The War on Terror: Yes, Who Wins Does Matter

We don't, officially, have a "War on Terror" any more.

I think I understand some of the political reasoning behind the move. As I wrote earlier, "dropping a divisive term like 'war on terror' is certainly a change...." (March 30, 2009) I've been relieved to see that the current administration, rhetoric aside, seems to take the threat posed by Islamic terrorists seriously.

Fighting for Trousers, Beer and Beagles?

That's just as well, I think: because there's very good reason to believe that the matter of who wins this war does make a difference. That's assuming that you're a man who prefers to wear trousers; a woman who prefers to not wear a burqa; or anybody who likes beer or beagles.

I know: that sounds trivial. But odds are that you've grown up in a culture that tolerates trousers.

Western civilization, for all its faults, doesn't make a habit of killing people who don't follow an official dress code. If Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or like-minded people win, that would probably change.

It's not just beer and burqas: the cultural values of people who insist that they're defending Islam don't seem to be very close to what many Americans appear to think is right.

Emphasis on "cultural values." I'll get back to that. A cluster of news items last week, and a follow-up today, got my attention:

Rape: It's the Victim's Fault?

An eight-year-old girl in Arizona was raped last week. Then her Liberian family disowned her: because she had shamed them - according to their warped view of reality. (July 25, 2009")

I'm Biased: I Don't Approve of Rape

I went to college in America - several times, during the seventies and eighties - so I know that in some American subcultures one of the few things that are 'wrong' to do is criticizing non-Western cultures.

Even by those standards, I'm on fairly safe ground this time. The president of Liberia is a woman, and she doesn't approve of rape. She also doesn't approve of shunning women who were raped - and is one of the people who are changing Liberia's laws on the subject. (A Catholic Citizen in America (July 25, 2009)) I think she's on the right track, but I'll admit to a bias.

They're Liberians: This Proves that Muslims Rape Women and Shun Rape Victims, Right?

Ah, no.

There are Muslims in Liberia, but they're a minority. When it comes to religious beliefs, Liberia shakes out this way:

• Indigenous beliefs
  • 40%
• Christian
  • 40%
• Muslim
  • 20%

Aha! We has got us a suspek!

This Proves that Christians Rape Women and Shun Rape Victims, Right?

No, but you'd probably find an audience for that notion in several of the more 'sophisticated' American subcultures. I discuss the Catholic take on the propriety of rape in another post. (A Catholic Citizen in America (July 25, 2009)) I haven't researched the subject thoroughly, but my own experience indicates that rape is not condoned in Christian teaching.

Then That Leaves Us With - - -

I'm on the same page with Liberia's President Sirleaf on this. We're looking at a cultural problem: one which at least some of Liberia's political leaders are trying to solve.

President Sirleaf, Liberia:

"...Let me say very clearly that rape is a problem in Liberia also. This is why we have made rape a non-bailable (ph) offense. It is a criminal offense. There is a strong law regarding that. You cannot even get bail.

"So, those parents should know that things have changed in Liberia. No longer do we tolerate this. And this is not a question of shame on the family, it's a question of an assault on a young child. And that cannot be tolerated...."
(CNN transcript)

Liberia's political leaders are, I think, showing guts in bucking Liberia's sincerely-held cultural values. Some of the notion that a rape victim is to blame for being raped - and so has brought shame to the family - probably comes from the recent warfare in Liberia.

Blame-the-Victim, Islam, Culture, and Assumptions

But the 'blame the victim' idea is so wide-spread, I doubt that it started during Liberia's late-20th-century troubles.

For example, I've been watching American culture for forty-plus years. The notion that 'rape isn't nice and you shouldn't do it' has been around throughout that period, and American culture seems to be swinging away from the 'she was asking for it' notion. And, happily, the American judicial system is approaching the same position by fits and starts.

