From a children’s tale to Socrates and the Qur’an, the need for logic and sound reasoning is universal.

Nasraddin Hodja is a well-known folktale character in the Middle East. He is famous for his wit, which is apparent in the wisdom-filled stories that have been ascribed to him for eight centuries. Although Hodja was not a philosopher, many of his tales contain elements that demonstrate philosophical concepts and principles. As an example, the story of Hodja’s pot neatly exercises a fundamental philosophical method, i.e. the Socratic method or reductio ad absurdum. This story, though apparently simple and funny, has a deep philosophical dimension and teaches us the Socratic method in a very accessible way. The story goes as follows:

One day, Nasraddin Hodja borrowed a pot from his neighbor. After he had finished using it, he took it back to the neighbor with a smaller pot put inside it.
When the neighbor saw the smaller pot, he was surprised.


“What is that?” he asked.


“Well, said  Hodja, when I borrowed your pot it was pregnant and it gave birth.”


The man smiled and accepted both pots.

A few days later, Hodja borrowed the pot again but this time he did not return it.
The neighbor was rather cross. He went to Hodja and asked, “What about my pot?”


“I am very sorry,” said Hodja, “but it died.”


“Don’t make jokes with me,” replied the neighbor. “How can a pot die?”


“If you believe that it brought a child into the world,” said Hodja, “why can’t you believe that it died?”
 

In this story, Nasraddin Hodja suggests that his neighbor’s behavior of accepting the smaller pot is improper, by indicating an absurd consequence of his behavior, namely that a pot can die if it can give birth. This method is commonly used in philosophical argumentation since the Ancient Greeks. We can see similar examples in Plato’s dialogues. For example, in the Republic, Cephalus defines justice as speaking the truth and paying the debt. However, Socrates shows that this definition logically leads to some absurd consequences. Let us assume that somebody lends us arms when his mind is right, but wants them back later when he lost his mind. According to Cephalus’ definition of justice, we should give the arms to that insane and crazy person since they are not ours but his. Yet, no one would approve such an act. Once Cephalus encounters this counterexample, he understands that his initial definition has some problems; he approves Socrates’ point and tries to modify his idea of justice. Thus, the dialogue continues. Different definitions are introduced and checked by this method.

We can display the logical structure of the Socratic method in the following way. In a conversation, somebody holds an assumption, and makes a definition or claims something. The other person shows that this assumption, definition, or claim leads to an absurdity. For this reason, this method is also called reductio ad absurdum, i.e. reducing to absurdity. Since the initial assumption leads to something unacceptable, it is unacceptable as well by logical inference. Then the person who held that assumption is forced to abandon or modify it. See Table 1 for a comparison of these examples.

Table 1

The Socratic method is one of the basic methods that we use in reasoning. We use it in daily life, in sciences, and in any area where we engage in rational thinking. The strictest kind of absurdity is a contradiction, i.e. accepting and denying the exactly same thing under the same conditions. Because of this, logicians and mathematicians call the Socratic method, “the indirect proof,” or “proof by contradiction.” See the appendix for an example of the proof by contradiction in mathematics.

Interestingly enough, we also see this method in the holy books. For example, the Qur’an frequently suggests people use their rationality and carefully think about the universe. It is remarkable that, in the Qur’an, we find arguments that rely on the reductio ad absurdum method. For example, let us consider the following verse: “But the fact is that had there been in the heavens and the earth any deities other than God, both (of those realms) would certainly have fallen into ruin. All-Glorified God is, the Lord of the Supreme Throne, in that He is absolutely above all that they attribute to Him” (21:22). This verse proposes that one must have observed disorder in the universe if that person associated partners with God’s activity in the universe. Since this is not what we observe, the initial assumption is incorrect. This example shows that the Qur’an addresses the rationality of human beings, and suggests actively using that faculty.

As we have seen, deriving absurd consequences from an assumption and denying it on the basis of those absurdities is a common and fundamental way of reasoning that is exercised in many different areas and aspects of human life. It is called by different names over history, namely “the Socratic method,” “reductio ad absurdum,” or “proof by contradiction.” Yet, the basic idea behind these technical terms is the same. Most of us probably exercise this method without thinking about it.

Appendix

Theorem: The number that is equal to itself, when added to itself, is zero.

Prove that for any x, x is a number; if x +x = x, then x=0.

1. x+x=x (assumption for conditional/direct proof)
2. x is not equal to 0. (Assumption for indirect proof/reductio ad absurdum)
3. x+x=2x (by addition)
4. x=2x (since “x+x” is common for both the 1^st and 3^rd steps, by the principle of transitivity)
5. 1=2 (cancel x’s) –Contradiction
6. x=0. (The assumption that leads to the contradiction in the 5^th step must be false. Therefore, it is false that x is not equal to 0. Thus, x=0 is true.) Indirect proof is complete.
7. If x+x=x, then x=0. (Conditional proof is complete)

She might as well save her breath. After carrying water in pails and plastic bins from the first to the fourth floor of the building where we live, I know better than to waste a drop of it.

Moms love to warn though, so there she goes again: “We have so little left. Use it sparingly. Make it last until evening.”

In the evening my sister and I will start our summer ritual-water carrying-like the rest of our neighbors who don’t live on the first floor. The town’s water reserve level drops so low in the summer that the water pushes itself up the pipes to the first floor, but no further. On the first floor the water flows from the taps while in the higher floors it carries only growling sounds, like a monster in a bad mood.

So we use it sparingly, only when strictly necessary.

In winter the water runs through the taps of the whole building, not discriminating on the terms of the floors, three times a day for an hour and a half. Every household is busy filling every useable container in their possession during that time.

In the summer our survival grimly depends on the mercy of our first floor neighbors. Twelve families, three for each floor, carry their water up four flights of stairs, utilizing pails, bins, bottles, even cauldrons for this vital cause. Children are the most diligent carriers.

The clock on the wall reminds me that I need to get ready for the water’s evening course. The water won’t come for fifteen more minutes, but I must get in line at my first floor neighbor’s door to be ready.

I grab a pail and two bottles in a plastic bag. I run down the worn smooth stairs.

Soon, other neighbors join the march.

I am third in line.

The first is our next door neighbor, Auntie Jazja. She handles the ordeal quite normally. “I have seen worse,” tell her eyes.

Lina comes second. She lives in the fifth floor, above us. Three years older than me, but not much stronger, she holds an aluminum pail with a blackened bottom. Who knows how many times it has been used to heat water on the stove?

