I am also pro-pro-choice. I believe people who are pro-choice are created in the image of God and worthy of respect as those whom God loves, even if we don’t agree.

I am also pro-Muslim. I believe that Muslims are created in the image of God and therefore are valuable in his sight, even if we don’t agree on many important things.

I found the following excerpt from Sam Crabtree’s book, Practicing Affirmation, very helpful in thinking about how we talk with those with whom we disagree. I repost it in order to help both Muslims and Christians grow in our ability to affirm others even when we disagree.

Sam Crabtree:

On a very cold Minnesota winter morning I was bundled thick against the icy Canadian wind as I marched with several thousand others to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The march route was adorned by occasional pro-choice protesters with large placards chiding our pro-life efforts as being antiwoman. The setting was cold not only meteorologically speaking, but the air was chilled with icy looks and cold shoulders. In one part of the march a shouting match had erupted and it was ugly. It seemed to me that the pro-life marcher did a particularly poor job of winning friends and influencing people, and a pretty good job of making all of us marching with him appear to be angry, rude ruffians.

Continuing the march and seeing one particularly large and provocative placard, I felt the impulse to ask its guardians about it, but thought it would only erupt into a charged argument, and so I walked on by. Ten minutes or so later, I thought, “No. I’m going to speak with them,” and so I returned to the placard’s double guards, one of whom would not look at me or acknowledge my presence in any way. He looked off in the distance, literally stiff-necked. It had to be pretty hard work for him to ignore me and avoid me. And hard work it is when affirmation runs thin in relationships.

“May I ask about your placard?” I queried with a genuinely respectful tone, for these were human beings made in the image of God. There is more than one good way to jump-start an awkward relationship, and “May I ask you a question?” is one good way. Like a British Royal Guard, the one continued not to make eye contact with me and didn’t even twitch; to him I did not exist except as a threat to his placard and mission. But the second fella said, “Well, what?” (meaning, what’s your question?).

I took it as an invitation to continue. In strained relationships it can be very important to not proceed without an invitation, like playing “Captain, May I?” or “Simon Says.” Show deference to the captain and heedful respect to Simon. “I’m noticing your placard, here. I don’t know who designed it, but its graphics are strikingly attractive and its message is powerful.” There were no words on it, just a huge rendering of a coat hanger encircled with a slash through it. It was a graphic not hastily thrown together by some amateur, but was colorful and simple, and though we were on opposite sides of a controversial issue, I could affirm the graphic skill. So I did.

And then I took another figurative step forward, “I take your poster to mean that you oppose self-inflicted coat hanger abortions, am I right?” In tense situations, it can be good to not jump to conclusions, even when you’re pretty sure you already understand what the other side means. Slowing down to confirm the other party’s meaning is another way of affirming them as human beings who might like the opportunity to correct me if I have misunderstood. I am not beyond the possibility of misunderstanding, a healthy and humble admission to make.

“Right,” he replied, meaning that his poster was explicitly against coat hanger abortions.

Proceeding I said, “Well, I think we have something that you and I can enthusiastically agree on.” He looked at me as though I had forgotten which side of the issue I was marching on. “We both are in favor of the safety of women. We are men, and the safety of women is important to us, even though we aren’t women ourselves. I appreciate your willingness to come out here on a very cold day, seeking to protect women from a procedure that will never threaten you personally. That seems altruistic to me.” I’m not sure that he understood the word altruistic, but I am sure he took it as a compliment, which it was.

“May I ask another question?” While his sidekick still stood stiff as a poker, this man was opening up to me. By asking permission to pose another question instead of just charging forward, the conversation was kept from shutting down, like the shouting match that had erupted elsewhere on the march route.

“Sure,” he replied. The first time I asked permission to ask a question, he gave me a tentative “well, what?” because he was uncertain about what I might do. In response to my second request to interview him further, he replied casually with a “sure.” The cold was thawing. The door was opening.

So I asked my next question: “Could you tell me how many women have been injured by coat hanger abortions? Do you have that information, or could you point me to somebody who does?”

His stammering response was something like, “Hmm . . . nooo . . . no, I don’t.” His pokerfaced partner offered nothing, not even a flinch. “I suppose you could check at the library or somewhere,” was the best he could do. He wanted to help me do my research and get the facts. He was warming up.

