Leaders from the three Abrahamic faiths partnering together for the common good could be a game-changer. Together we can be a powerful force undermining violent extremism, reducing religious persecution, and making peace in our broken, bleeding and beautiful world.

On Monday (June 26th), the Supreme Court issued a decision regarding President Trump's "travel ban," which went into effect yesterday evening. Here's what you need to know and what you can do.

In part one of this series I mentioned six historical reasons for the rise of ISIS. In part two I outlined six reasons for the expansion of ISIS. Today we'll look at three things you can do about ISIS.

Our great nation can and must continue to be pro-refugee, pro-security and pro-religious freedom. We can welcome the refugee and keep our country safe and uphold religious freedom. We must do all three if we want to make America great and be a model of freedom for the rest of the world.

Leon Panetta, former Director of the CIA and Secretary of Defense, and Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, just launched Turning Point: A New Comprehensive Strategy for Countering Violent Extremism. Turning Point summarizes the findings of interviews about violent extremism with hundreds of experts, along with surveys conducted in Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, China, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

What pops into the mind of the average American if you ask him or her about Muslims? Most would say something like this: “Muslims are terrorists,” “I'm afraid of Muslims; they want to take over our country,” or “I'm suspicious of Muslims.”

The alienation between many Americans and Muslims world-wide is based primarily on fear and not facts. American mainstream media, and all too often Christians, view Muslims—all Muslims—as evil extremists who want to do us harm. Muslims equal “security threats” in the eyes of many people.

What can we, simple civilian followers of Jesus, do in response to ISIS? The fullness of ISIS's recruiting is complex, but one story they tell is that Westerners (and Christians, in particular) are at war with Muslims. So we must help those who are vulnerable to recruitment EXPERIENCE a story that contradicts the story ISIS is telling. 

Peace Catalyst International grieves with the people of Lebanon and France over these despicable terrorist attacks in Beirut and Paris. We urge followers of Jesus everywhere to love God with their mind in order to resist simplistic sound bites about Islam. Islam is radically diverse. The vast majority of Muslims are not our enemies. The tiny fraction of Muslim extremists like ISIS are.