I think it's a mistake to assume that Osama bin Laden and the Taliban's leaders represent all of Islam. The frequent choice of mosques as targets by these lions of Islam tends, I think, to back up this assertion.

Yes, there are people who insist that they're following (the one, true version of) Islam, and make a habit of whacking off their wives' heads when they're in a snit. That doesn't make honor killings particularly "Islamic." Not when Pakistan's Islamic Party says that honor killings are against Islam. (September 7, 2008)

Fifty years ago, members of the KKK would probably have told you that killing blacks, Catholics, and Jews was a matter of defending Christianity. But, as a Catholic, I'd argue that they didn't hold a typically Christian position.

Generalizations: They're Convenient, But Not Necessarily Accurate

Take the leader of a terrorist group (okay: 'alleged' all around) in North Carolina. He was going to lead his sons and a few like-minded Muslims on a Jihad.

Daniel Patrick Boyd is a Muslim - who broke with his local mosque because they didn't live up (down?) to his standards. He's also the operator of a drywall business.

There's a lesson to be learned here, I think. And it's not that people named Daniel, Patrick or Boyd are probably terrorists; or that we should keep a close watch on drywall business operators.

Muslims, I think, aren't necessarily terrorists, either. Any more than American veterans or Ron Paul supporters are likely to form terror cells. (March 23, 2009, April 15, 2009) Yes, some Muslims are terrorists: but the idea that all Muslims are terrorists is too big a generalization for me to accept.

Related posts:

• "Rape on the Lake Wobegon Trail: Good News/Bad News "
  Through One Dad's Eye (July 29, 2009)
• "Terrorists, America, and Generalizations"
  (July 28, 2009)
• "Eight-Year-Old Raped - Time to Think and Pray"
  A Catholic Citizen in American (July 25, 2009)
• "Who Needs Facts? Cultural Assumptions and Politics"
  (July 24, 2009)
• "North Korea and the Kim Jong Dynasty: Not All Countries are the Same"
  (June 9, 2009)
• "Sierra Lillie, Donald Cates, Sanity, and American Courts - The Lemming Gets Serious"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (April 16, 2009)
• "Homeland Security Report: American Veterans are Potential Terrorists - I am Not Making This Up"
  (April 15, 2009)
• "North Korea and Missile Concerns: Nations are Not All Identical"
  (April 5, 2009)
• "Missouri Focus Group MIAC: Ron Paul Supporters May Be Terrorists"
  (March 23, 2009)
• "No More 'War on Terror' - Officially?"
  (March 30, 2009)
• "The War on Terror? This May be The War For Freedom"
  (March 18, 2008)
• "Honor Killing, Muzzammil Hassan and Aasiya, Protecting Feelings,and Common Sense"
  (February 20, 2009)
• "Muzzammil Hassan's Beheaded Wife No Honor Killing - Move Along"
  (February 19, 2009)
• "It Looks Like an Honor Killing: Islamic Network's Founder and American Law"
  (February 17, 2009)
• "Guinea, Military Rule, and Terrorism: Beware Hasty Judgment"
  (December 29, 2008)
  • Think
    • 'Military government = bad?'
    • 'Democracy = good?'
  • Maybe: and maybe not.
• "CAIR, Yaser Said, and the FBI: Don't Say 'Honor Killing' "
  (October 14, 2008)
• "Law, Islamic and American, or: The Case of the Lazy Son and 'Take My Family: Please!' "
  (October 17, 2008)
  • Another case of offended 'honor' - this time over a lazy son.
• "Honor Killing is Against Islam, Islamic Party Members Say"
  (September 7, 2008)
  • Whatever Islam is, it isn't one big monolithic block of like-minded people.
• "Sandeela Kanwal, Chaudhry Rashid: Honor Killing? Maybe, Maybe Not"
  (July 9, 2008)
• "Aqsa Parves, Muslim Teen: No Scarf, No Life"
  (June 28, 2008)
• " 'Jessica's Law' Under Fire in Massachusetts"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (June 25, 2008)
• "Terrorists as an Oppressed Class: That was Then, This is Now"
  (February 23, 2008)
• "Fanatics: Not an Islamic Monopoly"
  (November 23, 2007)

