When working with Islam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Talking to Muslims certainly doesn't hurt. \u00a0But we should also talk to non-Muslims who live in Muslim majority regions. \u00a0And from Nigeria, to Yemen, to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2017\/06\/asking-work-islam.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When working with Islam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Talking to Muslims certainly doesn't hurt. \u00a0But we should also talk to non-Muslims who live in Muslim majority regions. \u00a0And from Nigeria, to Yemen, to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2017\/06\/asking-work-islam.html\" \/>\n<meta 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{"id":9927,"date":"2017-06-19T09:17:15","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T13:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/?p=9927"},"modified":"2017-06-18T18:35:42","modified_gmt":"2017-06-18T22:35:42","slug":"asking-work-islam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2017\/06\/asking-work-islam.html","title":{"rendered":"When working with Islam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Talking to Muslims certainly doesn\u2019t hurt<\/a>. \u00a0But we should also talk to non-Muslims who live in Muslim majority regions. \u00a0And from Nigeria, to Yemen, to Syria, to Indonesia, I\u2019ve worked with many over the years who have\u00a0their own opinion about\u00a0being the minority in a Muslim majority region. \u00a0Truth be told, their accounts typically sound more like this<\/a>, than this<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s fair to say Pope Francis hasn\u2019t glossed over the evils of Islamic extremism. \u00a0But like many today, it seems he doesn\u2019t go beyond that, and wishes to focus on the positives once the worst elements of terror are condemned. \u00a0As if there is nothing in between.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a little like saying but for the Gulags, the rest of the USSR was pretty good. Or to put it another way: But for the lynchings, the rest of the pre-Civil Rights\u00a0South wasn\u2019t half bad. \u00a0See how that rings a bit hollow?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve noticed for those Christians I know who grew up within\u00a0Muslim majorities, that sort of pontificating about the Islamic world sounds about the same. \u00a0Not that they agree with far right wing takes on Islam. \u00a0As the Syrian businessman at my wife\u2019s church points out, many of their friends from back home are Muslim. \u00a0 He just\u00a0believes it takes more than an either\/or understanding of the region.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m reminded of tales told by black servicemen from WWII. \u00a0I seldom hear them spout hatred or bitterness against their fellow servicemen. \u00a0In fact, even while they speak of the segregation and discrimination, they\u2019ll often reference friends who were white, or fellow servicemen who did them well. \u00a0They even speak of their patriotism and love they had for their country. \u00a0But they\u2019re also prepared to be honest about the discrimination and racism of\u00a0that time period.<\/p>\n

Perhaps that\u2019s a\u00a0better approach to the Islam question. \u00a0Admit that there are problems beyond terrorism in the Islamic world. \u00a0\u00a0That also could help make sense of Muslims saying things that don\u2019t seem terrorist, but appear to be a bit disconcerting nonetheless<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"