From Host to Guest: A Journey of Interfaith Friendship

Matthew Kaemingk didn’t have Muslim friends growing up. Raised in a Christian school in a small, rural town in the Pacific Northwest, his chances of befriending a Muslim didn’t improve when he attended a small Christian college. This “Muslim-free” life continued until the fall of his junior year when, one early morning, he and his roommates awoke to a barrage of phone calls from anxious parents urging them to turn on CNN. It was September 11th. 

In the months following the attacks, Matthew and his roommates were introduced to Islam through the lenses of CNN and Fox News, which portrayed radical Islam as a global villain in opposition to the West. Images of Muslims celebrating the attacks and shouting “Allahu Akbar!” dominated the airwaves, and America, whipped into a frenzy, sought revenge. This portrayal of Islam was two-dimensional, casting Muslims as either distant terrorists or desperate refugees. Matthew graduated in May 2003 with a plan to see the world, spending that summer in a UN refugee camp in Eastern Europe. Serving refugees fleeing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, he offered English classes and tutoring, while informally spending time listening to their stories. These interactions revealed a different side of Islam, one that wasn’t depicted in the news. 

After his time in the camps, Matthew went on to graduate school to study theology, political ethics, and Muslim-Christian relations. He wrote his first book about Muslim immigration in the West and the Christian case for hospitality toward them. It was during this time that he met Shadi Hamid, a respected scholar on political Islam and international relations. Shadi endorsed Matthew’s book and offered a speech at its launch event, marking the beginning of their friendship. As they traveled together, speaking at various universities, Matthew saw Shadi not as the clichéd image of a Muslim post-9/11 but as a native-born American with deep insight and complexity. Their conversations about faith, justice, and salvation revealed that Shadi embodied many virtues Matthew had sought his entire life. Despite their theological differences, Shadi’s character and wisdom often surpassed Matthew’s, leading him to a profound sense of “holy envy.” This friendship taught Matthew that God could be active in their relationship, bridging the deep religious differences between them in unexpected ways. 

You can read Mathew’s full story on Neighborly Faith.