Description

Much of what passes as information about Islam is weed-like disinformation rooted in stereotype and watered by fear. In The Jesus Fatwah, Islamic and Christian scholars offer reliable information about what Muslims believe, how they live out their faith, and how we all can be about building relationships across the lines of faith.

Featuring seventeen Islamic and Christian scholars, including:

 

Hans Küng (Islam: Past, Present and Future)
Brian McLaren (Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?)
Eboo Patel (Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim)
Stephen Prothero (God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World–and Why Their Differences Matter)
Feisal Abdul Rauf (What’s Right with Islam Is What’s Right with America)

Excerpts from “The Jesus Fatwah” by Living the Questions from Living the Questions on Vimeo.

 

Themes

Session 1: “Islam 101: In Which We Tell You Some of What You Need to Know About Islam.”

In this episode we look the basic tenants of Islam. We live in an era in which much of what passes as information about Islam is weed-like disinformation rooted in stereotype and watered by fear. We decided to weed out the tares of ignorance by doing what, for Christians, apparently is radical: we spoke to some actual Muslims and to Christian scholars whose intellectual garden-sheds are filled with the tools of fact-based knowledge. The product of these conversations is a harvest of reliable information about what your Muslim neighbors and coworkers believe and about how they live out their faith.

Session 2: “Misconceptions about Islam: In Which We Help You Adjust Your Malarky Filter.”

Again, we took the radical step of getting to know actual Muslims, and in our conversations we asked them to tell us about how American public discourse tends to misrepresent Islam. We are confident that you will like the people you meet as you join in this conversation.

Session 3: “Islam in America: In Which We Introduce You to People Who Love America and Pray Towards Mecca.”

Chief among the popular anti-Muslim stereotypes is the idea that Muslims are plotting to overthrow American society. In fact, most Muslims love the United States. This is true of Muslims living in countries where Islam is the predominate religion, and it is especially is true in the United States, where Muslims, as a demographic, are among the most patriotic American citizens.

Session 4: “Making Connections, Part 1: In Which Non-Muslims Make A Case.”

Session 5: “Making Connections, Part 2: In Which Muslims Have Their Say.”

We asked Non-Muslims and Muslims to talk to us about building relationships across the lines of faith, and while the answers were compatible—and even complimentary—it was interesting to observe the ways in which Muslims and Christians spoke differently about interfaith cooperation. Christians tended take an intellectual approach starting with the mind; Muslims were more likely to approach the issue relationally, starting with the heart.

**Attention International Customers: This product is only available in NTSC format. Please verify that your DVD player can read/play NTSC formatted DVDs prior to ordering. Thank you!

Participant Reader written by the Rev. Ben Daniel, author of The Search for Truth about Islam: A Christian Pastor Separates Fact from Fiction.