A Christian Response to the Evils of ISIS and the Building of Bridges with Muslims

I have been hesitant in writing this blog, but a friend and mentor once said that a writer must be willing to speak truth, however imperfect that truth might be.  I have grown increasingly concerned with the rhetoric that seems to grow more pervasive among Conservative Evangelical Christians regarding our relationship to those adhering to the religion of Islam, especially in wake of the violent and horrific human rights crimes of ISIS.  I am hesitant because I am one to recognize the complexity of all that is involved and understand that any blog post runs the risk of over simplifying.  However, if for nothing else, as a pastor I believe it is important that the people God has called me to lead understand where I stand.  So what follows is a Christian response, not by any means the only Christian response.

Back Story

Perhaps some of my inability to remain quiet is born of an experience that I’ve had with Muslims.  I was trained in the U.S. Army as an Arabic Linguist from perhaps one of the finest language schools in the world.  Our instructors were native born Arabic speakers from multiple countries, most of which were observant Muslims.  These were native born Arab-Muslims working with and for the United States Government to ensure that those that did harm to others in the name of politics or religion were brought to justice.  These men and women that trained us were men and women of compassion and peace.  They extended the hand of concern for those of us they called student.  They were generous, gracious, and extremely hospitable.  Numerous times we shared a table together, breaking pita and sharing in the best tabouli.  I never once encountered these men and women hell-bent on violent world domination.  Instead, they were much like you and I.  Men and women, committed to their religious beliefs but interpreting those beliefs through the lens of human flourishing. 

Another Problem

I guess another problem I have is our inability as American Conservative Evangelicals to separate the “church” from the nation of the “U.S.”  They are radically different.  However much you choose to believe that this country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, that doesn’t discredit that we as a nation have a non-establishment amendment for religion in our Constitution and likewise one does not have to be a Christian or religious at all to be a committed patriotic national.  The church however is international.  It spans the globe and knows no boundaries.  It finds itself in countries, many of which are predominately Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist.  Yet the Christian church in these countries continues to thrive, sometimes in conjunction with and in shared partnership with those of other religious backgrounds.  Sometimes in the face of great persecution.  In times of global crisis, the church mustn’t be swept away by nationalism, fear, and violence, instead its response must be calculated, intentional, thoughtful, and in pursuit of peace.

The Problem with Violent Extremists

It’s right here where this may start to sound a bit idealistic.  It’s not intended to, but perhaps that is unavoidable.  ISIS and other violent extremists make the pursuit of peace very difficult, especially when they appear bent on the extermination of those that refuse their brand of religious faith.  It’s horrific to see the deaths of the 21 slain Christians.  I can’t begin to imagine the complexity of determining what must be done from a government and military perspective, nor would I try to venture a solution.  Their deaths were tragic, as well as the several thousand martyrs that died for their Christian faith all around the globe last year according to www.worldwatchmonitor.org.  However, because ISIS now receives the full-brunt of our twenty-four hour news media and commentary from everyone from the President of the United States to Duck Dynasty Star Phil Robertson, it becomes important that we understand that not all Islam is the same.

There is Diversity of Belief

Not everyone that follows the religious tradition of Islam is a violent extremist.  This should be obvious but in times of fear, it grows increasingly cloudy.  There are varieties of Islam, much like there are varieties of Christianity.  There are those that we might call fundamentalists, those who’s doctrine and dogma seemingly creates a binary of “true believer” and “infidel.”  These can be found in nearly every religion.  Those that tout they are the depository of “true religion” are often those least patient with those that fall outside their narrow, prescriptive, legalistic, and often violent traditions.  There are those we might call conservative.  These are Muslims that choose to keep close to the Quran, follow the Five Pillars, some of the women opt to wear the hijab.  They seek deep devotion with conservative social stances, often placing them at odds with what they would consider the Western lewdness of entertainment, sexuality, and financial greed.  Sounds like some conservative Baptists I know.  There are progressive Muslims who like progressive Christians live, work, and share life in their communities without a staunch practice of the Muslim faith.  Progressives often see religion not so much about the specificity of doctrine but about the possibility of religion as a means of human flourishing in this world.