In the news:

• "Rights groups decry Gaza 'honor killing' "
  CNN (July 30, 2009)
• "Woman Suspected of Cutting Baby From Massachusetts Mom's Womb Held on $2M Bail"
  FOXNews (July 30, 2009)
  • This sort of thing isn't all that uncommon in America these days, but that doesn't make it a part of American values.
• "Arizona girl's attack sheds light on rape in Liberia"
  CNN (July 29, 2009)
• "4 Boys Accused of Raping 8-year-old Girl"
  KSAZ FOX 10 (July 24, 2009)
• "Liberian youths charged with raping child in Arizona"
  AFP (July 24, 2009)
• "Girl shunned by family after rape sparks outcry"
  The Associated Press (July 24, 2009)
• "Outcry over disowned US rape girl"
  BBC (July 25, 2009)
• "Girl Raped, Boys Charged; Democrats Battle Democrats on Health Reform; Millions of Americans Getting a Raise Today; Obama Addresses White House Press Corps About Gates' Arrest"
  CNN transcript (July 24, 2009)

Background:

• "Liberia"
  World Factbook, CIA (last updated July 3, 2009)

A Hijab, Bullies, and a Do-Nothing School System

Terrorists aren't nice. Neither are bullies. They both do naughty things.

Some people brought up in Muslim communities are terrorists. Some people brought up in Christian communities are bullies.

But, and this is important, not all Muslims are terrorists, and not all Christians are bullies.

Wear that Scarf, Jana Elhifny, and You Will Die

Specifically, Jana Elhifny was told that she would be killed in a school stairwell, if she wore a heard scarf: the sort of headgear that quite a few varieties of Islam require for women. This particular article of clothing is a hijab.

The school administration did - nothing. According to Jana Elhifny, her friend Stephanie Hart, and a court that awarded them a total of $400,000 in damages.

A spokesperson for the school said "The district did an incredibly thorough investigation," (FOXNews) which may be true, depending on exactly which definition of "incredibly" is used, and how it is interpreted.

The school rep claims that Jana couldn't identify the tormentor(s) by sex, size, or voice. Which may or may not be true.

Think About It

Imagine that you're an older high school student, in a country where they don't speak your language, and don't share most of your customs. You're accosted by a half-dozen or so of the natives. They threaten your life while urging you to abandon your religious practices. It all takes less than a minute.

Quick: give a detailed description of each one of them. In that second language you picked up. To an authority who may or may not give any indication of being willing to believe your story.

Some Muslima Won a Court Case: So What?

Jana Elhifny is married now, and living back in Egypt.

God be thanked, her experience in America included one person who wasn't depraved or indifferent. And, the American court system recognized the injustice done to her.

On the other hand, Jana didn't have an entirely positive experience in this country. And she'll carry those memories with her for the rest of her life. My hope is that she'll tell about the good, as well as the depraved, to her children.

Hijabs, Rosaries: Why Can't Those People Leave Us Alone?

America has been a predominantly Protestant country, although that's changing. The Protestant branch of Christianity does not encourage - or, in some cases, tolerate - the use of religious symbols: except within very narrowly prescribed limits.

I'm a Catholic.

Right now, I'm wearing a 'chaplet' - a small crucifix on a length of knotted cord - around my neck. It's visible, although not glaringly so. After this week, I may take it off - it's part of a Lenten observance for me. On the other hand, I may keep wearing it for a while. It's an excellent reminder for me, of what I believe.

I live in a community that's almost entirely Catholic, so I don't stand out all that much. Not all Catholics living in America have it that nice.

