Rev. Mark S. Bollwinkel is a senior pastor of the United Methodist Church who once took up my article in his sermon at the Church. (Lily)
Los Altos Town Comn Crier(http://www.losaltos.com)
Don’t allow violent faction to define Muslim faith, 5 October 2010
by Rev. Mark S. Bollwinkel
I can’t imagine defining Christianity by the actions of the Irish Republican Army of the 1960s or the white supremacist groups in America today who wrap their hatred in Christian scripture and doctrine.
Yet when it comes to our Muslim neighbors, it would seem we are all too willing to let the Osama Bin Ladens of the world define the religion and life of the 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide, 1.1 million of whom are Americans, who are as diverse in doctrine and culture as Protestants.
In common discourse and throughout the media, we use such terms as “Islamic terrorists,” as if terrorism had anything to do with the religion of Islam – it is, in fact, antithetical to it in many ways. We commonly use the term “jihadist” to label violent extremists indirectly supporting their twisted misinterpretation of the word. “Jihad” is used in the Koran to describe “the struggle” within the individual’s life for submission to the will of God.
By using such language, are we really suggesting that 1.2 billion Muslims are terrorists by nature of their religion? Was the Oklahoma bomber, Timothy McVeigh, a “Christian terrorist,” as described in the press, because he was a baptized Christian? Did the media posit him as a model for Christian life in America? Of course not. Yet it would seem we are all too willing to allow a violent fraction to define the world’s second-largest religion.
I have had the privilege of living and working for more than five years in former British colonies (India, Kenya, Malaysia). In each location, I had close association with Muslims and their communities. At no time did anyone I meet attempt to convert me or speak negatively against my Christian faith.
In the 1980s, the church I was serving had the opportunity to resettle Muslim young men escaping the terrors of the Communist regime in Ethiopia. One of these men has become a dear family friend. Twenty-seven years later, he is a U.S. citizen, business owner, husband and father, raising four beautiful children. He is as appalled as I at the violence of 9/11, the ongoing warfare in the Middle East and those who are misusing his faith to manipulate other Muslims. At no time in our association has he or his family tried to convert me or do anything other than honor my Christian faith.
Jesus’ compassion for and relationships with those of other religions (Matthew 2:1, 8:5-10, 15:21-28; John 4) suggests that those who follow his teachings can be examples of just such respect for our neighbors of other faiths. And that means rejecting prejudice in exchange for humility and a willingness to learn about others different from ourselves.
One of the ways we will defeat terrorism is to reject the power of fear and prejudice on which it depends.
・The Rev. Mark S. Bollwinkel is senior pastor of Los Altos United Methodist Church, 655 Magdalena Ave.
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