It’s an Interpretation Issue

What makes for variety in religious traditions?  Often it has everything to do with interpretation of theology, of sacred text, and of relationship of faithful followers with politics.  There is absolutely a theology informing the movement of ISIS.  They can’t be written off as non-religious.  But understand it is a way of understanding their theology that makes them different from the Muslims all over the world who disagree with ISIS.  Not all Muslims would want to be identified with the theology of ISIS, in fact they would be repulsed by it.  Much like many of us would be repulsed by the identification of Christian theology behind the Ku Klux Klan or the Nazi’s who used the German church in World War II to give legitimacy to their work.  Few of us would ascribe to the theology that supported slavery or the genocide of Native Americans.  How you make sense of theology determines the ways in which you lean.  Likewise, the ways in which the sacred text of a religious tradition is interpreted and read can differentiate between those sharing the same religious name.  For instance, I as a Wesleyan/Nazarene read the sacred text of the bible much different from my primitive Baptist brothers and sisters, different than my Catholic brothers and sisters, and different from my Presbyterian brothers and sisters.  The same could be said of Islam.  There are multiple ways to read the sacred text of Islam that often differs between Sunni and Shiite, Wahhabi and Sufi, again conservative and progressive (and a wide spectrum in between).  And finally, there is a difference in the ways in which we interpret our religion in terms of political interests.  There are those that prefer a theocratic rule, where the leaders of a political state are religious leaders.  This has been tried throughout history and often comes to a very bloody end.  There are those that live in tension, like myself recognizing that my first allegiance is to the Kingdom of God, but I live and participate as a citizen of this world.  There are those that opt for a more secularist vision, where religion is separated completely from politics.  There are also those that withdraw completely from politics and live in sectarian communities.  These can be found in most religious traditions, including Islam and Christianity. 

The Big Deal

Why would I risk writing this knowing the potential backlash from brothers and sisters in Christ that might not agree with me?  For a few reasons:

1.)     Radicalization:  Our rhetoric that states you are either a violent Muslim (Because all Islam is violent) or not is helping to radicalize youth.  We are playing a dangerous zero-sum game.  We are drawing a dichotomy that is saying to Muslim youth who perhaps are on the fence regarding which brand of interpretive tradition that they will choose that we will choose for them.  They must be violent.  We are pushing Muslims, some of whom have grown up in traditions that have nothing to do with the violent agendas of ISIS and Al Qaeda to reconsider.  We are telling them we see you only one way.  If that is the path that has been chosen for them then of course they will eventually choose that path. 

2.)    Down Right Insulting:  It is horribly insulting to tell a family in places like Nashville, TN, Dearborn MI, or Peoria, IL who seek their religious tradition faithfully, who go to work each day, who pay taxes and are American citizens, who have the same concerns for their families, their children, their finances that we do as conservative evangelical Christians that they are inherently evil.  It is wrong to force these men, women, and children to live in fear around us simply because their tradition is different from ours. 

3.)    It Destroys Bridges:  Both religiously and politically unhealthy rhetoric has the potential of destroying bridges that exist between allies.  There are missionaries all over the world, who working for Christ are working with moderate Muslims to make improvements in their communities, in schooling, and in human rights.  Likewise, to identify all Muslims according to the brand of ISIS is to threaten the political allies that the U.S. and Western World has in predominately Muslim Countries, some of which have nuclear potential.  Why blatantly insult our allies?

4.)    It fuels the Pundits of Fear, Hate, and War-Mongering:  If we are unable to differentiate among Muslims those that truly seek to live in peace from those that seek to do evil, we are allowing the few obnoxious, pundits of fear and hate to determine the conversation.  I know, I know…they make for great sound bites.  Please understand there are many who profit, who make fortunes spinning us up into a crazed war seeking frenzy.

In the End…

I personally like to keep the end goal in mind when I look at life.  I have a confessionally end of times theologically informed mindset.  The end goal, or the trajectory to which I believe human history is moving is toward peace and the “beloved community” of God.  I draw this from Revelation 21 and 22.  My whole being keeps these goals forever in mind.  However, it’s the “end” that I think drives much of this violence and hateful rhetoric.  In Conservative Evangelical Christianity we allow a sick desire for the violent sadistic ending “apparently” described in this apocalyptic, highly nuanced text of Revelation to drive our speech and actions.  Many Christians are obsessed with the violence of Armageddon, almost as if they are cheering it on.  This violence enables them to say, “We are in the last days.”  Yep, and have been for the last 2000 years, remembering this isn’t the first onslaught of violence that has plagued our world.  We were in the last days when Christians were being fed to lions in Rome.  We were in the last days when Crusaders and Turks were locked in an epic cosmic battle.  We were in the last days when Catholics and Protestants were slaying one another in Europe in the 17^th Century.  We were in the last days when slaves were being ripped from their homeland and Native Americans were being displaced from theirs.  We were in the last days when Hitler ruled and millions were gassed.  We were in the last days when 2 atomic bombs were dropped on civilian populations.  We were in the last days when 800,000 Rwandans were savagely killed in a 4 month period.  We were in the last days when a sick man in a commune in Waco Texas all the while spouting Christian Scripture led to the mass death of many.  We were in the last days when two towers came down in the heart of a great city.  We are in the last days now.  As we stand in the last of days, will we do so with hateful violent speech on our lips, eagerly anticipating the end of our enemies?  Or will we choose as followers of Jesus to lean into the end with a heart full of love, actions full of peace, speech dripping with grace, and all the while loving our neighbor as ourselves, even when our neighbor has a different religious tradition than we do?  I wander what might be the end, then?  I choose love and peace, leaning into the God’s beloved community! 

Final Note:
This has absolutely nothing to do with whether the nation of US launches a strike against ISIS.  I don’t pretend to be qualified to give such advice.