[Adapted from my monthly column, For Goodness' Sake, in Front Porch Magazine]
Where did it come from, today’s rampant, unchallenged, wild-eyed tsunami of Islamophobia…and its apparent, un-American sense of entitlement to bigoted speech against a world religion? Some in this debate seem to believe that if “we” are offended, it removes any reasonable constraints about our behaving to offend.
Islamophobia 2010 is clearly a reaction to the proposed “Ground Zero Mosque.” I won’t weigh in on that explosive debate in this brief article. The point is that the mosque war is causing some unacceptable, ironic casualties in our deeply-held American values called freedom of religion and respect for diversity.
Before you leap out of your breakfast nook and shout that I’m labeling the Ground Zero Mosque a topic of “religious freedom,” let me reiterate: this is not about the mosque. We’re jeopardizing religious freedom because of the mosque debate. God forbid we should hold up the Constitution in one hand and burn a Qur’an with the other. We really don’t need to display hypocrisy to the world while we move into an era of improved cooperation.
We hear the refrain against Muslims: “They are waging a stealth jihad against America!” So, here is my two-part response to concerns that The Muslims are Waging a Stealth Jihad against America:
A) Yes, there absolutely is a stealth jihad underway. Any group sophisticated enough to carry out the complex attack of 9/11 is smart enough to come at the problem (us) on multiple fronts. They told us who they are: al Qaeda. Al Qaeda says it speaks for Islam.
Remember that Hitler said he spoke for all good Germans.
B) No, it’s not “the Muslims” who are after “us”, any more than cop killer Eric Rudolph and his supporters could be interpreted as proof that “the Christians” are out to murder abortion doctors.
Think about it. If you identify yourself as Christian, do you also consider yourself a member of “Christian Identity,” which believes all non-Whites go to hell? Do you identify with Reverend Phelps, founder of the “God Hates Fags” movement? They protest at military funerals and laugh at grieving family members.
There are unsettling similarities between warnings to WATCH OUT for Them-There Muslims and der Fuhrer’s hysteria-laced speeches warning about the menace of Them-There Jews.
Remember your neighbors as human beings. In the decades before 9/11 (committed by a handful of radical, self-described Muslims), millions of Muslim Americans lived within an American society that had overcome widespread suspicion about a global Jewish conspiracy (WW II demonstrated that Them-There Jews were not actually in charge of world affairs), a disgraceful era of state-run segregation against Blacks, and the surprising election of a Catholic as one of our most beloved presidents. Muslims serve in the U.S. military and politics alongside Hindus, Buddhists, and atheists.
There is a difference between “Muslim” and “al Qaeda.” All al Qaeda members call themselves Muslims, but very few Muslims want to be al Qaeda.
I have read the entire Bible…twice. I have read the Torah, and I have read an English interpretation of the Qur’an. It’s important to understand what different people believe. (One uncomfortable factoid is this: most Christians haven’t read the Bible through.) The stories are similar.
Some challenge the claim that Islam is a religion of peace. They say it’s not like Christianity because it’s full of violence. Hang on a second while I look through the scriptures of my religion…ah, here it is. Joshua 6:21, in summing up the delightful story of God’s explicitly-directed conquest of Jericho: “They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old….”
That’s Jews, folks, and they’re the spiritual ancestors of the Christians. The Vile Deed (have you ever seen even one toddler who’s been eviscerated by a large blade? I have) is recorded in the Christian holy book alongside numerous other historical-spiritual examples that would turn your stomach inside out. We don’t have time to match the Vile Deeds of the Bible and the Qur’an one-by-one to see who can claim to be more peaceful. That wouldn’t even be a relevant exercise, because the point is that it’s easy to criticize while hiding one’s own warts from view. (In fact, fellow Christians, Jesus is recorded as having told His followers to first regard the planks in their own eyes.)
This article is not intended to raise Islam above Christianity or vice-versa. It asks only that we pause in our daily drama to consider where each of us is really coming from. I do believe in God, and I do believe He made us all. I’m also pretty sure that each of us is flawed and sees only a small part of the whole picture. That includes Muslims, yes…and Christians and Wiccans and Confucianists – oh my! In most of our traditions, the teachers said that the holier thing is to recognize a brother or sister under God.
During a great talk with my SEAL buddy Dave, he put the whole thing into perspective with a clarity (and brevity) that I lack: “It was easier when we were kids. We watched the cowboy movies and the news, and they were the same – we always knew who was wearing the Black Hat. Someone has to wear the Black Hat.”
Let’s search our hearts humbly before slapping the Black Hat onto a billion of the world’s humans.
Be good.
Just a few observations: Isn’t the Torah the Pentatuch (1st 5 books of the Bible)? Forgive me if I’m mistaken in that. HOWEVER, the Pentatuch IS revered in Jewdaism, Christianity and Islam. The conquest of the land of Israel was an edict to the Jews of that era, and Moses is again a revered person in all 3 of these faiths. Christianity advocated peace, no jihad. Bring Jesus to others, be all things to all men. If they reject us, brush the dust from your feet and move on. What is the wording in the Quran for how to go about discipling? I’m not going to bash anyone out of respect for my good friend, the author. I would like to point out that there is a difference in these religions. If there is no difference why not worship a golden calf?
