The names Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun would not mean much to American evangelicals because they are not, well . . . . Americans. So the fact that yesterday these dear Indonesian sisters in Christ were given three-year prison sentences for their ministry for Him gets little attention by the evangelical community. Thankfully, this type of information is available on web sites such as Compass Direct.
These ladies ran a Sunday school program that was so popular that Muslim children wanted to attend. The program was operated in accordance with Indonesian laws, and Muslim children were required to get permission from their parents. In fact, some of the parents were photographed with their children at the Sunday school facility. Nonetheless, the women were found guilty under the “Child Protection Act of 2002,” which forbids “deception, lies or enticement,” this despite the fact that none of the children converted to Christianity. None of the parents who authorized their children to attend the school would testify on behalf of these ladies.
This perversion of justice no doubt was influenced by the mobs outside of the courtroom threatening to kill the defendants, witnesses, and judges, if the women were found innocent. Judges were instructed that their own blood would be shed if the women were not found guilty. On the day of sentencing, the mob brought a casket that was to be used for the defendants in the event that they were found innocent. Police were required to prevent the mob from killing these women.
Who knows what awaits these women in an Indonesian prison. One fears inhumanities of all sorts, and they would not be the first Christian inmates of Muslim prisons to be murdered for their faith. Most of all, these mothers are heartbroken at the prospect of being separated from their children, ranging in age from six to 19.
All this exposes the dishonesty in framing of Islam as a religion of peace. I use the word dishonesty advisedly. This is not a matter of misunderstanding. It represents an intentional ignoring of the facts and misrepresentation of the situation.
Several factors demonstrate the failure of Islam as a religion of peace and justice. The standard defense for Islam is that these inhumanities and injustices are perpetrated by the radical element and do not represent the position of mainstream Islam. Even for a moment conceding that point, it raises the question of why Islam produces so many radicals. How does this religion of peace find so many volunteers willing to blow themselves to smithereens in order to gain the privilege of blowing innocent men, women, and children to smithereens?
But back to the argument that all the hatred and injustice is attributed to a radical fringe, this is a hard position to support. For example, if that were true, how do we explain the recent election of a radical Islamic government in Iran? That outcome conveys that the general Islamic public is favorable toward radical Islam. After 9/11, was it only radical Palestinians dancing in the streets?
Equally as troubling is the silence on the part of the Muslim community regarding the atrocities of these radicals? I still recall the national worship service televised following 9/11. I waited in vain for the participating Muslim cleric to express his abhorrence of what had been done—to distance himself from the “radical element” that had perpetrated such atrocities. The deafening silence has become the norm for the Islamic community. I’m sure that some Muslim somewhere has expressed repugnance, but any such voices represent a very tiny minority.
One might try to give mainstream Islam a pass because of threats to those who would oppose terrorists. However, this would be saying that Islam fails to instill the courage of conviction. It seems to instill plenty of that for inflicting hatred. The fact that it lacks the capacity to instill in corresponding courage to stand for truth and love is telling.
Beyond that, if the Muslim community would rise up as a whole in its condemnation of the “radical fringe,” this would make it difficult for radicals to respond, and it would serve to marginalize them. However, the fact is that Islam has not produced this broad brushed indignation toward evil.
The multiculturalists would have us believe that all religions are the same. The message they really want to convey is that there is nothing special about Christianity. One consistent position embraced by liberals that underlies their entire philosophical position is a hatred toward Jesus Christ and all who would represent Him.
Oh, how they love to point back to the Crusades to make the case that we are actually worse than the Muslims. Usually, to make their point, they misrepresent the history and theology of that era. Nonetheless, there is a certain comfort to their tacit confession that they must go back eight hundred years to make a case against us. If they were honest, they would only have to go back as far as yesterday and the perversion of justice perpetrated against those three Indonesian women to make a case against Islam.
How do Christianity and Islam stack up? No comparison.