One world, many religions, one God
May 25th, 2010 by Wil Robinson
This week: the number 1 – my last post – and the most obvious one thing I could think of.
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
–Matthew 18:20
My interpreter, Hasib, helped arrange a meeting with Mufti Siddiqie Musleem, Afghanistan’s senior mullah on the Dar al-Fatwa, or the “House of Fatwas.”
You know, a fatwa. That thing where those evil Muslims sentence infidels to death for writing a book or drawing a cartoon. Think Salman Rushdie.
We got out of the taxi in Old Kabul, and melted into the mass of people, eventually finding our way to a decrepit concrete building next to the raw sewage that once passed for the Kabul River. The unarmed security guard at the gate barely checked us as we passed. No metal detectors. No dogs. No bag checks. Just a casual “Salaam” greeting.
What was I walking into?
We found an open door in the back of the building, and worked our way through long, dark concrete hallways. The men in the hallways wrapped in heavy scarves were heating water for tea on small open fires, and they greeted us as we passed.
We removed our shoes and entered a small chamber with a ring of old, long-bearded men sitting on a typical red Afghan carpet. This was the Dar al-Fatwa, and these clerics comprised the court that decides what is halal (permitted) and what is haram, or forbidden. They are perhaps more powerful than the Afghan Supreme Court, since they essentially act as religious advisors to the secular courts set up since 2001.
We exchanged greetings around the circle, and then one of them beckoned us to follow him into the next room. We arranged ourselves in chairs around a low table, and a young man brought in hot tea and dried sweets.
The cleric Musleem is considered a solid pro-woman voice in Afghanistan. With Hasib interpreting, we discussed issues related to female development and what the Quran really requires of Muslims. Musleem – a learned cleric who has spent his whole life studying the Quran – believes the so-called “Muslim” terrorists are acting against the word of Allah.
As the interview came to an end, Musleem said he was glad to meet another American and that one day the world, both Christians and Muslims, will live as brothers in peace.
As I shook his hand again, I agreed and replied with “We are all children of the God of Abraham.”
That needed no translation. Musleem paused and looked at me, then wrapped both hands around mine, and smiled.
“Allahu Akbar,” he said, still grasping my hand. God is great. Except he didn’t yell it in the “I’m going to cut your head off” way we are used to seeing in Hollywood movies. He said it in a “Man, that’s cool” way.
The exchange reminded me of a bible verse from Sunday school when I was young:
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
–Matthew 18:20
Was God there in that room with me and the Mufti?
I grew up Christian, and still identify myself as one if asked. Yet I don’t go to church, don’t “pray” in the literal sense of the word, and certainly don’t believe in dogma or adhere to practices required by many denominations.
But that hasn’t stopped me from searching for the truths of religion, understanding the value of the prophets’ teachings (Moses, Jesus, Muhammad), and, especially through my time living overseas, realizing that we are all talking about the same one God.
Yet if all “gods” are essentially the same, how can American Christians fulfill their mission without imposing their worldview or lifestyle on others?
It starts with reinterpreting the Christian mission and what it truly means to share one’s faith in God.
“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
–James 2:26
In high school, I went on yearly mission trips with a church youth group to build homes for the poor in the slums of Tijuana, Mexico. The families we were helping appeared very different from us – at least on the surface. They not only spoke a different language and had different skin color (at least from mine), but lived in homes constructed from old garage doors, lacked adequate sanitation, and survived in poverty.
We called these trips “missions” – but they had nothing to do with trying to “spread the word” or convert anyone. We were simply there to help others. Conversion or proselytizing was never part of the agenda.
Because the focus of the mission actually wasn’t “them” – it was “us.” The trip was about us growing spiritually, about us learning to love thy neighbor, and sharing ourselves and our time with the less fortunate.
The experience in Mexico was life-changing – especially as teenagers. But to truly experience these situations required engagement, understanding, and moving beyond stereotypes and fear. They were experiences with the “Other” – and ones that bridged differences. They connected Us with Them over geography, economic barriers, and culture.
Jesus was a man of action – of social justice, of compassion, charity, tolerance, and love. He made no distinctions between men – there were no classes, no races, no genders, no foreigners, no “Other.” Surely his followers should do the same.
But can Christians be the only religion with a mission to serve others?
“And if God has so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community; but [he willed it otherwise] in order to test you by means of what he has given unto you. Vie, then, with one another in doing good works!”
–Qur’an 5:48
Now that’s a religious war I’d like to see – the world vying with each other to do good deeds. A sort of ecumenical Olympics.
Missions of compassion can transcend religious differences. They teach us how to seek our own spirituality while engaging in acts that connect people and make the world a better place. There is unlimited potential in “mission” experiences – USAID, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, teaching English to new immigrants, volunteering at homeless shelters…
When two or more people gather to show compassion for fellow man through good deeds, then we have found the true spirituality that we all seek in God. Does it matter if one is Catholic, one Lutheran, one Muslim, one Jew, one Hindu, one Buddhist?
Isn’t loving thy neighbor our mission – not as Christians, Jews, or Muslims – but as humans?
Are we really so different from the Other? Can we simultaneously seek to judge our neighbor’s religion or try to convert them – while at the same time truly loving them?
It’s time for American Christians to move forward and fulfill their true mission. As a nation, whether Christian, Jew or Hindu, we must seize opportunities with the Other that can overcome differences and fear. We can show the world that love is what drives our country – not an intolerant dogma, military power, neo-imperialism, economic ideology, or racial superiority.
So the only question left is: Can Islam coexist in harmony with Christianity?
Mufti Seddiqie Musleem thinks so.
And if Afghanistan’s Dar al-Fatwa sees the light, why can’t we?
Tags: Quran, mission, religion, islam, Matthew![[...Afghanistan's Mufti Musleem...]](http://www.internationalpoliticalwill.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/mufti-musleem_1.jpg)



![[...Sai Baba is a revered Indian mystic, one who never disclosed whether he was Muslim or Hindu...]](http://www.internationalpoliticalwill.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/sai-baba.jpg)

![[...shot from my flat in Mumbai on a "clear" day (the motivation for taking a photo that day). On the right, the same shot on an "average" day...]](http://www.internationalpoliticalwill.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/mumbai-air-pollution_1.jpg)
![[...I know - it looks good. But when every meal entails some combination of these, you get tired of it...]](http://www.internationalpoliticalwill.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/indian-food_1.jpg)
![[...Mmm...calorific American burger drive-thrus...]](http://www.internationalpoliticalwill.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/american-burgers_1.jpg)










International Political Will