Relating to people of another faith

It seems that this generation will be marked by historians as another generation where the battles lines of wars so often lie not within faiths but where the people warring with each other worship different God's Predominately this is seen by the world to be Christians vs Muslims (though Hindu's and Muslims are also are war in many countries).


How does one remain faithful to Jesus when so much of the world desires to have us stand opposing each other?
A member of the congregation I serve recently asked to begin an online discussion with me regarding this issue. The thoughts he has expressed and the questions he has asked has made me wonder about this in more depth.


Jesus taught 'Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you' (Luke 6:27). Trying to make sense of how to love those who hate me is difficult. This friend who initiated the conversation made the point that whilst serving in an emergency rescue function he sees no race, creed, culture etc. but just sees another human being needing help. However the suspicion and enmity that pervades so much of our cross-religious engagements means that when one first sees the religious accouterments one so easily does not see humanity.


Is there any place where Christians and Muslims are having authentic friendships, respectful conversations. 

Murphy writes the following on her blog when speaking of 'liberal' Christan's calls for tolerance and some angry responses to it:

“But Jesus didn’t preach such things. Jesus preached — embodied, actually, in a way that got him killed – love. Risky, radical, costly, inconvenient love. Messy, complicated, difficult, demanding love. Love of neighbor, of stranger, of enemy.

Tolerance costs me nothing. Loving others — seeking their good, willing their prosperity and happiness, genuinely desiring their companionship — this is the hazardous business of community, of relationship-building, of making and sustaining friendships for the long haul. Tolerance is all too happy to avoid all this. Tolerance turns out to be a means for keeping us estranged from one another while we pride ourselves on our progressive politics or our general open-mindedness whatever our politics. 

Nine years after 9/11 most of us are tolerant of Islam but we don’t really love Muslims. We don’t really know any Muslims to love. Tolerance has kept us at a safe and sterile distance.”[1]

I have read numerous articles describing how there are Christian's raising funds to rebuild mosques destroyed by war in Iraq, heard stories of Muslims going to church to protect Christians after the bombing of a church in Egypt. 

Which reminds reminds you of Jesus? What do you think Jesus would be doing?

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[1] http://debradeanmurphy.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/jesus-didnt-preach-tolerance/