Christians, Muslims, 9/11

It's the 11th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93. The attacks on America.


I am taking a class on Muslim beliefs that is designed for Christians, to promote understanding. I discovered that there are still mainstream people (there will always be people on the fringes) who believe that all Muslims supported those attacks, that Muslims are more militant than Christians, that Muslims want to take over the U.S.


Nothing could be further from the truth.

I didn't think it needed to be said anymore, but most Muslims think that Al Qeada and the Taliban are crazy. Just as most Christians think that extremists who promote violence in the name of Jesus are crazy.


I think of:

The Muslim girls who disappeared from the school I was teaching in back in 2001. The boys didn't wear anything special so they blended in and stayed. The girls, with their headscarves, were recognizable and their parents feared for their safety and kept them home. I prayed for a way to reach out to those girls. 

God answered that prayer by sending me Morsal. She was a tiny girl with Down Syndrome who lived across the street from the school. Her parents didn't realize that she could attend school in America, but we found her and her parents soon enrolled her in my Life Skills class. She was very excited to learn and her parents were pleased to give her the opportunity. 

Being new to the country, Morsal did not speak English. As the Muslim girls returned to school, I sought help from some from her country. They came to translate and help her learn about lockers and lunch time. I got to interact with them and learn of their hopes and fears. Morsal also gave them a way to reach out and helped them, and all of us, heal. 

I also think of:

The Muslim Mom in our homeschool group. She homeschools so her kids will have a better education, so that she can spend more time with them, and so that she can share her faith and values more easily. Basically, for the same reasons I homeschool. Her kids are bright and friendly and have a variety of interests.

One time my son and her son were bouncing on a trampoline. They got to arguing about who Jesus is. Eventually, they decided they would stick to their own religions and be friends. Perhaps an idea for all of us to consider?

Not that we shouldn't evangelize. We are supposed to share the gospel. Both Christianity and Islam are outreaching religions.  In America, that's allowed -- thanks be to God.

But we can live in peace with our neighbors, love our neighbors, whether we agree or not.

What do you think?