Behind me, fourth in line, is my best friend, Dita. She is restlessly switching hands with her glass bottles clinking noisily. She will break them sooner than she fills them with water. The line grows longer each minute.

Everybody talks with those nearby. Lina and Dita are chatterboxes. I am caught in the crossfire of their words.

I worry that our buzz will annoy our gracious first floor neighbor and she will shoo us away.

When the water starts gushing in we fall silent, listening in reverie. It is proper to wait ten to fifteen minutes for the household to fill their share of water, before the first in line is urged to knock.

I am glad Auntie Jazja is to do that today. A senior lady is always hard to turn down.

Soon enough she goes inside, greeting and blessing the benevolence of the neighbor who seems unpleased opening the door to a bunch of thirsty people. As we hear the water fill Aunties Jazja’s glass bottle, we let out a breath of relief.

Meanwhile the chatting resumes. We talk of anything but water.

Lina runs inside with her pail when Auntie Jazja calls her name, letting her know that she is almost done.

Auntie Jazja comes out carrying four one-liter glass bottles, two in each hand. A thin layer of condensation has formed on them. I think that is the picture of perfection. Those drops forming and dripping on the transparent glass refresh my soul.

Lina, shouts my name. It’s my turn. My heart beats in panic for fear that the moment I place my bottle under the tap, the water will stop flowing. Instead, I will hear that horrible whistle which I dread so much.

I enter, greet the lady of the house and head toward the bathroom. Lina is filling her pail, keeping a short hose in it. The water is forming turbulence, increasing in level, making me feel dizzy a bit with impatience.

When she withdraws her pail, I very quickly put my own under the hose, not wasting a drop of water or a second of time. We have to race with time as well, you see. There are people in line waiting.

I fill my container and call my best friend who appears in a second by my side.

I thank my neighbor, although I will return for more water in a few minutes. She knows that a pail and a few bottles of water are not enough for a family of six. I will make two more rounds if the time permits.

As I go up the stairs, I see a trail of water drops. Lina’s pail must be leaking. How silly! By the time she reaches home, half of the water will be gone. I look behind me to see if my pail is leaking, too. I am glad it is not.

At the second floor I feel my arm tighten. Warm numbness creeps up to my shoulders. The pail is heavy; my limbs stretch while my back complains. I put down my burden and I notice a fine red line forming in my palm by the handle of the pail.

I feel hot, and sweat is roller coasting down the bones of my spine. I will drink half a bottle of water to quench my thirst.

I take a deep breath, grab the pail and the bottle and step up the stairs. A frightful thought invades my mind. I had heard from Lina that carrying heavy weight was extremely harmful to young girls. It could badly damage the back, and also be disabling in childbearing. Although nine times out of ten I don’t believe what Lina tells me, this time I worry. Could it be true? My breathing becomes heavier and my muscles tenser. Tears swell around my eyes. I decide not to worry. Why have children anyway? To send them downstairs to carry water until they break their backs?

As I approach the third floor, I come across my little sister hurrying down the steps with one-liter plastic bottles under each arm. She smiles. I remember once when I was her age, I fell on the last steps of the fourth floor. I hurt my knee and my bottles rolled down, mercilessly spilling the water. I couldn’t stop crying, pretending that it was my knee that made me cry so much when it was the waste of water that broke my heart.

I leave the pail and the bottles in front of my door and as I catch my breath, I listen to Lina’s mother scold her daughter for carelessly spilling half of the pail on the stairs. It’s not her fault. The pail is leaking. But I would rather not interfere.

I ring the bell. Mom appears with a worried look. A shade of pity lingers on her face as she takes the full containers inside, and with an air of apology hands me the empty ones. “My poor girl” her eyes lament. I have noticed that the more I go up and down to make Mom happier with the abundance of water she could use, the sadder she gets. That’s when I feel most miserable.

As she closes the door, I overhear her curse the incompetent government, blaming the infrastructure for our misery. I know the government blames the lack of rain. When the rain vindicates itself in fall showers the government will blame it again, this time for the flood. You see how hopeless it is?

I go down the stairs, this time with two plastic pails. I feel so light that I wish I would never reach the first floor, but I do. Lina is again in front of me. The chatting continues as intensely as the flow of water.

Lina produces a photo from her dress pocket. A young man poses in front of greenest garden I have ever seen. The blue of the sky and the whiteness of his teeth contrast attractively, but I can’t take my eyes off the vast lawn behind him.

“This is my cousin, Alban,” Lina says. “You remember? He immigrated to France four years ago. He is doing quite well. He works in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris,” she says proudly, as if her cousin had become the mayor of the city.

I am busy sorting out something confusing though. Isn’t Luxembourg a country in Europe? Then what business do Luxembourg Gardens have in Paris, the capital of France? I doubt Lina has any idea where France or Luxembourg is, so I keep my peace.

“Do you know they water the grass in this humongous garden with sprinklers that turn on automatically?” she asks.

And before I express my admiration, she goes on about her cousin’s high salary, the car he drives, his clothes and the gifts he sent to them last year.

“I envy him, you know,” she concludes. Her eyes are daydreaming.

“I envy the grass,” I think to myself, but I don’t say it aloud. I would break into tears if I pronounced how worthless I felt, and then I would have the whole line asking what was wrong. What is it like to lie under the sun and be sprinkled with thousands of silvery droplets that replenish every cell of your being? What makes the grass of Luxembourg luckier than me? A surge of envy fills my heart.

Lina counts with delight all the things her cousin has, unaware that she is counting all the things we lack as well. She gets on my nerves. I am saved only when her name is called. She goes in, leaving me with pails full of despair.

I did five rounds of water carrying today. Some neighbors had gone out of town leaving the line, ever so graciously, to us. After dinner I fell asleep listening to the news anchor woman explaining that this year’s drought was the worst ever.

With her drought-warning words echoing in my head, I dived into the world of sleep, and I dreamed. I saw my town was flooded. Angry rivers of water carried furniture, cars, and trees floating in the streets. Among them I saw a body floating, undisturbed. Then I recognized that it was my body. My eyes were closed peacefully. I looked like I was sleeping. In dreams you can do anything, even sleep on a flood’s current. A radiant smile of intact elation lingered on my face. I remember thinking out loud, “I don’t know whether I am dead or not. Yet, no doubt I am happy. So happy that I don’t envy the grass of Luxembourg anymore.”

Mirkena Ozer is pursuing MA in women studies at the University of Georgia, Atlanta. 

