Monday Moanin’: We must avoid bearing false witness against Muslims

(From the blog of Mister Journalism: Reading, Sharing, Discussing, Learning)

By Jeff Salisbury https://misterjournalism.wordpress.com/

​​The Ten Commandments (from Exodus Chapter 20)
…15″You shall not steal. 16″You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17″You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Cross References:
Matthew 19:18
“Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony,
Luke 3:14
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely — be content with your pay.”
Exodus 23:1
“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.
Exodus 23:7
Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
Leviticus 19:11
“‘Do not steal. “‘Do not lie. “‘Do not deceive one another.
Leviticus 19:18
“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Deuteronomy 5:20
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Proverbs 25:18
Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.

Three false assumptions about Muslims in the Age of ISIS

Posted on https://sojo.net/ – By Todd Green

In the aftermath of the Brussels and Pakistan attacks, we once again find ourselves in a heightened climate of panic and anxiety. The widespread fears emanating from these attacks, while understandable, nonetheless can get the best of us, tempting us to buy into deceitful propaganda that views all Muslims as enemies.

The Christian tradition calls its followers not to bear false witness. So how do we live out this calling? What does it mean not to bear false witness against Muslims in the age of ISIS?

Here are three false assumptions, if not outright lies, often repeated about Muslims and terrorism, along with some facts that can help us have more honest conversations about our Muslim neighbors and about the violence we encounter in western nations:

  1. Muslims do not condemn ISIS or terrorism.
  2. Muslims are more prone to violence than Christians and non-Muslims.
  3. Muslims must be subject to surveillance and registration if we are to eliminate terrorism.

See more here about how these are examples of FALSE WITNESS: https://sojo.net/articles/3-false-assumptions-about-muslims-age-isis#sthash.vZV9ah1j.dpuf

We cannot give in to propaganda and falsehoods that paint Muslims as particularly prone to violence. Remember that ISIS wants Islamophobia. ISIS wants the non-Muslim majority to turn on Muslims, to discriminate against them, to treat them as enemies.

Islamophobia is key to ISIS’s recruiting efforts.

We must maintain our resolve to tell truths about our Muslim neighbors, about ourselves, and about the violence that we encounter in the West. These are the truths that will help us understand and defeat ISIS. These are the truths that will set us free.

mister journalism2About the blogger:

Todd Green (@toddhgreen) author of The Fear of Islam: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West (Fortress Press, 2015), is Associate Professor of Religion at Luther College.

…until next time, keep reading, sharing, discussing, learning.

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