You can read part one of the post here.

In my last post I began by posing several questions regarding the task and mission of the Jenkins Center for the Christian Understanding of Islam at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. One of the questions I posed was: how do we go about articulating a Christian understanding of Islam? In the earlier post I discussed one side of the methodological challenge that faces us as we answer this question, and it’s related to articulating a Christian understanding of Islam in a predominantly secular environment. In this post I’d like to continue that conversation and discuss a second side to this methodological challenge.

This side of the challenge relates to intra-Christian approaches to Islam. Many Christians (or theological pundits) display simplistic understandings Muslim beliefs that they equate with jihadist interpretations of the religion. While we would never downplay the seriousness of the challenges facing both non-Muslims (especially Middle Eastern Christians) and excommunicated Muslims who fall outside the violent jihadist branch of Islamism’s interpretation of Dār al-Islām, we also recognize that both violent and non-violent Islamists are still a minority within the broader “House of Islam.” Islamism––defined by a vision that conflates religion and state “dīn wa dawla” and aims to implement a totalitarian understanding of sharī‘alaw “taṭbīq al-sharī‘a” in all of society––does have its roots in the earliest and most authoritative sources of Islam. And it does pose a threat to freedom and democracy. But there are competing traditions within the history of Islam that are just as subversive to the gospel––not just democracy––as non-Islamist understandings of the religion. Thus, Christians must guard against settling for reductionist understandings of the religion simply for the sake of scoring easy apologetic points. (On a side note, those who look favorably on non-violent expressions of Islamism within the US government, departments of Middle Eastern studies, and the media engage in tactics comparable to the jihadists. They excommunicate the jihadists due to their legitimation of violence and label as Islamophobic all those who disagree with their modernist interpretations of Islam while downplaying the incompatibility of Islamism with democracy.)

For Christians to overcome this side of the methodological challenge we must begin by distinguishing between Muslims as people––created in the image of God––and Islam as a diverse and multifaceted system of belief. This is a distinction that relates to our dual role as disciple-scholars.

As disciples, our calling is one of discipleship, which is always a life-on-life venture. God has called us to disciple all nations (panta ta ethne; Matthew 28:19); hence we are obligated to befriend Muslims, build bridges of understanding, and testify––in word and deed––to the truth and comprehensiveness of the gospel message.

 As scholars, our academic training and years of experience living among Muslim peoples abroad forces us to recognize differentiations and nuances in the ways Islam has been understood historically and practiced globally. Islam is as diverse a religion as any on the face of the planet, which leads to diverse interpretations and expressions among Muslims.

For example, on the one hand it is clear that violent jihad is a part of Islam’s past and present, as evidenced by the daily headlines; on the other hand we recognize that not all Muslims advocate the political agenda of Islamist groups aiming to reshape current geopolitical realities both here in the US and abroad. Our experience tells us that the overwhelming majority of Muslims around the globe are not violent people. At the same time, our research points out that the jihadists root their beliefs in the earliest and most authoritative sources of Islam beginning with the Qur’ān. Distinguishing between Muslims as people and Islam as a system of belief enables us to hold both truths in tension. (It’s important to point out that violence is a tactic of the jihadist branch of Islamism. What unites all Islamists and poses a real threat to freedom everywhere is the united Islamist vision of establishing Islamic states in place of what they view as decadent Western democracies and other nation-states.)

Should we succeed in overcoming the challenges that face us in fostering a full-orbed Christian understanding of Islam, we have the promise of blessing; the blessing of accomplishing the Great Commission with effectiveness. Until we reach that point, God has given us his people the promise of his abiding presence as we engage in the hard work of Kingdom advance among all peoples. This is a work that necessitates rigorous academic and ministry preparation for which there is no substitute. If you have a Muslim neighbor, family member, friend, or are called to service among Muslim peoples, we invite you to join us in the Billy Graham School at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and to avail yourself of the resources provided by the Jenkins Center for the Christian Understanding of Islam.

_________

J. Scott Bridger serves as the Bill and Connie Jenkins Assistant Professor of World Religions and Islamic Studies. He also serves as the director of the Jenkins center for the Christian Understanding of Islam. You can follow Bridger on twitter at: @jsbridger. This post originally appeared on the Jenkins Center blog.