“A man was going down from Jericho, [The road from Jericho to Jerusalem was steep and winding, a place where criminals regularly assaulted travelers at the time when Jesus lived] and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest [A holy man] was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, [a religious leader] when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan [Samaritans were people who were despised by the ethnic group to whom the lawyer belonged.] while traveling came near him, and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, [two coins equal to two days wages] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’”

Then Jesus asked the lawyer, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The lawyer said to Jesus, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus then said to the lawyer, “Go and do likewise.” The moral of this story is that if one wishes to have eternal life one must be a good neighbor.

The medieval Christian monk Bernard of Clairvaux shares the great theme of the love of God with the Sufi master Rumi. A big portion of Clairvaux’s writing includes the idea that of all the attributes of God, the one most important to humankind is love. Father Clairvaux was not a poet like Rumi but a fine scholar of the Bible and found many important verses of Scripture that speak about the idea of God’s love being manifest through the actions of human beings. This love of God is expressed most graphically in the activity of being a good neighbor. He writes, “True love is precisely this: that it does not seek its own interests. And you cannot love your neighbor unless you love God. God must be loved first in order that we may love our neighbor in God” (from, On the Love of God).

From the Christian perspective neighborliness is one of the most important characteristics a follower of Jesus can possess. The two sections of the Bible, the book that gives Christians their primary guidance for living, are the Old Testament and the New Testament. These two parts of the Bible are full of verses that emphasize the high moral value placed on the practices of love of God and of neighborliness.

The Old Testament concept of neighbor often referred not only to the person who lived in the house next door to you but to anyone in your tribe. The good deeds of neighborliness were emphatically applied to care for the widow or orphan and those in need of one’s help.

God says, “If you take your neighbor’s cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes down; for it may be your neighbor’s only clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if your neighbor cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate” (Exodus 22:26–27). Later in this same Old Testament book, speaking to the Israelites, God says, “You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall not abuse a widow or orphan” (Exodus 22:21–22). It is written in the book of Deuteronomy, “Cursed be anyone who strikes down a neighbor in secret” (Deuteronomy 27: 24). The prophet Jeremiah writes, “Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place” (Jeremiah 22:3). And the prophet, Micah says, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

The New Testament concept of neighbor becomes even more universal through the teachings of Jesus and the writings of Paul of Tarsus. These ideas are derived from the thought that if God loves all people we should, in turn, love ourselves and especially others, including our neighbors, our enemies and those in need, the widow and orphan.

Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22: 37–40) And Paul writes, “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:13–15).

Therefore, to be a true Christian one must take care to obey the first and second commandments, to love God and also to love one’s neighbor as one’s self.

We Christians have to be alert to what some call the constant presence of evil, others call this negative force in our living the devil, and still others call it the distractions of daily living; such things as television and the media in general, the North American impulse to consumerism, self-aggrandizement, preoccupation with the accumulation of wealth, politics and the list goes on and on. These distractions, against which Christians must be constantly alert, are what our holy Scriptures refer to as our “having other gods before the one God.” The reason we want to be alert to distractions such as these is that our primary goal as Christians is to first love God and second, to love our neighbors and not to place a higher value on worldly things than we do on neighborliness.

The spiritual director and Presbyterian minister, Diana Nishita Cheifetz, writes about ways people can be good neighbors in a world where air travel and the internet have brought a great diversity of culture, political ideology, ethnicity and religion together. She talks about “graceful neighboring” which is a kind of interpersonal “dancing with our diversity.”

Graceful neighboring recognizes differences while at the same time it dwells on the positive nature of our similarities. Through the art of graceful neighboring we become more aware of people different than ourselves who are on this metaphorical “dance floor” with us. This is an important, other-focused view observed in the more accomplished “dancers”. That more mature, other-focused view, dear reader, can be possessed by you and your families and friends, and by me and mine when we are all committed to interfaith dialog. When we engage in the dance of life we do not see the stranger as black or white, Christian or Jew, rich or poor; we acknowledge them as partners, people of equal value in the eyes of the one God, people who are moving to the rhythm of life with us. We gaze into their eyes, and smile and thereby recognize their humanness and our collective joy in our living together. To behave this way is to understand what Rumi and Bernard of Clairvaux would call a kind of whirling dance of faith, a moving out of darkness into light.

Graceful neighboring also recognizes differences. We do not stand too close and invade the boundaries of the others whose culture and religion ask for more room on the dance floor. Being a good neighbor is to be willing to respect the needs and differences of the dancers.

If we are able to be vehicles of graceful neighboring in these ways others will observe our joy, we will be the good dancers whom others watch and respect, and the one God will bring all of us together into a great dance of life.

Sam is a Presbyterian pastor, a husband, a father, a grandfather and a friend. He is actively involved as a member of the Advisory Board of the Austin area Institute of Interfaith Dialog, an avid bicycle rider and environmentalist.

Notes

1. Diana Nishita Cheifetz, Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, July/August 2006.

God does not forbid you as regards those who do not make war against you on account of your religion, nor drive you away from your homeland, that you should be kind to them, and act towards them with full equity. Surely God loves those who act equitably. God only forbids you from taking as confidants and guardians those who make war against you on account of your religion and drive you away from your homeland, or support others to drive you away. Whoever takes them for confidants and guardians, such are the wrongdoers. (Mumtahana 60:8-9)

Non-Muslims who are at peace with Muslims and do not fight them for reasons of faith and do not drive them from their homes, then God has not forbidden Muslims from treating them kindly and justly, for God loves those who are just. The Arabic word qist means justice, that is, to give to each according to his right. As for kindness (al birr), this exceeds justice, for it is the act of doing good (ihsan), meaning that you give somebody their right or more than their right. Kindness (al birr) is to take what is your right and to forgo something that it is your right to take.

Indeed, God chose to use the same word to express the greatest right after the rights of God in Islam, namely the rights of parents: the kindness due to parents (birrul walidain). God Almighty has commanded us to be kind to our parents. Likewise God has not prevented us from being kind to non-Muslims. A part of kindness is to be able to co-exist, and a part of co-existence is to offer greetings to others on their holidays, as they greet you on yours. Hence, this stems from kindness and co-existence, two things which God has not prevented us from doing, especially in the case of Christians with whom we associate. If that person is a neighbor, then there are rights due to neighbors, even if your neighbor wrongs you or is a disbeliever.

Once, in one of the festivals, Abdullah bin Omar said to his servant: “Don’t forget our Jewish neighbor when you slaughter a sheep, or a similar action.” Each time he entered or left the house he would repeat the saying, “Don’t forget our Jewish neighbor.” The servant replied: “Truly you have exceeded in your exhortations concerning this Jew.” To which he replied: “Indeed, I heard the Prophet-may God bless him and grant him peace-say: “The Angel Gabriel kept exhorting me with regard to (the rights of) neighbors until I thought that he would give them the right to inherit.” Thus, it is clear that neighbors have rights over us.

