A Jihad Catholics Should Join

Qasim Rashid writing for Time declares that “We must wage a jihad of peace.” He tells us:

“I can sympathize with the anger and fear that many have about a Donald Trump presidency: I’m a person of color; I’m a Muslim; I have young children. But these are the cards we’ve been dealt, and we need to find ways to continue working to build bridges of understanding and peace, because the alternative, which leads to more fear and more violence, is simply not a tenable option.

There is a great deal of ignorance about Islam and what Muslims believe. The word “jihad” means struggle, and the Prophet Muhammad said that the greatest jihad is the struggle against self to become better human beings through peace. Our goal as American Muslims should be to wage true jihad of education, compassion and service to humanity.

 Now is not the time to throw in the towel. It’s the time to work even harder to live values of pluralism and to start conversations and overcome fear. It’s easy to do that when there is no opposition. But when you face a counter-narrative, it becomes that much more important. That’s when jihad really matters. That’s why it’s called a struggle.”

If this image of jihad as a work of conversion, dialogue and peace-making comes as a shock to you, you may need to remind yourself that your notions of what Muslims believe should be drawn from Muslim sources, just as you might wish a Muslim’s idea of Catholicism be drawn from Catholic sources. This “true jihad of education, compassion and service to humanity” is by no means merely a part of Islam, but part of our common human vocation. For the Christian, this struggle is enjoined on us by the words of the gospel, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Rashid offers a hopeful vision, one startlingly at odds with the campaign rhetoric of President-elect Trump:

“I do not believe America is perfect, but I believe in our Preamble that we can and must strive together to become a more perfect Union. This will require commitment from both the Trump administration and from all Americans—whether they voted for you or not. As American Muslims, we need a President who does not tolerate anti-Muslim sentiment, pushes back at the 89% increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes, and refuses to conflate Islam with radicalism. I believe that our Founders enshrined religious freedom as an inalienable right in our First Amendment to ensure a government that protects all of its citizens with equality.

As an American Muslim, I commit to working to uphold the tenets of justice and equality as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. I commit to working with Trump’s administration to combat extremism in every form. I commit to working with the administration to educate my fellow non-Muslim Americans on the tenets of true Islam, as opposed to the extremism touted by terrorist organizations like ISIS and the Taliban.

Over the next four years, I believe we can make our country safer and stronger and greater, but only if we work together. Political gridlock, blanket demonization, name-calling and cyber-bullying, and extremism have no place in America—they should have no place in a Trump administration. Rather, we must work together to ensure our government is one based on absolute justice.”

 As a Catholic, I can only add to this one word- amen.

Rashid concludes his appeal with a bit of exhortation from the Qur’an that expresses a deep insight into the cardinal virtue of justice and an appeal to Muslim Americans and to non-Muslim Americans:

“[T]he Qur’an 4:135 declares, “O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor.” . . .  His Holiness the Khalifa of Islam Mirza Masroor Ahmad declared at a national peace symposium last month, “those who are elected and handed the keys to government or power should exercise their duties with honesty, integrity and justice. This teaching is the model of democracy that Islam champions.”

I have no illusions that we will always agree. But I have confidence that we can work with dignity and respect of one another. To my fellow American Muslims, keep your head up. To non-Muslim Americans, we’re still here, proud of our faith and proud of our identity as Americans. We want to continue to make our country better.”

As a non-Muslim American I entirely agree. May all Christians and all people come to understand the wisdom of this call and take it to heart.

(Image via Pixabay.)