Common associations of Islam with violence create barriers of fear that are hard to overcome. Anabaptists might believe they have an exclusive grasp on nonviolent theology and practice. The case study of the Muridiyya, a transnational Sufi Muslim religious order originally from Senegal presents an alternative perspective on nonviolence. Encountering another faith tradition committed to nonviolence, holds up a mirror for Anabaptists prompting new questions about following Jesus in peacemaking and calling for deeper engagement with the religious other.
Presenter: Jonathan Bornman leads Eastern Mennonite Missions’ Christian-Muslim Relations Team. Jonathan served with MCC in Brazil and Burkina Faso and with Mennonite Mission Network in Senegal as an evangelist and church planter. He is a PhD candidate at Middlesex University researching Sufi Muslim practices of nonviolence. He is a member of Mount Joy Mennonite Church in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, USA.