Respond a greeting with a better greeting

A fellow student has rights over you. If you are at school or in university, maybe there is a classmate who sits next to you, or for those students who are studying in European countries or other non-Muslim countries, you study with students, professors, or supervisors from other religious backgrounds; should a Muslim treat such people coldly, with a lack of sensitivity, ignoring the religious holiday of their fellow students, not offering any holiday greeting to the person who is celebrating in the customary manner?

I believe that Islam does not prevent or forbid this courtesy, particularly when others offer us this same courtesy on our holidays. Indeed God Almighty says:

If you are greeted with a greeting, respond with a better greeting or return it (with the same one). (Nisa 4:86)

Once, a Zoroastrian man passed by Ibn ‘Abbas and said to him: “Peace be upon you!” to which he replied with the words: “And upon you be peace and the mercy of God!” Some of his comrades questioned him saying: “You say to him (and the mercy of God?” He replied: “Does he not live through the mercy of God?”

Greeting Christians at Christmas Time

There is no harm in Muslims expressing congratulations to their Christian neighbor, colleague, or relation, especially when we know that Islam elevated the relationship with the People of the Book to the extent that it permitted inter-marriage. This is the peak of tolerance to which no other religion has reached. Christianity does not permit a Christian man to marry other than a Christian woman and Judaism does not permit a Jewish man to marry other than a Jewish woman.

. . . And (lawful to you) are, in wedlock, chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Book before… (Maida 5:5)

This means that the mother of a Muslim can be a non-Muslim. Supposing a person is Muslim and his mother is Christian, is it permissible for him not to wish his mother happiness on this occasion? This relationship of marriage would imply that the grandfather of the children of such a marriage would be Christian and likewise the children’s grandmother, their maternal aunts and uncles and cousins would all be Christian. In this situation, we find that there are mutual ties of kinship that carry rights, for blood relatives have prior rights over each other in the Book of God, so how then is it not permitted for a Muslim to show kindness to their relations by wishing them a happy and blessed holiday?!

I am aware that Ibn Taimiyya took a hard line concerning these occasions and he stated that a Muslim should not greet non-Muslims on the occasion of their religious holidays on the grounds that this implies acceptance of their religion, beliefs, and rites. However, I do not consider his opinion on this matter to be sound. Just because a Muslim wishes a Christian a happy Christmas or Easter, this does not mean that they are accepting their creed or declaring it to be sound; that is another matter altogether. Greeting someone on a holiday does not necessitate accepting their creed. This is why this form of relating to one another is permitted as long as there are relationships that require such co-existence. This is how such matters should be handled.

Muslims believe in Jesus, peace be upon him, and the Gospel; they also believe in the Torah and all the prophets, just as God Almighty has said:

We make no distinction between any of His Messengers (in believing in them). (Baqara 2:285)

We make no distinction between any of them (in believing), and we are those who have been submitted to Him wholly. (Baqara 2:136)

Indeed, the faith of a Muslim believer is unacceptable unless they believe in all the Books of God and all of His prophets; that is to say, unless they believe in every book He revealed and in every prophet He sent. Thus, Islam considers any person who does not fulfill this tenet to be a disbeliever.

(For there are) those (deserving punishment,) who disbelieve in God (by not recognizing Him at all or as He should be) and His Messengers (by denying Messengership or some of the Messengers), and who seek to make a distinction between God and His Messengers (by claiming belief in God but denying the Messengership or some of the Messengers), and say, “We believe in some and deny others,” seeking to take a way in between. Such are those who are the unbelievers in truth, and We have prepared for the unbelievers a shameful, humiliating punishment. (Nisa 4:150-1)

Therefore, Muslims have to believe in all the prophets, and whoever rejects one of the prophets or messengers has rejected all of prophets. We can see this in chapter Shu‘ara of the Qur’an where it is stated that: “The people of Noah rejected the messengers” “The (people of) ‘Ad rejected the messengers” “The (people of) Thamud rejected the messengers.” Here the plural is used, although in actual fact they only rejected one messenger. However, the rejection of one messenger implies the rejection of all the messengers.

Tolerance has been established with non-Muslims

The difference between people regarding their religions is in accordance with God’s will and His will is connected to His wisdom.

If your Lord had so willed (without granting humanity free will,) He would have made all humankind one single community (with the same faith, worldview, and way of thinking and life). But (based on their free choice,) they never cease following paths divergent from the Straight Way, save those on whom your Lord has special mercy (and guides to the Straight Way because of certain merits they have) This is the line followed by humankind that God has created with special disposition. (Hud 11:118-119)

The verse clearly suggests that God granted humanity a mind and a will that meant that He left them with the freedom to choose the religion they wish. Furthermore, if He had wanted to unite them in one religion He would have made them like the angels who are created for faith and obedience. However, he created them with minds and differing wills and as a result there are different religions. This is all according to the will of God.

The second point with regard to Islamic tolerance and the reason behind this tolerance is that the reckoning for disbelief and error will not be administered in this life. Rather, the appointed time for this is in the Hereafter, just as God has said:

If they argue with you, say only: “God knows well what you are doing, (To me is accounted my deeds, and to you, your deeds. You are quit of all that I do, and I am quit of all that you do.)” (Hajj 22:68)

God is our Lord and your Lord. To us are accounted our deeds, and to you, your deeds. Let there be no contention between you and us: God will bring us all together and settle the matter between you and us. To Him is the homecoming.” (Shura 42:15)

Thus, in the Hereafter God brings to account the misguided for their error and the righteous for their guidance.

The third point is that Islam respects the humanity of each person, disregarding religion. For this reason Bukhari narrated from Jabir that when a funeral procession carrying the bier of the deceased passed by the Prophet-may God bless him and grant him peace-he stood for it (out of respect). They said to him, “O Messenger of God, it is a Jewish funeral,” to which he replied: “Is it not a soul.” This implies that every human soul has sanctity, even if the deceased in question be a non-Muslim. What an admirable gesture and a beautiful explanation!

