A Deadly Misunderstanding: Quest to Bridge the Muslim/Christian Divide

Former Congressman and Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Mark D. Siljander takes us on an eye-opening journey of personal, religious, and political discovery. In the 1980s, Siljander was a newly minted Reagan Republican from Michigan who joined Congress in the same generation as Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay, ready to remake the world. A staunch member of the Religious Right, he once walked out of the National Prayer Breakfast when a speaker quoted from the Qur'an.

But after losing reelection, Siljander dove into the Bible to look for the passage in which the Bible says it is our job as Christians to convert others in order to save them from eternal damnation. He couldn't find it; in fact, he couldn't even find a passage saying that Jesus set out to form a new religion. This discovery was the first step on a spiritual and political journey that started with an in-depth linguistic study of the Bible and led to the discovery that Christianity and Islam share many base words and concepts. In his role as ambassador to the United Nations Siljander began sharing his insights on the connections between Islam and Christianity, with surprising results.

A Deadly Misunderstanding recounts Siljander's amazing discoveries as he travels to some of the most remote and hostile places in the world—deep into Libya, Sudan, Pakistan, and India—forging deep ties with both heads of state and religious leaders. What he has learned could radically shift the contemporary religious landscape and help heal the rift between Islam and the West. No Christian or Muslim will be unaffected after reading this book.

 

CREDIT: John David Mann, contributor, website

Mark Siljander skillfully blends 30 years in America's powerful political inner circles with his travels to 130 countries, gripping audiences with true stories of his private interactions with political and religious leaders in hotspots of global conflict, defying the assumptions of traditional diplomacy. Follow Mark's personal odyssey of spiritual transformation from an anti-Muslim, hard right, Christian political conservative to a pioneer of international peacemaking; acknowledged by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who publicly recognized his "... efforts toward a more just, humane and peaceful world," and by his acceptance of the Mohandas K. Gandhi International Peace Award in 1996. He recounts his discovery of long-hidden linguistic and cultural common ground that connects adherents of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Mark's approach has inspired many of our nation's friends and enemies - to a new path toward peace. However, at times his approach has also fiercely offended the entrenched interests of the power elite, resulting in personal attacks and a federal indictment. After nearly five years of battling the harrowing prospect of hostile and unrelenting prosecution for years to come, Mark agreed to a negotiated plea and the harsh consequences of a short prison sentence. On the eve of his release from prison Mark was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but survived. These tests of faith, character, and courage provided even deeper insight into his transformation from the heights of political achievement to the depths of personal brokenness. He holds Bachelors and Master's Degrees in Political Science and has served on numerous boards and lectured in such diverse institutions as Oxford University, Khartoum University, and Wheaton College.

John David Mann is an award-winning author whose writings have earned the Nautilus Award, the Axiom Business Book Award (Gold Medal), Taiwan's Golden Book Award for Innovation, and the 2017 Living Now Book Awards "Evergreen Medal" for "contribution to positive global change." His books are published in 35 languages and have sold more than 3 million copies. He is coauthor of the international bestseller "The Go-Giver" with Bob Burg, the New York Times bestsellers "The Red Circle" with Brandon Webb and "Flash Foresight" with Daniel Burrus and the national bestsellers "The Slight Edge" (with Jeff Olson), "Among Heroes" (with Brandon Webb), and "Real Leadership" (with John Addison). His "Take the Lead" (with Betsy Myers) was named Best Leadership Book of 2011 by Tom Peters and the Washington Post. John has been creating careers since he was a teenager. At age 17, he and a few friends started their own high school in Orange, New Jersey called Changes, Inc. Before turning to business and journalism, he forged a successful career as a concert cellist and prize-winning composer. At 15 he was recipient of the 1969 BMI Awards to Student Composers and several New Jersey State grants for composition; his musical compositions were performed throughout the U.S. and his musical score for Aeschylus' "Prometheus Bound" (written at age 13) was performed at the amphitheater in Delphi, Greece, where the play was originally premiered. His diverse career has made him a thought leader in several different industries. In 1986 John founded and wrote for Solstice, a journal on health, nutrition and environmental issues; his series on the climate crisis (yes, he was writing about this back in the eighties) was selected for national reprint in Utne Reader. In 1992 John edited and produced the underground bestseller "The Greatest Networker in the World" by John Milton Fogg, which became the defining book in its field. During the 1990s, John built a multimillion-dollar sales/distribution organization of over 100,000 people. He was cofounder and senior editor of the legendary journal Upline and editor in chief of Networking Times. He is married to Ana Gabriel Mann and considers himself the luckiest mann in the world. You can visit him at www.johndavidmann.com.