ICSFP
With God’s Name, the Most Merciful and the Dispenser of Mercy
In the two years that have passed since September 11, relations between the Muslim and non-Muslim world have been strained. There is a perception amongst some in the United States that the Muslims and their religion represent a threat to the Christian way of life. This is untrue. The majority of the world’s one billion Muslims reject conflict, as do millions of Americans. Islam prefers peaceful coexistence to war; and we believe that a dialogue between the Muslim and Christian faith communities is preferable to the hostility and misunderstanding that has prevailed since September 11.
This White Paper is published on this, the 25th day of December: a day that is important to the Christian community with whom Muslims share so many common values and common aspirations. Both hold belief in a single Creator amongst our central principles; seek to guide society towards morality and justice; and hold a concern for our children and the future we leave to them.
Muslims do not celebrate the birthdays of the Prophet Jesus or any other Prophet; however, the significance of the birth of God’s servant and Messenger, Jesus the Son of Mary has been mentioned in more than one passage in the Qur’an (God’s spoken word to Prophet Muhammad and God’s final revelation to humanity). Among these passages:
(And mention to them Muhammad) when the angels said: “O Mary! Lo! God giveth thee glad tidings of a word from him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (unto God). He will speak unto mankind in his cradle and in his manhood, and he is of the righteous.”
She said: “My Lord! How can I have a child when no mortal hath touched me?”
[The angel] said: “So (it will be). God createth what He will. If He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is. And [God] will teach him the Scripture and wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel, and will make him a messenger unto the Children of Israel, [commanding him to say]: ‘Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird, by God’s leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by God’s leave. And I announce unto you what ye eat and what ye store up in your houses. Lo! herein verily is a portent for you, if ye are to be believers. And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden unto you. I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to God and obey me. Lo! God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.’” (The Koran 3:45-51)
Muslims do not believe that Jesus was God or the Son of God; and we do not believe that he ever taught his followers to worship him or claimed divinity for himself. Simply, we believe that Jesus was the son of the Virgin Mary; we believe that he was the Messiah; we believe that he was God’s servant and His messenger to the Children of Israel; and we believe that he was sent to call them to the worship of God alone. And we believe, before the end of time, the Prophet Jesus will return to earth where he will rule humanity according to the Qur’an and according to the laws of God’s final messenger, Prophet Muhammad.
These beliefs are held by all Muslims. No Muslim could ever insult or denigrate Jesus or His Mother. To do so would take a person out of Islam and condemn that individual to hell if he dies unrepentant. Whenever Jesus is attacked in the popular media, you will find that Muslims are at the forefront in defending him and his character.
Just as Muslims and Christians share some common values, we also share a common interest in making society moral and just. For that reason, we have a common enemy in those that would seek to reduce this morality or justice. It is our view that the greatest threat to morality in both the Muslim and non-Muslim world comes from secular humanism and the atheism and moral relativism that always accompanies it. Likewise, the biggest threat to justice comes from governments that would remove the civil liberties of their constituents or the right of people to natural justice in the name of “fighting terror”.
All societies are being assailed by those who believe that God’s laws and the moral values that they enshrine should not guide humanity. The struggle to install a new moral code on America has been characterized by many of your prominent thinkers and leaders as a “cultural war” and the opponents of religion have been very successful in this war.
For a long time, pop culture has celebrated the mockery of Christian symbols and institutions of its religion in the name of “art”. Muslims have also experienced similar attacks on our religion and religious figures by those who seek to gain political mileage at the expense of other religions. We therefore ask all Christians to take a stand against the attacks on the Prophet Muhammad and Islam in the media. Regardless of whether it is the Prophet Muhammad or the Prophet Jesus who is maligned, the intent and effect are the same. Just as Muslims have defended Prophet Jesus, we ask Christians in America to oppose the attacks on the Prophet Muhammad and Islam.
In our history we read that when the pagans of Mecca tortured the first Muslims, the Prophet Muhammad encouraged these oppressed Muslims to flee to Abyssinia for its Christian king was known for his justice and his care for all in his domains. Today, we find millions of Muslims have likewise sought to live in your lands seeking the justice they were denied in their own lands. Moreover, they have been joined in faith with millions of other Americans who have converted to Islam.
Unfortunately, many of these Muslims have been unfairly targeted by an administration that has diminished the civil liberties and freedoms of all Americans in the name of “fighting terror”. We call on American Christians to support their Muslim neighbors against the discrimination and vilification they have been subjected to since September 11.
Muslims and Christians are natural allies in the struggle to retain the role of God in the lives of everyday people and guide society towards the justice and morality that both Christianity and Islam enshrine.
As the American author, Professor Peter Kreeft, wrote in Ecumenical Jihad: Ecumenism and the Culture War, “we need to realize, first, that we are at war and, second, that the sides have changed radically: many of our former enemies (for example, Muslims) are now our friends, and some of our former friends (for example, humanists) are now our enemies”.
We hope that this Paper will inspire continuing dialogue between Muslims and Christians of the United States. We desire peace and mutual understanding. We believe that each of us possesses what can benefit the other. In conclusion, we ask God to guide us all to that which pleases Him.