Islam brought justice for all people, not only for Muslims. God Almighty says:

…never let your detestation for a people move you to commit the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is nearer and more suited to piety.. (Maida 5:8)

A Muslim should deal with all of humanity by understanding these meanings and these principles, treating both those who disagree and those who agree with them cordially. This is why Muslims should continue to maintain a dialogue with the People of the Book. God says:

Do not argue with those who were given the Book save in the best way possible, unless it be those of them who are given to wrongdoing and therefore not accessible to friendly argument. Say to them: “We believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you, and your God and our God is one and the same. We are Muslims wholly submitted to Him. (Ankabut 29:46)

The Qur’an commands us to mention that which unites us and things which we share in common. We should focus on points of agreement and not points of difference. We say: we and you stand on one and the same Earth. We all believe in God, we believe in the Hereafter, we believe in worshipping and serving God, and we believe in moral values.

Non-Muslims living under Muslim protection

Islam taught the practice of tolerance toward the People of the Book in general and toward the people of dhimma (non-Muslims living under Muslim protection) in particular. The “people of dhimma” refers to those who live in Muslim lands. In Islamic jurisprudence such people are called “people of the house of Islam” (ahl al-dar al-Islam), while nowadays we would use the term “citizens”; that is, non-Muslim citizens. They share the same rights and duties as Muslims except those that pertain to religious differences. Just as we have no right to impose our religious duties upon them, we do not tolerate them to confront us in the expression of our religious duties. This is what Islam asks of us. I told some of them, especially Christian Arabs: “You are not Muslim by creed and religion, but you are Muslim in your culture and civilization. Indeed, the Coptic leader, Mukrim ‘Abid in his time as one of the heads of the Coptic Church in Egypt said: “I am a Christian by religion, but a Muslim by country.” What he meant was that he lives in a land belonging to Daril Islam. So, he regards himself as Muslim in his homeland and country. In these terms he is Muslim; that is culturally he is a Muslim. This is what I wish Muslims to know concerning a matter that has been the cause of much confusion, causing some to take up a position on the extreme right and others on the extreme left. But goodness, all goodness is in the middle way.

We have made you a community of the middle-way, so that you may be witnesses (to the truth) for the people and on behalf of them concerning the ways they follow, and that the (most noble) Messenger may be a witness for you and on your behalf. (Baqara 2:143)

An appropriate understanding of the Islamic view of neighborliness requires examination of the main teachings of Islam. The Arabic word Islam derives from the root “salaam,” which literally means peace, submission, and obedience. Accordingly, the goal of an Islamic life is to attain peace and happiness in this world as well as in the hereafter by faith and by obedience to God. Achievement of peace and harmony within one’s self, in the community and all over the world is the essential objective of Islamic teachings. Islam is not a new religion. It is, in essence, the same message and guidance which God revealed to all prophets, as indicated by the following Qur’anic verse: 

Say, we believe in God and that which has been revealed to us, and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and to other prophets, from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to him we submit. (Al Imran 3:83)

There are two main sources of Islamic teachings: the Qur’an, which is the revealed word of God, and the prophetic traditions of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The principles of neighbor relationships that we will discuss below are based on these two main sources.

In Islam, the rights which people have over one another are considered extremely important. According to Islamic teachings, God can forgive all sins except the ones that are related to the rights of others. These rights are categorized and classified in a very detailed way. These include the rights of family members over one another, the rights of relatives, the rights of community members and the rights of neighbors over one another.

Definition of Neighbors in Islam

In Arabic, the word neighbor (jaar) refers to believers and unbelievers, religious and irreligious, friends and enemies, foreigners and fellow countrymen, those who treat you well and those who would do you harm, relatives and strangers, those whose houses are near yours as well as those who are further away. In the fourth chapter of the Qur’an, entitled Nisa (Women) God commands us to Serve God, and join not any partners with Him; and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, . . . (Nisa 4:36).

There are three definitions of neighborhood in the Muslim tradition. According to Al-Uza’i and Ibn Shihab as recorded in the authentic prophetic traditions of Bukhari, the definition of neighbor includes “forty houses in each direction, (right, left, front, and back).” Ali, the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and the fourth caliph, is reported to have said, “Whoever hears the call (for prayer) is a neighbor.” Some Muslim scholars have declared that whoever lives with a man in a locality or a city is a neighbor. This opinion is based on a verse from the chapter entitled “The Confederate Tribes” (Ahzab 33:60).

According to Islamic teachings, the closest neighbor is one’s spouse. The next closest neighbor is the one whose door is closest to yours. It is narrated from the Prophet’s wife Aisha that she asked, “O messenger of God! I have two neighbors, to which one of them should I give a gift?” The Prophet said, “To the one whose door is nearest to yours.” According to Muslim historians, the closest neighbor at the time of this question was not a Muslim. From this prophetic tradition, it is clear that when it comes to the observation of neighbors’ rights, it makes no difference whether the neighbors are Muslim or non-Muslim. Furthermore, from this prophetic tradition we understand that Muslims are encouraged not only to treat our neighbors kindly, but also to exchange gifts with them. The wording of the tradition does not indicate whether or not the one with whom we exchange gifts is a Muslim.

The concept of the neighbor is not restricted to those who live in buildings near your home. A roommate in a dorm, the person sitting next to you on a bus or at a bus stop are considered neighbors. The list can be extended to consider a colleague in the office or a person enjoying the fresh air next to you in a public garden.

Importance of Neighbors and Their Rights

According to Islamic teachings, refraining from harming one’s neighbor is a part of faith. The Prophet sometimes used to show the importance of teachings by saying, “Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him do such-and-such . . . .” Among the prophetic traditions that employ this method of conveying a message is the following narrated from Abu Hurayra: “Whoever believes in God and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor.”

Another important teaching of God’s Messen¬ger showing the importance of neighborliness is narrated from Anas: “By Him in Whose hand is my soul, no man truly believes until he loves for his neighbor what he loves for himself.”

The Prophet stated that treating our neighbors well is a part of being a Muslim. Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet said, “Be God-fearing: you will be the best in worship among the people. Be content with your lot: you will be the most grateful of people. Like for people what you would like for yourself: you will be a believer. Treat your neighbor well: you will be a Muslim.”

Other important teachings on neighborliness include visiting neighbors when they are ill, consoling them at times of sorrow and congratulating them at times of joy, not staring into their house, not staring at what they carry into their house and not looking at their womenfolk, taking care of their family’s needs when they are absent, and forgiving their mistakes. 

Good Relations with Neighbors

The importance of having good relationships with neighbors is sometimes emphasized in general as in the following tradition narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr: “The best of friends, in God’s sight, is the one who is best to his friend; and the best of neighbors, in God’s sight, is the one who is best to his neighbor.” Sometimes very specific aspects of neighbor relationships are pinpointed, but the recommendations do not stop there. We are encouraged not only to have good relations with our neighbors, but also to initiate good deeds. For instance, we are recommended to be the first to greet a neighbor. Kindness to neighbors is always presented as the norm.