Being a Religious Minority Has Advantages

Being a Catholic in a country that's overwhelmingly Protestant or secular has let me experience - to a tiny extent - what people in other non-majority faiths live with.

That may be why I'm as sympathetic as I am toward Muslimas who wear hijabs, Sheiks who grow beards, and people who wear turbans.

Because of choices I made, and am content with, I'm one of 'those people' too.

Related posts:

• " 'America Sucks' - Binghamton, New York, Bullies, and 'Little Eichmanns' "
  (April 4, 2009)
• " 'the Catholics are super-duper terrorists': Who Knew?"
  (April 1, 2009)
  • I wish this was an April Fools' joke: The comment was posted a week earlier.
• "Sounds of Silence: 2009"
  (March 31, 2009)
• "Pakistan; Nawaz Sharif; Multiculturalism; and a Skewed World View"
  (March 15, 2009)
• "Minnesota Hijab Driver's License Ban SNAFU Fixed For Now"
  (March 6, 2009)
• "Of Bias, Veils, and Crucifixes"
  (February 25, 2008)
• "Kaffiyeh Craziness at Gateway High"
  (February 19, 2009)
• "Murderous Muslims, Catholic Extermination Camps, and Common Sense"
  (February 8, 2009)
• "Retard! Or, How Not to Make Your Point"
  (January 20, 2009)
• "Lebanon, Israel, Pakistan, India, and the Lizard People"
  (January 14, 2009)
• "Muslim Family Talks Safety, Gets Booted From Flight"
  (January 2, 2009)
  • Get a grip, people!
• "Emotions, the Frontal Cortex, The War on Terror, Anarchists, and the Illuminati"
  (December 23, 2008)
• "The Rosary is a Gang Symbol: Who Knew?"
  (September 16, 2008)

In the news:

• "US school district pays to settle Muslim suit"
  CAIR (April 8, 2009)
• "Muslim Girl Gets $400G From Nevada School District in Head Scarf Bully Case"
  FOXNews (April 8, 2009)
• "School district pays $400K to settle Muslim suit"
  USA Today (April 8, 2009)

Hamas Leader's Son Converts to Christianity, Moves to California

First it was the Palestinian President practically blaming Hamas for the violence in Gaza. Then an Iranian newspaper had to be shut down, because it 'accidentally' said the same thing. Now, the son of a Hamas founder says that Hamas isn't nice: and he's converted to Christianity.

Islamic Terrorism: Unintended Consequences?

Mosab Hassan Yousef is the son of a founding member of Hamas. He was raised 'right,' and believed that violence was okay, if it was against Israel.

Then he served a stretch in an Israeli prison, and had a chance to talk with senior Hamas members. He didn't like what he learned. For one thing, Hamas leaders torturing Palestinians didn't quite seem right.

Yousef converted to Christianity: and stopped supporting Hamas. He's living in California now, having left faith, family, and homeland behind.

Yousef doesn't seem to be a gung-ho supporter of Israel. He said, " 'It's not about Israel, it's not about Hamas: it's about both ideologies.' "

I hope that he's being careful about staying alive, considering what happened to Theo Van Gogh, and almost happened to the publisher of "The Jewel of Medina."

Yousef seems unconcerned. He noted that his ideas and opinions are out now, and can't be killed. As for what happens to him, he said, "they can kill my body, but they can't kill my soul."

Yousef: The Son Who Learned Too Much

We'll never know what would have become of Mosab Hassan Yousef, if he hadn't had an opportunity to learn about Hamas on his own. As it is, he ran into one of biggest threats that an extreme, narrow, belief system faces: information. Yousef learned that Hamas tortured its own members: and apparently had learned that this wasn't a good thing to do.

If more people get exposed to facts, as Mosab Hassan Yousef did, and start thinking, terrorist organizations of all sorts may find it hard to find competent supporters.