Brother Eric, I really appreciate your comment and your considerate approach. If this piece comes across to any readers as an assertion from me that there’s no difference between religions, I apologize for being unclear. There are many differences between faith traditions…if I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t belong to just one.
No, the point of the article is that our cherished American values demand better of us than a sort of “ganging-up” on any religion. In news and commentaries these days I see more and more faith-based attacks on Islam from a doctrinal perspective (most obviously by Christians in generalizing about the evil intents of “all” Muslims), and that runs counter to our principles.
Also, it sometimes runs dangerously close to crossing hate speech laws, and if the same types of attacks were to occur in Germany against the entire Jewish faith, instead of in America against the entire Muslim faith, we’d probably all be able to see it more clearly for what it is.
As always, you keep me honest! We have got to get closer than several states away from each other one of these days and have another cup of coffee.
@dubois–Thankyou….from a Muslim.
@eric—-here is how the Quran feels…(Surah 5 verse 48)
“To you we sent the scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what God has revealed and follow not their vain (egoic) desires, diverging from the truth that has come to you. To each among you have we prescribed an Open Way. If God had so willed, he would have made you a single people, but (his plan is) to test you in what he has given to you: so strive as in a race (competition) in all virtues. The Goal of you all is to God: It is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which you dispute.”
In another verse, the Quran says that God created us in diversity so that we will grow in compassion and patience. Rather than judging someone else, one must strive to be sincere in our own beliefs. This struggle is called Jihad in Islam—the inner struggle to avoid temptations and to strive to do God’s will—-which is to have right intentions that promote right actions for the benefit of all of God’s creation. (The lesser Jihad is the outward fight for justice against oppression.)
kat,
Thank you for your comments. It is very valuable for all of us to receive insights from all the rest of us. Your expression of your belief offers an opportunity to hear your unfiltered truth. That’s more necessary than ever now, as I perceive that the bulk of what we hear about Islam today is being disseminated by critics from other faiths.
I appreciate your encouragement………
Approx 60% of the 1.5 billion or so Muslims live in the East, about 15% in the Middle East, 20% in Africa and about 5% in the West. Islam has been practiced for 1400 plus years, yet, in the West, people have only recently (and violently) become aware of Islam/Muslims—under the circumstances, misunderstandings will occur. Yet, we human beings have within us, a capacity for compassion and mercy that will help us overcome these divisions and unite us in our humanity…..
The Quran reminds us of this……
“O mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Truly, the most honored of you in God’s sight is the greatest of you in conduct. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware.” — 49:13
…..As you mentioned, this is echoed in other wisdom teachings across the world—-if only we would use these teachings to help one another become better human beings…..maybe, we could bury the black hat………
Thank you for this post, and the insightful comments that follow. All well said and respectful. Breath of fresh air…
klippity,
I appreciate your encouragement. Thank you for taking the time to write. You know, I was at the gym last night, a captive audience to that incessant television yammering, and I noticed an interesting thing on the news: national leaders, including Secretary Clinton and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, are just beginning to denounce “the derision, misinformation and outright bigotry being directed against America’s Muslim community.”
Although we had to wait for the first of the month to publish my column, I wrote it almost three weeks ago when the intolerance was first becoming intolerable. Maybe I should become a national leader. (And followers of all religions simultaneously groaned, “God forbid!”)
By the way, to all readers: this important debate and others like it are popping up here and at my LinkedIn Groups “ThUD” (The Un-Divided) and the “Applied Smart Power (ASP) Network”. If you’re a LinkedIn member or want to become one, please jump in!
Also, please pass on this link to other concerned humans. We don’t all have to agree – in fact, we’re better off and can progress if we don’t – but there’s very little in the world that’s really worth hurting people over.
[...] read my own stuff more often. For some reason, I just glanced back through the September 1st piece, In Defense of Islam…and All Faith, which is of course adapted from my monthly column in Front Porch [...]
Coming from a different religious standpoint completely (that is, none) I appreciated how common sense this article was, and how respectfully it was worded. It seems to me that there are always good and bad in any large population, whether it’s religion, race, gender, political belief, job, nation of birth, whatever. To judge a huge group based on the actions of a few who don’t represent that group is at best willfully ignorant. I cannot think of the appropriate word for what it is, at worst. No one word fully describes it.
Why the division? Do we truly need to invent an “Other” to fight against? Worse, do we need to invent an “Other” so that we can define ourselves? After all, a black hat only really works if there are white hats in the movie too.
I don’t believe we need that and neither, it seems, do you. With articles like this, Rob, I truly hope that we can start fighting against things that actually matter. We must start working towards whats good for all of us, not as Muslims or Christians or Jews (or..or..or) but as people.
TL;DR: You’re completely right, and I enjoyed this article.
Great article! I think spiritual illiteracy is one of the major problems in our society today.
