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A potent antidote to the prevailing deadly misunderstanding that threatens to envelope us all.
Hon. Ali Khalif Galaydh,
former Prime Minister of Somalia
I have experienced first-hand the strategy underlying Mark’s book: that loving our enemies has the power to counter the threat of religious extremism.
Hon. Tony Hall,
former U.S. Congressman (D-Ohio), U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Food Program and three-time Nobel Peace Prize nomineeThis book teaches us how to transform barriers into bridges and promote respect and understanding between Muslim and Christian believers.
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed,,
National Director, Islamic Society of North America
Congressman Mark Siljander’s book, A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman’s Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide, originally published in October 2008 by HarperOne, is a testament to the effectiveness of the strategy and ideas that Bridges To Common Ground represents. Siljander recounts his spiritual odyssey from anti-Muslim Christian conservative to pioneer in discovering ground-breaking common roots between Islam and Christianity, while trailblazing a unique diplomatic path for bringing the two communities together.
This story inspires hope in our increasingly desperate world, uncovering compelling common ground for followers of these two super-power religions. At the root of our mutual discord are basic misunderstandings of foundational concepts such as the meaning of “religion” and “conversion.”
His findings are drawn from twenty-seven years of study and practice in a real life journey. Wherever he and his praying partners travel among Muslim nations, the outcome of their quiet diplomacy is respect, trust, love of friends and enemies, and significant real-world breakthroughs in crisis situations of which few are aware.
In A Deadly Misunderstanding, Siljander breaks down and re-assembles keys to understanding these concepts through the lens of the ancient Semitic languages of the Abrahamic religions, making paradigm-shifting discoveries that unite rather than divide us. His book offers a new model based on ancient truths, proven to powerfully affect people, conflicts, countries, and potentially change cultures. This seemingly implausible path to peace dismantles the engine of terror without firing a single shot.