ICC Note: A Pastor from Texas warns of American sentiment towards Muslims affecting the Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle East. Dr. Bob Roberts was involved at a high level on the Christian-Muslim dialogue in the Middle East, most recently in Morocco during a conference of religious freedom. The Texas pastor makes the point that when Evangelical Christians in America show hatred towards Muslims it fuels Christian persecution in Muslim-majority countries.

06/03/2016 United States: (Christian Post): A Texas pastor involved in building Christian-Muslim dialogue at a high level has warned that American Christians being hateful and unwelcoming toward Muslims is only fueling the persecution of Christians in Muslim-majority countries.

Dr. Bob Roberts, the senior pastor of Northwood Church in Texas, told The Christian Post in an interview that he is “very concerned” about Christian-Muslim relations in America. Roberts had joined some 200 Muslim leaders in Morocco to write a 750-word document protecting the freedom of religious minorities in predominantly Muslim countries in January.

Roberts points to LifeWay Research surveys that show that in America, the people with the most negative view of Muslims are Evangelicals, which he says is a contradiction with what it means to be an Evangelical.

“The idea of an Evangelical is that we want the whole world to hear the news of Jesus, yet we have the most negative attitude. And people with an even worse attitude than [such people] are the pastors of those churches,” he said.

“To me, that shows the condition of a heart toward loving our neighbor. It’s not just bad for us, we are creating a nightmare for Christians around the world.”

The pastor said that Americans sometimes think they are global because they go on vacations or take mission trips around the world, but reality shows otherwise.

“We live in a country that has two oceans on both sides, and we are very isolated from the rest of the world. We go into the world, do our thing and come home, often without truly seeing the world.”

Roberts warned that some statements coming out of America make life hard for other Christians around the world.

“When Christians make harsh statements against the Muslims around the world, it just makes things far more difficult. Christians actually increase Christian persecution around the world in America by being hateful to Muslims. And those are your brothers in Christ. The world is connected,” he asserted.

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