When asked about the very poorest people in Calcutta for whom Mother Teresa, founder of Missionaries of Charity in India, and her sisters tirelessly cared – the deformed, the lepers, the abandoned, the untouchables – she said, “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.”

That is what I call “God-sight.”

There are marginalised groups in nearly every community – whether they are the sick, poor, dispossessed or even merely unfamiliar. In America lately, it seems that this last description applies to Muslims – in some communities they are being marginalised because they are unfamiliar to us.

What would it be like for us as Christian Americans if we looked at Muslims with Mother Teresa’s eyes?

What if we saw Muslims as Jesus in disguise?

I recently had the privilege of attending a Muslim-Christian interfaith conference with people from all over the country. The focal point of the conference was planning community events for the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in order to build bridges of understanding and reconciliation, rather than fanning the flames of Islamophobia. It was an eye-opening and heart-wrenching experience to hear the stories of my Muslim brothers and sisters at the conference, all of whom have experienced increased marginalisation and victimisation since 9/11.

We heard from a southern California woman who has chosen to live out her Islamic faith by volunteering for and serving on the board of a Muslim-run shelter for battered women and children. A couple of months ago, she and others were hosting a fundraiser for the shelter and trying to get some positive press about the work Muslims were doing in the area, so they invited the media. As she arrived for the fundraiser, she saw angry picketers gathered outside, shouting and carrying signs that said, “Terrorists, go home.”

Tears ran down her cheeks as she described her shock and confusion. She was born in this country. She said to us, “This is my home. Where can I go? I am as American as you are.”

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