Picture this: It is early morning. As the sun rises, you find yourself sitting on the dock of a small, fishing village nestled among the islands of Indonesia. As you look out across the water, you see boats anchored, awaiting the fishermen who will soon go fishing (if they did not just arrive home from night fishing). The people in this village get an early start to every day, so even as the sun rises, you see many already out and about, preparing for a new day. You soon head back into the village and exchange smiles and morning greetings of “Selmat Pagi” and “Pagi” with the people you pass.
The people of this village have shown you such kindness, and you are overwhelmed with love for them.
This is only the beginning of the way I would describe my surroundings in Komodo Village.
Though living there pushed me outside of my comfort zone in several ways, it was truly one of the best + most beautiful experiences of my life.
Still, I can’t help but think of all of the people who would have discouraged me from going there had they known one, small fact: the village was 100% Islamic.
As much as I love my home and the people there, I have, for quite some time now, been disturbed, frustrated, and disgusted by the way people talk about individuals of the Islamic faith.
And after staying in an Islamic village, I am even more bothered by the assumptions that are made about these beautiful, wonderful, devoted, hard-working, servant-hearted individuals.
You cannot judge an entire group of people based on acts of terrorism committed by a group of radicals.
That would be like judging every Christian based on the acts of terrorism committed by the KKK whose members often claim Christianity as their own religion.
The Five Pillars of the Islamic faith revolve around a profession of faith, prayer, giving, fasting, and a visit to their holy land. While I don’t share many of their more in-depth beliefs, it would be ignorant of me to say that everything they believe is despicable. They actually have a lot of very wholesome moral views; they just add Muhammad into the mix and miss the part about God loving them so much that He gave Jesus, who is His son (not another prophet), to die on the cross for their sins so that they could have eternal life.
But if I ever want them to understand that Jesus loves them so much that He sacrificed His life for them and to experience His love, joy, peace, and power, then I believe that I have to love them first…not fear them and hate them and degrade them to their faces and/or behind their backs.
One of my favorite moments on the island was during a dinner conversation with our host family. They know that we are Christians and Americans. But they recognized that we had spent our time on the island seeking to honor them and their culture in our words and actions, something they are not accustomed to westerners doing (don’t get me started on the tourists we saw treating them like museum exhibits; I’ve never felt so protective of friends in my life), and it spoke volumes.
We shared Jesus through our actions, and during our dinner conversation, we were able to use words to honestly express the views of many who fear their people (they were already aware), but we were also able to bring redemption to the brokenness and division that they have witnessed in the past by expressing our deep, deep love for them.
We love them, we respect them, and we are not afraid of them. They witnessed it in our actions, heard it in our voices, and saw it in our eyes.
They saw something different in us. God used that in powerful ways, and I don’t believe He’s finished yet.
Had we gone in with an attitude of fear and disgust and superiority towards these people, our ministry would have proven ineffective. Instead, we were welcomed into the village, and the Spirit of the Lord flowed through that place.
Miraculous things happened, but they happened because we were willing to look beyond their hijabs (head coverings worn by women) and see them and know them.
If you are a person who is fearful or dehumanizing in your speech and/or behaviors towards Muslims (or any other group of people), I would beseech you to take some time to put aside your prejudices, do some research, have some conversations, seek understanding, and rethink your words and actions.
Even if you do not share their beliefs, Muslims are not inferior to you.
Please look past the hijab. Chances are, you’ll find a beautiful person underneath it.
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8).
