Wow, there are some good conversations going on! Thank you @larkenrose for your well framed considerations. I have experienced the warmth of Muslims and Jews and Catholics and so forth. If one overlays the preachings of the world's religions there is a paltry difference which is pure semantics.
The Golden Rule, as has been cited, "Do as you would be done by." It should suffice; maybe add on "judge not lest ye be judged."
Unfortunately, as @cryptofiend , pointed out, Human nature is a powerful force honed over centuries. It has a very strong self-preservation aspect to it. The unknown induces fear. Fear induces auto-response triggers - we sometimes are unaware of what we are doing or saying. Sounds ridiculous! It is not about what you say or do, though we all justify! I only did ... or I only said ... It is about how those words and actions are received. Culture, conditioning and trust have to be acknowledged on a 2-way basis.
Trust is the basis of Society.
Islam is a religion of interpretation rather than directive, whereas Christianity and Judaism tend to be more linear. Conversely, Islam has very clear directives as to what to do if a person steals, commits adultery. It is a bit like Roman Law versus English Law. We see Islam as being mysogenous - they see our point of view as a serious punishable offence.
This gulf is exacerbated by there being no papacy in Islam and the voices who try to be heard are too frail.
The biggest word in Islam is Peace; in Christianity it is Love; ironic is it not!
Living within a community with a large proportion of Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan there are a few issues which are physical. Arabs speak from their throats, near the epiglotis. This makes a large percentage of them sound gruff to a western ear. Sometimes it is actually painful to listen for too long and the words fall on fallow ground!
Neither community appreciates having their culture, religion, traditions criticised. This all adds up to a gulf of communication understanding and genuine respect. We are apart and no matter how hard you try, you are not going to get a relationship with a whole community without a pre-emptive and genuinely selfless gesture. Expect to build the bridge right the way across.
If you do not have the capacity or opportunity to build a big bridge, build a small one. Your reward will astound you because these people are more afraid and more concerned at our threat than we are of theirs.
The core meaning of the word Alla (or Allah), is the same as the core meaning of the word God.
Funny that!
Sorry I have rambled on - this is a theme which I care about strongly.
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