Global Christian and Muslim leaders meeting Nov. 1-4 in Switzerland condemned the deadly Oct. 31 attack on a church in Iraq and called for formation of a working group to be mobilized whenever a crisis involving conflict between Muslims and Christians arises. via Associated Baptist Press.
If your reaction is, “Yeah, sure”: Unfortunately there is a common sociological effect in which we primarily see the difference and uniqueness of “our” group while seeing mostly the commonalities and broad generalities of “other” groups (see “they all look alike” here). One of the most interesting conversations I regularly have with people who love Muslims and work amongst them is that there is no single monolithic “Muslim culture” – especially one which hates Christians. The reality: there are many different perspectives amongst Muslims – just as there are among Christians.
The fact is, there are many, many moderate Muslims who are as shocked, saddened and opposed to these attacks as there were Christians who were shocked, saddened and opposed to Terry Jones’ threat to burn a Qur’an. In fact, I would dare say that *most* Muslims would be in this category. Most Muslims are far more interested in what job they are going to have, who they are going to marry, and where they are going to live than in issues about religion–just as most Christians are.
Unfortunately many of us let our fear of a small minority and their actions keep us from ever reaching out to and befriending a Muslim.
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