Safi Kaskas’ Responses to Scott Sotomayor’s Liberative Learning Pathway Survey
In my own work, including my book Jesus the Great Unifier, I have come to believe that one of the most fruitful pathways for reconciliation between Christians and Muslims is to begin not with our deepest theological differences, but with the shared moral and spiritual vision we both affirm. The teachings of Jesus—love of neighbor, mercy, humility, and service—are deeply honored in both the Gospel and the Qur’an. When these values are taken seriously, they create a foundation of trust strong enough to sustain honest and respectful engagement with our differences. This approach does not diminish doctrine; rather, it creates the moral space in which doctrinal differences can be explored without hostility.
What follows reflects my perspective as a Muslim who deeply values the ethical and spiritual teachings of Jesus, whom the Qur’an honors as Messiah and a model of devotion, compassion, and moral clarity.
- What widely held theological belief is most obstructive to authentically loving one’s neighbor?
The greatest obstacle to loving one’s neighbor is any theological conviction—religious or secular—that cultivates a sense of moral or spiritual superiority over others. When individuals assume privileged access to divine favor, it becomes easy to regard others with condescension rather than compassion.
As a Muslim, I hold that God alone possesses complete knowledge of the human heart. The Qur’an explicitly resists the narrowing of divine mercy along confessional lines:
“Indeed, those who believe, and those who are Jews, Christians, or Sabians, whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good, shall have their reward with their Lord.” (Qur’an 2:62)
Jesus addressed this same distortion in the Parable of the Good Samaritan—a story deliberately subversive in its choice of hero. The neighbor is not defined by shared identity, but by the one who acts with mercy across boundaries.
Both Jesus, whom the Qur’an affirms as the Messiah, and Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them) embodied this expansive vision through a form of leadership grounded in service rather than status. In their example, moral authority is not asserted through superiority, but expressed through care, especially toward those outside one’s immediate community.
When theological certainty hardens into self-righteousness, it ceases to be faith and becomes an impediment to it. Both the Qur’an and the teachings of Jesus call believers not to confidence in their own standing, but to humility before God and unconditional compassion toward others.
- What concepts pose the largest threat to living out the Jesus Way?
The most serious threat is the misuse of religion—using faith as a vehicle for power, status, or social control rather than as a call to service, self-emptying, and love.
Jesus embodied a profound inversion of conventional power. He washed his disciples’ feet, welcomed the marginalized, and taught that true greatness lies in serving others (Mark 10:43–45). This vision of leadership through service is equally reflected in the life of the Prophet Muhammad, who lived among his community without hierarchy, mended his own garments, and consistently placed himself in service to others.
The Qur’an affirms this orientation:
“The worshippers of the Merciful to All, are those who walk upon the earth humbly…” (Qur’an 25:63)
A second, related threat is tribalism, the reduction of faith to group identity and the elevation of boundary-keeping over bridge-building. When religious communities are defined more by who they exclude than by how they love, they depart from the spirit of Jesus.
In both traditions, leadership is not measured by authority exercised over others, but by responsibility assumed for their well-being. Living the Jesus Way demands a consistent willingness to serve rather than dominate, to include rather than exclude, and to measure faithfulness by the quality of one’s love rather than the certainty of one’s doctrine.
- What would you want all people who search after the Divine to grasp, and what would you want them to let go of?
To grasp:
- That God is the ultimate source of all love, mercy, and moral goodness.
- That human beings bear a unique capacity for the relationship with their Creator.
- That love of God and love of neighbor form a single, inseparable calling.
- That authentic faith is measured by character and conduct, not confession alone.
- That true spiritual authority expresses itself as service to others, not elevation above them.
The Qur’an teaches that God breathed of His Spirit into Adam (Qur’an 15:29), endowing humanity with the capacity for moral awareness, spiritual discernment, and relationship with the Divine. This signals not only dignity but responsibility, the call to reflect divine mercy through a life of service, as embodied by both Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them).
Jesus likewise called his followers toward inward transformation, purity of heart, sincerity of devotion, and the practice of mercy over mere formalism.
