Though Muslims, as I
explained in Post 99, use the term “reversion” for anyone converting to Islam,
call it what they may, others, including myself, consider it “conversion” plain
and simple. So, our topic for today is the place of conversion in these two
religions, which is not quite the same as defining
the term, for they do not quite mean the same thing in the two religions.
Conversion is, of course, usually the result of a mission or
evangelistic outreach by a Muslim or Christian, whether individual or
organization, to another individual or community, usually with the explicit
goal to bring someone or a community to conversion. I say “usually.” It does not always come about
that way. For example, many are the Muslims throughout the world who dream of a
person dressed in a white robe who invites them to come to Him, who is often
then identified as Jesus. Thousands of Muslims the world over have such dreams
and they usually end up in accepting His invitation. There are entire books
written about this kind of conversion invitation. These are not the result of
any human outreach or other effort and certainly not of any “obsession” that
WCC talked about in Post 98.
There are indeed forms or styles of mission
outreach to convert that are objectionable to people who do not adhere to the
religion practicing it but that are usually
perfectly acceptable to the adherents themselves. Muslims often quote the
Qur’an that says there is to be no compulsion in religion, but they employ all
kinds of compulsion and force. You ought to read the Christian volumes of my Studies in Christian-Muslim Relations to
see how frequently Muslims use force to “revert” people to Islam according to
Christian complaints (www.SocialTheology.com/islamica, volumes
3, 5 and 7).
Allow me one example from
Nigeria. A Nigerian pastor friend of mine borrowed money from the government to
establish a chicken farm. He was not able to keep up with the payment schedule
and ran the risk of losing his business along with his investment. Christians
did not offer to help him out with loans. When the Muslim community heard about
this, they offered to pay his entire debt provided he become Muslim. Being
desperate, my friend accepted and became Muslim. This has been years ago and he
has not changed his mind ever since. The moment he does change his mind and
returns to Christ, the Muslim community will demand repayment and, failing to
come through, he will be hauled to court. (For the full story see our memoirs Every Square Inch, vol. 2, pp. 59-62 on
our website < www.SocialTheology.com/boeriana
>). If that is not force, I don’t
know what you call it. And if that is not a contradiction to that earlier
statement about no force in religion, I don’t know what that is either.
However, you must be careful
about accusing a religion not your own of contradiction, for I find that when
non-Christians accuse us of contradictions, it is usually due to ignorance or,
using more gentle language, misunderstanding. It is easy for us to fall into
the same trap with respect to Islam. The above story is typical, not an
exception. Muslims use both the stick and the carrot methods to induce
“reversions” in all kinds of ways. As I said above, read my series and you’ll
find a dizzying range of variations of force and “tricks” on their part.
Another clever way is to surround a Christian business with such stiff
competition that the owner either becomes a Muslim or closes his business—all
perfectly legal! And on and on and on…. Muslim
authorities all over the world are known to create legal demands and
restrictions on the Christian community with respect to registration of
churches and building permits. We have
arrived at the border here between persecution and a campaign to “revert.” It’s
a very thin line and it all smells of compulsion, even if called “reversion.”
Word juggling does not change all of reality!
But do understand the Muslim
position. If you are convinced that being a Muslim is the greatest gift you can
wish for a person, then such tactics may seem minor in comparison to the
magnificent gift they turn into. After all, adults punish wayward children in
love for their own good. An adult
non-Muslim may not be a child, but she is in a state of jahiliya, an Arabized Hausa word for “ignorance.” She doesn’t
really know what she is doing. A little push in the right direction seems a
small price to pay for the end result that can only be described as
magnificent. My experience in Nigeria as I record it in my series is that
Muslims just don’t comprehend why not everyone wants to become a Muslim. What
greater good can you possibly imagine for yourself?
So, they really are obsessed
by wanting to con—or revert everyone, but that’s a good obsession and not a negative you would ever think about
giving up on. However, when someone is
obsessed about trying to convert his neighbor or community to another religion, say Christianity,
well, yes, such an obsession is unhealthy and must be let go. And so Muslims
signed that declaration in all seriousness and good faith. To adherents of
other religions this may seem like duplicity and hypocrisy; to a Muslim it is
the only way to go. You have to think yourself into the other’s skin in order
to understand correctly and not judge wrongly.
In other words, to expect
Muslims to give up on conversion is to ask them to give up on a core component
of their religion. That is not what the
WCC conference that published the declaration expected of any religion. The religions were not expected to surrender
any part of their core; they were to remain true to themselves. Whether the declaration
and the expectation can co-exist, is another question.
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