Perhaps the first Anabaptist to call for peace with Muslims was Michael Sattler in 1527. Europeans at that time feared the Muslim Turks. But Sattler would have no part of shedding blood for church or state. On trial for heresy, he told the magistrates of Rottenburg, Germany: “We must not defend ourselves against the Turks and others of our persecutors, but are to beseech God with earnest prayer to repel and resist them.”

As if renouncing war was not shocking enough, Sattler enraged the court with his closing argument. The Martyrs Mirror records his words: “If warring were right, I would rather take the field against the so-called Christians, who persecute, apprehend and kill pious Christians, than against the Turks.” The Turks, he explained, cannot be expected to follow Christ, but Christians who kill Christians contradict their own faith. For defying church and state, Sattler was burned at the stake.

Today the clash of faiths and cultures that Sattler renounced five centuries ago grinds on year by year. Flares of violence, like the terrorist attack on journalists at a satirical magazine in Paris, stir the fires of hate and suspicion. Assassins falsely claiming to follow the teachings of Islam sparked huge demonstrations of sorrow for the victims and support for free speech — but also a resurgence of overt prejudice against Muslims in the U.S. and Europe.

It is the duty of Christians, especially those who see peacemaking as their calling, to be agents of reconciliation by turning their nations and communities away from fear and toward friendship with their Muslim neighbors.

Many people of faith can agree on the need to renounce violence and defend free speech. The right to worship freely and to speak freely are closely linked. Though we personally wouldn’t mock anyone’s religion, a free society must protect the right to do it. Christians and Muslims alike can use their freedom wisely by denouncing bloodshed. Peacemakers from both faiths should stand together against violence — whether by terrorists “avenging the Prophet” or by nations “taking out the bad guys” with air­strikes that kill innocents.

Islam and its peaceful followers deserve respect and friendship. We must not hold Muslims collectively nor Islam itself responsible for the actions of Boko Haram in Nigeria or assassins in Paris. Christians who spread fear of Sharia law and suspicion of immigrants must not guide our response to acts of terror. We value religious pluralism. We refuse to join the battle of faiths and cultures that some from both religions try to provoke us all to fight.

A positive example of interfaith contact comes from the Christian/Muslim Relations Team of Eastern Mennonite Missions. In a statement last year, the team urged Christians to develop friendships with Muslims, express appreciation for the ways they serve their communities and to “always commend Christ in your words and actions.” Muslims likewise can pursue reconciliation by following the Quran’s command to “repel that which is bad with that which is good. Indeed, maybe he whom you have an enmity with may become a close friend.” Heeding both faith’s peaceful scriptures would end centuries of conflict