Mosque Burning and Neighbor Love : The Other Side

On Monday, my local Joplin neighbors witnessed a mosque burning to the ground. Authorities suspect foul play. This is the second time the mosque has been on fire this summer, the first happened on — you guessed it — July 4th. The Joplin Globe featured a picture of Imam Lahmuddin weeping, adding in a sidebar that people of other faiths in Joplin reacted with sorrow and disgust that such a thing would happen in a community that cares so much for one another.

Though there are generous, wonderful people in this community (as seen during and since the tornado), there are also people of great hate and selfishness. Despite those bad eggs, my friends, neighbors and I refuse to neglect our work of hospitality. As someone who tries to follow Jesus, I build and maintain friendship with Muslims. I learn their language instead of insisting that they learn mine. I eat their food and cook them some of my own–hold the bacon.

Why?


Because Jesus said, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Even if Muslims were my enemies (which they are not) they are also my neighbors. They live, like African Americans before them, on the other side of the street, the other side of the tracks, the other side of the state, the other side of this nation, the other side of our world. Neighbor-love involves taking someone from the other side and sharing a meal, offering them the comfort and protection of my home.

That thinking is fixing a community wrecked by disaster in record time, not arson. Jesus taught me to love my neighbors and my enemies. Those commands are the same to me because so often, neighbors and enemies are one in the same. It’s our next-door-neighbors who take the most effort to love. We don’t get to chose our neighbors on the global level and, if we’re living holistic lives, we must refuse to choose them on the local level as well. We must not fence ourselves off from one another–Dearborn, Michigan taught me that. In Dearborn, my Iraqi and Lebanese and Yemene friends all sit on their front porches and share tea late into the evening, watching their children run back and forth across the street without a care. Whatever happened to front-porch America? I’ll tell you what happened. She hides in corners of the empire, waiting to break out in a revolution of neighborly love.

So I will keep loving my Muslim neighbors here in Joplin, building friendships with them just like I do with my Jewish neighbors – I visit their synagogue as often as possible. I may disagree with their politics or theology, but I refuse to respond in violence. In my experience, a conversation over a good bowl of mensef or plate full of matzah fixes more problems than bombs.

To the ignorant man or woman who burned down the mosque where my friends worship: you are my neighbor, my enemy, and I will try to love you in spite of your act of terror.

PS & Update > As proof of the continued neighbor-love of Joplin, people of other faiths organized a benefit for the mosque. If you’d like to go, sign up for the event on Facebook: 

READ NEXT:  Sugar Rations

https://www.facebook.com/events/416571625044618/


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  1. alicethroughthemacrolens

    Bravo to you for saying so.
    Shame on those who brought such misery to so many.

    1. lanceschaubert

      Thanks alice. I’m encouraged that hundreds of people are already signed up for the benefit event and thousands are already invited.

  2. logankstewart

    Amen, friend. Amen.

    1. lanceschaubert

      Thanks, Logan. Got your letter, but haven’t responded quite yet. Been slammed with work which is good and bad. Had to buy a planner to keep it all straight–first time since college.

  3. Marilyn M. Wiggins

    Great stuff Lance. MiMi

    1. lanceschaubert

      thanks.

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Quick note from Lance about this post: when you choose to comment (or share this post with your friends) you help other readers just like you.

How?

Well, see, your comments & sharing whisper a few things to those who come after you:

The first is that this site is a safe place to speak up & stay curious. That it's civil. That discussion is encouraged. That there's no such thing as a stupid question (being a student of Socrates, I really and truly believe this). That talking to one another and growing together is more important than anything we could possibly publish. That the point is growing in virtue and growing together and growing wise. That discovery is invention, deference is originality, that we all can rise together. The only folks I'm going to take comments down from are obvious jerks who argue in bad faith, don't stay curious, or actively make personal attacks. And, frankly, I'd rather we talk here than on some social media farm — I will never show ads and the only thing I'm selling anywhere on the site or my mailing list is just the stuff I make.

You're also helping folks realize that anything you & they build together is far more important than anything you come to me to read. I take the things I write about seriously, but I don't take myself seriously: I play the fool, I hate cults of personality, and I also don't really like being the center of attention (believe it or not). I would much rather folks connect because of an introduction I've made or because they commented with one another back and forth and then build something beautiful together. My favorite contributions have been lifelong business and love partnerships from two people who have forgotten I introduced them. Some of my closest friends NOW I literally met on another blog's comment section fifteen years ago. I would love for that to happen here — let two of you meet and let me fade into the background.

Last, you help me revise. I'm wrong. Often. I'm not embarrassed to admit it or worried about being cancelled or publicly shamed. I make a fool out of myself (that's sort of the point). So as I get feedback, I can say, "I was wrong about that" and set a model for curious, consistent learning, and growing in wisdom. I'm blind to what I don't know and as grows the island of my knowledge so grows the shoreline of my ignorance. It's the recovery of innocence on the far end of experience: a child is in a permanent state of wonder. So are the wise: they aren't afraid of saying, "I don't know. That's new: please teach me." That's my goal, comments help. And I read all reviews: my skin's tough, but that's not license to be needlessly cruel. We teach one another our habits and there's a way to civilly demolish an idea without demolishing another person: just because I personally can take the world's meanest 1-star review doesn't mean we should teach one another how to be crueler on the internet.

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