By Sam Elliott
A crowded sanctuary at Faith Presbyterian Church was filled with a diverse audience March 19, although most were white Christians, but all were there to educate themselves, cultivate relationships and promote interfaith dialogue to help combat “Islam-o-phobia” with the true Islamic teachings of peace and love — traits many Americans have replaced with fear and violence in their minds due to the actions of groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS/ISIL in recent years.
“Fighting Fear with Knowledge: What Every American Needs to Know about ISIS/ISIL” invited Christians — many who may not have known much more about Islam than what they’ve see on cable news channels — to Faith Presbyterian Church for an event hosted in partnership with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was first founded in 1889 and spans 190 countries, with its U.S. chapter established in 1921 as the first American-Muslim organization. Events like the one at Faith Presbyterian are one way the group can educate American Christians and separate their religion from the actions of terrorists tarnishing its name.
“It’s nice to see people and the media coming and attending these events,” Muzaffar Ahmad, spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Indiana, said. “The takeaway is that Muslims and Christians need to work together to understand each other and promote the peaceful, true teaching of Islam instead of the distorted teachings that ISIS is propagating. It’s a simple message.”
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s motto is “Love for all, hatred for none,” and is a sentiment echoed by Faith Presbyterian pastor Charlotte Lohrenze.
“The rhetoric was becoming so negative and I think the tipping point for me was when a Christian institution said some very offensive and aggressive things about Muslims,” Lohrenze said. “I finally said, ‘It’s one thing for politicians to say something really terrible, but when Christians are openly saying these hateful things — Christians need to stand up and say, ‘This is intolerable.’
“Part of our history as Presbyterians is believing in openness and education, and I think this just fits into both of those categories,” she added.
Educator Dr. David Carlson, an author and religion professor at Franklin College, was the event’s main speaker. His presentation covered a general history of the Middle East and how conflicts, including those involving the United States, have led to a landscape that’s cultivated religious extremism and promoted violence.
Carlson said the simple acts of Christians and Muslims meeting, getting to know one another and creating friendships would be ones to make extremists with ISIS/ISIL irate.
“I think it’s really important. One of the things that’s missing is that 60 percent of Americans have never met a Muslim. Well, in many cases they have met a Muslim, they just didn’t know about it,” Carlson said. “The reality is that when we don’t know somebody, we can be easily swayed to be afraid of them.”
Carlson has founded a pair of informal prayer groups, Shoulder to Shoulder and Prayer Partners for Peace, in which Christians and Muslims can commit to pray for one another as a simple first step of action.
“Can you pray for somebody? Anybody can do that. I think that helps a lot,” he said. “When you pray for somebody in a group, and then that group’s in trouble, your first thought is not, ‘Yes, they’re in trouble,’ your first thought is, ‘I’ve been praying for them. This is really sad. I might call them and ask if there’s anything I can do to help.’”
Carlson’s next book, “Countering Religious Extremism: The Power of Spiritual Friendships” will be released late this year or early next year.
“I wanted to see what I could learn about being a better Christian by talking to Muslims,” he said. “Basically what we’ve come up with is what I need from Muslims in this country is to be better Muslims. What they need from me is to be a better Christian … We’re in this together.”
True Islam
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has launched a new campaign, True Islam, in an effort to promote the religion’s true teachings and discount the distorted rhetoric used by extremists to recruit to their cause. The 11 points highlighted as key tenets of True Islam include:
True Islam is a religion that…
- wholly rejects all forms of terrorism
- believes in non-violent jihad of the self and of the pen
- believes in the equality, education and empowerment of women
- advocates freedom of conscience, religion and speech
- advocates for the separation of mosque and state
- believes in loyalty to your country of residence
- encompasses the universal declaration of human rights
- believes in all verses of the Qur’an and forbids lying
- recognizes no religion can monopolize salvation
- believes in the need for unified Muslim leadership
- wholly rejects the concept of a bloody messiah
For more, visit TrueIslam.com, Ahmadiyya.us or MuslimsForPeace.org.
