Shane Bennett

Questions are the best, aren’t they? Sometimes I think I like them better than answers. My early, post-college training largely had to do with asking good questions in really cool places. Even today, I love asking questions and am impressed when people are good at it. 

Today I’ve got a question for you and a recommendation. 

If you could sit down over coffee or tea with a chill, smart, English-speaking Muslim from anywhere in the world, where would you want them to be from and what are some of the questions you liked to ask?

For me today, I’d like to chat with a Persian Muslim from Isfahan. I’d ask how things were going and if he thought his life might be better if the Clerics were no longer running the show. 

If you’re intrigued by the question, please share with the rest of the tribe 

Now, here’s the recommendation: 

My friend James White recently released a charming, little book called “Answering 15 Honest Questions from Muslims.” As I write, it’s free for Kindle Unlimited and only 99 cents to buy on Kindle. 

Here are some of the questions: 

1. How can Isa be the Son of Allah?
2. How can Allah condescend to take on human form?
3. Have the Tawrat, Zabur and Injil been corrupted and changed so that we do not have the original Holy Book?
4. Do Christians worship three gods (Allah, Isa & Miriam)?
6. Does eating pork and drinking wine make Christians unclean?

James has lived among Muslims forever and probably forgotten more about them than I’ll ever know. Here’s an idea: Grab the Kindle version for $.99 and see if you like it. If you do, the paperback might be a good Christmas gift for a Muslim friend or a blessing for the Muslims you invite over for Thanksgiving! 

Who’s your favorite social media influencer? I know, I know, I don’t have one either! 

Well, I didn’t until today! Now I’m really big on a Muslim influencer who lived in the late eighth century and among many other things, introduced a new and improved type of deodorant to Europe. 

Ali Ibn Nafi, better known as Ziryab, (The Blackbird) was born in 789 in Bagdad (or thereabouts). The biographical details may be fuzzy, but his impact on downstream culture was immense. 

Ziryab showed exceptional music chops early on. In fact, it seems that besting his teacher may have led to his high-tailing it west out of Bagdad. His intercontinental journey landed him in Cordoba (now Spain) where he soon became a favorite at open mic night in the court of Abd ar-Rahman II. 

With a royal salary of 200 gold dinars per month (Which I’m guessing was somewhere north of minimum wage.), Ziryab began to expand his influence on several aspects of Andalusian culture: 

Music: He brought the Oud, a Middle Eastern lyre, to Europe. By adding an extra pair of strings, he contributed to the evolution of the guitar and his music helped develop what eventually became Spanish Flamenco music. Further, he started the first music conservatory in Europe, welcoming men and women as students. 

Food: Ziryab also influenced the foodie culture of Cordoba, lifting the lowly asparagus from weed status to delicacy. He advocated crystal drink wear over heavy, metal cups, normalized tablecloths and established the basic pattern of three course meals: soup, entree, and dessert!

Fashion: The Blackbird brought bangs to Europe! He also advocated for seasonal clothing, bright colors for spring, white only in summer, and darker, heavier fabrics and colors for Fall. (He would have adored all things pumpkin spice!)

Hygiene: Ziryab may have been the basic inventor of deodorant! At least he advocated a new approach to combatting body odor along with creating toothpaste that actually tasted good. 

I tell you a bit of Ziryab’s story because he’s an amazing and relatively unknown guy, but also as a reminder of some of the good gifts of God that have come to us through Muslims. He loves them, uses them and desires for them to inherit his kingdom. May it be increasingly so! 

Hey! Want to celebrate with me? This is Muslim Connect #400! Can you believe it? It’s hard for me to. 

Once a week for the past seven and a half years, by God’s grace, a Muslim Connect email has dropped and people like you have read it. 

Some of the Muslim Connect tribe has been here since the beginning, having set their eyes on the very first email, “She’s Not Gonna Blow Up the Walmart.” Give me a shout if you’ve been here since the start. You mean the world to me. 

Others have joined in after we met at a Perspectives class or maybe a church. Some of you may still wonder, “How’d I get on this list anyway?” 

To all of you reading this, thank you very much. As my friend Danny used to say in Jordan, “Shukron jiddah owie owie owie.” Which I’ve always taken to indicate extreme gratefulness. Such is what I feel for you. 

We’ve been through a bit together, haven’t we? Kudos for President Trump. Teddy bears for the young victims of the massive Turkey earthquake. A scolding for President Trump. The Corona virus and its impact on the Muslim world. All that and a faltering foray into YouTube video (I’m currently on hiatus until I get my act together, but I do love it when my kids tell their friends, “My dad’s a YouTuber!”)

Through it all, two questions have driven us: How can we think like God does about Muslims? And, how can we love Muslims like Jesus does? 

Those thoughts? Like the Psalmists says, those thoughts are precious and outnumber the grains of sand. And the love, well, the love is bigger than everything, right? Bigger than the cultural gulfs between us, bigger than all the sin, bigger than misguided wars and priorities.

