Friday, June 16, 2006

Disliking Muslims without knowing why

A piece in Christianity today tackles some of the evangelical Christian books that try to "unveil" the "true face of Islam" Unveiling the Truth About Islam - Christianity Today Magazine.
Unfortunately, too many of these evangelical polemics are historically inaccurate, theologically misinformed, and missiologically misguided. Apparently, a lot of us simply dislike Muslims (usually without knowing any).

When we critique Islam, we need to be fair and accurate. Those of us who make Muslim-Christian comparisons must do so from a position of informed engagement, as those who have worked with Muslims. When we review historical tensions between the two faiths, we must apply rigorous historical analysis. When we write about Islam, we must remember that love is the greatest apologetic.
It's a short piece, and covers a lot of books. So definitely no detailed refutations. Overall, sure. No need to demonize and only point out the wrong. Or (as is the wont of one of my email correspondents) take the worst violence and call it the "true face of Islam."

Incidentally, the author of this piece is a prof. at CIU in Columbia.

[In general -- and reducing everything to one's "take" on something is, well, reductive -- I tend to be bi-polar on Islam].

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