The conversation surrounding A Deadly Misunderstanding and the Muslim-Christian divide has been picking up the last few weeks, and we thought it would be great to highlight several bloggers that recently made ADM a focus on their blogs.  Seth McBee is fostering an ongoing conversation over at Contend Earnestly regarding Islam and Christianity and made Mark one of his resources for that conversation, starting with his review of A Deadly Misunderstanding and continuing by featuring several of Mark’s YouTube videos.

“This book will stretch anyone who reads it. There is so much “good” in this book and so much that the reader will realize about their own journey towards truth (if they are honestly trying to learn), that it is well worth the read. If you like where you are currently in your understanding of the world and are enjoying what is portrayed in American media, don’t read this book. But, if you want to see what is actually happening elsewhere, what Muslims actually believe, what the Bible actually says in certain points and desire to be stretched, you need to read this book.”

Seth is also involved with supporting an upcoming Muslim-Christian dialogue event at Harambee Church in Renton, WA on March 27.

Richard Dahlstrom is raincitypastor in Seattle, WA.  He wrote Digesting the “Deadly Misunderstanding” at his blog Fibonnaci Faith:

“The book is a blend of narrative (Mark’s own expanding web of relationships with Islamic leaders, teachers, and scholars), and theology (Mark’s ever expanding discoveries of common beliefs between Christians and Muslims). I won’t reveal those points of common interest because I think you should take the time to read the book. After all, nearly every nation in which our military is involved in conflict has a sizable Muslim presence. Conventional wisdom, even, would tell us that we should know our enemy. Jesus would tell us that we should love our enemy. Mark will tell us that when we begin to study our enemy, we realize that he might not even BE our enemy, that we perhaps share more in common, than we differ.”

Dan Martin of California recommended A Deadly Misunderstanding as a must-read on his blog Nailing it to the Door…:

“I want to be clear: this is no milquetoast universalist pablum. Siljander is NOT claiming some notion of all roads leading to God. What he’s doing is far more careful and well-thought than that. He is demonstrating the frequency with which fundamental–often violent–differences between the Abrahamic faiths are based on ignorance: not only ignorance of the “other’s” faith, but all too often ignorance of the actual text and context of our own faith and its creeds. In this, he’s coming to a conclusion a Muslim roommate and I (with far less scholarship) came to more than 20 years ago: if both of us and our brothers merely were careful to follow what OUR OWN SCRIPTURES actually said, we’d find a lot of common ground, and at the very least, we couldn’t fight each other.”

All of these reviews kicked off a flurry of comments at their respective blog pages.  We really appreciate the level of dialogue and critique that these bloggers are nurturing.  These issues run deep and as Seth mentioned, can be difficult to articulate without being misunderstood, “The written word can be misleading and very difficult to convey at times, especially on such touchy subjects as this.” Mark found that this was especially true when attempting to write a book appropriately encouraging and challenging for both a Muslim and Christian audience.  We’re happy to have bloggers who are seeing the “heart” of the issue and willing to discuss and dialogue on this new approach for bridge building.  This only helps all of us to grow.  Thank you.

And from the other side of the world, we are excited to see that Salim Al-Hasso has created a page on his website dedicated to sharing about the work Mark is doing.  Salim saw Mark on Al Jazeera at home in Iraq and was moved to make information on his work more widely available.  He has gathered an impressive resource page by linking to one Al Jazeera video and various reviews of A Deadly Misunderstanding.

The title of Martin Sieff’s review in today’s Washington Times, “From enmity to friendship” encapsulates the core message Mark shares in ADM.  Focusing on the timeliness of this book in an era that “hinge[s] to an unprecedented degree” on the discord between Muslim and Christian, Sieff highlights the extraordinary support the book has received from both political and religious leaders, and the strong ties that Mark has in both spheres of influence.  Acknowleding Mark’s unorthodox approach to conflict resolution, Sieff goes on to state “Yet Mr. Siljander is no pie-in-the-sky impractical dreamer. As a veteran politician, he understands the nature and danger of the extreme Islamist fundamentalist challenge exceptionally clearly, and his insights on the problem are some of the clearest and most cogent that have yet been published.” Click here for more.