On to my next question, “Well, can you tell me now many women have been injured by legal abortions in medical facilities?”

Same answer: “Hmm . . . nooo . . . no, I don’t, uh, have that information. I would think you might be able to get it at a library, or you could try to go online.”

He’s conversant now, and I moved on to my last question: “What do you say to the person who does have that information—the person who knows approximately how many women have been injured by coat hanger abortions in the United States and how many young women have been injured by legal abortions—what do you say to the person who has that information and knows that the number of woman inured by coat hanger abortions is less than one percent of the women who have been injured by legal abortions?” Checkmate. He looked embarrassed, which is appropriate.

He hung his head and looked at the ground. But he wasn’t angry, not with me. That is, he didn’t see me as his opponent; he saw the data as his opponent. He was awakening. Do you see how affirmation—looking for something to commend—opened the door to talk about the issue that divided us? And he was backing away from his hard stance. His partner walked off, having never said a word; we won’t win them all, and the practice of affirmation is no ironclad guarantee. Our conversation ended when the public address system fired up and the rally program began.

I hasten here to say that beautiful graphics should not be used in the service of killing defenseless children. But if I started my conversation there, I suspect our discussion would have quickly gone in the direction of the shouting match. My goal isn’t just to protest, but to persuade.

—Sam Crabtree, Practicing Affirmation (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), pp. 76-79.

HT: Justin Taylor

CNN is too liberal.

Al Jazeera is too . . . ?

Interestingly, a new study shows that American viewers believe Al Jazeera English is unbiased, that is, when the Al Jazeera logo is replaced by CNN’s logo.

So much of what we believe is conditioned by biases and presuppositions that we bring with us. How well do we recognize this in ourselves? We’re fools if we think we can see anything with absolute pure objectivity, but that isn’t an excuse to be blind to our biases.

HT: Omer Subhani

Bismillah. Received today from rom Imtiaz Wajih:
—
I am a 49 year old Muslim living in London. I thought it might be a good idea to set up a Meetup group to focus on the shared ground between Christians and Muslims.

We would be delighted if you could join us (even if you are too busy to attend our meetings). Please see the link below:http://www.meetup.com/christianmuslims/

Also, please see our website: http://www.christianmuslims.co.uk

Your comments and feedback would be most welcome. It’s all about peace …

Warm regards,
Imtiaz

This looks interesting and I am glad for Christians and Muslims to gather together in order to better know one another. However, this particular group seems to be of the kind that glosses over all differences between the religions. That is one of the mistakes of modern day dialogues between religions. (The other side of the mistake is to see ourselves in a battle that must be won against those we view as enemies). I still think we can be genuine peacemakers while at the same time standing for truth. We don’t have to pretend we all agree in order to be at peace with one another.

Svend is a Muslim. He reads Christianity Today. I don’t know if Svend reads this regularly, but I realized that I certainly don’t regularly read any Muslim magazines. I’d like to.

So do any of you have good suggestions for a magazine that highlights what is happening in the Islamic community and helps us understand events happening in the world from an Islamic perspective? Please give some recommendations in the comments section.

Going “under cover” as a Muslim to get to know Muslims implies that we are a closed, isolated group of individuals whose experiences cannot be known and understood unless an outsider comes in to examine us. . .

Meeting a Muslim person shouldn’t be an “encounter” or an “event,” but as ordinary a thing as Folgers coffee in the morning or checking email before going to work—all relieving kick-starts to the day.

I am asking America to return to the old ways of getting to know people; the methods that America was built on. You know, friendly “hellos” exchanged between neighbors, borrowing sugar or a beginner’s Arabic Calligraphy set, or bravely sampling the spicy samosa platter at a PTA meeting at your children’s school.

It is important that we do whatever we can in order to better understand those who are different than us, but I’ve always thought the best thing is to just get to know them. Are you getting to know, in a normal and ordinary way, those who are different than you?

Read the whole thing.

1. Leave some comforts at home: eat local, use local soap products, maybe wear some local garb.

2. Adhere to their customs and lifestyle: this could possibly mean taking your shoes off, waving at people a certain way, covering your head in a mosque, or opening a door for a stranger. Take local transport, or visit non-touristy markets and neigborhoods.

