So much of late has been written about the warming of relations between Israel and its Gulf neighbors. While I have long advocated this is an important pathway to Middle East peace, a recent study has pointed out another thoroughfare that must be cleared if we are to achieve this end.
According to the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding’s new poll on Evangelical Christian-Muslim relations in the US, there are pronounced differences and mutual misunderstandings between the two faith communities but it also revealed the potential of Evangelicals to be game-changers in achieving rapprochement between Israel and the Muslim world.
For example, the survey asked, “If a Muslim nation were to engage in cooperation with Israel (developing bilateral, strategic and economic relations, have an active Jewish community, supply oil to Israel) how would you feel toward that Muslim nation?” An overwhelming 82 percent of Evangelical respondents said they would feel either “very favorable or somewhat favorable to such a nation.” Intriguingly, 72% of Muslims also affirmed that position – a much more positive attitude toward the Jewish state than evinced in recent misguided remarks about the Jewish State by Muslim Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
In fact, 76% of Evangelical respondents said knowing that a particular Muslim nation is moving to strengthen ties with Israel would make them more optimistic about their overall assessment of US relations with the Muslim world (70% of US Muslims had a similar assessment). Interestingly, Evangelicals tend to perceive lower levels of support for Israel among Muslim nations than is actually the case; with nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Azerbaijan being perceived respectively by only 19, 14, 13 and 12% of Evangelical respondents as being supportive of Israel. This shows there is potential for consequential opinion change if Evangelical opinion leaders visit these countries.
In other words, the greatest opportunity to improve negative Evangelical perceptions of Muslims and Islam is to expose Evangelical opinion leaders to a story few of them have yet internalized; namely, that major Muslim nations are moving to end their conflict with Israel, and ally with the Jewish State against the virulent pan-Islamist extremism being spearheaded by Iran. Once the Evangelical community comprehends that reality, it will strongly endorse those efforts and feel decidedly less suspicious of Muslims in general.
According to the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding’s new poll on Evangelical Christian-Muslim relations in the US, there are pronounced differences and mutual misunderstandings between the two faith communities but it also revealed the potential of Evangelicals to be game-changers in achieving rapprochement between Israel and the Muslim world.
For example, the survey asked, “If a Muslim nation were to engage in cooperation with Israel (developing bilateral, strategic and economic relations, have an active Jewish community, supply oil to Israel) how would you feel toward that Muslim nation?” An overwhelming 82 percent of Evangelical respondents said they would feel either “very favorable or somewhat favorable to such a nation.” Intriguingly, 72% of Muslims also affirmed that position – a much more positive attitude toward the Jewish state than evinced in recent misguided remarks about the Jewish State by Muslim Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
In fact, 76% of Evangelical respondents said knowing that a particular Muslim nation is moving to strengthen ties with Israel would make them more optimistic about their overall assessment of US relations with the Muslim world (70% of US Muslims had a similar assessment). Interestingly, Evangelicals tend to perceive lower levels of support for Israel among Muslim nations than is actually the case; with nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Azerbaijan being perceived respectively by only 19, 14, 13 and 12% of Evangelical respondents as being supportive of Israel. This shows there is potential for consequential opinion change if Evangelical opinion leaders visit these countries.
In other words, the greatest opportunity to improve negative Evangelical perceptions of Muslims and Islam is to expose Evangelical opinion leaders to a story few of them have yet internalized; namely, that major Muslim nations are moving to end their conflict with Israel, and ally with the Jewish State against the virulent pan-Islamist extremism being spearheaded by Iran. Once the Evangelical community comprehends that reality, it will strongly endorse those efforts and feel decidedly less suspicious of Muslims in general.
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