Why should we love all Muslims?
What does loving all Muslims mean? What do you picture in your mind when you think of Muslims in the UK? Perhaps a person in a headscarf at your workplace, or where you shop? Maybe an asylum seeker? Or even a jihadist on the news? Whatever the image in your mind, God tells us to love all Muslims! Jesus tells us to love our neighbour (Luke 10:25 - 37), to love the ‘stranger’ (Matt 25:35) and even to love our enemies (Matthew 5: 43–48). So there is no one left that God does not ask us to love!
Love your neighbour
What does that look like in practice? Jesus has told us to love our neighbour Luke 10:25 - 37. That means that we cannot marginalise anyone. Our neighbour is anyone around us, regardless of their ethnic, religious, or socio-economic status. So the person in the headscarf at your workplace or the person at your shop is your neighbour, and we should treat them with the same respect and compassion as everyone else. Muslims are people too and once you get to know them you will find they have the same hopes and aspirations for their family and future as you do for your family.
Love the stranger
This teaching has its roots in the Old Testament 'You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt’ (Deut. 10:19). Jesus builds on this as he says when we welcome the stranger, it is as if we welcomed him and when we don’t welcome the stranger, we don’t welcome Jesus (Matt 25:35)!
Today there is much negative misinformation about strangers in the UK. Fearful of change and uninformed about the facts, we can easily become xenophobic. In Mahabba, we encourage people to face the facts rather than fuelling the fear. According to the 1951 Refugee Convention of which the UK is a signatory, there is no such thing as illegal or bogus asylum seekers. Most people seeking asylum are fleeing abuse or conflict and seeking safety. The small fraction of people seeking asylum globally who arrive in the UK make a huge contribution to the UK and do not get large handouts from the state. Check the facts yourself here: https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/information/refugee-asylum-facts/the-truth-about-asylum/
Love your enemies!
While most Muslims in the UK would be our neighbour or a stranger, a few are extremists using violence to achieve their aims; they have made themselves our enemies. Yet Jesus has commanded us to love our enemies too!
Once I was in a mosque where we shared about Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness. The Imam declared it was impossible and ridiculous for anyone to practice such a way of life. This would be impossible, except Jesus set us the example and empowers us to do the same. There are numerous accounts of people doing just this.
One recent example is Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel who was stabbed at a Sydney church on Monday 15th April 2024 and forgave his attacker. In Bishop Emmanuel's four-minute clip, released by the church on social media, he says he forgives "whoever has done this act". "And I will always pray for you. And whoever sent you to do this, I forgive them as well in Jesus' mighty name."[1]
Forgiveness in personal suffering is the best contemporary witness to Jesus’ death on the cross for us all. Our forgiveness in suffering displays the essence of the gospel to a watching world. By loving our enemies, we demonstrate we truly are children of our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:45-47).
Let us all follow Jesus’ example by ‘loving all Muslims’.
Chas from the Network
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-68814813 accessed 8th May 2024