May the goodness of the Godhead be known more fully in the each of our lives and throughout the Muslim world. 

I’m honored to continue to connect with you. 

It’s innate, isn’t it? This desire to be over others, to dominate; to be known as better, stronger, above. In many young sibling groups the bossiness rolls down the ages like water, pooling frustratingly in the baby! 

Of course, whole peoples do this and whatever people you belong to, there’s probably some guilt there in the near or distant past. God knows how Americans have, and are exercising this desire for good and ill. 

In Islam, a particular form of the domination desire is codified in the Quran in Sura 9:29, “Fight those who do not believe in Allah nor in the Last Day, and do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and do not practice the religion of truth, of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the jizya readily and are disgraced.”

The practice is called dhimmitude (those on whom it is practiced are called dhimmi) and it answers the tricky question of what to do with Jews and Christians who refuse to convert to Islam when their territory is conquered. As “People of the Book,” they’re God’s friends, so you probably shouldn’t kill them! Instead they are charged a special tax called jizya, but relieved of paying the religious tithe, zakat and fighting in wars. 

That might be a fair trade, but for the addition of “are disgraced.” In both historic and current application, Jews and Christians are treated as second class citizens.

Some of you know what it’s like to be treated as second class citizens. The closest I’ve come was being a non-athlete in high school. If the feelings I remember are any indication, the real thing really sucks. I’m sorry for whatever way I’ve contributed to that reality for you. 

So how might we respond to this dhimmitude reality?

1. We pray for Jews and Christians for whom this is life. We ask God for justice to prevail and for perseverance, grace and kingdom of God confidence for all who follow Jesus in challenging situations. And 2. We do our best not to participate in or allow any amateur dhimmitude where we live. We do our best to treat Muslims, and all others, as the creations of a loving God that they are, bearing his image and made for his glory. 

Welcome to the weekend! Got anything fun planned? Maybe a date with your sweetie?Maybe a movie? Our family watched a great one recently called The Boys in the Boat about a scrappy group of Depression-era, West Coast college students who defeated the Ivy League elites, the Nazis, as well as their own demons to win Olympic gold in Eight Man Crew. 

The dramatic tension of the film centers mostly around social differences. “We’re poor, but fiercely determined,” vs. “We’re rich and somewhat coddled,” and “We’re planning to capture the world for the Reich!” Although the ultimate conclusion was foregone, the racing suspense was super fun. 

Solid cinema should show us what is true about its characters and setting. I suspect, however, I often enjoy movies because they say and show what I already believe about stuff. 

I read recently about the inaugural Muslim International Film Festival in London. “Championing the narratives of international Muslim filmmakers and highlighting their compelling stories, MIFF. . . . has a mission to celebrate and amplify the diverse voices that explore the rich tapestry of Muslim experiences via the medium of film.”

If you’ve got a little weekend free time, go here and enjoy some of the trailers for the films shown at the festival. 

Filmmaker Warda Mohamed, whose short film Muna screened at the festival, said, “We need to have access to films that challenge stereotypes and reaffirm the norm of Muslim stories.”

That’s the bottom line, isn’t it? All of our brains harbor stereotypes of various people. Muslims, Hindus, Canadians, Mexicans, Republicans, Democrats, a variety of stripes of Christians. We often need Jesus to drop into the comments and say, “You don’t like those guys? That’s weird! I like them a lot. And, no offense, I know ‘em a lot better than you do!”

Cheeky Weekend Challenge: Watch a movie in which the good guys don’t look like you! I’d love to see your recommendations. 

The Berlin State Assembly recently passed a measure to outlaw the use of an inverted red triangle. Maybe you’re aware of this. For me, so much of the world still causes me to say, “I had no idea!” 

Of course the red triangle is used to sell all sorts of products from the satisfying Bass Ale to questionable Guess jeans. Historically, Nazis used a red triangle patch to identify political prisoners, communists in particular. Following WW II, it became a symbol of having defied and survived concentration camps. 

In recent months, it’s gone from a Hamas military targeting tool to a broadly used symbol of support for Palestinians. 

As the German interior ministry ponders a nationwide ban, I’m wondering about the nature of symbols, their evolution, their intended and unintended consequences. 

Certainly no one person gets to determine what a symbol means, but I want a red triangle to signal my wish that no more babies, moms, journalists and other non-combatants have to die in Gaza. I don’t want it to mean hating Jews or targeting Jews. I’m convinced that desiring the former things does not automatically imply the latter. I don’t, in fact, wish ill on any Jews. 

Further, I want a red triangle by my name to encompass the conviction that, yes, the Jews of Israel have a right to defend themselves. But at the same time, the Arabs living in Gaza and the West Bank do not merit extinction. Before they are anyone’s enemies, they are God’s people, designed for his glory.

And here’s the connection that has gutted me today: I’m a tax-paying citizen of the country who has, more than any other, supplied the bombs and bullets to wipe those people off the planet. 