To let go of:
- Spiritual pride and the assumption that one’s tradition has exhausted divine truth.
- Fear-based religious identity that produces defensiveness rather than growth.
- Hostility toward difference.
- Rigid interpretive frameworks that prevent learning, repentance, and moral expansion.
The path to God requires holding together deep conviction and genuine humility. This balance—firmness without arrogance, openness without loss of integrity—is the hallmark of spiritual maturity.
- How could Christianity become a greater force for good?
Christianity is most transformative when it remains anchored in the moral and spiritual core of Jesus’ teaching: radical neighbor-love, mercy over condemnation, humility over power, and peacemaking as a sacred vocation.
History offers powerful examples—the abolition of slavery, the Civil Rights movement, and global humanitarian efforts—where these values were embodied.
To deepen this impact, Christianity would benefit from:
- Honest self-examination of its complicity in injustice
- Listening to marginalized voices, especially those harmed in its name
- Building relationships across boundaries of faith, culture, and class
- Re-centering peacemaking as intrinsic to the gospel
- Renewing a commitment to servant leadership as the defining model of authority
The Qur’an invites this shared moral effort:
“Cooperate in righteousness and piety.” (Qur’an 5:2)
Where leadership reflects the servant posture of Jesus, Christianity’s capacity for healing, reconciliation, and moral leadership becomes most visible and effective.
- What do you feel is critical for Christians/Christianity to address in order to become effective peacemakers?
Effective peacemaking is not merely a strategy; it is a form of moral and spiritual formation.
Peacemaking, in this sense, is inseparable from servant leadership. It requires approaching others not from a position of control, but with humility and a willingness to bear the burden of reconciliation, as exemplified by both Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad.
Authentic peacemakers must:
- Move beyond “us versus them” frameworks
- Practice attentive and non-defensive listening
- Confront historical and present injustices honestly
- Cultivate spiritual disciplines that shape humility, patience, and compassion
The Qur’an calls for principled justice:
“Stand firmly for justice, even against yourselves…” (Qur’an 4:135)
And reframes diversity as a divine invitation:
“We made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.” (Qur’an 49:13)
Difference, in this view, is not a threat but a gift. Genuine peacemaking emerges when truth, justice, humility, and love are held together as a unified moral vision.
- Evangelism and Conversion
As a Muslim, I hold that sincere faith cannot be coerced:
“There is no compulsion in religion.” (Qur’an 2:256)
This principle does not negate witness—it defines its integrity. Evangelism, at its most faithful, is not coercion but the transparent embodiment of a life oriented toward God through service, integrity, and compassion.
Jesus modeled this through invitation rather than force. His most compelling message was not argument, but the lived reality of mercy.
This reflects a shared prophetic pattern: guidance is conveyed through example. In both Jesus and Muhammad, faith became credible through service, humility, and ethical consistency.
From an Islamic standpoint, conversion is ultimately an inward transformation, a reorientation of the heart toward God that manifests in how one lives and relates to others. What matters most is not identity alone, but the embodiment of mercy, justice, humility, and love.
The most persuasive form of witness, therefore, is a life that quietly but convincingly reflects the reality of God.
Closing Reflection
As a Muslim who reveres Jesus as a prophet of exceptional depth and moral beauty, I find in his example a continual source of inspiration—his compassion, courage, humility, and unwavering devotion to God.
Both Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them) embodied a form of servant leadership in which devotion to God is inseparable from service to humanity, and in which moral authority arises from humility, sacrifice, and care for others.
The Qur’an and the teachings of Jesus converge on a shared moral horizon: love, justice, mercy, humility, and faithfulness to God, not as abstract ideals, but as lived realities rooted in the divine breath that animates human life.
In a time marked by polarization, fear, and fragmentation, people of faith carry a particular responsibility: to model a different way, to become builders of trust, dignity, and hope.
I am grateful for your work in this direction, and for continuing a legacy of bridge-building grounded in conviction, compassion, and genuine respect.
With warm regards,
Safi Kaskas
