Dr William W Baker, 1998
Pages 125 Paperback, Defenders Publications,
P.O. Box 8038, Laguna Hills,
A 92654-8038
USA
Muslims are often cited as the second
most numerous religious community in the US, exceeded only by the Christians.
Estimates vary between six million to seven million. Ranking third are
the Jews who number about five and half million.
In contrast to Christian views of
the Jews, who are generally regarded with sympathy if not support, the
attitude of American Christians towards Muslims is largely negative. I
find few Christians who have no opinion about Islam. Those with an opinion
almost always automatically -- falsely, of course -- link Muslims with
terrorism, bigotry and intolerance.
The Christians that have correct information, and the
American Muslims themselves, make little effort to correct these false
perceptions.
Sympathy for Jews arises mainly from
the Nazi Holocaust and the constant reminder on television and in the press
of this dreadful episode in history. Support for Israel – and, therefore
for Jews generally – comes substantially from Christian fundamentalists
who believe, contrary to my own belief, that a militarily strong Israel
is an essential part of God’s plan. Their passionate belief in this doctrine
leads them to dismiss Arab / Muslim claims to their ancestral property
in Palestine as contrary to the will of God.
Even members of the mainstream Christian
clergy, who, one would assume, should be correctly informed about all monotheistic
religions, are generally as silent if not as poorly informed as lay citizens.
If they know the truth about Islam, they keep it to themselves.
There are other reasons, many and
complicated, for false stereotypes and general misinformation about Islam
which highlight the grim nature of the situation. US Muslims are terribly
misunderstood, but so far little has been done to correct the stereotypes.
However to this otherwise discouraging
scene comes a promising new book, More in Common Than You Think: The
Bridge between Islam and Christianity by Dr William Baker, a former
archaeologist who in recent years has focused his remarkable energies and
talent on the plight of Palestinians under Israeli occupation and the urgent
need for Christian-Muslim understanding.
A former professor of ancient history
and biblical studies, Baker is the founder and president of an organization
called CAMP acronym for Christians and Muslims for Peace. His interest
was kindled in 1970 in Palestine, when he ‘soon discovered the tremendous
amount of common ground’ between the Christian faith and ‘the true faith
and teachings of Islam’, after reading and studying the Qur’an.
His book is easy to read. It is clear,
illuminating and compelling. It is also brief, the text comprising only
101 pages. It supports the inter faith ‘bridge’ with quotations directly
from the Bible and the 1989 edition of the Meaning of the Holy Qur’an:
New Edition with Revised Translation and Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.
It presents cogently the fundamental
teachings shared by Islam and Christianity, teachings that form the solid
foundation that should lead the two largest religious communities to co-operate
enthusiastically and to live in mutual respect with each other.
It dismisses in brief persuasive language
the often expressed warning that Islam, the fastest growing religion in
the world, threatens the democracies of the West and that Christians and
Muslims are headed for an inevitable clash (as Professor Samuel Huntington
predicts as the clash of civilizations) reminiscent of the ancient crusades.
Baker’s book should have ready acceptance
in the Christian evangelical community -- a broad and diverse one — because
of his long, close relationship with Rev. Robert H Schuller founding pastor
of the Crystal Cathedral and television pastor of the Hour of Power program
carried world wide on television.
Schuller warns: ‘the coming century
will most surely witness either a coalition or a collision between Islam
and Christianity’. He adds: ‘True believers in God must move our society
and our world from incompatibility to compatibility; from intolerance to
tolerance; positive Christians and Muslims becoming partners in pace. I
am convinced this book by Dr Baker will prove to be a significant contribution
in bringing Christians and Muslims together to live in peace and mutual
respect.’
In Chapter 3, Baker writes: ‘Few Christians
are aware that Prophet Muhammad, the messenger of Islam, believed Jesus
and Moses were the most important bearers of God’s revelation to mankind,
that message is enshrined in the Torah and New Testament. Islam embraces
both books and includes portions of both in the text of the Qur’an.
‘As Christians believe the New Testament
was the completion of the Old Testament, so Muslims believe Islam and the
Qur’an serve as the Final completion
of both books, and Muhammad as the last Prophet or Messenger of God. Both
the Torah and the New Testament are viewed by Islam as inspired revelation
of God to mankind. Both Jews and Christians are referred to in the Qur’an as ‘People of the Book’ meaning the Bible.’
He quotes from Surah
al-`Ankabut (29:46) to support
this conclusion: ‘The Qur’an calls
upon Muslims to attempt to sit down peacefully with People of the Book
in an effort to find the common ground between hem’, and from Surah
Al-'Imran (3:84) to support this statement: ‘Muslims are asked to follow
the good examples of the earlier Prophets of the Bible.’
Baker notes: ‘Although the Jews joined
with the enemies of early Islam, neither they nor Judaism were targeted
by Muhammad or Islam. It is a fact of history that when the Jews were being
persecuted in Europe during the Middle Ages they found peace, harmony,
and acceptance among the Muslim people of Spain. In fact, this was the
era of Jewish history that they themselves refer to as ‘the Golden Age’.
Baker finds that both the Bible and
Islam condemn the worship of any other God as idolatry and that ‘A Muslim
can no more be a ‘card carrying communist’ than a Christian can belong
to and support the creed of world atheism.’
He notes that both Islam and Christianity
teach that God is in control of all things, including the destiny of mankind,
collectively and individually. He writes: ‘The sovereignty of God in both
the Qur’an and the Bible is
remarkably similar.’
He writes that Shaikh Ahmad Kuftaro,
spiritual leader of the Muslim of Syria, said to him in 1987: ‘My dear
brother, you cannot be a true Muslim unless you love, respect and honour
Jesus.’
As one who has endeavoured for the
past three years to create understanding of Islam among Christians, I recommend
Baker’s book as required reading by the Christian clergy in the United
States. I also suggest that all imams and other leaders of the Muslim community
– in America and beyond – place it at the top of their reading list.
Muslim leaders are better informed
about Christianity than the reverse, but, at the least, they will find
comfort in the fact that a lay Christian has produced a document that can
help immensely in ineasing mutual respect and harmony between the two largest
faith traditions in the world.
(Courtesy: The Impact International,
London)
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