So tonight we begin to really dig deeper into Nabeel Qureshi's new book, Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward. From the very beginning of the book, the tender dedication Nabeel makes to his sister, I am reminded of what really is at stake here. Many times when Muslims convert to Christianity, they must leave everything behind, including their family. It makes forming a true relationship with people so much more important because you and Jesus may be all they have when they walk away. Also, it is vital to remember to pray for the newcomers as well as their loved ones. The church must step in to "fill the gap," not as a replacement or a substitute, but as a manifestation of God's love as our new brothers and sisters in Christ move forward in their walk with Him.
Nabeel speaks from personal experience in the introduction about the impact September 11th had on him and his family as well as the Muslim community that he was a part of. I truly cannot imagine what it must have been like and what it continues to be like for the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world every time there is a terrorist attack. I believe we must step out of our comfort zones and engage with everyone - really know and love our neighbor like we have been called to do. The truth is we cannot truly love them until we can look past clothing, race, religion, etc., and see people for who they really are, image-bearers of God. By showing people the love of Christ, we are showing them Christ.
There are some pretty tough facts presented in this book, but in order to confront the problems that we're facing today we must speak the truth in love. As I said in my initial review, I feel like Nabeel did an outstanding job of doing just that. So, as we go through the questions, I'm going to touch on some of what I felt were powerful points that he made. I cannot encourage you enough to get the book and read it for yourself. This is not a comprehensive explanation of everything the book contains.
Nabeel says, "Acknowledging violence built into the foundations of Islam could lead people to see Islam as a necessarily violent religion, and by uncritical extension, it might lead people to see all Muslims as inherently or latently violent people. We must boldly assert that these are false and dangerous conclusions, but that does not mean we ought to close our eyes to a common impetus for radicalization. Until we diagnose and respond to the actual causes of radicalization, we will continue to lose the sons and daughters of peaceful Muslim parents to terrorism."
When we look at the statistics, there are 1.6 billion Muslims across the globe making Islam the second largest religion. Most Muslims are not violent people. So where is the disconnect that has to exist to make sense out of this fact and what we see on the news? It's vital to understand Muslims' perspectives as well as what Islam is.
We'll get into that in subsequent posts. Please feel free to post any questions or comments, with the understanding that all posts must remain respectful. To get more information on Nabeel's book, see www.answeringjihad.com.
-A-
