A Few Baptists and a GOP Candidate Walk into a Mosque ...

If I told you that Baptists broke the Ramadan fast at a local mosque, it might grab your attention. If I added that a Republican U.S. Senate candidate showed up after the evening prayers for a stump speech, you'd think I was surely making it up. If I claimed that we all had dinner together, you'd probably be bracing for a particularly bad punch line.

He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. ... Luke 22:36
That is exactly how my wife and I spent our Saturday night a couple weeks ago.

A few of us who attend Shades Mountain Baptist Church responded to the invitation of Birmingham Islamic Society president Ashfaq Taufique to break the Ramadan fast at the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center.

During Ramadan, Muslims engage in a complete fast--no food or liquids--from sunup to sundown. The period of daily fasting lasts for about a month. Fasting like that might not seem like a great time to be around guests, but we were warmly welcomed at the mosque or "masjid" in the preferred Arabic.

The Birmingham Islamic Society hosted the evening in an effort to explain Islam, show us around their place of worship, and generally demystify the Islamic religious experience.

If you think a masjid might be intimidating to a few Baptists, imagine what it would be like for a few Muslims to spend time with 4,000 Baptists on Sunday morning in Alabama. In fact, Taufique's estimate of the entire Muslim population in the greater Birmingham area is about the same size as my church's membership roll. We're working together, our children are going to school together, but, given their relatively small representation in our community and state, many Alabamians may not know any Muslims personally.

In the couple hours we spent at the masjid, my wife, a few friends and I learned about the significant overlap between our faith and that of our hosts. Both faiths expect care for the poor, orphans and widows. Each commands love of one's neighbor. Along with Judaism, Christianity and Islam share Abraham as a critical figure. In truth, I was surprised to see so many common themes.

But here's the amazing part, we also discussed our clear theological conflicts. Their belief in the oneness of Allah is wholly incompatible with the Christian belief that Jesus was fully man and fully God. For Christians, Jesus's divinity, death and resurrection is a necessary element for salvation. Muslims believe we will all stand before Allah on the Day of Judgment and to be measured against the Six Articles of Faith and our deeds during our lives.

The central tenets of one faith are heresy to the other. Neither the Baptists nor the Muslims in attendance made any attempt to downplay the disagreement or modify our respective theologies to make others more comfortable. It simply wasn't necessary. Neither Christian nor Muslim likely won converts over the course of the evening, but we did take a critical step towards building friendships. There was no rancorous discord. We didn't yell or shout. We all wanted to learn. We genuinely sought to understand the religion of our friends and neighbors. It was a peaceful, informative exchange that unmistakably built up our community.

We also observed evening prayers. That's when things got really strange. No, it wasn't bizarre on account of the religious exercise. It's what happened after.

Taufique provided Republican Senate hopeful Randy Brinson a moment to speak to the gathering after prayers concluded. Brinson, the president of the Christian Coalition in Alabama, asked for their support and briefly discussed his business acumen, which includes success in the international catfish trade. At the conclusion of his remarks, a gentleman spoke up about the importance of supporting candidates willing to engage the Muslim community and pledged $500.

I thought I'd seen just about everything in politics. Clearly I was wrong. I couldn't help but be encouraged when a candidate as far to the right as Brinson is willing to humbly ask for the support of the Islamic community in Alabama. For whatever you think of Brinson's Senate prospects, it was a statesman's move. The immediate positive response was perhaps even more surprising.

In one delightful evening, I learned more about my Islamic neighbors, shared a good meal, and witnessed one of the most curious political exchanges I've seen in quite a while. More importantly, I was reminded that, even where we disagree in the most passionate and personal ways, we are perfectly capable of building a community on our common values. In a world that seems like it's gone mad, that's a powerful ray of hope for our future.

Cameron Smith is a regular columnist for AL.com and vice president for the R Street Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

I live close to the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center and Shades Mountain Baptist Church mentioned in this editorial. I was disturbed enough by the author's tone that I replied telling him that he let the HCIC off the hook. He presents himself as a conservative columnist. I included the following info to him to back up my position against Islam/ Sharia Law.

Application of Islamic Law by County

TheReligionofPeace - Islam: The Politically Incorrect Truth

A Rational Discussion of Radical Islam, by Dr. Bill Warner
video run time = 00:22:55 minutes

Political Isam - YouTube
Dr. Bill Warner created this web-site to host a series of 100+ videos he has created about his study and commentary of Islam. The majority of the videos are 2-7 minutes in length. They do get a little repetitive, but education is based upon repetition.

