3 Things You Should Know About Islam

I'm sure you heard about the aid workers who were slain in Afghanistan.  One of the accounts on TV reported that the Taliban backed up their accusation that the workers were trying to spread Christianity with the fact that some had Bibles in their possession.  But how can it be that a religion that has 1.57 billion people and 23% of the world's population and prays 5 times a day can condone such an act?  Check out this video and note the references and comments at the end:

For those reading this post in email format click here to view the video.

So what are we to think about this?  How can this be true?  First let's take a historical perspective. Christianity, Islam and Judaism are known as Abrahamic religions because of their common origin through Abraham.  They are also in the category of monotheistic religions meaning belief in one God. Muslims consider Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham, to be the "Father of the Arabs" and Abraham's second son, Isaac, is called "Father of the Hebrews". The story of Abraham and his sons is told in the Book of Genesis.  Ishmael is considered to be the ancestor of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In the first century Christianity and Judaism separated.

The Prophet Muhammad knew Christians in his lifetime and respected them along with Jews as "People of the Book." Because of their monotheism and roots in the revealed Jewish Bible, Muhammad and his successors extended conquered Christians (and Jews) more freedoms than conquered pagans.

In the approximately 1,300 years of history since the life of Muhammad, the relationship between Christianity and Islam has rarely been harmonious. The Christian Crusades of the 11th through 13th centuries, waged in large part against Muslims, served only to widen the divide between the two faiths. The previous 2 paragraphs came from here.

The history is important because it puts the conflict in perspective.  I worked in a factory as a departmental supervisor.  Supporting my department were 2 young engineers.  One was Israeli and the other one an Arab.  One day they got into a fist fight over the most trivial thing.  This resulted in both being fired.  When we did the debrief, they said they didn't understand what happened but couldn't control it.  Our conclusion was 2,000 years of conflict were too much to overcome.

Here's another example closer to home.  Growing up in the south you can still sense the animosity with the north even though the Civil War was 150 years ago.  And in spite of the U.S. having its first African-American President, racial tensions are still alive in the land of E Pluribus Unum ('Out of Many, One').

Finally consider perspective.  We can't understand how a religious based group can use tactics like suicide bombing and they can't understand how a Christian nation can bomb civilian homes [they are not told there were Taliban or Al-Qaeda fighters in the building].  So the tensions build.

So what's my point and how are we to deal with these historic tensions?  Here are some suggestions:

1. Don't be naive about efforts like the building of a Mosque at ground zero; converesly don't expect the Muslims of Afghanistan to view us as anything but an occupying force even though they are not happy with the Taliban.
2. Don't be a bigot.  I went through airport security with a friend who is an electrical engineer who grew up in India, moved to Canada, and is now a U.S. citizen living in Boston.  He is a Sikh (pronounced seek) and wears a turban.  Let me tell you I was given a great deal more scrutiny traveling with him than by myself or even the white tech who had at least 15 electronic devices any of which could have harbored a bomb.
3. Don't let political correctness reduce security or common sense.  My friend the Sikh understands the situation and he remains polite and calm.  But given that he is a Middle Eastern appearing young man who is obviously strongly religious, it makes sense to check him out more than an elderly woman or child.  And as I was obviously his traveling companion I needed to be checked out closely as well.
4. Learn.  How do we know the video from above is true?  Why have we not heard this on CNN or Fox News?  The group that did the video is The White Roses.  They say they are a European group and claim no religious affiliation.  The name comes from a non-violent/intellectual resistance group during Nazi Germany.  But is this true?
5. Question.  How can we trust the video as legitimate?  What if it is true?  If you know any Muslims ask them about the 3 points:  Is it true that the Qur'an states that if there is a conflict you should take the latter written, more violent version?  Is it true that striving to institute Shari'a law is a religious duty of Islam?  Is it true that Muslims are permitted to lie to non-Muslims if it helps Islam, called Taqiyya?  Or ask them if they know what Taqiyya is.

Does this mean I think all is lost and we are doomed to further escalation toward another Crusades type global conflict between Christians and Muslims?  No.  Humans are competitive in nature.  We pick sides in any competition and can have extreme feelings.  But as humans we are able to manage the competitive feelings against higher sensibilities such as right vs wrong.  Keep in mind that our Bible says things like "an eye for an eye" and "women submit to your husbands".  And how about Exodus 31, verse 14: "Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death" [King James version]; and by the way this is the section when the 10 Commandments were created.  If we take this literally it would look pretty bad.  There are other passages if put into a book or video we could be viewed as a pretty violence driven group.  And there have been many awful things done in the name of God.  So be careful about judging too harshly a religion that is hundreds of years old and has been embraced by billions over the years without significant violence.  Having said that there is no doubt that a radical fringe of Muslim zealots live only to kill us.  But my opinion is that other than ground zero, why should we object to having a Mosque built in our community?

So what does this have to do with online marketing and business in general?  If it weren't for YouTube and this video I would not been made aware of the 3 issues.  I find I can learn and retain much more in an 8 minute video than reading an entire book.  My discovery of this video came through an email.  And you are learning about this through this blog.  So through the awareness of the video and my research for this post, I have come to the following conclusions:

1. Not all Muslims are bad and there have been cases of radical Christians using Bible verses to justify horrible acts.
2. Having said that the United States was founded by Christians and we should not allow Shari'a law to infiltrate our legal system.
3. I would not have a problem with a Mosque being built in my neighborhood but I think it is wrong to build one close to ground zero.  I also cannot come to a conclusion about the people who are resisting a Mosque being built in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  I am not sure if their motivations are primarily hate and distrust or based on traffic and property value declines as they say.
4. I would like to have a Muslim as a coworker or neighbor so I could become close enough to ask questions raised by the video.  However if I see one or more young Middle Eastern men, I will watch them closely and even take action if I think they are about to commit a terrorist act.
5. I will continue to research the Muslim faith and be open to modifying my current positions based on what I learn.
6. I will pray for the wisdom to balance Christian love with appropriate security.

My apologies for this post being off subject but I think it is OK to occasionally drift to personal experiences and even political issues like this.

 

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