Ground-zero fear

The first time I taught an introductory
world religions class, one of the students was a quiet Afghan named
Mohammed. When it came time for oral presentations, Mohammed talked
about Jesus. As a devout Muslim, he knew a lot about his subject.

This was a few years before 9/11 — before ”Islamic extremism” and
“jihad” entered the cultural lexicon; before conservative media began
regularly exploiting their audiences’ ignorance of orthodox
Islam; before suspicion of all things Muslim became the order of the
day in America.

The world religions class was part of a night-school curriculum for
professional adults working on a first or second bachelor’s degree. The
students were IBMers and local police officers, insurance agents and
small-business owners. They ranged in age from mid-20s to late-50s.  

When Mohammed gave his presentation on the life and teaching of
Jesus, most of the students quickly realized that he knew more about
Christianity than they did. They pumped him with questions; he
patiently answered them all. They expressed their gratitude; he
received their warmth with his own unassuming charm.

The gift of a young Afghan named Mohammed in a room full of mostly
Southern Baptists and northern Catholics didn’t present itself again.
But I soon began taking these groups to the local Islamic Center where
we would observe Muslims at prayer and listen to a presentation on the
basics of Islam with a lengthy Q and A session afterward. Our hosts
were always hospitable and good-humored. I especially remember a
husband-and-wife team — he a Pakistani with strict beliefs and perfect
comic timing; she a former Catholic from Chicago named Debbie who wore
a hijab and called herself a feminist. They were delightful, and they
dispelled many a stereotype about Islam and those who practice it.

In the years since 9/11 Americans generally have failed to avail
themselves of the kinds of encounters with Muslims that would make the
current controversy about a mosque at ground zero a more informed
debate. It’s old news that almost a decade after the terrorist attacks,
Islam is grossly misunderstood by most westerners.

Textbook information is useful in situations like this (some serious
cramming wouldn’t hurt) but even better is real live human connection.
But sadly the flawed doctrine of American exceptionalism has schooled
generations in the idea that we don’t need to know much about the rest
of the world. We’re Americans after all — doesn’t everybody want to be
like us?

Because we live now in such a climate of fear – economic insecurity,
anxiety about our children’s futures, basic distrust of anyone unlike
us – we reflexively act with alarm whenever an idea challenges the
narratives that given our lives stability and comfort.  One of the
primary objections to building an Islamic community center near the
former site of the twin towers (it’s not actually a mosque and it’s not
exactly at ground zero)  is that it will somehow diminish the sacrifice
of those who died that September day.

But the problem is that, in order to make the deaths of 3000
innocents tolerable, we have invested them with a moral significance
that they cannot bear. Their deaths were tragic but they are not
martyrs. They died horribly but not for a cause.

What will it take for us to desire truthfulness more than
sentimentality? What has to change for fear to be overruled by love?
When will Christians be known for practicing the kind of hospitality
and neighborliness toward strangers (and enemies) that puts them
profoundly at odds with American civil piety and its perversions of the
gospel of Jesus?

Speaking of Jesus, Christians and Muslims have honest differences
about him. My students learned this all those years ago from Mohammed.
What would Jesus have us do about that? Have contempt for them? Live in
fear of them? Some would say that Jesus would want us to save them —
to bring them over to the winning side. But it’s hard to see what such
would-be converts would find appealing about the offer, rooted as it is
in — what else? — fear.

Instead of fear, how about friendship? How about encouraging the
small gestures of hospitality — in others, in ourselves – that might
lead to a lasting relationship with a Muslim neighbor, co-worker, or
classmate? It’s clear from the hysteria surrounding the proposed plans
for ground zero that baby steps are all we’re capable of right now. So
let’s turn off the cable news fear-mongers and get moving.

Originally posted at Intersections.