"Mosab Hassan Yousef Leaves Islam"

YouTube (August 16, 2008)
video 2:33

Related posts:

• "Iranian Newspaper Calls Hamas Terrorists, Gets Banned"
  (December 31, 2008)
• "Palestinian Leader Condemns Hamas: That's Something You Don't Hear Every Day"
  (December 28, 2008)
• "Why I Call "Knights in Support of the Invasion" Islamic"
  (December 20, 2008)

In the news:

• "Son of Hamas Leader Gives Glimpse Into Terror Organization"
  FOXNews (January 2, 2008)
• "Son of Hamas leader speaks out"
  FOXNews (August 11, 2008)
  video 2:50

---

Excerpts:

"...Yousef, son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of the most influential leaders of the militant group, said the organization betrays the Palestinian cause and tortures its own members...."

"...Yousef, 30, said he realized the true nature of Hamas and radical Islam during a stint in an Israeli prison. He renounced his Muslim faith, left his family behind in Ramallah and converted to Christianity.

" 'Islam is not the word of God,' said Yousef. 'If you want to be offended it's your problem. But you know something? Go study. Think for a second that I might be right. So wake up, look at your path, see where you're going. Are you really going to heaven with 72 virgins after you kill yourself and kill another 20 people?/..."

Related posts, on Islam, Christianity, Religion, Culture and the War on Terror.

---

Update (January 4, 2009)

Thanks for the Micro-Review and Link!

Another blog (The Unreligious Right) included this post in today's "Hot 5 Daily".

Since one micro-review sometimes deserves another, The Unreligious Right is "The opinions of a highly opinionated right-wing atheist" - according to the blog's header.

Read the blogger's profile, though, and you find that "...Most on the left will consider me a right-winger. Many on the right see me as a RINO¹, or a moderate....If you just want to spout a bunch of talking points, and think anyone who doesn't share your assumptions is insane or evil, please go elsewhere."

I probably wouldn't agree entirely with the blogger's assumptions about the nature of reality and humanity's place in it, since he describes himself as an athiest. I'm a devout Catholic (if you think you know what those people are like, you might find this blog interesting - A Catholic Citizen in America Following Catholic beliefs and practices in America: One man's experience).

UNRR / David seems to be thinking about his beliefs and what's happening in the world - instead of letting his endocrine system determine his reactions. I wish I could add The Unreligious Right to the blogroll here, but The Unrelgious Right doesn't seem to have enough focus either on the War on Terror, or on what I see as the major underlying issues. So, this micro-review will have to do.

---

¹ In this context, RINO is almost certainly an acronym for "Republican in Name Only."

(Allegedly) Christian Terrorists? Yes, They Exist

Not all terrorists are Muslims. Some say they are Christians: and may really believe that they are.

Murder in the Church

Quite a number of people were hacked to death in a Catholic church in the eastern part of Congo, the day after Christmas. The Ugandan army says that an outfit called Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA. The LRA, perhaps sensing that murder in a church isn't all that appealing to many, says they didn't.

The LRA says that it wants to establish a government based on the biblical Ten Commandments - and cuts the lips off people who don't agree.

From what I've read, the LRA is just as Christian as the KKK - and as big an embarrassment.

Christians, Kooks, and the War on Terror

As I've written before, "I prefer to let people define themselves." If someone says he or she's a Christian - or a Muslim - or whatever - I probably won't say, "no, you're not." I may, however, point out ways in which their statements or actions don't match what people expect from Christianity, Islam, or whatever.

I still prefer to believe that "Islam is a peaceful religion." One reason I can keep hoping that this is (in some cases) true is that Islam seems to depend heavily on local culture for its beliefs. In a situation like that, it's no surprise that Islam has its own Tony Alamos and LRAs.

Who knows? The destructive zeal of Hamas and Al Qaeda might encourage some Muslims to take a serious look at what they believe - and who they support.

