British Teacher Home from Sudan: Gillian Gibbons, Muslim Clerics, and a Teddy Bear named Mohammed

Posts touching on the matter of a teddy bear named Mohammed vs. Islam:

• "The War on Terror - What It's For, What It's Against"
  (December 3, 2007)
• "Good News for Infidel Teacher: Still No News on Anti-Islamic Teddy Bear"
  (December 3, 2007)
• "Mohammed the Teddy Bear vs Islam: The Saga Continues"
  (December 1, 2007)
• "Sudan Court Defends Islam: Teacher Found Guilty of "Inciting Religious Hatred" / Inciting Religious Hatred - With a Teddy Bear??!"
  (November 29, 2007)
• "Beyond the Teddy Bear: Sudan, the Darfur Genocide, and Islam"
  (November 29, 2007)
• "Sudan Defends Islam Against Blasphemous Teddy Bear"
  (November 28, 2007)
• "Islam vs. the Blasphemous Teddy Bear"
  (November 27, 2007)
• "Islam, Christianity, Culture, and Kooks"
  (November 26, 2007)

The War on Terror - What It's For, What It's Against

Western Plot Against Islam Thwarted!
Hatemongering British Teacher Flees to England!
Mohammed the Teddy Bear's Fate a Mystery!

British teacher Gillian Gibbons is back in England. I'd like to say "safe in England," but this year's bombings in London and Glasgow show that the United Kingdom has its share of religious nuts. As the news of Gibbons' attack on Islam filters through the Islamic community in England, someone's going to have a shot at carrying out their fellow-Muslims' demands for "No tolerance: Execution," and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad."

Still, it's good that this teacher is out of Sudanese hands, and back in a country where sharia law isn't the law of the land.

Why those borderline-delusional headlines for this post?

I've read and heard that the people who targeted a London nightclub and drove a flaming Jeep Cherokee through the main entrance of Glasgow's Blackpool airport are upset at how western nations - including England - are oppressing Muslims.

Lord Nazir Ahmed and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, British peers who follow Islam, negotiated Gillian Gibbons' release earlier today. How elevating people whose immediate ancestors aren't anywhere near British to the peerage doesn't sound like oppression to me.

On the other hand, being more or less forced into national politics and international affairs isn't exactly a piece of cake. Maybe Lord Ahmed is oppressed, after all.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir may have gained some diplomatic ground from this incident. Lord Ahmed said "the relations between our two countries will not be damaged by this incident." He also said that Britain respected Islam. He apparently didn't explain why.

Meanwhile, the British teacher, Gillian Gibbons, gave the Sudanese government a written statement to work with. Under the circumstances, I can hardly blame her. Some excerpts:

• "I have a great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone"
• She wrote that she was sorry if she caused any "distress."

These statements may be useful to President al-Bashir's regime. He's been using a "mix of anti-colonialism, religious fundamentalism and a sense that the West is besieging Islam."

I think this successful philosophy may help explain why Sudan's genocide in the Darfur region was a non-event that wasn't happening for so long.

Western leaders, at least the self-described best and brightest in America, have a rather clearly-defined model of how the world works:

• Western imperialism, particularly American Imperialism, is the root of the world's ills
• The western religion, Christianity, is also the root of the world's ills
  (never mind that Christianity is, arguably, an Oriental mystery religion)
• Blacks/Africans are victims of
  • Oppression by whites
  • Specifically, oppression by northern Europeans, and people whose ancestors were northern Europeans
  Oppression by Christians and Christianity
• Believers in non-Christian religions are oppressed by Christians

This is over-simplified, of course, but I think that this list of assumptions is a fairly accurate description of part of the mental model that those people who believe themselves to be the educated and open-minded segment of American society.

It's a model that works fairly well, at least when looking at parts of the Old South before the sixties.

