The Jesus Fatwah: Love Your (Muslim) Neighbor as Yourself – Digital Edition

Themes

Session 1: “Islam 101: In Which We Tell You Some of What You Need to Know About Islam.”

In this episode we look the basic tenants of Islam. We live in an era in which much of what passes as information about Islam is weed-like disinformation rooted in stereotype and watered by fear. We decided to weed out the tares of ignorance by doing what, for Christians, apparently is radical: we spoke to some actual Muslims and to Christian scholars whose intellectual garden-sheds are filled with the tools of fact-based knowledge. The product of these conversations is a harvest of reliable information about what your Muslim neighbors and coworkers believe and about how they live out their faith.

Session 2: “Misconceptions about Islam: In Which We Help You Adjust Your Malarky Filter.”

Again, we took the radical step of getting to know actual Muslims, and in our conversations we asked them to tell us about how American public discourse tends to misrepresent Islam. We are confident that you will like the people you meet as you join in this conversation.

Session 3: “Islam in America: In Which We Introduce You to People Who Love America and Pray Towards Mecca.”

Chief among the popular anti-Muslim stereotypes is the idea that Muslims are plotting to overthrow American society. In fact, most Muslims love the United States. This is true of Muslims living in countries where Islam is the predominate religion, and it is especially is true in the United States, where Muslims, as a demographic, are among the most patriotic American citizens.

Session 4: “Making Connections, Part 1: In Which Non-Muslims Make A Case.” & Session 5: “Making Connections, Part 2: In Which Muslims Have Their Say.”

We asked Non-Muslims and Muslims to talk to us about building relationships across the lines of faith, and while the answers were compatible—and even complimentary—it was interesting to observe the ways in which Muslims and Christians spoke differently about interfaith cooperation. Christians tended take an intellectual approach starting with the mind; Muslims were more likely to approach the issue relationally, starting with the heart.