Thanks, Peter. I love the term “spiritual illiteracy.” So apropos to recent discussions about “What Islam is” and “What Islam isn’t” as discussed by non-Muslims. As with every other aspect of “foreign” culture, we would all be increased by learning more about those unlike ourselves in faith. True literacy is not just getting an excellent, incestuous understanding of our home belief system. Without context, every piece of “knowledge” only compounds our larger misunderstanding.
My God, I’ve heard some doozies, and some make me very sad because they make very good people think very bad things about other very good people based on (usually) misinformation or (in the malicious sense) disinformation.
But this hearkens back to many other things I’ve been told by people who were told something by somebody else. For example, “Mormons have secret assassination squads that murder lapsed followers.” I have had a number of lapsed-Mormon friends, and have yet to see one assassinated. Maybe they also have a cunning system of replacements for those killed, something along the lines of the movie Face Off.
My favorite of all time is still widely propagated among some of my fellow Protestants: “The Catholic Church is The Beast, in service to Satan, and the Pope is the AntiChrist.”
Yikes. That darned Mother Teresa hid her diabolical intentions so well! She totally had me fooled.
(I’m definitely going to get some UnFollows as a result of challenging this last belief.)
A very thoughtful essay Rob. I applaud you for taking on the subject, knowing well that it would potentially not be received well by certain non-Muslims. You are right, Al Qaeda personnel claim to be Muslims, but only a tiny fraction of Muslims can claim to be Al Qaeda. This point can be expressed better when keeping in mind the fact that a person who commits a suicide shall never enter the heaven. This debunks the whole logic of suicide bombers. Not only that, under the guidance of Hadiths and the Glorious Qur’an, even during legitimate war period, there are rules a Muslim has to abide by (namely, cannot destroy buildings, cannot destroy food sources, cannot kill non-combatants or enemies who surrender) as you already know.
Now, regarding the first feedback you received, about what Qur’an says about “discipling.” If I am not mistaken, the author of the comment wondered about the Islamic rules regarding conversions. If I am wrong, I apologize. Otherwise, its is a popular myth that Islam encourages forced conversions or that Islam was spread at the point of the sword. First, I do not see a sword anywhere in this modern world, yet Islam is currently the fastest growing religion in the world. Sure one can find some individual historical examples of forced conversions by certain Muslim rulers, but followers of Christianity, Judaism, etc are just as guilty of that. Note that I say *followers of such and such religion* not the religion per se, since to know a religion, it is never a good idea to study its adherents, due to human imperfections, cultural corruption, etc. Moreover, to end this topic, Qur’an has a chapter dedicated to the non-believers to answer this topic of conversions. Sura Al Kafirun clearly expresses that there is no compulsion in religion: Unto you is your religion and unto me is my religion (Islam) ~ 109:6. The first constitution written by Prophet Muhammad clearly listed the protections that shall be enjoyed by Christians as well as Jews (Charter of Medina). Just as one can find individual examples of corruption by adherents of any religion, one can find examples that would show the nobility of that religion as well (Spanish inquisitor general Torquemada gave the Jews three months to convert to Christianity, leave the country, or face execution. Many Jews sought refuge in the Netherlands or the Islamic empires of the Moors, Arabs and Turks, where there was more religious toleration). After all, the holocaust occurred in Christian Europe. In essence, if we start pointing fingers, we shall never get anything done.
You are right Rob, our society has conditioned us to always have someone who can fit the black hat, so as to make it easy for us to know who the “enemy” is. At one time they were Jews, then certain races, now it is Muslims. Just as Muslims do not judge Christianity by a terrorist going on a killing rampage either at an abortion clinic or at Oklahoma city, it is simply ludicrous for Islam to be judged by the same.
“Note that I say *followers of such and such religion* not the religion per se, since to know a religion, it is never a good idea to study its adherents, due to human imperfections, cultural corruption, etc.”
Amen to that (if I may introduce a particularly lame religious pun into the discussion). There are very good bad examples throughout every faith and culture. Unfortunately, these tend to be the troublesome minority that outsiders notice most easily. They may in fact stand out more by virtue (no pun intended) of not being like their fellows! Ironic, really – groups are stigmatized by those fringe members who least represent the group.
Currently I shave my head, which is half-defoliated by hereditary factors anyway. I recently happened to strike up a conversation with a stranger, who mentioned that he thought I’m Muslim because I wear a beard. Nope. Another person, seeing me with my hair grown out, thought I was a rabbi. Wrong again. And once while I was in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a young ethnic Russian man at an Orthodox church service thought I was one of the priests. Umm…closer, but still no.
It’s my opinion, for what it’s worth, that stereotypes no longer serve the same value as they did when we humans were neatly tucked away in little homogenous enclaves. In much earlier days, if you were of a different color or religion it was quite possible you represented a real threat to the security of a group. Nowadays, such assumptions work counter-productively. They build offense, fear and resentment – all of which are counter-productive to genuine security.
[...] My Twitter friend Peter goes by the handle of @Muslimerican. He had this to say in response to my P2 article, In Defense of Islam…and All Faith: [...]