A man might be a nominal
Christian, mostly unaffected by spiritual things, until one day he reads the
Bible and the Holy Spirit ignites in him a fire. If that person remains
steadfast in his inspiration, he will increasingly pattern his life after Jesus
Christ - that is, he will become more loving, more forgiving, and more ready to
give his life for the redemption of others. Spiritual gifts will accompany his
life as He becomes Christlike. As Jesus said, "The
works that I do, he will do also." (John
14:12)
However, if a nominal Muslim
begins to read a Koran, if he continues his daily reading and feels an
increasing zeal toward obeying the precepts of Mohammed, if he continues on,
this man will ultimately desire to possess true Islam, that is, total submission
to Allah. The works Mohammed did the follower will also do. The zealot will
police his community, seeking to preserve obedience to Islam. He will seek to
convert unbelievers by all means, including violence and terror, and he will
consider it his duty to kill those who resist the spread of Islam. If one
carries true Islam in his or her soul, but does not use violence, they will at
the very least sympathize with those that do.
Thus, the radicalization of at
least some Muslims is inevitable, for the normal growth of an unrestrained
zealot will eventually conform him to the founder of his religion. This means
that as long as there are people reading the Koran there will be a small
percentage who pledge their lives to Islam's spread even by use of violence. We
who live in the predominantly non-Muslim world will have to cope with the
violence of these "true believers."
It also means that the moderate
Muslims must realize, unless they desire war with their non-Muslim neighbors,
they will have to expose and denounce the radicalized Muslim, especially in
communities where Muslims and non-Muslims live together.
What Should We Do?
Are you Muslim? Do you want the
radical extremist to represent you and your people? If not, then you must find
ways to direct the radical Muslim into a spiritual jihad against the sins of
his soul rather than a violent jihad against the people of a community.
Are you Christian? You must guard
against prejudging all Muslims, for many people turned to Islam as a reaction
to the sinfulness of the West. In a real way, they were seeking Christ and
stability and the church failed them. But in this present atmosphere, they are
doubting the choice they made to follow Islam. Therefore, we must reveal Christ
and the love He has for all men if we hope to win Muslims.
And finally, as Christians, we
must forgive and pray for Muslims. My wife and I pray daily for Muslims, that
the Lord of the harvest would send laborers into the Muslim world and that
Jesus would be revealed to them, including the most radical who are ready to
kill.
The radical Islamist will only be
won by the radical Christ follower. We must show them a better way.
Francis Frangipane
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