“After I see on the news that there has been another attack, I pray that it wasn’t done by another Muslim. Sometimes, I don’t even go out of my house for a day or two because of the looks I’ll get from other people.”
That was said by one of the Muslim women me and the rest of Missions Track got to hang out with at an Islamic community center a couple weeks ago.
At this Islamic center, we got to talk with, listen to, and laugh with five wonderful Muslim women, all representing five different countries. Now, if you know me well, you know that I’m a fairly open-minded person whose heart is broken by injustices in the world and people would most likely classify me as a liberal even though I wouldn’t care to be under the connotations that come with that word (or under the connotations of the word ‘conservative’ for that matter). Even though I would consider my eyes and heart to be open to the different experiences of various people in this world, my eyes and heart were opened a lot more after meeting with these women.
We enjoyed the Dunkin Donuts that they bought for us beforehand as they gave us a presentation on Islam and told us about the culture, belief system, and values. They also made it very clear that no questions were off limits. Eventually we delved into the subject of terrorism and got to hear their take on it. And guess what?
They think it’s horrendous that people are misusing the Muslim faith and the name of God to push violence, bigotry, and evil.
That shouldn’t be surprising. Do you know why? Because they are human beings. Usually human beings don’t enjoy evil especially when it’s done in the name of your religion and culture.
These women were incredibly respectful and taught us so much through personal stories and information about their faith. There was no fear in the room. We loved them and they loved us. In fact, I even got the feeling that there was no ‘us’ and ‘them.’ We were just people in a room that laughed with each other, learned from each other, listened to each other, and loved each other. I firmly believe Jesus was in that room with us and that His love was evident.
With all of this being said, take some time to learn. Take some time to listen to people’s stories and ask them how they are doing. Take some time to examine what you believe and ask yourself a couple things. Ask, “are my beliefs directly or indirectly causing me not to love people like Jesus loves them?” Ask, “how did Jesus love people? Am I loving people like that?”