In Islam, being good to one’s neighbors encompasses a number of deeds: visiting them, being kind to them in general, and helping them when they need our help. The recommendations even go as far as buying similar things for our neighbors’ children to those we buy for ours. If we are unable to do this, we are discouraged from showing our neighbors’ children what we bought for our children.

Narrated from Aisha, the Prophet said, “Gabriel kept recommending me to treat my neighbor well until I thought that he would tell me to make him one of my heirs.” Abda ibn Ali Lubaba narrates from the Messenger of God: “No deed which harms a neighbor can be regarded as insignificant.”

We should share what we have with our neighbors. Narrated from Abu Dharr the Prophet stated, “Whenever you cook some stew, add extra water to it, then look for some household in your neighborhood and give it to them in kindness.”

In his historic sermon during the Farewell Pilgrimage, in which he summarized the most important points of his teachings, the Prophet did not fail to mention neighbors and emphasized their rights to such an extent that the eminent companion Abu Umama also thought that the Prophet would make neighbors heirs: “I heard the Prophet when he was seated on his she-camel during the Farewell Pilgrimage, saying, ‘I enjoin you to treat your neighbors well,’ and urging their good treatment so much that I thought, he is going to give them the rights of inheritance.”

Christian and Jewish Neighbors in Islam

History bears witness to the fact that Christians and Jews, the “People of the Book”1 as they are called in the Qur’an, have lived alongside Muslims in many regions of the Islamic world, secure in the knowledge that they, their honor, and their wealth were safe, enjoying a good neighborly relationship, with good treatment and freedom of worship. Their ancient churches still exist in Muslim villages clinging to mountaintops, surrounded by Muslim community who upholds the well-being of their Jewish and Christian neighbors. When the Prophet was about to pass on to the next world, he stated: “I place in your trust the People of the Book, the Christians and Jews.” When ‘Umar was in the throes of death due to a dagger wound, he warned: “I place the People of the Book among us in your trust. Fear God regarding them and treat them justly.”

Islam aims at spreading mutual love and affection among neighbors. The ways in which people may achieve this are many, and include attitudes ranging from making sure that your neighbor does not sleep hungry while you sleep well fed, to the exchange of gifts. The Muslim attitude toward neighbors includes wishing for their neighbors what they wish for themselves. It includes the sharing of happiness and sorrow. It prohibits spying on them, gossiping about them, and harming them in any way. Instead it establishes respect for their privacy, and keeping common use areas-such as apartment building entrances, streets and sidewalks-clean. The Prophet also said, “Among the things that bring happiness to a Muslim in this life are a righteous neighbor, a spacious house, and a good steed.”

We have tried to shed some light on the Muslim attitude toward neighbors and the importance of neighbor relationships in Islam. The Islamic tradition in this respect is fairly rich and invites the interested reader to further research. A healthy society can be established only through healthy neighborhoods. Education is the key to instilling healthy attitudes of neighborliness in our children as well as in adults. This concept deserves discussion in the classrooms of public schools as well as in seminars and conferences in universities. This flower should be given to all societies as a gift and love should be shared in the community through knowledge.

Footnote

1. Although ahl al-kitap, “People of the Book,” is commonly considered to be referring to Christians and Jews, Islamic tradition accepts, in general terms, other belief systems like Zoroastrians, Buddhists, or Hindus under the same category, as their major tenets of faith are similar to that of Islam’s.

No institution is better suited to preach clean air, water, and land than the institutions that profess a love of God and God’s Creation, Bingham says. There’s no place in the New Testament where it says we should use energy-efficient appliances. But everything we know about Jesus says that he identified with the poor and the marginalized and that he loved his neighbor. Global warming is hurting creation at a rapid rate and will soon cause great harm to the developing nations, who are as usual hit harder and sooner than the rest of us. Already we are seeing more severe storms, disease, drought and floods leading to famine and malnutrition.

Along with Steve MacAusland, a video producer from Dedham, Mass., Bingham founded the Episcopal Power and Light ministry, and later spin-off interfaith programs in states ranging from power-strapped California to oil-rich Texas. In California alone, the group persuaded 27 churches to install solar panels and 61 churches to switch to a renewable power company called Green Mountain Energy. By consolidating the purchasing power of the state’s churches, EP&L was able to secure green energy at a great price.

Unfortunately, the chain of events surrounding deregulation of the state’s power industry forced Green Mountain Energy to pull the plug on their California customers. In turn, churches had no choice but to again power their sacred spaces with fossil fuels. We carry tremendous guilt knowing that we are polluting out neighbor’s air every time we turn on the lights. We have been forced into sinful behavior that frightens us. We may end up in a place so hot it will make global warming seem like a cold shower.

Bingham: I am a member of the Episcopal Environmental Network, a national group of people that come together once a year to talk about the issues that the church wants to get involved in. I’ve been a member of it when the national church first formed this organization It’s also kind of a support group for those of us around the country who are feeling pain over the degradation of the environment. We kind of lament and pray and support each other. If you feel like you’re the lone person crying in the wilderness, it’s important to have a group come together and talk about these things.

A man from Massachusetts, Steve Causland, came on the committee in about 1996. We were on a long hike one day and talking about our committee, and we decided we really wanted to do something to make a difference. So we had to figure out what we saw as the most important issue facing the world today and it was climate change.

So over the next year, he and I founded Episcopal Power and Light (EP&L). I had already founded a 501 (c)(3) called the Regeneration Project, an interfaith ministry to link people of faith with their ecology. I hadn’t done anything with this yet I’d been in seminaryso it was just waiting there for a project.

Thompson: What denominations have been working on this?

Bingham: Well, here in California, the California Council of Churches is all the Protestant churches across the board. And then we have a member of the board of rabbis and a member of COEJL, which is Coalition for Environmental Jewish Life, and a fellow down in Los Angeles who is Muslim. So it truly is interfaith. And each one of us has a responsibility to get our constituency on board. We have a congregational covenant which you can download from the Internet. There are all these different areas where you can check off the things your congregation are willing to do. It’s targeted at the leadership of the church, whether it be the director of a Presbyterian church or a rabbi of a synagogue, because it asks them to educate their congregation on global warming. I’m in the process now of putting together materials that they’ll be able to use to take this education into their congregation.

Thompson: How does your message differ from that of environmentalists who address the issue from a secular point of view?

