Flag Burning Video

My take on the You Tube flag burning video by John Marion, September 17, 2008.

The video was posted one year ago, but it just came to my attention today. Please read below before clicking on the links to watch the video.

The Video Content

A Muslim man stands on a street corner in Queens surrounded by a group of fellow Muslims. With a microphone he loudly addresses his message to the pedestrians and passing cars.

He holds up an America flag as he denounces the United States and proclaims the prophethood of Mohammed and the assertion that Islam is the true religion. He throws the flag down on the ground where it is laid out flat. He stands on the flag as he continue his speech, including repeating in Arabic, “Allah is Great! Allah is one and Mohammed is Allah’s Prophet!”

A few other Muslims join him in standing and wiping their feet on the flag. He urges all the Muslims who are hearing him to be bold in standing up for Islam. He praises the desecration of the flag and taunts Americans, saying that nothing can stop him from saying and doing these things because there is freedom of speech. The non-Muslim pedestrians simply watch, silently affirming the fact that nobody will stop him.

Several of his friends then pick up the flag, tear it to pieces, and throw them to the ground.

The video shows little more than the dishonored flag (few clear faces), so it’s difficult to know the exact context of this street demonstration. It takes place in NYC, probably in a neighborhood heavily populated by Muslims.

THE MAJORITY, AN EFFECTIVELY VOCAL MINORITY, AND AN INEFFECTIVE SILENT MINORITY

By percentage, very few Muslims have the wherewithal to do what this guy does in the video. But his words and actions are effective in speaking out on behalf of a much larger group of Muslims.

By percentage, even fewer Muslims have the wherewithal to oppose what this fellow is doing.

I believe the vast majority of Muslims—even those who don’t hate America—would feel good about this video precisely because it upholds the superiority of Islam and the prophethood of Mohammed.

In my experiences of visiting with Muslims in their homes, it seems that only a few in any given extended family are strong Muslims. But the presence of these family members sets the tone for any gathering. When this minority is absent, the tone changes and the less devout speak more freely about their own opinions. While this majority wouldn’t agree with some of the rhetoric of their family members who are strong Muslims, they often express words of admiration for their devotion to Islam and in fact hold them up as examples of good Muslims.

I’ve also witnessed this majority agreeing with and supporting the actions of the strong Muslims, even if they wouldn’t do the same themselves. This is especially true in cases where Islam and Mohammed need to be promoted or defended against perceived “attacks” (ranging from policies of the U.S. government to free speech in the form of cartoons or books).

WHAT CHRISTIANS NEED TO KNOW

Christians need to realize and fully acknowledge the fact that strong anti-American attitudes often run parallel to strong anti-Christian attitudes.¹ This is the context in which we as Christians interact with the Muslim community. I believe any attempt by Christians to overlook or deny the anti-Christian teachings of Islam only leads to failure of effective ministry among Muslims long-term.

We must understand the full context of what we are dealing with when we talk about reaching Muslims for Christ. I believe this video captures a portion of this context and helps frame the issue. Another way of saying this is that American Christians need to watch the video and then give sustained thought to how we as Christians can boldly and effectively proclaim the gospel to Muslims in this context.

This is important. Let me tell you why.

While most Christians may not personally be interacting with “strong” Muslims, like those depicted in the video, the “weak” Muslims are in relationship with their more violent brethren. I don’t believe any Muslim, unless he is totally separated from all other Muslims, is free from the influence of the strong Muslims. Any consideration a Muslim gives toward the gospel is not done individually but is filtered through the context of the larger Muslim community.

The Christian who has long-term contact with Muslims will eventually discover this reality. Therefore, it is critical for Christians to understand this up front, devote prayer and thought to this reality, and act boldly and wisely in their witness to Muslims. The reality will certainly crash onto the scene when a Muslim decides to follow Christ and the Christian must be prepared to accept and deal with the consequences.

INFLAMING PASSIONS AND GENERATING FEAR

I know plenty of Christians will accuse me of “adding fuel to the fire,” so to speak, by directing people’s attention to this video. The phrase “generating fear” is a typical cliché often thoughtlessly tossed about by many of my missionary friends.

My refutation of these accusations is simply to direct the reader to the previous section above. I’m not adding fuel to the fire. I’m turning on the fire alarm.

Additionally, here are a few other resources to help those who are either afraid of Muslims or afraid of my “rhetoric”:

• Islamic Terrorism and Muslim Terrorists: A Prayer Guide for Christians
• Adopt a Terrorist for Prayer website
• 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”
• The Law of Apostasy in Islam by Samuel Zwemer is available online here.

YOU TUBE LINKS

The video: Muslims in New York Desecrate U.S. Flag.

Here is a video of a Christian guy responding to the flag burning video with love, proclaiming Christ is the answer.

¹ I’m not talking about reasoned arguments critiquing U.S. foreign policy or legitimate points of disagreement regarding politics. I’m talking about a blind and total hatred of America and all it stands for.

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