Preaching coexistence: This Muslim called out 'hateful' Easter comments

Coexistence is vital for the thriving of peaceful societies; that's especially true in the Arab world, a region made up of dozens of different religious sects and multilayered communities.

In order to live in harmony with people who are different than us - whether in faith, color, sexual orientation, or anything else - it's important to respect their beliefs. That is something that seems to have been forgotten by some who choose to belittle or insult anyone simply for following a different religion. 

Over the weekend, these same individuals left insensitive and insulting comments under social media posts of Arab Christians who were celebrating Easter. 

Now, the beautiful thing that happened was how the majority of online users, including so many Muslims, came together to remind everyone that Islam is a religion that calls on its followers to respect people of different faiths. 

Muslim tweep Zainab M. is one of those who noticed the unacceptable trend under an Easter post uploaded by Lebanese actress Cyrine Abdelnour. 

In a tweet posted on Saturday, the young woman called out those behind such comments, writing:

"Imagine if every time we uploaded a post to mark an Islamic occasion, non-Muslims come attacking us, objecting to our posts and labelling us 'non-believers.' Why are you so adamant on being God's silliest creatures??" 

For the love of debate, her tweet divided people on the matter, with many siding with extremists and others adopting a more open mind. 

Some were against Zainab's point of view, saying Muslims leaving comments under Easter posts were just trying to "preach to Christians regarding their false belief that Jesus was crucified." Jesus' suffering and crucification are central aspects of Christianity, and are believed to stand as a testament that the Christ sacrificed himself to rid humans of their sins. 

Followers of Islamic faith believe Jesus was never crucified. Instead, a traitor (known as Judas Iscariot in Christian scriptures) was transformed to look like Jesus as a divine punishment for betraying him. Jesus' enemies crucified Judas thinking he was Jesus.

Though some comments were respectful in nature, there still were many who thought it was inappropriate for such "preaching" to be done under the posts of practicing Christians.

Others pointed out how some commentators weren't respectfully conveying religious points of view, but were instead accusing Christians of being kuffar (nonbelievers, infidels) and ridiculing their beliefs and views of Jesus. 

A few Muslims rejected these comments since they don't reflect the teachings of Islam and defame people of the faith. 

"I want to know, have these people never come across the following Quranic verses: ((To you your religion and to me mine)) ((There shall be no compulsion in acceptance of the religion)) ((And if your Lord had pleased, surely all those who are in the earth would have believed, all of them; will you then force men till they become believers?))," one tweep wrote. 

It's important to call out those using Islam to criticize people of other faiths and Muslims of status issuing edicts prohibiting greetings during non-Muslim holidays. Their fundamentalist interpretations are not reflective of the views of millions of Muslims around the world. 

It's those millions who respectfully communicate with others and choose to coexist - rather than divide and insult - who keep the world balanced during tough situations.

In countries across the region, dialogue and tolerance are replacing extremist discourse when it comes to religion. In recent years, leaders of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities in the Arab world have been coming together to prove just that. 

Countries like the United Arab Emirates have been putting extra effort to defeat fundamentalist ways of thinking. The UAE declared 2019 as the year of tolerance and welcomed Pope Francis during his visit to the country, which marked a historic moment for interfaith relations in the Gulf state.

Let's hope these moves soon shift into the online scene in the Arab world, because coexistence isn't just about tolerating the other but also about respecting their beliefs and their freedom to practice their faiths.