Taking Muslims out of the Toy box
by: Stefanie Parsons
She was the most mature and focused person I knew in high school. I looked up to her in Key Club as she was our student leader in our senior year. She had pictures of Boys II Men in her locker and was one of the first of us to get her own car, which her dad fixed up for her. I always wanted to be like her ever since we were in grade 4 when she would wear her long black hair tied up with a rainbow of colourful elastics.
That beautiful hair was covered in a tight head scarf during high school but it never really caused me to think about the differences between my friend and me. I knew she was a Muslim and she knew I was a Christian, that fact never complicated our friendship. I never shared my faith with her probably because I was not a strong Christian in high school and I didn’t want to make myself stand out for fear of rejection by anyone.
I was reminded of my friend during this past Missions Week here at EBC. Lisa Keller was the first guest speaker in Chapel on Monday, October 6 and the title of her message surprised me: “When there’s a Muslim in your toy box”.
As the Executive Assistant for Arab World Ministries
“We treat Muslims like toys,” she said. “We analyze them but have no real relationship with them. We play with them and put them away.”
She encouraged us to pursue relationships with Muslims around us in our communities, saying that many Muslims today are questioning their faith and looking for a deeper connection to the divine.
Irshad Manji is one such Muslim. The outspoken Canadian author of The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith, admits on her website
“There needs to be ‘feeders’ to administer the living water and give the bread of life (to these Muslims),” said Keller.
While listening to Lisa talk, I had to admit to myself that I often intellectualized the guilt away for not sharing my faith with my friend in high school. I realized that my friend was more passionate about her faith than I was about mine; I thought that I was an inadequate example of a Christian.
I currently have no friends who are of the Muslim faith, but with the encouragement of Lisa, I’m going to consciously make the effort to get to know at least one person who is a Muslim and I challenge my fellow EBC students to do the same.
We don’t need to look very far, so take these suggestions and pray for your future Muslim friend!
- Shop at Muslim stores and make friends with the owners
- Listen to the news with compassion and grieve for those in Iraq who are suffering.
- Visit Muslim student groups on local university campuses:
UofW Muslim Student Association
McMaster Muslim Student Association
- Attend multi-cultural festivals and visit mosques during their celebration activities
- Volunteer with programs that help new immigrants to Canada by teaching them English, etc.
She was the most mature and focused person I knew in high school. I looked up to her in Key Club as she was our student leader in our senior year. She had pictures of Boys II Men in her locker and was one of the first of us to get her own car, which her dad fixed up for her. I always wanted to be like her ever since we were in grade 4 when she would wear her long black hair tied up with a rainbow of colourful elastics.
That beautiful hair was covered in a tight head scarf during high school but it never really caused me to think about the differences between my friend and me. I knew she was a Muslim and she knew I was a Christian, that fact never complicated our friendship. I never shared my faith with her probably because I was not a strong Christian in high school and I didn’t want to make myself stand out for fear of rejection by anyone.
I was reminded of my friend during this past Missions Week here at EBC. Lisa Keller was the first guest speaker in Chapel on Monday, October 6 and the title of her message surprised me: “When there’s a Muslim in your toy box”.
As the Executive Assistant for Arab World Ministries
“We treat Muslims like toys,” she said. “We analyze them but have no real relationship with them. We play with them and put them away.”
She encouraged us to pursue relationships with Muslims around us in our communities, saying that many Muslims today are questioning their faith and looking for a deeper connection to the divine.
Irshad Manji is one such Muslim. The outspoken Canadian author of The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith, admits on her website
“There needs to be ‘feeders’ to administer the living water and give the bread of life (to these Muslims),” said Keller.
While listening to Lisa talk, I had to admit to myself that I often intellectualized the guilt away for not sharing my faith with my friend in high school. I realized that my friend was more passionate about her faith than I was about mine; I thought that I was an inadequate example of a Christian.
I currently have no friends who are of the Muslim faith, but with the encouragement of Lisa, I’m going to consciously make the effort to get to know at least one person who is a Muslim and I challenge my fellow EBC students to do the same.
We don’t need to look very far, so take these suggestions and pray for your future Muslim friend!
- Shop at Muslim stores and make friends with the owners
- Listen to the news with compassion and grieve for those in Iraq who are suffering.
- Visit Muslim student groups on local university campuses:
UofW Muslim Student Association
McMaster Muslim Student Association
- Attend multi-cultural festivals and visit mosques during their celebration activities
- Volunteer with programs that help new immigrants to Canada by teaching them English, etc.
posted by Voice Editorial Staff at
3:40 PM
