The pile of mail after a week away invariably holds a few surprises and the unsolicited paperback my pile today certainly qualified as unusual. Familiar though I am with the reams of glossy paper that move through the postal service, $17 publications are not routinely sent out in bulk and for free. The colorful cover and compelling title were no doubt also part of the intrigue, “Islamic Imperialism: A History” (Yale University Press) by Efraim Karsh. Hot off the press (not available for retail purchase until May 28, 2007), this new publication was sent to local congregations courtesy of the Institute of Religion and Democracy.
There was no indication that I was singled out and I have no affiliation with the IRD save my standing as a pastor with the United Church of Christ, so presumably this gift was shared with my United Church of Christ colleagues. I was struck by the magnitude of this generous mailing and started to do the math. There are 60 or so UCC churches in the St. Louis metro area alone, but the IRD is a national organization and there are approximately 6000 congregations altogether. If each of the 6000 churches received a book at $17, the IRD spent over $100,000 on this mailing (not counting postage!). And the UCC is not the IRD’s primary concern. The IRD’s focus has been with Episcopalians 7000 churches), Presbyterians (nearly 11,000 churches), and United Methodists (more than 26,000). Assuming that their generosity extended to those they are most concerned to influence, they’re sending 50,000 copies of this book. At list price plus postage this is basically $1 million (though undoubtedly they received a quantity discount!). Given that the IRD reports an annual budget of $686,000, they must believe that this is a very important book.
Admittedly I know a bit about the group who sent the mailing. The Institute for Religion and Democracy’s mission is to counter act what they identify as “leftist secular social and political agendas”. Wikipedia defines the IRD simply as a “neo-conservative political lobbying group”. The group formed in 1981 in the wake of Roe v. Wade and the National Council of Churches advocacy for the people of Nicaragua. Waving the “pro-life” and “anti-communist” banners, the IRD has been influential in stirring foment in local congregations for nearly three decades. Over the past 20 years the IRD has received more than $4.5 million dollars from five foundations: The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Inc., The Carthage Foundation, Sarah Scaife Foundation, Randolph Foundation, John M. Olin Foundation.[1] These foundations are most notable for their funding of such right wing think tanks as the Heritage Foundation.
Despite the dubious source, I found the book nonetheless inviting. One of my passions is to find common values across religious experiences and a book on Islam’s history is thusly very valuable. But this book is not an exploration of Islam, this book is an inflammatory indictment intended to rally Christian resistance to Islam. The chapter titles quickly display the particular bias of the author: “The Warrior Prophet” (a description of Muhammad’s ministry in the 7th century), “The House of Islam and the House of War”, and “Renewing the Quest for Allah’s Empire” are but a few of the inflammatory titles.
The introduction begins with a list of sound bytes from history, beginning with a quote from Muhammad himself in 632ce, which expresses Muhammad’s passion that all humanity might confess that that “there is no God but Allah”. I found myself noting that similar Jesus quotes could be quickly pulled from John’s Gospel. But Karsh’s intent was not show the similarity of our proselytizing. Rather he is attempting to show that proselytizing, as primary tenant in Islam, should be of grave concern to Christians. As I pondered this presumed affront, I wandered to the IRD’s website and their page on Muslim–Christian dialogue. On a page devoted to the relationships that we (as Christians) might have with our Muslim neighbors, I found much offense and no small amount of ignorance.
I also found the ultimate of ironies. The IRD admonishes Christians to be in dialogue with Muslims in order to:
“Give testimony to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is our duty to do so. Ultimately, Christ himself is the greatest blessing that we could offer to our Muslim interlocutors.”
As I read this incredible quote, I found myself mystified that the author would have the audacity to identify Muslims as the ‘interlocutors’ if the goal of a dialogue is to convert the other! Clearly the IRD’s goal in sending this book is not to help us understand but rather to give us tools to be better interlocutors of those we would label as interlocutors. If encouraging religious conversion is the cornerstone for imperialism, Christianity has a pretty solid foundation.
Perhaps we would be wise to take a page from our Jewish brothers and sisters, from whence both Islam and Christianity trace their heritage, and stop trying to convert people. As we note Passover’s celebration this week, we might remember that proselytizing is not a part of this (or any Hebrew) story. I can’t help but think that if we weren’t so busy trying to prove that our way is the right way, we might have more time (and money) to live the kind of lives that both Jesus and Muhammad lived – lives of humility, service, and kindness. Of course, imperialism has no place in these values and preserving American imperialism appears to be the underlying goal of this IRD initiative.
[1] www.mediatransparency.org