In the news:

• "Lord's Resistance Army denies massacre"
  UPI (December 31, 2008)
• "Witnesses report massacre at church in Congo"
  Associated Press (December 29, 2008)

Background:

• "The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)
  Global Security
• "Uganda violence"
  Reuters (December 17, 2008)

Taliban Kills Christian Aid Worker, Striking Another Blow for Islam

The Taliban hit men had a perfectly good reason for gunning down Gayle Williams this morning as she walked to work in Kabul, Afghanistan.

" 'We killed her for spreading Christian propaganda,' Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the militant group, told Reuters by telephone." (Reuters)

"...Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said she was shot because she was teaching her religion.

" 'This woman came to Afghanistan to teach Christianity to the people of Afghanistan,' he said.

" '"Our (leaders) issued a decree to kill this woman. This morning our people killed her in Kabul.' " (Sky News)


(From Sky News, used without permission)
Anti-Islamist propagandist? It's a moot point, now: she's dead.

Pop Quiz

This prove that

1. Islam is death cult¹
2. Motorcycles are dangerous, and should be banned
3. Christians are dangerous, and should be banned
4. Guns are dangerous, and should be banned
5. All religion is dangerous, and should be banned
6. None of the above

The correct answer is F, none of the above. There are alternative views of reality, of course.

With Friends Like This, Islam Doesn't Need Enemies

Al Qaeda in Iraq discovered, a little late in the game, that beheading Iraqis right and left wasn't the best way to win their minds and hearts.

The victim, Gayle Williams "...had dual British and South African nationality and worked for SERVE (Serving Emergency Relief and Vocational Enterprise), an inter-denominational Christian charity that helps the disabled, the organization's chairman said in a statement...." (CNN)

Quite a few of the news articles about Gayle Williams politely refrain from using the word "Islam" at all. I suppose it's not considered nice to point out that "Afghanistan is a conservative Islamic nation. Proselytizing is prohibited by law, and other Christian missionaries or charities have faced severe hostility."

Which makes SERVE a very suspicious group. Maybe even subversive. Here's some background on what SERVE is up to in Afghanistan:

• "The group describes itself as a Christian charity registered in Britain. The Web site says it has been working with Afghan refugees since 1980 in Pakistan.
• " 'SERVE Afghanistan's purpose is to express God's love and bring hope by serving the people of Afghanistan, especially the needy, as we seek to address personal, social and environmental needs,' the site says.
• "Rina Vamberende, a spokeswoman for SERVE in Kabul, said the group is a Christian organization 'but they are definitely not expressing this on purpose. They are here to do NGO (aid) work.'..."

Sounds pretty suspicious, doesn't it?

Actually, the Taliban may have a point here. In a way. SERVE, as a Christian group, is doing what Christians are supposed to do: healing the sick and helping the needy. Christians acting the way they're supposed to could be considered a form of proselytizing. Which is illegal in Afghanistan: and carries a death penalty as far as the Taliban is concerned.

The United Nations says that, through the end of July this year, 30 aid workers have been killed and 92 kidnapped in Afghanistan.

Islam: a Religion of Beheadings and Drive-By Shootings?

I still don't think so. There's a mosque up the road, in Fargo, North Dakota, and the Muslims there deal with non-Muslims by inviting college students to come in and talk.²

Not that everything's peaches and cream around here. Some jerks spread feces on the Fargo mosque, back in 2004. Then, in 2005, "juveniles" threw a rock through a window of the mosque.

The point is, although the Taliban and some other Islamic enthusiasts kill people they don't approve of, that doesn't seem to be a universal Muslim practice.

I'm still pretty sure that Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other Islamic terrorists are to Islam what the KKK has been to Christianity: a severe embarrassment, not typical example of the religion or its followers.