3. Don’t stay in the most touristy area: there is a tourist box waiting for you to fit into, counteract this by getting off the beaten path.

4. Use their language: get a phrase book and practice with cab drivers, waiters, hotel lobbyists, and others you encounter. It will communicate that you value them and can result in invites to experience the culture backstage, beyond the tourist routes.

5. Sit and observe local life: there is huge value in just pausing to people-watch for a while, feel the rhythm and join in. Is it sit-on-your-porch-slow, or NewYorker-style speed-walking?

6. Withhold judgement: in other cultures we all find some things to be a bit peculiar… trust me, they do it “that way” for a reason. They’re intelligent and have histories that have shaped the present. It doesn’t mean a little change wouldn’t be good. Change in the world is often good. But withhold your judgement for awhile, and don’t come to conclusions until you talk with several locals and experience multiple portals of information. You just might learn something, too.

There is a new Muslim comic book superhero coming out soon. His name is Silver Scorpion. With the popularity of The 99 (who have worked with the Justice League), that isn’t so remarkable these days. What is great here is who thought it up. The Open Hands Initiative flew a group of disabled American youth to Damascus to meet a group of disabled Syrian youth. Together they came up with Silver Scorpion, a boy in a wheel chair who lost his legs in a land mine accident.

I love that this is the brainchild of Americans and Syrians. Aren’t they supposed to not like each other? And I love that this is the brainchild of disabled youth. Aren’t their lives supposed to be less meaningful?

I found it remarkable that none of the youth wanted his superpower to be something that cured his disability. Sharad Devarajan, CEO of Liquid Comics, noted, “They were empowered by their own disabilities, and they should not be seen as a source of weakness.”

Jaka, one of the American youth, said, “There’s a lot of hatred, and it really can be dispelled by just sitting down and talking to people and realizing you share experiences in common. That’s what happened when I started talking to one of the disabled Syrians. We both discovered that we had a love of basketball and … loved the same players,”

Abdulraham Hussein, a Syrian, said, “I like the American people as I found them friendly.”

A little face to face communication goes a long way in bringing people together. Read the whole article.

Related Posts:
Just the Way I Am
Bittersweet: A Muslim’s Spiritual Perspective on Special Needs Parenting
The 99 – Muslim Comic Heroes

HT: Islamicate

I am linking to my most viewed posts, most commented on posts and my personal favorite posts. It has been good for me to write and I hope that this has been helpful for both Christians and Muslims. My desire is that we will learn from one another and better understand each other so that we will grow in our love for each other.

Thanks for reading.

Most Viewed Posts:
The Wonder of the Birth of the Messiah
Thanks for the Religion
Islamic View of the End Times

Most Commented Posts:
Technically, the most comments are on my About page, but I won’t count that.
Switzerland Moving Away from Peace
Islamic View of the End Times
The Wonder of the Birth of the Messiah

My Favorite Posts:
لسلام-عليكم-Why I Love the Islamic Greeting
What Is a Christian?
Sin Destroys Peace
Go in Peace

I read about a men’s retreat for Muslims and Christians that looked at the life of Abraham in the Bible and Qur’an and explored the issues of dealing with conflict and being male. It was put on by the Christian Muslim Forum.

One of the Christian participants (there were 6 Christians and 7 Muslims) wrote:

We spent some time thinking about Abraham the Absurd, defining ‘absurd’ as not normal or ordinary. As people of faith we are called to be an extraordinary people. By being together as Christians and Muslims for this retreat we were being absurd. We were challenged as to whether we had become to cosy in our faith and not therefore taking risks. Are we going through the motions of faith without it really affecting the way we live our lives?

You can read all of his thoughts at Unity. Notice that they don’t pretend there aren’t differences.

I suspect that some of us would feel uncomfortable having a spiritual retreat with people of a different religion. Admittedly, there would be potential difficulties. But has not God made all of us so that we “should seek God, in the hope that [we] might feel [our] way toward him and find him” (Acts 17:27)? What if instead of pointing at each other saying, “You’re wrong and I’m right,” we gathered together and sought the truth arm in arm?

Muslims and non-Muslim will find the information in this DVD to be comprehensive and enlightening.  This Web Book DVD will serve as the perfect resource for those in search of information on Islam or just need to expand your knowledge.

Related Post:
Free E-Book on Islamic View of the Prophets