This column originally ran in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Rerun here with permission.
As the Christmas season bursts into full swing, the sense of peace, joy and goodwill normally felt by Americans at this time of year has been darkened by a growing sense of fear and foreboding. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, many Americans fear that more attacks are on the way.
Unfortunately, as our peace and joy becomes darkened by fear, our sense of good will is being eroded by a rising tide of Islamophobia, disturbingly marked by an increasing number of attacks on mosques and Islamic centers around the country, our own governor's desire to keep Syrian refugees out of Iowa, and the hysterical fear-mongering of certain presidential candidates (banning all Muslims from entering the country. Really, Mr. Trump?!).
It is deeply ironic that this rising tide of Islamophobia coincides so closely with our annual celebration of the miraculous birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary — this central miracle of Christmas is fully affirmed in the Qur'an too! Indeed, Jesus and Mary are so central to the Islamic tradition that some parts of the Qur'an are nearly indistinguishable from the Bible. As a central prophetic figure of the Islamic tradition, Muslims revere Jesus nearly as much as Christians do. In fact, one Pakistani scholar has recently gone so far as to proclaim "It is on record that Jesus urged his disciples on to wage jihad." Can such a seemingly outrageous statement be taken seriously? Is he implying that Jesus was a terrorist? Not at all. As hard as it may be to believe, there are actually Christians who agree with this connecting of Jesus with the vilified concept of jihad.
Just this past summer, Dave Andrews, an Australian Christian social activist, published a book with a most improbable title: "The Jihad of Jesus: The Sacred Nonviolent Struggle for Justice." Unbeknownst to Mr. Andrews, half a world away in Iowa, a Christian scholar of religion was almost simultaneously publishing a book with a nearly identical title and message: "Jesus and Jihad: Reclaiming the Prophetic Heart of Christianity and Islam." That scholar is me.
Our common message is quite simple. The central Islamic concept of jihad has been corrupted today by radical groups who view it as a program of violence and terror. This corrupted form of jihad is then perpetuated by a Western media recognizing that fear sells. But jihad is not terrorism. Rather, jihad has historically stood for the enduring struggle to promote justice and peace. Likewise, Jesus' life and mission was marked by a similar kind of struggle designed to resist the injustices authorized by the gratuitously violent Roman military occupation of the Jewish communities of Roman Palestine.
There is no doubt that jihad is the perfect lens through which to understand the person and work of Jesus. And recognizing this Jesus/jihad connection could have far-reaching implications for the promotion of justice, peace, and interfaith harmony in our troubled and violent world.
So my interfaith Christmas wish is that my fellow Iowans — especially those who are Christian — will use this season of peace, joy and good will to be a light to the rest of the nation. Refuse to support presidential candidates who sow hatred and interfaith discord. Open your hearts, and if necessary your homes, to refugees who are fleeing the very terrorist groups we so fear. Refuse to accept Islamophobic discourses that try to convince you that your Muslim neighbor is someone to be feared rather than a fellow citizen who yearns for peace as much as you do. Most of all, there is no better time than Christmas to recognize that the miraculous birth of the Christ child is an event recorded in both the Christian and Islamic scriptures. What better time to resist the forces of division and replace them with a spirit of good will to all.
