Personally, I do not want to believe that God would not forgive without first taking the circumstances into consideration. Nor do I think that one should exclude the other.

In my grandparent’s day, and even when my parents were young, many Christian Americans were as uncomfortable with or hostile to Jews as they are to Muslims today (and the hostility was more socially and legally acceptable). By now, they are more comfortable, although not 100 percent. One reason is that by now many Jews have visited churches, and many Christians have visited synagogues; the other group is better understood. I look forward to the day when enough Muslims are comfortable visiting a friend’s church or synagogue, and enough Jews and Christians are comfortable visiting a friend’s mosque, that more Americans regard Islam as something understood and more compatible wioth their own beliefs.

But as I was quoted above, the way to start a dialogue is to first show you can listen. Ask a friend to take you to their church or synagogue, their Sunday School class, ask questions. Not all of them, but enough of them, will respond by asking you questions about Islam or visiting the mosque or a dawah class with you.

Chip Ordman

This years blog has been amazing you guys! Please keep doing this in the years to come! I think all of us who are reading it, Muslims and us non-Muslims alike, are really learning a lot about the very diverse American-Muslim communities across the country.