A woman confided to me that she was terribly afraid for her grandchildren to grow up in a world like ours. I conceded that the dangers are real, but I reminded her of the words of Jesus: “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33).
Granted there is much to worry about, but we all have to try to keep calm and avoid becoming joyless Christians. Try to overcome your fears as best you can with sound information. For instance, it’s important to understand that a monumental split exists between the vast majority of peace-loving Muslims and the radical militant minority.
People such as the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former self-proclaimed “emir” of al-Qaida in Iraq, said, “Killing the infidels is our religion … until they convert to Islam, or pay us tribute.”
Good Muslims reject this kind of rhetoric as evil. The Quran states, “There is no compulsion in religion” (Surah 2, 256). Salam Al-Marayati, the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council speaks of religious liberty as “an Islamic principle.” Unjust jihadi attacks that have taken place in many places in the world are not a result of authentic Islamic theology.
In my home diocese, in the city of Paterson, New Jersey, and in many other American cities, Muslim children are attending Catholic grammar schools. Their parents prefer sending them to Catholic schools rather than to the public schools, chiefly for reasons of safety. One would think that the abhorrence of any other religion would not allow such a thing.
Granted there are many concerns about the violence toward Christians in many Muslim countries, which we vigorously denounce. No one has the right to represent Allah or God as one who demands the slaughter of innocent people or commands their conversion.
In his address to the U.S. Congress, Pope Francis stated that “no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism.” He went on to say that special attention must be given to fundamentalism, religious or not.
Sayyid M. Sayeed, national director of the Islamic Society of North America’s Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances, writes that “all faiths are striving to promote those divine values enshrined in our sacred texts and Scriptures so that those who exploit them for reinforcing hate, extremism, violence and instability are identified as enemies of all faiths.”
He refers to a “new millennium of alliance building for common values of mutual respect and recognition.” The Second Vatican Council’s document “Nostra Aetate” calls for dialogue and collaboration with other religions, and recognizes the church’s “esteem” for Muslims.
I am hopeful that children will one day soon live in a peaceful world. I don’t know when, but this current wave of madness will gradually ease down. The fact that a small minority of radical Muslims have tried to hijack the religion of Islam to promote their own agenda should not make us cower in fear. We will fight this evil every step of the way and peace will prevail.
Muslims all over the world continue to demonstrate their desire to live in peace with their neighbors. On a flight to Krakow, Poland, on July 27, Pope Francis said it is the world that is at war, not religions. Rather, religions seek peace.