Bingham: We bring the moral component. We see energy conservation and efficiency as a responsibility for people of faith, as loving one’s neighbor. So it comes from the heart rather than the pocketbook. Conserving energy with the consciousness that what you say, someone else might be able to use is putting your faith into action.

Thompson: I like your update of a familiar parable: Harder for a wasteful consumer to get into heaven than an SUV to pass through the eye of a needle. You’re preaching some messages that are pretty uncomfortable for people to hear, messages people have heard many times in many forums but not necessarily taken to heart. What do you think it will take to shift thinking away from overconsumption and consumerism?

Bingham: It’s true. I think they need to hear the message more than once, but with our ministry we plant those seeds. With our train the trainer program, more people will be able to articulate the message, and I think we’ll have a huge impact. The more people out there preaching this kind of thing, the more effect it can have.

Last Sunday was the first time I’d given an environmental sermon at the 11 o’clock service. There was such a positive responseeveryone was clapping at the end that doesn’t happen here very often. That told me that people are ready to hear this message. It was affirming to folks who are already beginning to think that way because of what they’re reading in the newspaper about energy and global warming. Now they hear this and think Oh my God, the church is with me on this.

We’re still on the cutting edge of the ministry. I don’t know if there were 400 or 800 people in that congregation on Sunday, but I know that probably half of them are hearing this message for the first time. But they’ll hear it again.

And it is such a perfect thing for the church to do. Often what we read in the paper about religious organizations is the bad newssome clergy member who broke his or her vows in one way or another. This is good news about the church. Here we are at the forefront, doing a positive thing that’s going to hopefully save the planet.

Thompson: It’s one thing to preach to a liberal, environmentally-minded congregation in San Francisco, but how do you see your ministry winning conservative Christians who support Bush’s energy policies? Have you done any work in the Bible Belt?

Bingham: One of the interfaith programs is in Texasit isn’t founded yet, because we’ve just started our work, but I have been an advisor to the dioceses of West Texas on renewable energy, and we are planning a launching event there in October. In June I flew into Corpus Christi, Texas, which is the heart of the oil country, and talked to the bishop there about powering their council meeting in February with wind. They haven’t agreed to do that yet, but I think they’re going to. Green Mountain has already agreed to buy the wind and resell it back to the dioceses council.

The Episcopal Church powered its 15,000-person convention in Denver last July with wind purchased from the border of Wyoming and Colorado. It was the first convention in this country to be powered by renewable energy. Then we challenged the Democratic and Republican conventions to do it; the Democrats did. At the Episcopal convention, the National Renewable Energy lab, which is in Boulder, Colorado, set up a display right next to the EP&L booth. We also a little bucket on our booth and asked everybody to contribute one dollar to the extra cost of wind (it was literally 10 cents per day per person to have wind for the ten-day conference).

The idea blew the general convention. When we got back to our offices, we started getting calls from people all over the country. A woman in Tennessee was so eager to switch to renewable power that she did the research herself and made it happen. Now we’re going to Tennessee to do an event there in November, and we’re going to Detroit to do the same thing. The reason I was in Texas was that the women down there decided they wanted to power their convention with wind. So it really started something. In Nashville, the first big cathedral there (get name) is buying green power from the Tennessee Valley Association.

Thompson: What has inspired you personally to do this work?

Bingham: I grew up down in Woodside, Calif., which is a pretty rural communityor used to be, before Silicon Valley started building all these huge houses down there. I spent so much time alone in nature that I developed a very strong sense of divine companionship in the wilderness. Then way later in lifeabout 1985, and I was living in New York, and I was a trustee for the Environmental Defense Fund. Every one of board meetings has a presentation by a staff scientist. For 10 years I listened to the threat of global warming, overfishing, dying coral reefs, and deforestation. I just at one point began to think: Where is the religious community in this problem? Why don’t we hear the religious voice? These are the people who sit in the pews on Sunday and say they love God and probably deep inside them love what God loves, and therefore love Creation, but they just haven’t paid attention.

Thompson: You’ve preached about the effects of global warming severe storms, disease, drought, floods, famine…Sounds like the Apocalypse.

Bingham: It’s interesting that you say that. My 21-year-old son answered the door yesterday, and some Bible-toting folks were out front. He said: You don’t have to talk to us because my mother’s a priest and she preaches about the environment. Right away the woman started quoting Revelations and the end of the world.

I don’t know. I don’t pretend to have knowledge of God’s intentions. But I’m more hopeful than thinking about the end of the world. Because I think that human hearts can and will change, and that we will stop this destructive way and bring things back together.

Thompson: What obstacles have you faced in this work, and how have you overcome them?

Bingham: The internal ones are relatively minor today. Ten years ago, it was great turmoil, because I felt alone in this work. There were not other clergy who would agree with me on any of this. They thought that I was mixing politics with religionit wasn’t seen as something that involved human souls, which was what the church all about. People would say isn’t the church about people? Those first few years were very difficult, and this is why I believe that there is so much hope. The change between a few years ago and today is just phenomenal. People are there; they understand the connection between faith and the environment and religion.

I stillbut not anywhere near as oftensometimes meet people who say that global warming isn’t real. In fact, yesterday I got an e-mail from someone who heard my Sunday sermon saying that I was wrong in saying that human behavior was causing global warming. He said it was actually being caused by a volcano in Hawaii.

Thompson: How do you respond to that?

Bingham: I haven’t, and I’ll tell you why. I used to get all wrapped up in one person’s view. If there were a hundred people in a room and 99 of them stood up and clapped, and one person said, you’re demented, I would go and spend hours with that one person. I just don’t do that anymore. I’m sorry they’re not better educated, but it isn’t worth my time. I may in fact recommend a couple books for this fellow to read, like The Heat is On, by Ross Gelbspanit’s a wonderful, very readable book about global warmingor something by Michael Oppenheimer, a scientist and climatologist, who has a lot of good work and a book by Steven Schneider, who’s at Stanford. I could put this person in touch with some of this literature and ask them to read about it and then come back and tell me that global warming is happening because of the volcano in Hawaii. If that was the case, I’d probably say, I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.

Thompson: How do you personally experience God in nature?

Bingham: I ask them to be mindful, really conscious, of every single one of their behaviors. The cups we use, the cars we drive the clothes we buy. I don’t condemn people who have the means to buy what they need. But when you buy ten times more than what you need. I live in a neighborhood where the recycling bins are sometimes just shockingin one week the amount of packaging that comes from Saks Fifth Avenue and Wilkes Bashford? You think how can these people possibly wear all these clothes? That’s where I draw the line. Now I know there are folks who will say, well if we didn’t go in there and buy all these clothes, think of the jobs these people who are selling the clothes wouldn’t have, and the people who are making the clothes and on and on and on down the chain. But I think there’s plenty to go around in this world for all of our needs. I think wealthy communities have to change their ways.

