The Saddening, Dangerous Remarks of Franklin Graham

3. Graham bears false witness by refusing to acknowledge the many different interpretations of Islam in the world today.

Over the weekend, I talked with friends who work and live in a heavily Somali Muslim neighborhood in Minneapolis. While it is true that some of the youth from that community have become radicalized, they were adamant that most of the Muslims they know actually interpret passages about jihad in a nonviolent manner and only advocate defensive war, rather than offensive war (which is far more peaceful than your average Bible-believing American Christian, actually).

I’m not here to argue which interpretation of the Qu’ran is correct, but I am here to argue that there are multiple interpretations out there and that these multiple interpretations belie the idea that all Muslims believe in a violent ISIS-style jihad. For example, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (which has a membership of tens of millions worldwide) categorically rejects terrorism and religious coercion and advocates a separation of mosque and state (see also this refutation of violent terrorism by Ahmadi Muslim writer Qasim Rashid). Another example is the Chicago-based organization, MyJihad. On its website is this statement:

The MyJihad Board of Directors urges Muslims worldwide to share the true meaning of Islam which regards the taking of one life as equivalent in sin to taking the lives of all of humanity. Unless it is specifically in self-defense, killing in Islam is strictly forbidden.

In addition, the Islamic Supreme Council of America (a Sufi organization) explains jihad (“struggle”) in this way:

• In a religious sense, as described by the Quran and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (s), “jihad” has many meanings. It can refer to internal as well as external efforts to be a good Muslims or believer, as well as working to inform people about the faith of Islam.
• If military jihad is required to protect the faith against others, it can be performed using anything from legal, diplomatic and economic to political means. If there is no peaceful alternative, Islam also allows the use of force, but there are strict rules of engagement. Innocents – such as women, children, or invalids – must never be harmed, and any peaceful overtures from the enemy must be accepted.

The site goes on to explain that Christians and Jews in particular should be protected, as the Qu’ran calls them fellow “people of the Book.”

We need to make a distinction between terrorist groups that espouse Islam versus all Muslims. We need to be intellectually honest enough to admit that there are a wide variety of interpretations of what jihad means amongst Muslims, just as Christians and Jews have many different interpretations of their Scriptures. Carl Medearis writes:

We may be at war (up for discussion for sure) with Al Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban.  They are very specific groups located in a number of countries. How we fight that war is a matter of much needed debate – but we are for sure not at war with “Muslims.”

When we paint all Muslims with broad brushstrokes, we risk stoking xenophobic flames that could result in hate crimes against Muslims or even in such evil, unconstitutional acts as the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II (see more about this below). We must not do this; denial of civil liberties to any one group weakens liberties extended to all of us. In a time when much ado is made about religious liberty for Christians, how can we fail to deny these same rights to our Muslim neighbors?

4. There is no such thing as absolute safety.

Certainly, we should reduce risk where we can and where doing so avoids violating the liberty and dignity of others. It makes sense to ban those who are on terror watch lists or who have donated monies to terrorist organizations. But there is no such thing as absolute elimination of risk. There is no foolproof way to separate ourselves from all evil in this world. We live in a broken, sinful world. We are all a danger to one another in one way or another. We are also all capable of being a blessing to one another.

Furthermore, why do we think that barring professed Muslims from our shores will truly deter those bent on evil? Good Muslims will tell the truth about their religion; bad Muslims bent on harm might begin to lie about their religion.