This essay discusses my views on Christians and Muslims before and after watching an episode from the U.S. television series 30 Days, which is called “Muslims and America.” In the documentary, a Christian man Dave Stacey is placed outside his comfort zone, namely in the Muslim community. Dave has to see Muslims from inside as he spends 30 days with the young Pakistani family the Hagues, in Dearborn, Michigan.

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My responses before watching the film were as follows. Christians follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, and see love as their highest value. Their aim is to learn to love God above all, and to love the other just as they love themselves. Christians believe that faith, hope, and love are three great virtues to practice. Other important virtues are courage, prudence, temperance, and justice. In order to achieve these virtues, Christians should fight their vices, for example, egoism, so that they do not get into sin and do not get in hell after death. Muslims believe in the teachings of Muhammad, the prophet who lived around the 6th century A.D. They believe in one God and in afterlife. Muslims treat their women strictly because they consider them more prone to vice and imperfect. They subdue their lives to numerous prescriptions even in the smallest detail. I base these things on personal experience and logic.

Prior to watching the episode I did not know that Muslims could be so tolerant of Christians and that they may view themselves as extensions of Christians. I thought of Muslims as absolutely focused on their religion and unable to openly connect to the representatives of other faiths. The documentary has provided me with an experience of watching the lives of American Muslims, and has led me to rethink some things. In particular, I realized that Muslims are not as hostile to and intolerant of Christians as previously thought. Also, I realized that they are not as strict to their women as I supposed. At the same time, some things proved to be true: for example, Muslims completely subdue their lives to religious rules and customs, and focus a lot on following the prescriptions regarding material things and everyday life. They are a lot more focused on following the customs than Christians.

References
  • Cassario, R. (2008). The moral virtues and theological ethics. University of Notre Dame Press.
  • Spurlock, M. (2005). 30 days: Muslims and America. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S977GNo89fM.