Zambia, Islam, and Jesus I does not take much prying to discover that many Zambians suffer from

a deep-seeded mistrust of Islam and out of this a fear and even hostility toward Middle Easterners and North fricans! "or many Zambians, these foreigners inevitably bring a violent and heathen religion into their nation, and with it chaos and destruction! #ecently I traveled to $an%ania where I witnessed a &hristian N'( doing development pro)ects in local rural villages! In the process they included Muslims and established their religions leaders as key people alongside pastors within the community! $his is a concept that is still very hard for many Zambians to imagine! *erhaps, in light of recent events involving Islamic violence in the continent of frica, this behavior should be e+pected! Zambian might argue that the nation must be wary with the entrance of Islam so that Zambia can continue to be safe, unlike neighbors Nigeria and ,omalia, and free from violence like that of -estgate Mall in Nairobi! *erhaps within a nation known for its nepotism, where leaders are e+pected to watch out for their own, this behavior serves as a kind of defense mechanism, shielding the country from dangerous outsiders! *erhaps in a nation declared &hristian since .//., it is not surprising to have &hristians fearing that Middle Eastern Islam might disrupt the balance and peace of &hristianity! 0ut in the end, we &hristians must ask ourselves, 1Is this the ways &hristians should be acting towards outsiders23 n even harder 4uestion5 1Is this the way Jesus would be acting23 -hen Zambians are hostile and closed off to Muslims, they are not acting like followers of Jesus! Instead they are proving themselves to be no different from Muslims who close off their countries to &hristians and the gospel! $hey are continuing the fight, fueling the flame that threatens to burn our world! flame that will only be 4uenched by something more radical than a ceaseless fight between religions! -hat Jesus followers are called to do is be different! Even if that means being radically different! &hristians should seek to proclaim their faith not by closing themselves off to those who are different but accepting them in radical love! Instead of worrying about the strength and stability of their nation, &hristians should be more concerned with welcoming in the stranger and the alien! "or too long &hristians have fought to protect their own and not loved their enemies! Isn6t this radical way e+actly how Jesus lived his life2 Jesus did not seek to increase the power of his nation and establish the safety of his church! 7e did not even protect the religious leaders of his time 8In fact he was hated and killed by them9! Instead, Jesus sought out the outsiders, the unclean, the sinners, the foreigners:! 7e continually made his home with the ones who were mistrusted, diseased, despised, and hated in his society! nd this is e+actly the lifestyle his followers are called to live! *erhaps Zambians, as well as many of us &hristians from our nations around the world, would do well to remember that Jesus cared more about loving the outcast of his community than the security of his own nation and people! -ho knows, maybe if Jesus around today he would be spending time with the Middle Easterners! fter all, he was one! :,ee Jesus with the ,amaritan woman at the well!