“Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. . . .So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.” –Galatians 6:7, 10 (NRSV)

On July 22, as I was listening to television reports of the bombing and shooting rampage in Norway, the anchorperson was interviewing a Norwegian colleague by phone. The American journalist kept asking questions about whether the gunman had been born in Norway and what his ethnic background was, while the Norwegian journalist repeatedly stated that the gunman had been only been identified as a Norwegian citizen. I knew at the time what the questions meant: was the murderer a Muslim? I heard the same questions immediately following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing; in fact, one columnist immediately called for an attack on those “Arabs,” a call for which he never apologized when it became clear that the terrorists who struck the Murrah Building self-identified as Christian.

Andres Behring Breivik murdered 93 people, most of them teenagers at an island youth camp, because he fancied himself a Christian warrior in a new Crusade to stop what he believed was a Muslim takeover of Europe. A cynic would be amused to see the frantic backpedaling on the part of some religious conservatives in the US and abroad, who are so quick to deny any connection between their often heated anti-Muslim rhetoric and Breivik’s evil actions. Muslims in the United States and abroad have condemned radical Islamic attacks over and over, trying to explain that such attacks do not represent Islam; unfortunately, their protests have been often met with skepticism. However, in the words of one Norwegian woman who visited the Oslo bomb site, Sigrid Skeie Tjensvoll (in an interview in The Washington Post), “If Islamic people do something bad, you think, `Oh, it’s Muslims, But if a white Protestant does something bad, you just think he’s mad. That’s something we need to think about.”

Breivik may be insane, or just evil. But his actions tarnish all Christians who are trying to follow Christ, just as all Muslims are tarnished by the actions of the insane or evil few. Our actions should be guided by the loving example of Christ, as expressed in Paul’s admonition to the church at Galatia: “wherever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially”—not exclusively!—“for the family of faith.” We Christians need to remember that our words and attitudes about people of other faiths are important, because they can influence the attitudes and actions of others. As Paul points out, we reap what we sow, so isn’t it important that if we want a harvest of peace and mutual respect, we would need to sow words and perceptions that will grow into that harvest?

On Monday, the holiest period of the Muslim faith, the month of Ramadan began. If you have a neighbor or co-worker who is Muslim, it is appropriate to wish them “Ramadan Mubarak!” which means, “a blessed Ramadan.” It is a small gesture, but there is no gesture too small if it increases respect and peace in this world.