Then, there's the Darfur region of Sudan. That's where an Arabic, Islamic regime is, at best, hampering efforts to stop a systematic killing of Africans: in a part of Sudan where the (African) locals are rather more likely to be Christian than in the Islamic north.

Christians being oppressed by non-Christians?

Africans being oppressed by people who, although technically Caucasian, most certainly don't come from northern Europe?

This most certainly does not fit the 'America and Christianity is to blame' model.

I may be unfair, writing this, but I think it's at least plausible that Darfur stayed off the radar so long because there wasn't an obvious way to blame either America or Christianity for the killings. At least, without blaming the victims of the genocide. And blame-the-victim isn't very popular right now - thankfully.

---

"Western Plot Against Islam" and all that:

I'm not making up that "western plot" stuff. Sudanese clerics said that "What has happened was not haphazard or carried out of ignorance, but rather a calculated action and another ring in the circles of plotting against Islam." There's more: "It is part of the campaign of the so-called war against terrorism and the intense media campaign against Islam."

"Hatemongering?" That's not my opinion about what the British teacher did. It's what a Sudanese court, following sharia law, said she was doing. She was found guilty of "Inciting Religious Hatred."

As for the teddy bear, brought to school by one of Gillian Gibbons' students: Mohammed the teddy bear hasn't been heard of since this exercise in lunacy began.

---

Is Islam a Treatable Mental Illness?

Quite possibly not.

It's easy for non-Muslims to see Islam as a disorder similar to paranoid schizophrenia, based on

• Sudan's insane response to a teddy bear named Mohammed
• Saudi Arabia's sentencing of the "Girl from Qatif"
• The Taliban's execution of a teenage boy for teaching English and wearing pants

And that's just cases of Islamic jurisprudence that made international news in the last few weeks.

There seems to be more to Islam than that.

A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, Inayat Bunglawala, said that Gillian Gibbons should never have been arrested - and that the the Muslim Council of Britain welcomed the pardon. "It will be wonderful to see her back in the U.K. I am sure she will be welcomed by both Muslims and non-Muslims after her quite terrible ordeal at the hands of the Sudanese authorities," he said.

On this side of the Atlantic, the American Islamic Congress has issued a series of press releases as the matter of the British teacher, the teddy bear named Mohammed, and sharia law played out:

1. "American Islamic Congress Slams Sudanese Government over Teddy Bear Case, Demands British Teacher Be Freed Immediately"
2. "American Islamic Congress Slams Sudan for Jailing Teacher, Launches FreeGillian.org Letter-Writing Drive"
3. "American Islamic Congress Calls for Continued Pressure on Sudan Following Teacher's Release"

This case of the British teacher and the teddy bear named Mohammed is not a major event. I doubt that it will be more than a footnote, at most, in any history of this period.

On the other hand, I think it's an excellent example of what the War on Terror is about. Apparently, the 'Arab on the street' shares the opinion of those Sudanese clerics, who believe that the west is out to get Islam.

I can understand how people who fear the end of treasured traditions like honor killings and flogging rape victims would see the War on Terror as an attack on their beliefs. It is.

But it's not an attack on Islam. At least, not according to the likes of the American Islamic Congress and Lord Ahmed.

As I see it, America and several other nations around the world are defending a two-hundred-year-plus-year-old tradition of freedom, self-determination, and a rule of law that doesn't involve draconian decisions based on tribal law.

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Sudan Court Defends Islam: Teacher Found Guilty of "Inciting Religious Hatred"

Inciting Religious Hatred - With a Teddy Bear??!

British school teacher Gillian Gibbons is guilty of "inciting religious hatred" by letting her class of 7-year-olds name a teddy bear "Mohammed."

Apparently, it's okay to name boys "Mohammed," but it's not okay to name a teddy bear "Mohammed." That's because Muslims aren't supposed to depict the prophet. And, apparently naming a teddy bear "Mohammed" is depicting the prophet, and naming a boy "Mohammed" isn't.