1,390 years of world history (since the Siege of Medina in 627 CE) prove that the kafir/ infidel/ unbeliever/ non-Muslim cannot
with Sharia (religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition).

Sharia was distilled by Islamic scholars from the Qur'an (holy book of Islam - voluntary submission to Allah/ god - written by the prophet Muhammad after revelations from Allah) and the sunna (comprised of the siri - biography and hadith - sayings of the prophet Muhammad). It was designed for world conquest, subjugation, oppression, and annihilation of all kafir cultures. To this end all peoples, muslims and kaffur, will live in the Dar al-Islam (Realm of the Believers) under a caliphate (territory under the leadership of an Islamic steward known as a caliph).

There is no "Golden Rule" (Matthew 7:12) for the kafir under Sharia. Kaffur living in the Dar al-Islam are known as dhimmi. Their civil, property, and criminal law rights are restricted and subordinate to those of muslims. They may be forced to pay a penalty tax, jizya. They cannot worship their religion openly nor practice freedom of speech. Charity by muslims to kaffur is not done.

Jihad (striving or struggling with a praiseworthy aim) by the sword does not end until all kuffar in the Dar al-Harb (Realm of the Heathens) submit to Sharia. Conquered kaffur who survive the war are given the choice of converting to Islam or submitting to a life of dhimmitude under Sharia. Alternatively, they may just be executed.

The 19 9-11 mujahideen (those engaged in jihad by the sword)/ terrorists who murdered 2,977 kuffar while, committing self-sacrifice/ suicide in the process, were not extremist/ radical muslims. They were faithful Muhammadans (19th-early 20th century western civilization term for muslims) following the example encouraged by the prophet Muhammad.

The only extremist/ radical muslim is the apostate ex-muslim.

Islam cannot be reformed. To do so would deny that the prophet Muhammad was the perfect man.

Hijrah was the journey/ flight of the prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE to escape an assassination attempt by non-muslim Arabs who rejected his new religion. Under Sharia it is the deliberate invasion by muslim war refugees/ economic migrants to the Dar al-Harb in order to colonize those non-muslim nations and ultimately force the kaffur through jihad (by the sword/ word/ money) to submit to Sharia.

Under Sharia, taqiyah (the practice of deliberate lying/ obfuscation/ deception/ omission/ silence) is permitted by a muslim in order to gain an advantage over a kafir. This is what the kaffur will face when engaging in inter-faith dialogs with muslims.

The muslim claim that Islam, Judaism, and Christianity share a common heritage as Abrahamic faiths is false. Allah is not the same god as Y_ _ _ _ _ in the Jewish TANAKH and Jehova/Jesus Christ/ Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Allah hates the kaffur. Jews and Christians are commanded to show respect and mercy to non- believers. Muslims reject the divinity of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.

Mr. Smith responded to my e-mail in a straight-forward manner. His main point was that he was not going to attack muslims during inter-faith dialogs because that just shuts down the discussion. He went on to say that his own faith was increased during this event.

I admit I am struggling with the issue of how do you proselytize to Muslims or even if I should attempt inter-faith dialog. I get angry when I see Muslims proselytizing their faith at our local library because I know they are spreading a false message of peace. I know the Muslim scourge currently sweeping Europe will wash ashore here in the U.S.

Blessed are the peacemakers ... Matthew 5:9
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you ... Matthew 5:43-48
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. ... Matthew 10:16
If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. ... Matthew 10:14
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ... John 15:13
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. ... Matthew 16:25
But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. ... Luke 22:36
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. ... Matthew 28:19-20
Acts 17:16-33 - the Christian model for proselytizing - Paul's account on Mar's Hill in Athens, Greece

There are various church traditions as to what happened to the original twelve apostles. Here's a compilation of several versions:

Andrew: Preached in modern day Georgia (Eastern Europe) and Bulgaria and was crucified in Patrae in Greece.
Bartholomew: Spent time in India. Crucified in Georgia.
James, Son of Alphaeus: was stoned and clubbed to death in Jerusalem.
James, Son of Zebedee: was beheaded by Herod.
John, Son of Zebedee: Was exiled to the Island of Patmos and died a natural death in Ephesus.
Matthew/Levi: Preached and was killed (with an axe) in Ethiopia.
Simon/Peter: Was put to death (crucified) under Nero in Rome.
Philip: preached and was executed in eastern Turkey.
Simon the Zealot: Became Bishop of Jerusalem. Crucified.
Thaddaeus/Judas son of James: Preached in Edessa and Mesopotamia. Was crucified.
Thomas: Was a missionary in India where he was killed with a spear.
Matthias: Judas' replacement. Spread the Gospel into Syria and was stoned and beheaded.

