Do we need to talk more about Jesus and Mohammed and less about Christianity and Islam?

This is a response to a piece published today on the Archbishop Cranmer blog

http://archbishopcranmer.com/need-talk-jesus-mohammed-christianity-islam/

There is a lot that is interesting in this piece, and some of it true. It clearly is a nonsense for an Anglican to say that someone who claims to be a Muslim is not a Muslim, but then, that is exactly what some Muslims do: they do this 'Takfir' thing: 'You're not a Muslim' the violent Jihadis say to the majority, 'if you don't go round causing terror.' After all, one of the classic prayers of the Church of England prays for 'all who call themselves Christian' and not just those we recognise.

Religions are real, present, living things. They are not (despite what theologians, Bishops, Imams and Rabbis might claim) simply people following a set of rules. Every religion has its spectrum. And Islam and Christianity, have texts which are supposed to be authoritative, but are always to some extent ignored, adapted, and interpreted. How many Christians actually follow Jesus’ advice to hate their family?

To ask questions about Islam means seeing what Muslims actually do. It is the same with Christianity. Some Christians follow sets of rules (usually not the Bible, but traditional regulations) absolutely and many follow bits. Many Muslims have a similar pick and mix practice. I was interested when living in Jordan and Syria to see how people who were very lax in their observance of Islam were strict in Ramadan. Why drink and fornicate in other months, but not in Ramadan the pedant might ask? It doesn’t matter. What matters is that is what people do.

I don’t care whether the mass murderers were Muslims or not. If they were it is not the sort of Islam I met while living in the Middle East, nor the Islam of the Ophthalmologist who dealt with me kindly having been fasting for 11 hours yesterday. But then there are Christians who (basing their argument on Scripture) will kill abortionists or spout hatred against gays, bomb innocent cities, and spout hatred against their opponents.

What I do know is that most British Muslims (and in fact many Muslims whom I know well in different countries) are not stuck in a ‘fundamentalist’ world which ignores 14 centuries of intellectual thought and argument. I know it is not for me to tell them whether to eat a bacon sandwich, or to take off a face-veil, any more than they should tell me not to worship Christ our True God.

I know that when York was flooded 18 months ago is was mosques from far away who sent their young people to help, and brought food to the victims. That was organised Islam, mosque-based, community based coming to this very un-Muslim city to care for the victims. No preaching, no ranting, just good people doing good because this is how they understand Islam.

The argument about Jihadis and their faith is important. It is important for people who call themselves Muslim, as well as the rest of us. I am not going to go into the social causes of this violence but there are various researchers in King’s College, London, the LSE and elsewhere who are doing that.