Billboards

This morning as I came into work I pulled up the local and national news websites and I found an article that I found disturbing.  The article was about a billboard message in some U.S. town that says “Islam Rising: The Documentary…Be Warned.”  You can also visit the website http://www.islamrising.com/Home.html.  In short it’s about the right Christian groups making allegations of the evil doings of the right Islamic groups.  To me any spread of hatred and fear is evil which in a sense what these radical Christians are doing in bashing another religion more than studying and mediating on the real meaning of their own.  Although I am not a super religious person I am super faithful.  Never has my faith taught me that hating any person based on any factor is what I was called to do.  In fact if anything my faith has taught me that hate is NOT the way to live life peacefully.

This week I recruited on behalf of the ACE Program at a small charter school that serves the Muslim population in the Phoenix area.  Everyone one at this school, the students, teachers, parents, administrators were in every way as American as the rest us.  No more or less kind, or generous, or good-spirited as any wholesome Christian American.  In a nut shell they made me feel at home while presenting in their school on the ACE Program at SMCC.  I might add I know I had everyone’s attention down to the youngest student, you could hear a pin drop while I was speaking.  Never have I had such a feeling of respect from any high school across Phoenix, Tempe, or Mesa.  In reality most of the time in public schools I have to battle the students to stop whispering to their bff’s across the row and listen to what I have to say.  In these public schools I have even been jeered, asked ridiculous questions, and insulted when presenting on a scholarship opportunity that is intended for their benefit.  I don’t want to assume, but I am willing to bet that most of these students are either a form of Christian or agnostic.  I may be wrong, but growing up Christian the first thing I learned was respect, why then do some of these students treat me as though I am less than they are for presenting on a program that is for their benefit?

I find this anti-Islamic sentiment sickening because it is based on fear, hatred, and lies.  The views of a few right winged Christians attacking the views of a few right winged Muslims affect the rest of us in the middle.  I don’t care how loud you yell, I refuse to believe that two religions based on the same fundamental principles of peace, harmony, and love are out to destroy the other because one form of love is better than the other.  It's a stupid notion and yet that is what I see by billboards like this one.  The students I serve and the people I work for who are Muslim are as "normal" as Christians; contrary to belief they weren’t taught how to destroy any more than Christians were.  That is until they go to boot camp…or religion camp.