Letter to a Muslim Friend
Dear -------,
Last week I read a news report that raised many new questions for me concerning Islam.
The news story concerned Imams and Islamic scholars who had gathered to determine whether such individuals as Osama Bin Laden and Zarqawi were to be considered Muslims or not.
The conclusion was that, as long as they fulfilled the Five Pillars of Islam, they must be considered to be Muslim.
This struck me as technically correct, since the Qur’an offers no other criteria for being or not being a Muslim.
Yet, while the “letter of the Qur’an” was met, I wondered if the “spirit of the Qur’an” was considered? Or whether there even was a “spirit of the Qur’an?”
In the Christian faith we hear our Lord, Jesus, say, “Not everyone who cries, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
By this we understand Jesus to mean that the outer trappings of a person’s life do not determine their eternal destination. Our Gospel declares that God knows and judges the heart of every person and is not fooled by what a person says they believe or whether they go to church every week or tithe or know the Bible by memory or even outwardly seem to live a good and decent life.
None of this, we are taught, can save a man from his sin. The attitude of his heart must be inclined towards the things that belong to God.
Jesus said, “It is not the things that go into a person that defiles them, but what comes out from them.”
By this we understand Jesus to mean that the best evidence of what is in a person’s heart is found in how they live out their life. Just as the health and value of a tree is measured by the quantity and quality of its fruit, Jesus says, concerning people, “By their fruit you shall know them.”
The Apostle Paul, in Galatians, states that, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Jesus commands his followers to “Love one another as I have loved you.” We are told that our love for God is measured by how we love our neighbor. Indeed, Jesus even commands his disciples to, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
We are commanded to “turn the other cheek’ and to forgive others seventy times seven times. If we have something against our brother, or if our brother has something against us, we are told to stop going through the motions of worshiping and praising God until we have made peace with our brother.
It is not so much the doctrine of the Christian faith that sets a Christian apart from the rest of the world as it is the way in which the light of God’s love shines in their life, especially as it pertains to their relationships with others.
A Christian who does not “walk the talk” or “practice what they preach” is a poor example of a Christian! More than this, if a person persists in behaving in ways contrary to the Christian law of love, they are to be confronted, disciplined and, if necessary, removed from the Christian community until such time as they may repent and seek forgiveness.
All this is captured under the idea of Christian “morality” or “ethics.” It is impossible for a Christian to separate their faith from their behavior.
This is, I think, the issue that confuses me concerning Islam. Is there such a thing as Islamic “morality” or “ethics?”
According to the Muslim council I cited at the beginning of my letter, it is participation in the Five Pillars that makes a person and Muslim……regardless of whether they blow up children or encourage even the killing of other Muslims! Where is the ethics in this?
Christian morality requires us to critique and sometimes condemn even our own nation’s soldiers when their actions do not conform to the established boundaries of decency.
What boundaries of decency guide and constrain a Muslim, whether in war or in peace?
Did Mohammed offer no guidelines on how the behavior of one Muslim is to be judged by other Muslims?
Is there nothing in Islam that can condemn the teachings and behavior of Bin Laden, Zarqawi and the followers of such “radical” organizations as Al Qaeda?
Is there nothing in Islam that can allow for the condemnation of a Muslim who boards a city bus and blows themselves up along with dozens of innocent men, women and children….some of whom may even be Muslims themselves?
Please help me with these questions. For a Christian the answers to these questions may be complex, but they are nonetheless clear. Where is the clarity in Islam?
In I Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul writes that, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
For a Christian, love is the measure of all things. In I John 4 we read, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
From a Christian standpoint, Osama Bin Laden’s attitude and behavior does not demonstrate love. Therefore the Christian comes to the conclusion that he “does not know God….”
What is the “measure of all things” for a Muslim? What evidence does one look for to determine whether a Muslim is reflecting the heart of God in their own life or not?
Is God all things to a Muslim? Good? Evil? Cruel? Merciful? Can a Muslim be all these things, too? If God is all things and the source of all things, is there nothing (apart from denying one or more of the Five Pillars) that can disqualify a person as a Muslim? Is there ultimately no basis upon which one Muslim can judge the actions or behavior of any other Muslim?
Please help me. Nothing I have thus far read (and I have read a great deal lately) has helped me answer these questions. Nothing I have heard from respected Islamic scholars or Imams has helped much, either. All is confusion. Please straighten me out!