Being a non-Muslim, I suppose I can't be expected to understand?

If Gillian Gibbons can survive 15 days in a Sudanese prison, odds are that she'll be home free. Today, the Sudanese court said that she'd get 15 days, and then be deported. Tomorrow, who knows what the Sudanese court will decide?

We got a good look at Islamic justice, Sudan style, in this trial.

• The judge demanded that the prosecution bring the person who originally complained about Gibbons.
• The defense lawyer for Gibbons had to "scuffle" with police before he could get into the courtroom.
• British diplomats were barred from the courtroom - they were eventually allowed to enter.

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Beyond the Teddy Bear: Sudan, the Darfur Genocide, and Islam

That Gillian Gibbons, a British school teacher, being likely to get 40 lashes - more, if a judge feels like it - is serious. Particularly since the Sudanese government seems to bent on making an example of this dangerous infidel.

People in a moderate Sufi sect were distributing leaflets in Khartoum's Arab market, by the city's Great Mosque. They want the (Muslim) faithful to protest.

"What has been done by this infidel lady is considered a matter of contempt and an insult to Muslims' feelings and also the pollution of children’s mentality as an attempt to wipe their identity," is what the leaflet says.
(TimesOnline.co.uk)

That "moderate Sufi sect" wants a million people to protest in the streets after prayers tomorrow.

Stay tuned?

Sixteen hours ago, as I'm writing this, another blogger posted "Gillian Gibbons and Sudan - why is nobody mentioning Darfur?" I followed the link (http://casabill.blogspot.com/2007/11/gillian-gibbons-and-sudan-why-is-nobody.html), and got a "Page Not Found" message. Checking the blog confirmed that yesterday's post has been removed.

2 questions:

1. Why was that blog post removed?
2. Why isn't Darfur being discussed, in connection with the blasphemous teddy bear?

Although I'd love to cook up some wild conspiracy theory, it's much more likely that the blogger who posted that Gibbons - Sudan - Darfur piece wasn't forced to delete it. I generally write offline, check what I've written, and then post a finished work. Not everyone works that way, and I've occasionally posted in haste: then repented (and re-written) at comparative leisure.

Bill, the blogger whose post I wrote about, left a comment a little while ago. He explained what happened, and told me where to find that post. Here is the new, improved, and - now - correct link: Gillian Gibbons and Sudan - why is nobody mentioning Darfur?. Thanks for the help, Bill!

Why isn't Darfur being discussed in articles about Gillian Gibbons and the terrible teddy bear?

My guess is that it's very, very, hard for many people to think about the connection. Particularly people in the 'better' and 'more intelligent' circles.

I'll get back to that, after a little background about Sudan.

---

Darfur? Sudan? Where's That?

Since Darfur, and for that matter, Sudan, aren't among the best-known places in the world, Here's some background. The following facts are from The CIA's "The World Factbook." That document is a great deal more detailed - and polite - than my summary.

Sudan lies south of Egypt, with borders on Egypt, the Red Sea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Chad, and Lybia. Sudan's capital is Khartoum. Darfur is a border region of Sudan, bordering Chad and the Central African Republic.

Northern Sudan is mostly Muslim, Arab, and hasn't been doing too well, economically. Southern Sudan is mostly Non-Muslim, Non-Arab, and has been relatively prosperous. The country got independence from Britain in 1956.

Since then, there have been a string of military regimes with Islamic leanings and/or Islamic governments in Sudan. Also, two major civil wars: mostly over the unfair (?) way that non-Muslims were doing better than Muslims. (My comment - with Sudanese Muslims focusing their energies on saving Islam from things like teddy bears, is it any wonder that non-Muslims make more money in Sudan?)

Having an Islamic (Sudan style) government may help one facet of the Sudanese economy, though.

"Sudan is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation; Sudan may also be a transit and destination country for Ethiopian women trafficked for domestic servitude; boys are trafficked to the Middle East, particularly Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, for use as camel jockeys; small numbers of girls are reportedly trafficked within Sudan for domestic servitude as well as for commercial sexual exploitation in small brothels in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps...."