Martin Sieff is defense industry editor for United Press International. He has been nominated three times for the Pultizer Prize for international reporting. His latest book is “The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East.”

Islam is a religion of violence

The Qur’an preaches the destruction of all non–Muslims

The Qur’an and Islam are of the devil, as godless as the great evil of communism

Islam and Christianity are contradictory at their core

Eastern Islamic and Western Judeo–Christian cultures are irretrievably opposed to one another

The only solution is conversion of “them”

“Mark D. Siljander was a congressman, a Christian, and necessarily a Muslim–hater…or so he thought. His book describes his transformation as he discovers the true teachings of Islam and Christianity. Initially, his understanding of Islam included the beliefs stated above…”  click here to read more from an Arabic student in Yemen, Paul W. Reid’s review of A Deadly Misunderstanding

Mark was glad to recently meet Amy Branham through a mutual friend.  Through a few initial discussions and after reading A Deadly Misunderstanding, she published this review on her blog, Amy’s Head:

“This book took me on an emotional journey that I really had to struggle with. After reading the first chapter or two of this book, I did not want to go any further. It wasn’t because I objected to what the author was learning and sharing in his story. It was because of where he came from that made me feel very vehemently opposed to hearing what he had to say. Here was an evangelical Christian Republican Congressman who had been known in Washington D.C. as one of the biggest Jesus freaks ever to walk the halls of Congress! One who, under normal circumstances and, much more so today, wouldn’t give me, one of those left-wing liberals, the time of day!”  Read more…

EDIT: Mark was appointed with Amy to the Veteran’s Today website editorial board, focusing on politics and Middle East affairs.  Veteran’s Today “aspires to unite the U.S. Veterans Community by providing an empowering place whereby it can gather, commune, and lift up one another in the service of each other.”

Harvey McKinnon’s generous review of A Deadly Misunderstanding highlights the personal transformation Mark has made over the last decades as he allowed his paradigms to shift when needed.  Thanks Harvey for articulating your response and sharing the joy we all experience when yet another of our stereotypes is dashed to the ground.. to our relief.

“Decades ago, Mark Siljander and I probably would’ve disagreed on virtually everything.  In fact the Mark Siljander of 2009 would probably disagree with many of the beliefs that he held back then as well.  That’s what makes Mark’s transformation so profound, amazing and inspiring.

Many times while reading this book, I got choked up with the stories in courage of his journey.  His travel from ultraconservative evangelical Christian to a major peacemaker makes this one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read.

You’ve probably heard the expression “Blessed are the peacemakers” – well, Mark should be blessed for the hopeful work he’s done, and his book deserves a truly wide readership.”  more

Incidentally, Harvey is the author of his own book, The Power of Giving.  We haven’t had a chance to read it, but the message of the hope and possibilities created by giving is central to Mark’s approach of offering love first when approaching our enemies. Being willing and able to give is what will make further reconciliation possible.

We were glad to see that Lynn Green, the International Chairman for Youth With a Mission, recently recommended ADM on his website.  YWAM is a widespread network of ministries around the world, we hope our paths will continue to cross.  In his review Lynn references the Reconciliation Walk that YWAM began in 1996, which entailed teams of Christians walking the path of the crusades and offering apology and reconciliation as they went.  This effort resulted in overwhelmingly positive responses from the Muslims and Jews the teams encountered.  Read more here.

“A Deadly Misunderstanding” shows that if our diplomacy, our communication and our policies from the western world governments are not significantly altered, a minority of radical Islamist are going to increase in strength and the war on terror will continue to spread like wildfire. This book is the first book in a long time that comes up with some potential solutions regarding this bridge between people of faith that has given me hope. You will see diplomacy and things taking place behind the scenes that will be an encouragement to you. I agree. This is a must-read book.  more…

For the last several years, my wife and I have hosted high school age Muslim exchange students from Europe and the Middle East. We do so intentionally. Our only ‘agenda’ is to learn from these students (we are middle-age baby boomers and empty nesters). We recognized years ago that the misunderstanding between the Christian west (primarily) and the nations and people of Islam were in fact, “deadly” and frankly, unnecessary.  more…