Somewhere right now, an American businessman is wrapping up a fine vacation on a very fine boat that was purchased with the revenue of weapons sold to Israel. Pardon me if I’m tempted to spray paint a red triangle on his hull. 

PS: I said above that I wish ill on no Jew. I do, however, wish Benjamin Netanyahu would lose his role as Israeli prime minister and he’d likely see that as a set back. 

Does death feel nearby for you today? If you’re dealing with a recent or impending death, whether a plant, a puppy or a grandparent, I’m sorry. Death can be brutal. And if it’s your own: Ah, may God give you sense of his nearness. 

When I’m not in the midst of it, I find it fascinating how we deal with death and the dead. We follow the blend of rules and customs, faith and culture we’ve generally agreed on. How does that compare to Muslims around us?

How Muslims deal with death and the dead

• The customs and rituals of death for Muslims tend to be handled more by family and community than by professionals, as they are for many of us.
• Ghusl Mayyit, the ritual cleaning and shrouding of a dead body, is usually carried out by family members who are the same sex as the person who has died. It involves washing. . . in a specific way while maintaining privacy and dignity.
• Ideally, the shrouded body is placed directly in the earth. While most U.S. states do not require a casket or vault, many cemeteries do, making the direct burial value a challenge to keep. Cremation is not endorsed.
• Given that bodies are not embalmed, burial is desired within 24 hours of death.
• While customs vary widely, excessive mourning is generally frowned upon. Because Islamic convictions hold that the end of life on Earth is not the end, wailing and crying can be seen as a lack of faith. 

My friend is leading a memorial service tomorrow. He’ll lean heavily on Paul’s words in I Thess. 4, reminding the mourners that in Jesus, we do “not grieve as others do who have no hope.” 

As a Muslim looks at the grave, there is hope, but it is tenuous. In some schools of thought the grave grows pleasant and comfortable for those who’ve lived well, but increasingly painful and constricting for those who failed to do so. 

Yeah, death is brutal. 

For much of the top half of the planet, these present days mark the return to school. Kids from California to Kamchatka bid a fond adieu to fun, freedom and non-school food. 

They trade the joys of summer for the challenges of school, including sometimes being and other times welcoming new kids. 

Some of those new kids in some of those schools will be Muslim. And some of those will have all of the standard new kid vibes plus they’ll be wearing a hijab or bearing a very non-Jaden/Braden/Caden name. 

If you’re reading this as it drops and your nearby school starts on Monday like it does for my tribe, you’ve got a couple of days to maybe make a difference. If kids owe you respect because you’re way older than them, attention because you’re their teacher or maybe money because you feed and house them, gather them around you. (An open bag of Sour Patch Kids is great bait for my munchkins.) 

Tell them it’s possible there will be a new student or two at their school who is Muslim. You may mention Muslims follow a different faith, but we have some things in common. Share that some students will be weirded out by Muslim kids, but you’d like them to remember this: 

Muslim kids are lit! (They’ll know “lit” is a good thing, even it it isn’t part of your everyday vocabulary.) Proceed to work the acronym: 

L: Loved by God. 

I: Insecure. Of course not all are, but since most kids are insecure the first few days of school, the likelihood is high! Plus the extra stuff.

T: Terrific. You don’t need to be afraid of them. In fact, they might become a really good friend for you and you for them. 

If it’s in your authority to do so, tell them you’ll give them a whole bag of Sour Patch Kids if they set up a play date in the first week of school! 

Feel free to pass this idea along. Cut and paste in your bulletin or post it on the church Facebook page. 

It’s a tough time to be a Christian, love Jesus and love Muslims. 

There’s pressure to support Israel without question, regardless of its actions. There’s pressure to commit to (almost?) any ends in opposition to abortion and immigration. And if you dip into social media, the algorithms will quickly turn the apparent fight up to 11! 

If it’s tough for you, but you’re trying today, thank you. Hang in there. Here are three things that help me: 

1. Throw a ball for a dog. 
2. Marinate in Psalms that admit things are a mess, but God’s got it. Psalm 16, 18 and the ever-popular 46 are good starters. 
3. Ask good and thoughtful questions; of yourself, God and others. 

I don’t know how “good and thoughtful” a question this is, but I’m wondering if Muslims in the U.S. will rally to Kamala Harris. 

Arab-Americans provided instrumental support to President Biden in his push to the White House. His policies on the war in Gaza have now alienated many, calling into question the impact their voices will have on the upcoming election. 

Now they’re waiting to see what stance Harris will take. Will she continue the current party line relative to Israel or will she make an effort to differentiate from her boss’s approach? 

This might be a good question to sensitively pose to a Muslim friend. Let’s keep aware though that many Muslims will have a more deeply emotional connection to the conflict than many Christians. For us, it’s more likely a theological question. For them, it could literally be a family issue. 

As we watch this unfold, let’s join together in asking God that the war in Gaza, which daily threatens to expand, would come to a quick and just conclusion.

Ps. 46.10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations;
I am exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.