Here's a list of religious beliefs in Sudan:

• 70% Sunni Muslim (in north)
• 5% Christian(mostly in south and Khartoum)
• 25% indigenous beliefs

---

The Darfur Genocide: a Non-Crisis that Never Happened?

I could be mistaken, but it seems that the Darfur genocide was ignored until 2004, when then- U. S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, said

"that genocide has occurred in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility, and that genocide may still be continuing." Following that, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, unanimously declared "that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide."

Around that point, the genocide became a non-crisis that wasn't happening, and an American plot. Some anonymous USAID workers cited in "The Guardian" (UK) said that the Americans were using the wrong numbers. The UN World Food Programme used a survey and decided that, although people were going hungry, the crisis (non-crisis?) was being handled well. And, that USAID head Andrew Natsios, who told UN officials that "We estimate right now, if we get relief in we'll lose a third of a million people and, if we don't, the death rates could be dramatically higher, approaching a million people." was lying.

Later, the USAID assistant administrator, Roger Winter, told foreign journalists that the numbers were 30,000 killed during the 'on-going crisis in Darfur,' on top of 50,000 people dying from malnutrition and disease. He still said that the situation was a "humanitarian disaster of the first magnatude."

"The Guardian" had an explanation, and an insinuation:

"Under the Bush administration, the work of USAID has become increasingly politicised. But over Sudan, in particular, two of its most senior officials have long held strong personal views. Both Natsios, a former vice-president of the Christian charity World Vision, and Winter have long been hostile to the Sudanese government."

You hear that? "Christian charity World Vision! Maybe those Christians are part of the plot against Islam. You know, the one that Gillian Gibbons and the blasphemous teddy bear are in on.

I'd prefer to be wrong about this, but I think that there's much better than even odds that the Darfur genocide isn't getting much attention because mostly-Muslim and Arab outfits are killing mostly-non-Muslim, non-Arab people. Worse yet, quite a few of the non-Muslims are Christian. And African. Black.

That leaves traditional news media on the horns of a dilemma. Blacks are being slaughtered and starved to death by Caucasians. That's news!

But, these Caucasians aren't the European sort. They're Arabs: and as non-Europeans, aren't part of the oppressor class. In fact, they're part of the oppressed class. Just ask the Palestinians. (I know: the Middle Eastern situation isn't that simple - just like someone from the sovereign state of Georgia might not appreciate being called a Yankee.)

With such a confusion of oppressors and oppressees, I'm afraid that it's 'way too easy for me to see the Darfur genocide as a tragedy that got ignored because it doesn't fit the standard western-oppression editorial model.

Back to the Teddy Bear

My guess is that Gilliam Gibbons, and Mohammed the Teddy Bear, will be back in the news tomorrow, when a massive spontaneous demonstration is planned in Khartoum.

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Sudan Defends Islam Against Blasphemous Teddy Bear

Sudan got around to charging Gilliam Gibbons. She's the British school teacher who blasphemed the prophet you-know-who, by - get this - letting a boy in her class suggest the name "Mohammed," which is his name.

Oops. By using you-know-who's name, I probably committed blasphemy, too. At least by Sudanese standards. Forget it. I don't live in Sudan, thank God. It's easier to write out "Mohammed,"¹ than dance around it.

A few more details about Gibbons' "offense" came up in "The New York Post" today.

