I sometimes make the mistake of commenting on other people’s social media posts. I recently did it again, and I did it because of my interest in history.
Someone was commenting on the attack on Salman Rushdie by a Muslim. If you remember, many years ago there was a fatwa for the death of Rushdie because of his controversial book, The Satanic Verses.
The comment was how people (often Christians but also others like Rushdie) are in danger from Muslim majority countries but Muslims have never been in danger in Christian majority countries. Presumably, this was meant to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity over Islam.
To be transparent, I am both a Christian and a pastor and so I do have a bias toward Christianity. But I also have a love for history and a value for truth.
And the truth is that Muslims have not always had an easy time under Christian rule and have faced both persecution and forced conversions.
The person assumed I was talking about the Crusades and rejected that argument as being based on a false narrative. The Christians were simply protecting pilgrims attempting to reach the Holy Land. That, of course, is a simplistic interpretation of the events.
Perhaps a better example is that of the treatment of the Muslims and Jews by Christians in Spain. People often think of Jews and Muslims as enemies but there have been times in history where they have together been the victims of persecution by Christians.
Even within my own lifetime, there was a massacre of Muslims by those claiming to be Christian in Bosnia.
The uncomfortable truth is that much of what Christians don’t like about Islam are things that Christians have also done at some point throughout our history.
The person I was interacting with was shocked that I was a pastor. How could I suggest that Christianity was as “bad” as Islam?
Every religion has had their share of wrongful actions. Even peaceful Buddhism has its dirty laundry.
We can value our religious beliefs and heritage without ignoring the facts of history. One book that I would recommend is John Dickson’s Bullies and Saints.
