Ramadan Night 20

Tell those who believe,
To forgive those who
Do not hope

For the Days of Allah;

It is for Him to recompense
(For good or ill) each people
According to what
They have earned.
S.45 A.14

 I particularly like the first three lines of this verse, as they contradict the stereotype of Muslims so many westerners seem to have.  I constantly hear about the intolerance of Islam, in the media and in my day to day conversations.  I resist the urge to remind them of the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, and other religious campaigns for the simple reason that they are not similar.  When we do try to point out those issues in other religions, we are admitting that our faith is intolerant by inclusion.  I just don't think that is the case.

As a Peace Corps volunteer in Yemen, I lived in a very remote village that had little prolonged contact with westerners.  Once they got accustomed to my presence, I had many conversations about faith with the villagers.  Of course they told me about Islam, and they questioned me about my beliefs.  As far as  their efforts to proselytize me, all I ever received was a warm invitation to consider the faith, with a healthy amount of respect for mine.  The main issue for many of them was that I had a faith, any faith.  I did feel that if I had been an atheist, they would not have been so tolerant though.

Rarely have I ever had a Muslim approach me aggressively about converting to Islam, but I have had the experience with more than a few Christian groups.  The only people that ever told me I was going to hell were a few fundamentalist Christians and a Catholic priest or two.  Prior to my conversion, my typical interaction with a Muslim went something like this:  I would be greeted warmly, we would chat, if the subject of religion came up they would ask me respectively about my beliefs, and if, and only if, I showed interest in Islam, they would light up genuinely and share their faith.  That has been my experience.