• Sudan authorities say that she's guilty of inciting religious hatred. If she's found guilty (and how unlikely is that?), she'll most likely get 40 lashes. Unless Sudan follows Saudi Arabia's lead, and adds extra lashes.
• The name "Mohammed" was suggested by one of the class - a boy in her class named Mohammed.
  • It seems that giving the name "Mohammed" to a teddy bear is blasphemous, but giving it to a boy isn't: Unless young "Mohammed" is going to have lashed and/or stoned and/or beheaded parents soon.
• Gibbons is being charged under article 125 of the Sudanese legal code
  • This is significant, since it shows that Sudan uses a written legal code - this bizarre accusation isn't being made up out of thin air by some Sudanese official who forgot to take his medication
• Besides lashes, Gibbons may be facing six months jail time and a fine
• This imbroglio started when some of her pupil's parents complained about the teddy Mohammed.
• The British government is involved. Their officials are talking with Sudanese officials. (Let's hope no British officials are accused of blasphemy.)

The Sudanese government claims that being attacked for doing something that Muslims don't like is an isolated incident. Given all the people who have been hurt and killed, from the 1972 Munich Olympics to 9/11 and the present, that's a little hard to believe.

At least the recent attacks have been over genuinely spiritual values, like the naming of teddy bears.

The Teddy Bear Conspiracy

Sudanese clerics have earned more of my respect, by clearly stating what's going on. Here's the situation, from their point of view:

• Naming that teddy bear "Mohammed" is part of a larger Western "plot" against Islam.
• Naming the teddy bear was intentional blasphemy.
  • "What has happened was not haphazard or carried out of ignorance, but rather a calculated action and another ring in the circles of plotting against Islam."
    "It is part of the campaign of the so-called war against terrorism and the intense media campaign against Islam."
    From a statement by the Sudanese Assembly of the Ulemas. (Ulemas: "the body of professional theologians who are regarded as the authority on religious law.")
• The Muslim Council of Britain urged the Sudanese government to intervene. (Which side the Muslim Council of Britain is taking isn't clear in "The New York Post" article.)

In a way the Sudanese Assembly of the Ulemas has a point. Western news media seems to have gotten over its reluctance to report atrocities committed by non-western societies, and that isn't making Islam look good. The fairly steady trickle of reports on lashings, stonings, and beheadings, in Islamic nations doesn't paint a flattering picture.

On the other hand, the recurring theme of women being lashed and stoned for peccadilloes suggests that contemporary Islam might be a tolerant and nurturing home for people who follow the practices and philosophy of the late Marquis de Sade.

Religion - or Culture?

It's easy to say that Islam is the common thread connecting burqas, beheadings, and honor killings. Particularly since the Muslims who commit these atrocities say that they're doing what Mohammed told them to, and are following the will of Allah.

There's something else that most of these expressions of sadistic jurisprudence have in common. They happen in "Islamic" countries in the Middle East and northern Africa.

The largest Islamic country in the world, in terms of numbers of Muslims, is Indonesia. That country's home to a little upwards of 200,000,000 Muslims. Even percentage-wise, Indonesia is more Islamic than America is Christian: 86% Muslim for Indonesia; 78% Christian for America, including Mormons.

Indonesia, a very Islamic country, isn't flogging women for not wearing a burqa, or beheading people for being insufficiently Islamic. In fact, the Bali nightclub bombing, back in 2002, is just one incident in continuing fight Indonesia has with Islamic groups like Jemaah Islamiyah, and Al Qaeda affiliates that want Indonesia to be an Islamic state like northern Sudan or Afghanistan under the Taliban.

There's no question, I think, that something is terribly wrong with places like Saudi Arabia and northern Sudan.

Living in Fast-Forward, Culture Shock, and All That

I don't think that the problem is necessarily Islam. Look at the map, and look at the relatively uniform culture of the countries in northern Africa and the Middle East. The impression I get is that these are places where men were living comfortably in a mosaic of tribes, living their lives in much the same way that their ancestors had since the time of Abraham.

Then, a few centuries ago, European colonial powers dragged them into the

• Age of nation-states
• Age of Reason
• Age of Enlightenment
• Industrial Revolution
• Cold War
• Space Race
• Information Revolution

To people still accustomed to burqas and Sharia, a world of Barbies and sports cars must be terrifying. It's no wonder that they go a little crazy, trying to adjust.

