Mr. Al-Kadhi begins this somewhat questionable criticism of the manners of contemporary Western society (which he, in my opinion, incorrectly implies is Christian) by saying: "From ancient times, the prophets of God including Moses, Joseph, David, Jesus, the angles of God and many others have made it their custom to greet the believers with the words "Peace be with you."" He cites many Bible passages in order to show that this form of greeting was once popular, including: Genesis 43:23, Judges 6:23, Samuel 25:6, Numbers 6:26, 1 Samuel 1:17, Luke 24:36, John 20:19, John 20:26.and Luke 10:5 where Jesus told the Apostles "And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house."

Mr. Al-Kadhi then asks: "Can anyone guess what Muhammad (pbuh) taught his followers to say when greeting each other or departing from each other? You guessed it! "Assalam alaikum" or "Peace be unto you."" He then asks his Muslim readers : "Have you ever met a Christian who greets others with the words of Jesus (pbuh): "Peace be unto you" or departs with those words?"

Mr. Al-Kadhi is viewing Western society through the lens of his own culture. I am not criticizing him for doing this, we all view the world in terms of our own cultures and belief systems. Islam is more than a religion, it is a way of life. The Sunnah is the path, the way, or the manner of life that Muhammad approved of, by his words and/or actions, many of which are recorded in the Hadith. The Sunnah :"implies the doings and practices of Muhammad." 'It is thus a concrete implementation, a tangible form and the actual embodiment of the Will of Allah...."(Sahih Muslim Introduction, page IX of Volume I). In other words, if Muhammad did something, such as greeting others in a certain manner or the way in which he cleaned his teeth, then it is "sunnah" to good Muslims. I would be among the first to condone good manners as well as good habits, however, I see very few spiritual benefits in the obsessive adherence to the manners and mores of 7th century Arabia.

Many Christians, including Roman Catholics and most Protestants, do great each other during religious services with the "peace of the Lord". The West has, sadly, separated many aspects of religious life from the popular culture. There are a few Christians who great others publicly with greetings of peace - one example is Jeff Smith who always ends his Public Broadcasting System program "The Frugal Gourmet" with the phrase "I bid you peace". The manner in which peoples of different faiths greet each other really does not indicate which faith is true or false - it is, at best, a tangential issue. I would rather live in a world where people treated each other with love and in the peace of Jesus rather than simply greeting each other with a superficial wish for "peace".

The Rebuttal to "What Did Jesus Really Say?"
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