The Muslims We Know

     Living overseas, we are generally pretty out of touch with current events in the news.... but social media has kept us well-informed, recently, about the political uproar regarding the admittance of Muslims into America. As you might imagine, given the fact that this is our fifth year living in a Muslim country, this news has left our hearts especially restless. The amount of Muslim negativity being poured out onto social media is shocking; and most of our family and friends back in America are likely questioning our decision to live here, out of fear for our safety.

But if you would spend just one week in our shoes... you might think differently. 

"If your intention is to stop terrorism, do not try to blame the whole population of Muslims for it because it cannot stop terrorism. It will radicalize more terrorists." -Malala Yousafzai

     The danger in stereotyping is that it fails to recognize the uniqueness of each individual. Rather, stereotypes are quick to judge people based on what "group" they are apart of. Truth: the majority of Muslims on this side of the world stereotype all Americans are Christians, because the cultural norm on this side of the world is that there is no separation between religion and state. Since most of them have only ever dreamed of stepping onto American soil, this means that their understanding of Christianity is based, sadly, on the things they can read about or watch on TV. Violence, abortion, MTV, homosexuality, etc. ...and now Donald Trump. 

     We live and work amongst hundreds of Muslims...and we have had incredibly positive experiences in our encounters with them. Our fear is that, in the same way all Americans have been wrongly stereotyped as Christians, the whole of Islam is being wrongly stereotyped based on the current media focus on the actions of a few extremists. Individuals such as Donald Trump and Bobby Joe Rogers do not exemplify the Christian faith, by any means. Likewise, ISIS does not epitomize the Muslim faith. 

     We have been reading a book entitled "A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue". The purpose of the book is to respectfully parallel Islam and Christianity - in order to compare and contrast the core beliefs of each religion. What we have learned about the Muslim faith might surprise you. While we differ in our understanding of how to attain an Eternity with God, the commonalities between Islam and Christianity are great! BOTH religions believe in:

• One Holy God - the creator of the the world
• The prophets: Noah, Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist, etc.
• The Virgin birth of Jesus
• Jesus Christ as the sinless Messiah, who preformed many miracles
• The Old Testament
• The Day of Judgement
• An eternity in either Heaven or Hell

     Furthermore, in our study of Islam we have actually been humbled by how intentional and devout Muslims are in their faith. For instance...five times a day, every mosque in the country screams out a reminder to pray. We have been in the market to see men literally close their shops in order to humble themselves before God. You can't help but stare as hundreds of men form an incredible union to pray. And even when there's not a crowd, we see individual Muslims responding to the Mosque. One of the men on Dave's soccer team has even walked off the field in response to the call. Faithful prayer is something that ought to mark a committed Christian (Romans 12:12)... but when is the last time that you earnestly bowed your head in prayer? When is the last time that you allowed prayer to become a priority over something like work or the activities that you love?
     The Muslims we know love better than us, too. We could insert a million different examples for you here of how we have been blessed with unconditional and selfless love by the Muslims we have encountered. Here are a few:

• Our previous landlord & his family have proudly assumed the role of our "family" (since we live so far away from our own). They have blessed us in so many ways. For example...when Aliyah was born, they enthusiastically spent days (literally) preparing beautiful gift baskets of 'sellou' and a platter of walnut-filled dates for us to distribute to any friends who came to visit. Additionally, they prepared a feast of 'rfissa', and asked that we invite all of our close friends to accompany us for this meal in celebration of Aliyah's birth. Even now that we have moved to a different house, we have remained close. We visit each other frequently, always bearing gifts of couscous and cookies (We are losing in the battle of "exchanging" gifts; however, because Nicole can't bake fast enough to keep up with the amount of food that they generously bring us). We also have a standing invitation to celebrate the Eid with them each year, and Said still plays soccer with Dave twice a week. Without a doubt, our relationship with them is among our most meaningful here in Morocco. 

• Nicole came home one afternoon to find our flat tire had been miraculously fixed. We had to spontaneously find rides to work that morning, and Dave was trying to figure out how to get it fixed after work. Our neighbors (whom we had never even met before) dropped everything when they saw it and decided to fix the problem, without even telling us. They jacked our car up, removed the flat, drove it to the tire shop, paid to have the hole plugged, and then reinstalled it onto our car. We believe that they never intended to even be "thanked" because Nicole had to snoop around the neighborhood in order to figure out who was responsible for this good deed. We will always remember this as such a powerful example of altruistic love. In America, this would never happen...especially from a stranger.

• We have a strangely fond relationship with our Mechanic. He makes a point of calling us every year to wish us a "Merry Christmas", even though he doesn't even celebrate Christmas. He knows that it's an important holiday to us and he simply wants to honor us. How considerate is that! Additionally, he gives us fresh goose eggs on occasion (just because), and he invited us to a rfissa dinner at his house in order to celebrate the birth of his daughter.  

     Our observations and analysis of Islam has challenged us to grow in our own faith. As Christians, "there ought to be fruit bringing evidence of a change, for it is by our fruit that we are known" (Matthew 7:20). In so many ways, the Muslims we know are bearing more fruit than us...
      We need to take the time to love Muslims. To learn from them. We are all praying to the same God, and seeking the same eternity with him. As we strive toward Truth, shouldn't we be building bridges instead of tearing them down?

We dare you to go make a Muslim friend. 

-Dave, Nicole, & Aliyah