Christianity and Islam in Australia and beyond
The Sydney Morning Herald has recently begun a series on Islam in Australia. It aims to show the variety of people and experiences which represent Muslim people in our country. It is a reminder of the changing political and religious climate in our world. A balanced understanding of the role of Islam is essential to a clear appreciation of local and world affairs. This is one of the reasons that students study world religions as part of our Christian Living and Studies of Religion Courses. The value of this approach has been reinforced for me by two stories I came across this week.
Firstly, I read in the Herald article about a mosque in Hopper’s Crossing in Victoria. It has the unusual name of the “Virgin Mary Mosque”. The leader of the mosque chose the name as an expression of some of the common elements he felt were shared between Christianity and Islam. He also wanted to show that Muslims can honour women in his faith. It challenged me about the importance of speaking respectfully with people of other faiths and looking for our common ground. But it also reminded me about the challenges of doing this without confusing or compromising what we believe. The Qur’an (Koran), Islam’s holy book, does mention both Jesus and Mary. But it gives to them a lesser place and role than that described in the Bible. For Islam, Jesus is the second most important prophet after Muhammad. However, for Christians Jesus is the Son of God and also God appearing in human form.
Secondly, I heard about a young Indonesian man who left his village to go and train in a militant Islamic Jihad school. He learnt how to kidnap and beat up westerners; burn down churches and blow up pastors. Then he began to have dreams in which a shining figure came to him warning him to change his ways or he would be “changed”. At this time he had attempted to murder a local pastor by blowing up his car. When this failed he took a gun and tried to shoot him. But he couldn’t pull the trigger. Unnerved by this series of events he returned to his home village where he was helped by a group of Christians. Through this experience he came to understand that the shining figure in his dreams was the Lord Jesus Christ. He turned away from his violent ways and is now a follower of Jesus.
The apostle Paul had a similar experience of being transformed by an encounter with Jesus Christ. After this, instead of being motivated by hatred and anger, he was filled with God’s love and compassion. He went on to write,
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile”. (Romans 1:16)
Do you know the transforming power of this gospel in your life? How might you relate respectfully and honestly to those around you who have a different faith or belief?
Firstly, I read in the Herald article about a mosque in Hopper’s Crossing in Victoria. It has the unusual name of the “Virgin Mary Mosque”. The leader of the mosque chose the name as an expression of some of the common elements he felt were shared between Christianity and Islam. He also wanted to show that Muslims can honour women in his faith. It challenged me about the importance of speaking respectfully with people of other faiths and looking for our common ground. But it also reminded me about the challenges of doing this without confusing or compromising what we believe. The Qur’an (Koran), Islam’s holy book, does mention both Jesus and Mary. But it gives to them a lesser place and role than that described in the Bible. For Islam, Jesus is the second most important prophet after Muhammad. However, for Christians Jesus is the Son of God and also God appearing in human form.
Secondly, I heard about a young Indonesian man who left his village to go and train in a militant Islamic Jihad school. He learnt how to kidnap and beat up westerners; burn down churches and blow up pastors. Then he began to have dreams in which a shining figure came to him warning him to change his ways or he would be “changed”. At this time he had attempted to murder a local pastor by blowing up his car. When this failed he took a gun and tried to shoot him. But he couldn’t pull the trigger. Unnerved by this series of events he returned to his home village where he was helped by a group of Christians. Through this experience he came to understand that the shining figure in his dreams was the Lord Jesus Christ. He turned away from his violent ways and is now a follower of Jesus.
The apostle Paul had a similar experience of being transformed by an encounter with Jesus Christ. After this, instead of being motivated by hatred and anger, he was filled with God’s love and compassion. He went on to write,
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile”. (Romans 1:16)
Do you know the transforming power of this gospel in your life? How might you relate respectfully and honestly to those around you who have a different faith or belief?
posted by Peter Wilson at 3:22 PM
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