Islam

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A Moment of Silence

Since when did complete agreement become the goal? 

I’ve listened to the news quite a bit since the Orlando massacre and the amount of political talk and civil rights talk and gun rights talk is nauseating.

What about just being sad for 5 minutes before we launch into “These are the issues we need to address”?  

Which, by the way, is what everyone says EVERY SINGLE TIME after a tragedy of this magnitude.

Here’s what I want to say: Everyone, shut your mouth. 

This is not the time to start a conversation about gun control.

This is not the time to start a conversation about conservatives vs. liberals.

This is not the time for Christians and the LGBTQ community to stand off nose to nose.

This is not the time to pick a part Islam.

I just want everyone to please be quiet. 

There are 49 families who are mourning. Their son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, father, lover was killed.

If you can’t think of a kind, compassionate thing to say, please shut up. 

We can riot in the streets later.

We can debate for hours later.

I am sad about this senseless loss of life. None of those victims set out thinking, “This is it, my last day on earth.” They were just out having fun (albeit at a later hour than I like to be out) on a Saturday night. 

Please pray for the families. There are some hard days ahead.

Pray for ways you can show kindness and compassion to those around you–no matter how different they are. 

Pray for strength and wisdom on how we should all properly respond to this tragedy.

But for now, I think we all need to take a breath and just sit in this space for a minute. Let’s take a few moments to grieve before responding rashly. 

 

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Safety vs. Risk

The key word in terrorism is terror and the purpose of terror is to put fear in our hearts. 
The debate over the Syrian refugees really has me thinking….

Maybe all the articles and videos about ISIS turning us against the refugees isn’t that far off. 

Let’s look at the facts:

  1. Most of the terrorists were European nationals
  2. ISIS magazines and videos state that they want the Muslim world to hate the West
  3. The other outbreaks of ISIS related activity following the Paris attacks should not to be surprised since the point is evoking terror (and it worked so well the first time)
  4. Most of Europe–and now America–is not helping the refugees. 

With these facts in mind, is terrorism winning?

Our culture continues to respond exactly the way the enemy wants. 

Instead of talking out solutions, governors are making rash statements that lack  empathy and reek of platform building stances.  

These actions remind me of our nation’s–and the world’s history. 

Hasty judgment is prevailing. 

Ignoring the suffering refugees will not make this problem disappear. I recognize the concerns about safety. I want to be safe too. 

I’m torn, though, because helping the refugees means there’s a risk involved….

But isn’t there always a risk involved?

I don’t claim to have all the answers. The reason I’m writing this out is to think this issue through. 

I’m just wondering if our concerns and fears about safety are allowing the tenets of terrorism to prevail. 

What are your thoughts on this topic?