Emperor Constantine and Licinius developed the Edict of Milan in 313 whereby that Christians should be allowed to follow their faith without oppression. This essentially lifted the intermittent Roman persecutions that the early Christian church suffered during its first 270 years of existence.

I would be interested to read fellow Freepers understanding and experiences regarding how Christians should interact with Muslims.

In June ‘98 I was assigned Precinct Captain of the Schaumburg IL Precinct that contained the new Mosque. Members of the Mosque were split between our new Republican anti-corruption organization and the old, pro-corruption organization loyal to Gov George Ryan.

Members in the anti-corruption faction owned small businesses and wanted local zoning, building and health inspectors to leave them alone. They thought coming to America would free them from those practices of the old country they came from.

Members in the pro-corruption faction also owned small businesses. They accepted corruption as a fact of life, no different than there will always be taxes. The pro-corruption types had the goal of their son or daughter becoming a zoning code or health code enforcer. That was higher status than Police or Firefighter and had much better ancillary opportunities for economic advancement.

All of them were extremely pro-life.

In June 2001 Pat O’Malley, arch-enemy of Gov George Ryan came to TapRoot in DuPage County. TapRoot was the most far right wing conservative group in Illinois bar none, and had been so since the 1950s. Pat O’Malley for the first time publicly announce he would run for governor against the establishment candidate.

Pat O’Malley is pro-life, no exceptions. He boasted that he had the support of most of the Muslims on the Southwest side of Chicago, especially the suburban areas that overlapped his St Senate district. He had received heavy donations from them. He had visions of Republicans capturing the Muslim voters as they were very pro-life and businessmen who thought like Republicans.

Then 911 happened. To keep his traditional conservative base enthusiastic for him, he felt he had to dump the Muslim support. Dem boss Mike Madigan saw the opportunity and swung the Muslims his way. (Mike Madigan is personally pro-life and has done personal favors for pro-life leaders in IL that has them indebted to him.)

Most all the Muslims I knew eventually turned Democrat in stagte and National elections. The Egyptians a block North of me didn’t turn D until about 2008. They were the last.

But in local elections they still voted conservative. I switched from the Schaumburg Precint to Hangover Park where I lived. I worked for the anti-corruption Republican slate for local office against the pro-corruption Republican slate and against the Union-Democrat slate (mostly teachers union).

In that 3-way race my slate got about 65% of the vote. I estimate it got about 65% of the Muslim vote. I got 100% of the Hispanic vote (except 1 Puerto Rican lady on Welfare); maybe 30% of the Black vote. It was the bitter divorced ladies, the originals of Hangover Park, and their promiscuous daughters and their boyfriends whose votes I did not get.)

I left Hangover Park and turned it over to the Black Preacher’s wife. She took my 65% and turned it into 87%. I know she got 100% of the Hispanic vote again. I know she got over 50% of the Black vote. But to get 87% she must have done very well with the Muslims also. I know she did not get the angry woman vote. She was extremely blunt about her pro-life position and going door-to-door let them know what she thought about promiscuity and abortion. Of course, the Muslim and Hispanic vote was increasing rapidly in the area and the angry women were moving away.

I then moved to Normal, IL near ISU. My best roomate was an Algerian Muslim. He emphasized that he was first and foremost a Berber from a town in central Algeria. Being Algerian and Muslim were secondary to being Berber. Mostly he just wanted to avoid arguments.

The Mosque in Schaumburg was moderate, in no way pro-terrorist. There were constantly Muslims from the Mosque in Glendale Heights (both Sunni) who were trying to get the moderate Muslims to switch to their more radical Mosque. And that was both before and after 911.

I did job interviews for consulting positions for a Muslim owned consulting firm at the Muslim school in Elmhurst. I found them to be very moderate. The women teachers had a variety of clothing styles. No burkas; But from fully covered head scarf to just a small pretend scarf and normal western clothing. The students could sit anywhere, no enforcement of separation of the boys and girls. But most of the students self-segregated with the only integration in the center section.

I’ve worked beside many Muslims in IT. I talk immigration with them, and IT, and politics. But I don’t really know their religious or family situation. I could guess. Above all, they are afraid their kids will turn out like Brittany Spears, Justin Bieber and other American embarrassments. To most immigrants, Hispanic, Catholic, Hindu, Muslim and other to become American means to become like Hollyweird and Californika.

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