by Brianna Langley | Oct 14, 2014 | News Slider
The Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) is the newest extremist terrorist group that has captured our nation’s attention and injected cold fear into our society. Due to the group’s affiliation with Islam, many individuals are condemning the religion. However, a large number of Muslim people detest ISIS’s actions. “ISIS never reflected Islam and never will. These are extremist factions that don’t represent the whole Muslim community,” said Samha Siddiqui, a political science major at Lipscomb. “They don’t even make up one per-cent of the whole Muslim population, so there’s no way that we can say they do reflect Muslim opinions.” Fellow political science major Akim Smith says that ISIS is simply using religious justifications to legitimize the torture, murder and slaughter of anyone (including fellow Muslims) that does not adhere to their specific beliefs for the purpose of gaining political ground. “A lot of people say that ISIS is neither Islamic nor a state, but as a Muslim, I would say that it is Islamic and it is a state, but it doesn’t reflect Islam as a whole,” Smith said. “I want people to know that this is not a reflection of Islam as a whole, but it’s a reflection of a particular, small brand of Islam.” Exercise science major Tahreem Fatima echoed the dangers of associating the ideology preached by ISIS with the ideology of the majority of the Muslim community. “I believe that Islam values all life, so what ISIS and other extremists do is completely wrong,” Fatima said. “I hate everything ISIS stands for, and I realize how important it is to speak out...
by Jael Teme | Mar 28, 2014 | News Slider
The latest edition of Wednesday Night Devo has sparked a conversation about the religious diversity on Lipscomb’s campus. A Lee University graduate, whose name Campus Ministry does not want to disclose, was invited as a guest speaker on Wednesday at Lipscomb Academy’s Acuff Chapel. The speaker talked about his ministry and his plans to travel to North Africa to share the gospel with those in the Muslim community. The message, featuring the speaker’s opinions of salvation, founds its detractors in the audience, particularly by those who profess Islam as their religion. Samha Siddiqui, a senior of Muslim faith, was part of the audience and decided to raise her voice. She stood up and expressed her disagreement with the statements provided by the speaker. “I spoke up because I felt the speaker was not right to call the Muslim world as ‘hostile, dark and oppressed.’ Using that description is neither factually correct, nor politically correct. I respect all missionary groups, regardless of which religious doctrine they preach, but maintaining respect for people is a must,” Siddiqui responded via text to a question from Lumination Network. Others supported Siddiqui with applause. In a Thursday email sent to students who attended Wednesday night’s devotional, Campus Ministry apologizes for the events that transpired, saying that the group hopes to show Jesus in all they do. “Last night was unusual for our Wednesday Night Devo in that there were many students who walked away hurt, offended, and confused,” the email said. “The heart and vision of Campus Ministry is to provide opportunities for all our students to encounter the love of Jesus. “We believe Jesus of Nazareth is...
by Danielle Boyd | Oct 16, 2011 | News Slider
Lee C. Camp, professor of theology and ethics, this week released his second book,Who Is my Enemy, guiding Christians through the misconceptions of the Islamic Faith and self-contemplating questions of war and peace in a Christian society. Camp’s interest in this issue was sparked several years ago after a Lipscomb seminar on the “theological rationale for peaceful coexistence with people of other faith.” “I did this lecture…and the next day it was on the front page of the Tennessean,” Camp said. According to Dr. Camp, the front page article misquoted and mischaracterized his statements, which led to his deepening interest in the issue of the Islamic faith. “It stirred up all sorts of deep anger and name calling,” Camp said. “By the end of the day, I had heard from people from California to Manhattan to Tel Aviv to New Zealand.” Camp’s misquoted information in the Tennessean also caught the media’s attention from all over the world, which stirred conversation and public interest. “I was intrigued with the anger and fear, especially towards Muslims that came out in that experience,” said Camp. As a result, he began to research, travel and learn more about the Islamic faith in order to compare the Christian and Islamic traditions in the realm of thinking about war and peacemaking. “The methodology behind this book is: seek first to understand and then to be understood,” Camp said. This concept is an old prayer tribute to Saint Francis, Camp said, that sets the undertone for the book as Christians began to contemplate on the idea of the Islamic faith. Instead of becoming defensive or fearful to the...
