The Purpose Driven Mosque -- By: Ergun Mehmet Caner

Journal: Christian Apologetics Journal
Volume: CAJ 04:2 (Fall 2005)
Article: The Purpose Driven Mosque
Author: Ergun Mehmet Caner


The Purpose Driven Mosque

Ergun Mehmet Caner

On Sunday, September 16, 2001, the Islamic Society of Boston issued an open invitation to the Islamic Center of Cambridge, located between Harvard and MIT. We did not expect more than 100 people, but to our surprise more than 1,000 people came, among them the neighbors, the university lecturers, members of the clergy, and even the leaders of the priests from the nearby churches, who invited us to speak on Islam. All expressed solidarity with Muslims.. .. Of all the questions, not a single one attacked me; on the contrary, we saw [the people’s] eyes filling with tears when they heard about Islam and its sublime principles. .. That same day, I was invited again to participate in a meeting in the church, and again I saw the same things. On Thursday, a delegation of 300 students and lecturers from Harvard visited the center of the Islamic Society of Boston, accompanied by the American Ambassador to Vienna. They sat on the floor of the mosque, which was filled to capacity. We explained to them the precepts of Islam, and defended it from any suspicions [promulgated in the media]. I again read to them from the verses of Allah, and their eyes filled with tears. The audience was moved, and many asked to participate in the weekly lessons for non-Muslims held by the

Islamic Center.1

It has become the theological equivalent of the “Stockholm Syndrome.” Major Islamic voices call for the death of Americans, bomb buildings, kill thousands of innocents, continuously bombard the airwaves with calls for the end of western civilization, and the media proclaim Islam a peaceful and loving religion that is simply misunderstood.

The term “Stockholm Syndrome” was coined in 1973, after a bank robbery in Norrmalmstorg, Sweden. Bank robbers in the city held hostages for six days, between August 23 and 28, and when they were released, the victims had come to sympathize with their captors. In fact, they defended the criminals as “misunderstood.”2

Consider the stream of redaction on television, radio, and in print. From respected journalists such as the late Peter Jennings to Dan Rather, the Muslim world has been portrayed as one of peace and serenity, with a strong moral base and ethical government. Indeed, in October of 2005, BBC News announced that Sir David Frost, the esteemed British journalist, was joining the Al-Jazeera network.3

Even in the educational and academic world, we are finding more and more commiseration with this “politically correct” form of Isla...

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