Non-Muslims might consider the possibility that the insanely intolerant, violent, behavior of "Islamic" countries doesn't stem from Islam. The traditional cultures of many of these places were old-fashioned when Rome ruled the Mediterranean, and hadn't been forced to deal with outside ideas until the last few generations.

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¹ Why not "Muhammed," or one of the other Latinized spellings? I'm using an Associated Press stylebook, and that resource says that "Mohammed" is the way that the Prophet of Islam's name is spelled in English. It's one of a number of commonly-used efforts to bring that name into a language that uses the Latin alphabet.

(Thanks to "The Sudanese Name Game" for steering me to "The New York Post" article, and to "American Islamic Congress Slams Sudanese Government over Teddy Bear Case, Demands British Teacher Be Freed Immediately")

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Islam vs. the Blasphemous Teddy Bear

Gillian Gibbons discovered that Sudan isn't Liverpool. She
committed blasphemy, by letting her class of seven-year-olds name a teddy bear "Muhammad."

She was teaching in a private school, teaching Muslims and Christians.

Is This What It'll Take to Get Along?

I think I have a way for western women teaching in Islamic regions to avoid committing blasphemy.

• Put a cloth over your head, hemmed to reach the ground
• Say nothing
• Do nothing
• Hope that you're mistaken for a coat rack

Unless coat racks are blasphemous, too.

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Islam, Christianity, Culture, and Kooks

"The Islamic world" is a handy label for that swath of territory and people from Turkey to Indonesia.

As the followers of Mohammed preached and hacked their way across Asia and Africa, they set up quite a wide variety of "Islamic" cultures. I'm aware that I'm over-simplifying here: This post is long as it is, without going into detail on what's happened in the last fourteen centuries, since Mohammed's conquest of Mecca in 630.

(The founder of Islam has my respect, if for nothing else than for raising an army, marching on a city, conquering that city with minimal bloodshed, and then refraining from slaughtering the inhabitants. Such a high level of humanitarianism has been rare in human history.)

(And, about the spelling of the Prophet's name. There's a variety of ways to take his name from the Arabic alphabet and drop it into the Latin alphabet as used in English. I'm going to use Mohammed, since that's what the standard set in the Associated Press style book I use. Exceptions will be situations where I'm quoting from a source, or where I make a mistake.)

Islamic Unity??

Since Islam is a sort of roll-your-own religion, with no central authority to define what's so and what's not, there are many varieties of Islam. I'm going to take a glance at three "Islamic" countries, and "Christian" America, and try to make some sense of what's out there.

Indonesia is just over 86% Muslim, compared to

• 70% Sunni Muslim for Sudan
  (with 5% Christian - mostly in south and Khartoum -
  and 25% indigenous beliefs)
• 100% Muslim for Saudi Arabia

For comparison, America is about 78% Christian, if you include Mormons:

• 52% Protestant
• 24% Roman Catholic
• 2% Mormon
• 1% Jewish
• 1% Muslim
• 10% Other
• 10% None

Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country, in terms of raw numbers, and is more "Muslim" than America is "Christian."

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia owns and controls Mecca, and is virtually all Muslim.

And, in addition to being about as far away from each other geographically as any other two Islamic countries are, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are very far away from each other in terms of their on-the-street, practical, Islamic beliefs.

Islam: Saudi Style

She's known as the "Girl from Qatif." She's a 19-year-old who was raped by about a half-dozen men, and (so far) sentenced to 200 lashes and prison time. The Saudi Justice Ministry's latest story is that she's guilty of adultery. And that's why she'll be flogged.

It makes sense, since what passes for justice in Saudi Arabia is run by a collection of Islamic courts and judges appointed by the king. The royal opinion has access to the opinion of Saudi Arabia's Supreme Judicial Council. The whole mess uses Sharia Law as the foundation for their decisions.

