The man who burnt down a Mosque…

I met a man recently who was involved in burning down a mosque. He was angry about all the violence from Muslims that he had heard about in the British press and he wanted to retaliate; but he wasn’t really sure why, he had never spoken to a Muslim before. I was the first Muslim he had ever met.

Part of the man’s sentence plan was to gain knowledge about Islam and come face to face with a Muslim, and so we met. The conversation at first was very restrained; I’m not sure if he felt comfortable sitting with me or whether he thought he might offend me, so I gave him a pen and paper to write everything down that he felt was important. As I was about to make a cup of tea I offered him a cup too as it is the teaching of the Prophet Muhammed that we should share and like for others what we like for ourselves. I felt he was shocked that I offered him comfort, even though I knew his crime.

How did I break down the barriers between us and make him realise that I was a human being just like him? Slowly over the meeting he realised how much I was like him: I spoke English like him, I was born in the same city as him, I play football. He suddenly realised he could relate to me as a man. He slowly began to open up and ask me questions about my faith. He’d never met a Muslim before – and he suddenly saw Muslims from a new perspective.

The next time I saw him, he asked if he could attend the mosque for the Friday service to try and understand more about the religion.

This story shows how people who have been ignorant before can easily realise that they have misunderstood; they are not necessarily bad people. I don’t think I changed his opinion; I think he did it himself. The man allowed himself to open up his heart and his mind not just accept but also to acknowledge my faith – and the faith of the mosque he burnt down.

At the same time, I also listened to the man’s point without judging him. I wanted to put myself in his shoes and try and understand why he had been driven to burn down the Mosque. He told me that there are many people who think that Muslims are coming to their country and bringing problems and violence with them.

Where has he learnt these things?

In the press.