Soon to be or an exaggeration?
Muslims and Christians alike are speaking out, both negative and positive, about the recent trend and socialization of the two religions, Islam and Christianity. Recently, Christian entities have been allowing traditionally muslim religions to practice in their churches due to construction and/or the overcrowding of Muslim worship areas and it has not been met without criticism. So it made me wonder, is it wrong for one religion to allow another to practice in their worship centers despite different beliefs? Is there such a thing as extending a helping hand too far? Far enough to undermine the very beliefs that the building was founded on?
Most people, of all religions, would say yes. The very point of a congregation building a church or place of worship is to worship the one and only God they believe in more than anything. A church is supposed to be one of the most sacred places to the members so to let another religion worship their Gods in the very house of their one and only God would, understandably, be insulting to most.
From the beginning of all recorded history, people, specifically Muslims and Jews, have been fighting over Israel-the Holy Land. Soldiers and citizens alike have sacrificed and lost their lives over the Holy War or what is better known worldwide as Jihad. The very thought of people practicing Christianity in Muslim temples and vice versa, in any other country but America, would be unimaginable and would never happen.
In the words of Dr. Alex McFarland: “We as the church are called to show love, we're called to help. But to let a building simultaneously be used for the activities of a mosque and also the activities of Jesus Christ, it's just incompatible. And I think it's one more example of political correctness and hyper-tolerance gone awry."
So I ask from a PR standpoint is this incompatible?
How do you explain to your stakeholders that you are allowing another entity practice in the place that they have paid to have built?
Would two opposing PR companies enable each other to practice in the same office? Would Pepsi and Coca-Cola practice in the same building allowing its brand to be blurred, confused and, eventually, be converted into a blurred-purpleversion of Pepsi-Cola?
Based on what I’ve learned up until now in PR there’s no way that would ever happen. Doing that would be the very risk that PR practitioners would advise against and do anything to prevent.
At the end of the day people must always take into consideration the sacrifices people before them have made for them to be in the position they are now in. As we speak, people are now losing their lives over the Holy Land and the right for people to practice the religions they believe in in their places of worship. Respect must be given to those who came before us and sound decisions must be made off of what has happened in the past.
-Alisha Mychele
“Chrislam” - a combination of the two faiths that essentially ignores the big white elephant in the room: the exclusive claims of both Christianity and Islam.
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