Moon is also a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Vancouver and will be attending Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago next fall. He has been serving as a volunteer at our church this past year as part of his studies at Evergreen State College. Moon will join Pastor Brooks for dialogue sermon at our 10 am worship service on May 26th.

Facts to Consider

The following is an excerpt from an LA Times article entitled, “Muslim True/False: What You Think You Know about Them Is Likely Wrong—and That’s Dangerous.” It is written by John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed who coauthored a book called Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think.

Starting in 2001, the research firm Gallup embarked on the largest, most comprehensive survey of its kind, spending more than six years polling a population that represented more than 90% of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims. The results showed plainly that much of the conventional wisdom about Muslims—views touted by U.S. policymakers and pundits and accepted by voters—is simply false.

For instance, Gallup found that 72% of Americans disagreed with this statement: “The majority of those living in Muslim countries thought men and women should have equal rights.” In fact, majorities in even some of the most conservative Muslim societies directly refute this assessment: 73% of Saudis, 89% of Iranians and 94% of Indonesians say that men and women should have equal legal rights. Majorities of Muslim men and women in dozens of countries around the world also believe that a woman should have the right to work outside the home at any job for which she is qualified (88% in Indonesia, 72% in Egypt and even 78% in Saudi Arabia), and to vote without interference from family members (87% in Indonesia, 91% in Egypt, 98% in Lebanon).

What about Muslim sympathy for terrorism? Many charge that Islam encourages violence more than other faiths, but studies show that Muslims around the world are at least as likely as Americans to condemn attacks on civilians. Polls show that 6% of the American public thinks attacks in which civilians are targets are “completely justified.” In Saudi Arabia, this figure is 4%. In Lebanon and Iran, it’s 2%.

Moreover, it’s politics, not piety, that drives the small minority — just 7% — of Muslims to anti-Americanism at the level of condoning the attacks of 9/11. Looking across majority-Muslim countries, Gallup found no statistical difference in self-reported religiosity between those who sympathized with the attackers and those who did not. When respondents in select countries were asked in an open-ended question to explain their views of 9/11, those who condemned it cited humanitarian as well as religious reasons. For example, 20% of Kuwaitis who called the attacks “completely unjustified” explained this position by saying that terrorism was against the teachings of Islam. A respondent in Indonesia went so far as to quote a direct verse from the Koran prohibiting killing innocents. On the other hand, not a single respondent who condoned the attacks used the Koran as justification. Instead, they relied on political rationalizations, calling the U.S. an imperialist power or accusing it of wanting to control the world.

If most Muslims truly reject terrorism, why does it continue to flourish in Muslim lands? What these results indicate is that terrorism is much like other violent crime. Violent crimes occur throughout U.S. cities, but that is no indication of Americans’ general acceptance of murder or assault. Likewise, continued terrorist violence is not proof that Muslims tolerate it. Indeed, they are its primary victims.

Still, the typical American cannot be blamed for these misperceptions. Media-content analyses show that the majority of U.S. TV news coverage of Islam is sharply negative. Americans are bombarded every day with news stories about Muslims and majority-Muslim countries in which vocal extremists, not evidence, drive perceptions.

Esposito and Mogahed’s book contains these facts as well that are based on the Gallup polls:

Admiration of the West: What Muslms around the world say they admire most about the West is its technology and its democracy—the same two top responses given by Americans when asked the same question.

Critique of the West: What Muslims around the world say they least admire about the West is its perceived moral decay and breakdown of traditional values—the same responses given by American when posed the same question.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.: Muslims around the world say that the one thing the West can do to improve relations with their societies is to moderate their views toward Muslims and respect Islam.

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Other Thoughts and Questions for Reflection

In what ways are Christianity and Islam similar? Scriptures from both religions emphasize love of neighbor and love of God. Both religions have a tremendous amount of diversity within them that ranges from scriptural literalism and dogmatism to an openness to mystery and the validity of other faiths as windows to the divine. Both religions have traditions that oppress women, and both have traditions that promote equality. Both religions have traditions that condemn homosexuality, and both have traditions that embrace and affirm gay and lesbian persons. Both religions have those who do not condone certain forms and uses of music. Can you think of other similarities?

 Books and Articles

Popular books on Islam include Karen Armstrong’s Islam: A Short History and various books by John Esposito such as What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam. Do you have books or articles that you would recommend?

The panel discussion was planned well before the Boston marathon bombing made Islam a subject in the mainstream media. In his opening remarks, the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt of First Congregational United Church of Christ noted, “When events like the Boston marathon bombing happen, in the broader society there can be an indiscriminate backlash against Islam.” He observed how the actions of a few individuals can be taken incorrectly to define and represent an entire faith.

In his remarks, Dr. Khalid Khan from the Islamic Society of Southwest Washington picked up on Berndt’s observation. He pointed out that there is a tremendous amount of diversity in a religion with 1.6 billion adherents. He stated, “Does the Taliban represent all Muslims? No. There are more than 56 countries that have a majority of Muslims, and if you go there, you will see lots of variety.”

The Islamic Society of Southwest Washington is itself very diverse with a large population of immigrants from a range of different countries and regions. Khan described their community as being around 30% Bosnian and 30% Arabic. There are additionally persons who were born in the United States and converted to Islam. One of the three panelists was Tervaris Evans who converted to Islam as an adult. His own family is a model of religious cooperation and harmony. His wife is a Christian. His step-daughter is being raised as a Christian, while his son is being raised as a Muslim.

A recurring theme in the discussion that took place at the event was that of stereotypes of Muslims. In his remarks, Khalid Elolaimi commented that when many people hear the word “terrorist,” Muslims are the first association that comes to mind. He observed how when he presents himself to people as a Muslim, they typically already have a built-in image. Elolaimi came here from Kuwait in 1982, and he recalled how the first movie he saw portrayed Muslims as terrorists. He observed how this kind of portrayal has not stopped. It is a continual feature of television shows and movies.

In his remarks, Elolaimi also addressed how Islam is frequently linked with violence in a way that unfairly places responsibility and blame upon the religion. He asserted, “When people act, they act on their own behalf. They don’t act on behalf of their religion or their state or country.” As an example, he stated that Timothy McVeigh did not act on behalf of the United States or the Christian world in committing the Oklahoma City bombing. Instead, he acted on his own behalf.

In reflecting back on the panel, Berndt states, “We are glad to have members of the Islamic Society of Southwest Washington represent themselves and present their own picture of Islam because so often the mainstream media feeds us a steady diet of demonizing and demeaning stereotypes.”

The event ended on a note of hope. A member of the audience recognized that the basic belief of loving one’s neighbor is shared by both faiths. In response, Khan recalled how after 9-11, a group of Muslim and Christian scholars and leaders wrote a letter that lifted up this common theme shared by the two religions. The letter can be found at www.acommonword.com.