for the “normal” Muslims everywhere in the world is in my view “beautiful”. I see forgiveness in that, I see “turn the other cheek” in that, I see generosity in that, I see love in that. And those are some of the fundamental things that draw me to Christianity in the first place!
I have lived or visited in many fundamentalist Muslim nations, let me name a few; Pakistan, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Iran, Egypt, Morocco, Palestine(the part which is not christian) and I have spent time with lots of Christians who demand that “we” Christian westerners should be allowed to build a church. And in most cases we were allowed to despite a history of Christians doing horrendous things in many of these nations.(ground zero look a likes)I hear how we now condemn Muslims building mosques in our nations? And we take for granted that we should build our churches in these Muslim nations – and many times are disallowed.
The “wanna be” enlightened west whose very foundation is built on religious freedom and many other basic human rights are now in the process of becoming “al-Qaida Christians/Westerners/Atheists/Jews/Republicans/Democrats”, whom no longer fight for religious freedom and other basic human rights, but who are now fighting for “our” values,smells and religious beliefs in a way that is anti human rights, anti religious freedom. I hear the arrogant attitude of “We know the way”, “I know best” and anyone who “believes or thinks different than me” needs to change their ways to be allowed to exist in the same neighborhood as I. “They” need to be exactly the same as us to have the right to survive. Its a war between the “us” and “the others”. Us being the good guys, the others being evil and non- humane. And human rights went right out the window in the name of; I want to win and be dominant!
This is needless to say a very dangerous path to walk down.
First they came for the…
If I cant convince you to understand how a “Muslim is not the same as Terrorist” then the following might be of interest; As a follower in the way of Jesus, I have learned to always take the first step. This forces me to not Let us wait till they allow churches or freedom of speech in Medina or Mecca(they never will), to not let us wait till they share our values, till they smell like us, till they conform to everything we are, only when we feel they deserve it…lets not love only to get something in return, or only when “the other” deserves love. And let us not put every Muslim in the same category as a Terrorist. A wise man once said; “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you”…the same man also said; “do to others as you want them to do to you.”
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for the Muslims, and I did not speak out-because I was not a Muslim;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.
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