Source: Religion News Service

By David Gushee | Nov 17, 2015 | 51 Comments

My pen was quiet for the last two weeks, as I was lecturing in western Europe. My path took me to Paris — just 36 hours before the horrific terror attacks, my wife and I were in that grand old city, which seemed (at the time) sunny, happy, and brimming with life. I join with so many others in deploring the unspeakably evil attacks and grieving the terrible losses inflicted there.

It is sadly inevitable that continual acts of killing by those acting in the name of their sick version of Islam ultimately would hurt the public reputation of the religion as a whole. Social media was already awash with inflammatory comments regarding the purported fatal flaws of Islam before the attacks, and these are, of course, only intensifying now. Reporting from France suggests the mood there toward its Muslim citizens is darkening. We are seeing signs of a similar phenomenon in the United States, abetted by presidential politics.

READ: “After attacks, Muslims in Paris fear being targeted anew”

As a Christian scholar and minister, I have made it a practice not to point fingers at supposed problems in other religious communities but instead have focused on helping my fellow Christians practice our own faith better. It has always seemed to me the responsibility of religious leaders to put their own house in order, which gives us plenty to do.

One further reason for this hesitancy is that grand old world religions like the three Abrahamic faiths are highly complex organic realities. Very, very few people from outside a religious tradition really understand the dynamics of that tradition well, with the possible exception of professional scholars who make a lifetime study of a religion.

This is one reason why it is sadly amusing to hear Christians pontificate online about what they think they understand about the inner reality of Islam. On what basis have they suddenly gained this expertise?

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