One of my favourite surahs from the Qur’an reads: “Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians — whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor shall they grieve (2:62).” Yet, as Christians around the world participate in the annual ritual of grieving the death of Christ and then celebrating his resurrection on Easter Sunday, there are other Christians who are grieving for our Muslim brothers and sisters. Many Christians do not realise that Muslims also believe in the holiness of Jesus, who is called Isa in the Qur’an or that his mother, Mary, called Maryam, has an entire chapter of the Qur’an dedicated to her. Jesus retains a special place in Islam and Muslim belief and this mutual affection for this man who Christians believe was the Messiah and who Muslims regard as the most important Prophet before Muhammad. As people like Pastor Terry Jones travel to Dearborn to symbolically burn the Qur’an during the holiest week of the Christian year, it is should be our duty, not merely as Christians, but as citizens of this country, to take-up an Easter Jihad.
Jihad is categorized as a “Greater Jihad” and a “Lesser Jihad.” The “Greater Jihad” being the struggle within oneself to live a righteous and faithful life. Sunni Muslims even go so far as to define subcategories of jihad: of the heart, by the tongue, by the hand, and finally, by the sword. The Prophet Muhammad emphasised the jihad of the heart as the “Greater Jihad.” Before Muslims take-up arms, they are asked to take-up arms within themselves and within their souls to struggle against the devil and exercise caution against his duplicitous ways. This Holy Week as we walk as penitents, we should challenge ourselves to reach across the lines that divide us from our Muslim neighbours. Muslims are our neighbours, both on our streets and sharing a kinship, through Abraham, in our faith. As uncomfortable as it may make some, faith should never come easily nor should belief. As we witness the brutal execution of Christ and as we bear witness to him cry out, “Father, why have you forsaken me?” let us bear witness and make a greater jihad toward our own faith. This Easter, let us commence an Easter Jihad and share with our Muslim kin a mutual love of Christ/Isa through our efforts toward a better ecumenical dialogue, toward combating Islamophobia, and extinguishing the fires of the likes of Terry Jones and the willfully ignorant.
Christians are afraid and during this Holy Week, we are particularly vulnerable as for a few days our faith is veiled in darkness as we lose Christ to his crucifixion. However, we are reassured through the witnessing of his resurrection, reassured of our faith and that God has not abandoned us. Let us not abandon Christ’s mission to bring justice and peace, let us not abandon Christ’s jihad in favour of the kind of jihad of the likes of Terry Jones and other zealots. Let us not allow them to take Christianity away from us, like our Muslim brethren who fight against the radicalisation of Islam, together we are engaged in a jihad for both faiths from extremism, hatred, mistrust, and a collective, willful ignorance. Let us not give into the temptation to turn away from injustice or abuse. We as Christians may not accept Islam as our way of believing, but we should accept Muslims who walk together with us toward God, together we can work together to remain, matching our strides along the path toward God.
In closing, I refer to the Book of Common Prayer and one of my favourite benedictions as the cry for our Easter Jihad:
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
I can think of no other way to seek redemption than through loving thy neighbour as thyself and protecting each other from our grief. God’s peace truly does pass all understanding, and for more than just this Easter, let us open our hearts to that peace. Let us truly engage in our own “Jihad of the heart” this Easter.