A little oddity in this case: The Saudi Justice Ministry's current story is that the "Girl from Qatif" was with a high school friend, recovering a photo that showed the two of them together. "Then they were spotted by the other defendants as the woman was in an indecent condition as she had tossed away her clothes, then the assault occurred on her and the man," is how the Houston Chronicle reported the latest Saudi story.

That sentence of prison and lashes, that the 19-year-old got after an appeal? It was legal, according to the Saudi ministry, and followed the "the book of God and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad."

Speaking of Mohammed, here's an example of

Islam: Sudan Style

A British school teacher has been sentenced to 40 lashes. She's guilty of a serious crime. She allowed her class of 7-year-olds to name a teddy bear "Muhammad." The vote was 20 for "Muhammad," 3 for other names.

British Embassy in Khartoum said that it still doesn't know whether the teacher has been charged. Formally, that is. "We are following it up with the authorities and trying to meet her in person," said the embassy.

I'm impressed at how laid back Sudanese authorities are, about getting around to formal charges. Not favorably impressed, but I am impressed.

The teacher was following a British National Curriculum course for teaching about animals and their habitats. The animal this year was the bear.

After naming the teddy bear, each student could have the bear for a weekend. They were supposed to record what they did with the bear. Then each account was put in a book, with "My name is Muhammad" on the cover.

This apparently is an insult to the prophet of Islam. And, more to the point, regarded as an insult by the prophet's lash-happy followers in Sudan.

Sudanese police now want to question the 7-year-old girl who brought in the teddy bear.

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Islam, Indonesian Style

Since the Indonesian judicial system isn't based on Sharia Law, it wouldn't be entirely fair to use Indonesian court decisions as an example of Islam in action.

Christians have been executed in Indonesia: For example, the three Christians who were convicted of leading a militia that killed at least 70 Muslims during 1999-2002. After that, Indonesia sentenced a dozen Christian men to terms of up to 14 years: Because they beat two Muslims to death, and beheaded them. The nominal Christians were exacting vengeance for the earlier death sentences.

Christianity, American Style

America is less "Christian" than any of these three Islamic nations is "Muslim." And, America's judicial system, like Indonesia's, isn't based (directly) on a set of religious laws.

For both countries, I'm sure that the religious faiths of those who drew up the laws had something to do with what the laws dictate. I think, though, that America can take credit for putting more distance between traditional religious beliefs and actual judicial practice.

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Religious Values: or Cultural Values?

Islam isn't the only religion where decisions about the faith are made on a regional or local level. Protestant Christianity is very democratic in the way that its lack of a central authority demands that groups decide for themselves what they believe.

In the case of large denominations, like the Lutheran or Baptist churches, we don't often see beliefs preached that stray very far from the dominant culture.

At the other end of the scale, we've got outfits like the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. (Not the Westboro Baptist Church of Westboro, Ontario, which has nothing in common with the Kansas outfit, apart from the name.) I discussed this outfit's notions about the American military being part of a homosexual plot in "Tolerance Only Goes So Far" and "Does Free Speech Include Disrupting Funerals?."

Then, there's the Ku Klux Klan, or KKK. They're not a religious group, but their beliefs include disapproval of the existence of Catholics and Jews in their neighborhood. Or anywhere, I gather. And, their habit of burning crosses has seared the idea into people's minds that they're a Christian splinter group.

I'm no expert, but it looks like "The Islamic World" is nowhere near being a unified entity. From Saudi Arabia, where religious fanatics seem to be running the judiciary, to Indonesia, where religious fanatics are trying to topple the government for not being Islamic enough, there's at least as much of a divide as between Al Qaeda and the Taliban, who want to kill infidels in America, and elsewhere; and the infidels, who, by and large, would rather not be killed.

Certainly not for offenses like wearing pants.

The impression I get is that many of these "Islamic" countries are what America would be like, if the KKK or the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka ran the show.

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