A New Twist on an Old Story

by Shaker Alexmac, a transgender woman studying at the University of Florida.

Recently a church in Gainesville put up a sign with the following message: "Islam is of the devil." Unsurprisingly, they also plan to put up signs against gay marriage and abortion.

Gainesville has a well-deserved reputation for being a liberal town, but, just at its outskirts, you quickly enter what we'll call less liberal country. This church is located on those outskirts. The Dove World Outreach Center has its tradition firmly planted in conservative religious extremism. Its own name is an oxymoron, because it does not represent peace or world outreach. When asked by reporters about their sign, the pastor explained:

Jones said, in spite of what the sign says, the church's outreach effort doesn't look at a person's faith when it comes to offering help.

Anyone in need can come and receive free food and clothing, he said.

"We are in no means in that way prejudiced or against them," Jones said.

While the church will continue to make its outreach program available to all people, its message emphasizing the Bible and a belief in Jesus Christ remains firm, he said.

"I think every pastor, every Christian pastor in this city, must be in agreement with the message. They might find the message a little bit too direct, but they must be in agreement with the message because the only way is the Bible and Jesus," Jones said.

This pastor shows profound ignorance about and hostility to Muslims and then has the audacity to say "we aren't bigots; we are just telling like it is." It is the classic "I am not a racist, but…" tactic. The series of events in the story follows the usual format of conservative churches putting up bigoted signs. The interesting part of this story is the community response.

The Christian religious left in Gainesville was not quiet about conservative Christians again making Christianity look like a religion of bigotry. In addition to the liberal Christians, many other groups, such as Muslims, Jews, and atheists, gathered to protest the church. About 125 people attended the protests against the church. The crowd carried signs preaching "peace not hate."

Eve MacMaster, pastor at Emmanuel Mennonite Church who organized the prayer vigil, said she wants people in the community to know most Christians do not agree with the message that the Dove World Outreach Center is sending by posting the sign.

“It troubles me that my faith is represented by such a negative message,” MacMaster said.

She said she sent an e-mail about the vigil to her congregation, members of Campus Ministry Cooperative, pastors from local churches as well as personal Jewish and Muslim friends.

“We decided that the most appropriate response was to meet in prayer,” she said.

She is concerned for the people in the Gainesville community as well as the congregation and pastors of the Dove World Outreach Center, she said.

"It's not a good thing for our community to have a sign that shows that much hatred," she said.

This response is incredibly encouraging. Liberal Christians standing up to the religious right and showing people a positive face to Christianity, and people of many different faiths, along with atheists, standing against the bigotry of the Dove World Outreach Center, is an important gesture.