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Because of the hate motivated and hate filled film made by radical Christians that gave radical Muslims in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, and other places the excuse they needed to riot, I better understand the way my good friend, Khaled Elabdi, felt on 9/11.

Last year our church asked Khaled to join us for worship on the Sunday that marked the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attack (I think that says so much about the kind of congregation it is), and to help us understand what it was like being a Muslim here in America at that moment. A teacher in the Lakeville School system, he said he remembered being schocked by the attacks like everyone else was. But as a Muslim, he said he was afraid for himself and his family. So much so that he made the decision to stay home the next day, and to keep his children at home as well. He was fearful of what the reaction to them might be.

I do not know a more Godly man than Khaled Elabdi. A man of peace, it was clear when he spoke to us that his heart was broken for the victims and their families. It was also clear that as a man of the Muslim faith, he was deeply troubled by the image this terrible act gave the world of Islam. And as a father, he was afraid for his family, afraid they might be the object of people’s anger over a tragedy they had nothing to do with and were as horrified by as every other American was. In short, he reacted to the events of 9/11 like any of us would have had we been in his shoes. We, too, would have been afraid for our family. And we, too, would have been troubled by the image such an act would give the world of our faith.

Actually, this is precisely my reaction to the image the film I mentioned at the beginning is giving the Muslim world about Christianity. Made by misguided, uninformed, and radical Christians, this film and its supporters don’t represent what I believe, and they don’t represent the beliefs and views of most Christians. But we are powerless to stop them from doing what they do, and limited in how we can overcome the damage they have done. But not completely. One good thing that can come out of what they did and the reaction to them is for all people of good will, especially people of faith, to remember once again that all religions have extremists in their fold. We Christians should not forget that the Crusades, the war between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, the killing of doctors who perform abortions, and hundreds of other examples, all undescore that violence can be born of Christian zeal. The fact is, Christians who believe Islam is by its very nature violent are guilty of seeing the speck in the eye of a person of another faith but missing the plank in their own.

Most of us have no influence over world events. But that doesn’t mean we cannot help make the world a better place by speaking and acting in ways that reflect understanding, openness to others, and our desire to support political policies that promote peace. And for those of us who are Christians, our words and actions might even do more than that. They might help Muslims around the world realize that extremist Christians don’t represent us anymore than extremists Muslims represent them.

The influence we can have begins, of course, right where we are. We can speak and act today in ways that make it clear to those around us that we are a different kind of Christian than those who made the film. We can teach our children and grandchildren and our neighbor’s children that being Christian means respecting the faith of others, admitting we make mistakes, and understanding that God is bigger than anything we believe about God. That won’t stop extremists from being who they are, but it will mean that they cannot stop us from being who we are. And in the long run, I believe our influence will prove greater than theirs.