Bound in Love

Welcome to an examination of Islam from the perspective of a faithful Catholic trying to understand more fully one of the three global monotheistic faith traditions that share a common ancestor in the biblical figure of Abraham. We are going to use at least three sources so that we get different perspectives on this important historical and cultural and religious phenomenon. One source will be the — for lack of a better term — official history and description of the Muslim faith. So this will be what you would find on Wikipedia or from a well-known leading scholar like Bernard Lewis, who was a professor of the Middle East at Princeton University for many many years. Another source we will look at is a book written by Robert Spencer, and the book’s title is “Did Mohammed exist?” Mr. Spencer’s approach is to apply the same dispassionate inquiry and analysis of the Islamic faith tradition that has been applied to the Jewish and Christian faith traditions. Another source will be a book by Raymond Ibrahim, and his book is called “Sword and Scimitar.” He chose eight battles over the centuries between the forces of Islam and their Christian opponents to give us a sense of what each side said about the other prior to and after a major battle. These two alternate sources come to conclusions that do not square with the official presentation by the leading scholars and analysts on the subject. But at least after this you will have a balanced view of the topic.

I declaim any scholarly ability in this area. All I am doing is sharing with you what I have found and read. I do think it is important for us as Catholics to understand the limits of mutual respect and peace with followers of Islam. Our Christian duty is always to love our neighbor, but we are not obliged to deceive ourselves about our neighbor’s love for us. You will see a repeated theme — especially in Abraham’s book — of a desire for conquest rather than for peace on the part of the Muslim leaders through the centuries. Perhaps that has changed; perhaps it has not.

So let us begin.