“Islam, Christianity and Judaism all look to Abraham as the father of our faith traditions,” Carson said. “Understanding one another’s traditions is important to share peace and understanding in our community.”

“Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim. And he was not of the polytheists.” (Qur’an 3:67)

“There has already been for you an excellent pattern in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people, ‘Indeed, we are disassociated from you and from whatever you worship other than Allah. We have denied you, and there has appeared between us and you animosity and hatred forever until you believe in Allah alone’ except for the saying of Abraham to his father, ‘I will surely ask forgiveness for you, but I have not for you anything against Allah. Our Lord, upon You we have relied, and to You we have returned, and to You is the destination.” (Qur’an 60:4) In other words, Abraham is an excellent pattern for believers when he tells his unbelieving relatives that “there has appeared between us and you animosity and hatred forever until you believe in Allah alone,” but not when he says to his father, “I will surely ask forgiveness for you.”

“I have realized that when people hear a narrative repeated often enough, they will buy into it — even when that narrative is false.” Indeed. That’s what this dialogue in Las Cruces is all about: repeating that false narrative so that more people will buy into it.

“What I learned here today that I did not understand at all about Islam or the Muslims is that they really respect all nations, and believe that it’s OK to have many religions,” said Carol Peterson, a participant from Peace Lutheran, speaking after the February event. “They believe that basically there’s one God. I was under the impression that Muslims wanted all of us to be one, wanted us to be like they are. But they respect us. I didn’t know that, and that blew my mind — because I thought that was the purpose of all this turmoil in our world. I thought they wanted us to become Muslim.”

“And whoever desires other than Islam as religion – never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.” (Qur’an 3:85)

“And fight them until there is no fitnah and the religion, all of it, is for Allah.” (Qur’an 8:39)

“Understanding Islam: Las Cruces church creates dialogue,” by Damien Willis, Las Cruces Sun-News, March 21, 2016 (thanks to Christopher):

LAS CRUCES – A Las Cruces church is making an effort to increase understanding and foster dialogue between the local Christian and Islam communities. Peace Lutheran Church has launched an ongoing series of presentations called “Understanding Islam,” in collaboration with members of the Islamic Center of Las Cruces. The first presentation took place at Peace Lutheran Church on Feb. 16 and focused on the fundamental beliefs and practices of Islam, as well as the Islamic view of Judaism and Christianity. More than 100 people participated in the discussion. More discussions are planned, including an event on Tuesday to discuss ISIS, freedom of religion and women’s role in Islam. “We had a very positive response — overwhelmingly positive,” said Jared Carson, pastor of Peace Lutheran. “We conducted a survey afterward, asking if they would be willing to invite a friend to future events. Eighty percent said they would.”

Why it’s important “Islam, Christianity and Judaism all look to Abraham as the father of our faith traditions,” Carson said. “Understanding one another’s traditions is important to share peace and understanding in our community.” Muhammad Dawood, a native of Pakistan who is an associate professor at NMSU’s College of Engineering, was one of three panelists at the first convening. “I am an educator,” Dawood said. “I teach and touch lives every day. From that perspective, I have realized that when people hear a narrative repeated often enough, they will buy into it — even when that narrative is false. But when you give them another perspective, they tend to look at the issue more critically. These are profound issues. And, given the opportunity, we are really good at coming to our own conclusions.” Carson believes a respectful dialogue can achieve great things. “The importance of civil dialogue with others is an important model,” he said. “While I’ll maintain my own faith, learning about my neighbor is very important — to build relationships.” Randy Harris of the Great Conversation, a Las Cruces organization that promotes thoughtful and respectful dialogue, attended the first discussion. “Events and gatherings like this serve to bring our community together in commitment to compassionate and informed engagement,” Harris said. “In a time when the default practice in our politics and religion, particularly, seems to be one of demonizing and deriding and pitting neighbor against neighbor, those willing to come together for civil dialogue are much appreciated.”

The response “It was wonderful,” Dawood told the Sun-News, about February’s kick off event. “People were very encouraging, and they clearly wanted us to do this. We’re so grateful to the people at Peace Lutheran for providing us the platform.” Dawood said the discussion far exceeded his expectations. Many who participated walked away with a much different perspective on the Islamic faith. “What I learned here today that I did not understand at all about Islam or the Muslims is that they really respect all nations, and believe that it’s OK to have many religions,” said Carol Peterson, a participant from Peace Lutheran, speaking after the February event. “They believe that basically there’s one God. I was under the impression that Muslims wanted all of us to be one, wanted us to be like they are. But they respect us. I didn’t know that, and that blew my mind — because I thought that was the purpose of all this turmoil in our world. I thought they wanted us to become Muslim.” Colleen Morken, a Border Servant Corps volunteer, also attended the inaugural “Understanding Islam” event. “I really have very little understanding of Islam, and I feel like it’s kind of looked down upon — to even try to learn about it,” Morken said. “Especially in light of recent events, and certain politicians that are running for office. I really wanted to have concrete reasons for telling people that they should not be Islamophobic, instead of just telling people not to judge a group based on the actions of a few people — a few people that are technically not even a part of the group.” Morken said she gained a better understanding of the roots Islam shares with Christianity and Judaism, and the role the Quran play in the context of other holy texts. “A lot of it is peace, love, mercy and grace toward one another,” Morken said. “A lot of times, that is overlooked in the mainstream media.”

Two religions, one conversation Joyce Larsen, a Las Cruces Muslim who attends the Islamic Center of Las Cruces, attended the February event. She said it is critical to provide a forum where dialogue can be fostered in this age of heightened rhetoric. “It’s really important, in our current cultural and political atmosphere,” Larson said. “It seems, at least in some circles, that things are getting more intolerant rather than better. I think it’s important to counteract that larger national vibe. It means a lot that people want to understand and respect each other. It means that there’s a lot of hope for us to work together.” Karen Harvey, a Christian who attends Peace Lutheran, agreed. “With the things that are happening in our country right now, I really wanted to get some more information,” Harvey said. “I wanted to be more knowledgeable about what Islam is. I had always know that they believe in some of the Christian prophets, and that Jesus Christ was a prophet.” Harvey said she left with a better understanding of the way Muslims regard Jesus, and the distinction between prophets and messengers.

Tackling terrorism The second “Understanding Islam” discussion will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Peace Lutheran Church, 1701 E. Missouri Ave. The event is free and open to the public, and you do not need to have participated in the first dialogue to attend. “We are not really scholars of theology, we’re just regular common folks explaining the way we understand it,” Dawood said. “The one on Tuesday will be even better than the first one, I think. We’ll be talking about ISIS, and some of the hot-button issues you see on the news. The sound bites you hear really aren’t helping anyone. As Muslims in the U.S., we’ll go into the way it’s impacting us.”…

“Impacting us,” not the victims of jihad terrorism. So apparently the talk will be dedicated to showing how Muslims are victims, and “Islamophobia,” not jihad terrorism, is the problem.