What pops into the mind of the average American if you ask him or her about Muslims? Most would say something like this: “Muslims are terrorists,” “I'm afraid of Muslims; they want to take over our country,” or “I'm suspicious of Muslims.”

This story comes from one of our newest Peace Catalyst staff members, Jaime Harris, who has been living and making peace in Indonesia for 20 years through education, serving the poor, organizing interfaith events, and more.

The alienation between many Americans and Muslims world-wide is based primarily on fear and not facts. American mainstream media, and all too often Christians, view Muslims—all Muslims—as evil extremists who want to do us harm. Muslims equal “security threats” in the eyes of many people.

Peace Catalyst President Rick Love spoke at this year's Christ at the Checkpoint conference in Bethlehem, and you can now watch the video of his talk. It's about 30 minutes long but worth watching to better understand the situation in Israel/Palestine. Enjoy!

In recent years, I have been accumulating a list of key principles I am learning from Jesus about loving others practically. These are core values that Jesus modeled and taught, and they are not optional for those who would follow the Messiah and wage peace in a broken world.

Are you fed up with hate speech, inflammatory rhetoric, and uncivil discourse in politics and social media? We in Peace Catalyst International are… so we are beginning the Waging Peace Campaign!

When I told my Jesus-following friends I would be speaking in a mosque, testifying to Jesus’ work in my life and how He motivates me to stand against discrimination, hate crimes and oppression, I was met with suspicion and confusion. With Islamophobia on the rise, countering the dehumanization of Muslims is an unpopular stance, but it is the right one. 

What's one thing I can do this week to imitate Jesus' attitude toward me, proactively and creatively loving and blessing all kinds of people - even my enemies?

Don’t believe all the negative press about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Seeds of peace are being sown by both Israelis and Palestinians in this entrenched conflict.