Yours Sincerely,
Bird of Paradise
Last week I read a news report that raised many new questions for me concerning Islam.
The news story concerned Imams and Islamic scholars who had gathered to determine whether such individuals as Osama Bin Laden and Zarqawi were to be considered Muslims or not.
The conclusion was that, as long as they fulfilled the Five Pillars of Islam, they must be considered to be Muslim.
This struck me as technically correct, since the Qur’an offers no other criteria for being or not being a Muslim.
Yet, while the “letter of the Qur’an” was met, I wondered if the “spirit of the Qur’an” was considered? Or whether there even was a “spirit of the Qur’an?”
In the Christian faith we hear our Lord, Jesus, say, “Not everyone who cries, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
By this we understand Jesus to mean that the outer trappings of a person’s life do not determine their eternal destination. Our Gospel declares that God knows and judges the heart of every person and is not fooled by what a person says they believe or whether they go to church every week or tithe or know the Bible by memory or even outwardly seem to live a good and decent life.
None of this, we are taught, can save a man from his sin. The attitude of his heart must be inclined towards the things that belong to God.
Jesus said, “It is not the things that go into a person that defiles them, but what comes out from them.”
By this we understand Jesus to mean that the best evidence of what is in a person’s heart is found in how they live out their life. Just as the health and value of a tree is measured by the quantity and quality of its fruit, Jesus says, concerning people, “By their fruit you shall know them.”
The Apostle Paul, in Galatians, states that, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Jesus commands his followers to “Love one another as I have loved you.” We are told that our love for God is measured by how we love our neighbor. Indeed, Jesus even commands his disciples to, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
We are commanded to “turn the other cheek’ and to forgive others seventy times seven times. If we have something against our brother, or if our brother has something against us, we are told to stop going through the motions of worshiping and praising God until we have made peace with our brother.
It is not so much the doctrine of the Christian faith that sets a Christian apart from the rest of the world as it is the way in which the light of God’s love shines in their life, especially as it pertains to their relationships with others.
A Christian who does not “walk the talk” or “practice what they preach” is a poor example of a Christian! More than this, if a person persists in behaving in ways contrary to the Christian law of love, they are to be confronted, disciplined and, if necessary, removed from the Christian community until such time as they may repent and seek forgiveness.
All this is captured under the idea of Christian “morality” or “ethics.” It is impossible for a Christian to separate their faith from their behavior.
This is, I think, the issue that confuses me concerning Islam. Is there such a thing as Islamic “morality” or “ethics?”
According to the Muslim council I cited at the beginning of my letter, it is participation in the Five Pillars that makes a person and Muslim……regardless of whether they blow up children or encourage even the killing of other Muslims! Where is the ethics in this?
Christian morality requires us to critique and sometimes condemn even our own nation’s soldiers when their actions do not conform to the established boundaries of decency.
What boundaries of decency guide and constrain a Muslim, whether in war or in peace?
Did Mohammed offer no guidelines on how the behavior of one Muslim is to be judged by other Muslims?
Is there nothing in Islam that can condemn the teachings and behavior of Bin Laden, Zarqawi and the followers of such “radical” organizations as Al Qaeda?
Is there nothing in Islam that can allow for the condemnation of a Muslim who boards a city bus and blows themselves up along with dozens of innocent men, women and children….some of whom may even be Muslims themselves?
Please help me with these questions. For a Christian the answers to these questions may be complex, but they are nonetheless clear. Where is the clarity in Islam?
In I Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul writes that, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
For a Christian, love is the measure of all things. In I John 4 we read, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
From a Christian standpoint, Osama Bin Laden’s attitude and behavior does not demonstrate love. Therefore the Christian comes to the conclusion that he “does not know God….”
What is the “measure of all things” for a Muslim? What evidence does one look for to determine whether a Muslim is reflecting the heart of God in their own life or not?
Is God all things to a Muslim? Good? Evil? Cruel? Merciful? Can a Muslim be all these things, too? If God is all things and the source of all things, is there nothing (apart from denying one or more of the Five Pillars) that can disqualify a person as a Muslim? Is there ultimately no basis upon which one Muslim can judge the actions or behavior of any other Muslim?
Please help me. Nothing I have thus far read (and I have read a great deal lately) has helped me answer these questions. Nothing I have heard from respected Islamic scholars or Imams has helped much, either. All is confusion. Please straighten me out!
Yours Sincerely,
Bird of Paradise
posted by Bird of Paradise at 12:17 AM
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