Thompson: What does the Bible have to say about protecting the environment?

Bingham: As you know, the Bible has lots and lots and lots of stories. I tend to take a metaphorical, not literal, interpretation of the Bible. Throughout Scripture, there are various teachings of restraintnot taking more than you need, loving your neighbor, giving to other people. People often ask me Was Jesus an environmentalist? Jesus identified with marginal people. And probably today he would identify with endangered species and coral reefs and forests, because he identified with pain and suffering, and right now creation is in pain and suffering. So I would go so far to say that if Jesus were here, he would not drive an SUV. He’d be on the White House steps with you. Do you see a relationship between America’s spiritual and environmental crises?

In Al Gore’s book, The Earth in Balance, he said just thatthe environmental crisis is a spiritual oneand I think it’s absolutely true. We’ve forgotten where we came from. We’ve forgotten our connection to all Creation. Children walk through the supermarkets and think that the bananas grow right out of the shelves there. Working with my compost, and planting the garden and eating food that comes out of itit’s a spiritual experience. It connects you to the land and teaches you the whole cycle of life. We’ve lost that.

Can we get reconnected to it? I hope so. I think that when we were an agricultural world, it was a lot easier, but being in cities, it’s hard to do. I think that some of those summer programs that take teenagers out into the wilderness are probably amazingly life-changing. And I think our parks and national recreational areascity parks and street treesall those things are really important. Everybody should have a backyard. It’s very deep inside of us, that connection to the land. But it needs to be awakened. We’ve gotten so far from the land that something has to reach out and stimulate us.

There are some wonderful teachers now that are starting to teach ecology in schools, and I think the church can play a magnificent role in this. Imagine if Sunday school classes started teaching about the different ways that God made birds’ beaks, that they eat the different kinds of seeds because the way their beaks are shapedI think all those kinds of things will help children get the sense that God is bigger than they aresomething that we have to live in awe of.

Thompson: Where do you see this ministry in 10 years?

Bingham: We’re getting ready to launch a program out of the Cathedral that’s going to be magnificent. Five years from now it will be, I hope, one of the best faith-based programs in the country. We want to have a curriculum that will link theology and ecology for all faith groups and train facilitators from different regions. If we can raise the money and that actually happens, you can imagine we need a bigger budget, we need more people. If it all happens, ten years from now, I see it as a viable ministry coming out of the Cathedral or perhaps the Regeneration Project, which is the home for Episcopal Power and Light will be its own 501 (c)(3) and we’ll be teaching this all over the world.

It’s hard to say. We’ve only been in business so to speak for three years. We’ve tripled our budget. A year ago, nobody was on staffmy partner and I were working for freebut this last year, we’ve been able to pay ourselves a salary and hire an assistant. We’re also looking for an office manager and a development director. So I see this getting huge.

Thompson: Can you leave us with a good quote from the Bible that relates to your work?

Bingham: It’s so simple. It’s the one I talk about all the time. The first and great commandment is to Love God. The second is like onto it, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. Therein lies this ministryif you love your neighbor, don’t pollute your neighbor’s air and water. You don’t trash something that your neighbor could use. That’s really it.

The ways Christians and Muslims relate to each other in the 21st century will have a profound impact on both communities and the world. Clearly, global interdependence requires more than tolerance in the midst of diversity. Economic, ecological, and military dangers underscore the need for mutual understanding and cooperation across religious and cultural boundaries. Unfortunately, the large majority of Christians and Muslims tend to view the other through the lens of misinformation and stereotypes. This problem is made worse by the media’s tendency to focus on the most violent and sensational events.

Knowing very little about Islam, most Christians in the U.S. shape their views in response to stories about terrorists blowing up the World Trade Center, a zealot’s call for Holy War, hostage takers, or the sharp rhetoric of Louis Farrakhan. While these images are rooted in the behavior of small groups of Muslims, they are hardly representative of the more than one billion Muslims, the overwhelming majority of whom are horrified by violent extremism. Consider the following facts:

– Minister Farrakhan’s supporters represent less than 20% of the African-American Muslim community. Some Muslims consider this movement to be another religion. The large majority are following traditional Islamic teachings out of camera range.

– The largest Islamic country is not in the Middle East. It is Indonesia with more than 160 million Muslims. There are more than 100 million Muslims in each of the following countries: India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. China has over 30 million Muslims, more than any Middle Eastern country except Egypt.

Why should Western Christians base their images of Islam on the behavior of extremist elements rather than the hundreds of millions of people who are not behaving violently?

Turn the image around and the problem comes into focus. Imagine that you are a Muslim living in Tunisia. You know very little about Christianity. But, you see and hear strange stories on the TV and radio: David Koresh and the Branch Davidians in Waco, TX; the scandals of Jim and Tammy Bakker; bombings by the IRA in Ireland; more than 20,000 documented cases of rape or murder of Bosnian Muslim women and children; or, a recent media frenzy over the group known as Heaven’s Gate. If your image of Christianity were shaped largely by media attention to these violent and sensational stories, how accurate would it be?

In addition to pragmatic needs for cooperation, the Bible challenges Christians to examine relationships with others: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16); Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 19:19); and If it is possible, so far as it depends on you live peaceably with everyone (Romans 12:18).

How is it possible to avoid bearing false witness against or to love one’s neighbor, or to live together in peace if we know so little about our neighbor? Even worse, how is it possible to live in faithfulness to these biblical imperatives when much of what we think we know is incorrect?

Most Christians and Muslims have similar views on God’s revelatory activity through Prophets. The Bible and the Qur’an convey similar things about angels and devils, the last judgment, heaven and hell. They also differ at crucial points, most notably the understandings about God’s activity in and through Jesus. The differences are real and profound.

For Christians, the similarities and differences with Muslims have important consequences for mission and witness, as well as for dialogue and cooperation on common concerns. However one approaches these concerns, the prospects for constructive encounter is linked directly to a better and more accurate understanding. Now, perhaps more than ever, people of faith and goodwill need to make concerted efforts toward such understanding. The road is not blocked, and there are ways to move forward.

A good place to begin is with study programs in churches and intentional dialogues with local Muslims. Such efforts can help to correct stereotypes and begin to put a human face on others with whom we share this increasingly fragile planet.