Article February 24, 2014 Issue

Seeing our neighbors spiritually

Barton Buckner

During the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein, I served in the United States Army in Iraq, and when my US National Guard infantry unit was deployed in 2003, I fully expected to return. During that time, I began to read the Quran to better understand how Muslims think. Fast forward to 2010: I was in an Arabic language program in the United States and met several men who were very anti-American and aggressive about their Islamic faith.

The two years or so that I was around them gave me a helpful perspective because many of the other Muslim men I was studying with were not impressed by such narrow-mindedness. When these extremists became too aggressive in their statements about politics or religious issues, the other men would tell them to cool down. From what I could tell, those who espoused these views marginalized themselves. Being exposed to this more balanced perspective helped me to overcome negative feelings I had long shared with many Americans about Muslims.

More and more though, as a Christian Scientist, I wished to mentally embrace my Muslim neighbors and recognize their true nature as the children of God—what I call “Love made visible.” I went to Amman, Jordan, with two goals: Beyond practicing the Arabic language, I also wanted to prove to myself that Love rules and crosses all boundaries. As I spiritualized my thinking, I became certain I would see proof of that spiritual harmony in this place where Islam was dominant.

About the author

Barton Buckner currently resides in the United States. He has an MBA in International Management and an MA in National Security Studies. He also is devoting more and more time to praying for his community and the world.

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