Even Thomas Jefferson had a Qur'an: 1-21-16
January 21, 2016
Ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, various forms of hostility to Islam have been seen in the U.S. Indeed, as you know, this phenomenon of demonizing Muslims has acquired the name Islamophobia.
Sometimes the term is deserved, as when it describes a kind of unthinking hatred of Muslims for no reason other than the fact that they follow Islam. But sometimes the term is an overreach, especially when it's applied to non-Muslims who simply have questions about Islam.
To help Christians understand Islam and its sacred text, the Qur'an, better, my church is planning a six-week look at all of this for our members, with the hope that eventually we might offer something similar to the wider community. Muslims leaders from the Kansas City area will be helping to guide us through this study series, and we hope to have participants each read at least one recommended book to add to their understanding. The goal is simply to help Christians understand Islam better, not to convert anyone either to or from Islam.
I had begun to create a list of such books (I'll provide that list at the end of today's post) when another person helping to plan the study series asked me to have a look at a volume called Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders, by Denise A. Spellberg.
It's been an intriguing read, and I certainly recommend it to anyone who wants to grasp early American experiences with Islam and how those experiences helped to shape our country's approach to religious freedom.
Jefferson, it turns out, purchased and owned at least one Qur'an, and the author of this book says he "remains unique among America's Founders in his desire to understand Islam on its own terms, looking directly to its most sacred source."
Even that effort, however, did not remove all of the anti-Islam prejudice that Jefferson and other Founders harbored, even though most of them acquired that bigotry without ever knowingly coming in contact with a real Muslim.
Still, the early history of America's contact with Islam (many slaves dragged to this country from Africa were Muslims) makes a fascinating story. And anyone who wants to understand Islam in its current American context would do well to acquire some of that history.
Other books about Islam and the Qur'an that I have on my suggested reading list (and home office shelf) include:
The Heart of Islam, by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Allah: A Christian Response, by Miroslav Volf
Opening the Qur'an, by Walter H. Wagner
Understanding Islam, by C.T.R. Hewer
Islam Without Extremes, by Mustafa Akyol
What's Right with Islam, by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy, by Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg
American Islam, by Paul M. Barrett
Red, White and Muslim, by Asma Gull Hasan.
This list is far from exhaustive, but it should give people a good start.
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LENDING A HAND IN THE FLINT CRISIS
Faith communities are helping out in the disastrous water crisis in Flint, Mich., as well they should. Once problems there are solved, it would be worthwhile to do a thorough analysis of the various moral and ethical violations that led to children being poisoned by contaminated water and to state government officials ignoring the problem. The whole story there has been outrageous.
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P.S.: The Kansas City Interfaith Youth Alliance is planning a terrific workshop for high school students on Saturday, Jan. 30. If you know students who might be interested, here's the link they need to learn about the day and register.
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