Related post:

• "Beheading Iraqis: Not Al Qaeda's Brightest Idea"
  (October 25, 2007)

In the news:

• "Taliban gunmen kill Western aid worker on Afghan street"
  Los Angeles Times (October 20, 2008)
• "WRAPUP 1-British aid worker killed as Afghan violence spreads"
  Reuters (October 20, 2008)
• "Aid Worker Gayle Williams Killed By The Taliban In Afghanistan"
  The Post Chronicle (October 20, 2008)
• "Charity Worker Shot Dead in Afghanistan for 'Spreading Christianity' "
  FOXNews (October 20, 2008)
• "Taliban: Aid worker killed for preaching"
  CNN (October 20, 2008)
• "Aid worker killed in Kabul"
  International Herald Tribune (October 20, 2008)
• "British Aid Worker Killed In Kabul "
  Sky News (October 20, 2008)

¹ That post doesn't show that American conservatives hate Muslims. The conservative who wrote it said "...I work with Muslims in my present workplace, and have worked with them in my past workplaces. I also have previously worked for a Muslim and found that they all are so very nice people...."

² The first mosque in the United States was built in Ross, North Dakota.

Terror East of Lahore

There's trouble all over: hardly an unusual state of affairs for this world.

Al Qaeda and the Taliban are far from the only groups that see no problems with using terror to get things their way.

India

In India, a group called the Indian Mujahedeen says it's responsible for killing at least 21 people in a series of bomb attacks in New Delhi. They've got a perfectly good reason, from their point of view: They say they're getting even with India for 60 years of Muslim persecution, and because India has from time to time supported American policies.

Indonesia

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, something went boom around the Jakarta airport. Nobody was killed, nobody was injured, but as of a few days ago the explosion was being treated as a "suspected bomb." Since the explosion blew the cover off a small electrical hub, I think it's possible that it's a case of defective equipment, rather than delinquent people, but I also understand Indonesian authorities wanting to be sure. They've had their hands full with terrorists lately.

India, Again

Back in the east Indian state of Orissa, people have been killed in "Hindu-Christian riots." The latest death was a police officer who was shot as he fled a burning police station. Four or five hundred Hindus had torched the building, then shot at the police as they fled the flames.

Like the Indian Mujahedeen, that bunch may have had a good reason (from their point of view) for arson and murder. The police were taking sides: they'd fired on a crowd to keep it from attacking Christians. Several people died as a result.

On the other hand, of the 140 people arrested in connection with one set of riots, 60 were Hindus accused of attacking Christian churches, 80 were mostly Christians, accused of disturbing the peace.

In the Indian state of Karnataka, a record of a sort was set, with 14 churches attacked in one hour last Sunday.

The Christians may have been asking for trouble. Some of them said that "right-wing Hindus" didn't approve of the Christian opposition to violence in Orissa.

Besides, someone killed a Hindu leader, Laxmananda Saraswati, and four other people last month. At a Hindu school. Between 20 and 30 gunmen burst in and started shooting. The idea seems to be that they must have been Christians.

Christian missionaries are a suspicious lot in the eyes of some Hindu groups. There are stories of forced conversions.

All [Insert Religious Group Here] Are Not Terrorists

I have good reason to hope that all Muslims are not terrorists, or supporters of terrorism.

I don't think that all Hindus are terrorists.

And I know that all Christians are not terrorists: mainly because I'm a Christian myself.

However, some 'Christians' are terrorists. The Ku Klux Klan, in its various manifestations, used terror as a weapon against people it didn't approve of. Some people who identified themselves as Christian were members of the Ku Klux Klan. That didn't make all Christians Klanners.

I think there is good reason to believe that the same goes for terrorists who identify themselves as Muslims, Hindus, or members of other beliefs.

It's prudent to remember that the War on Terrorism is a war on terrorism. Not a war on Islam.

In the news:

• "20 feared dead as Hindu-Christian riots spread in India"
  CNN (September 16, 2008)
• "New Delhi blasts death toll rises to 21"
  CNN (September 14, 2008)
• "Suspected bomb explodes near Indonesian airport"
  CNN (September 14, 2008)

Indonesia, "Allah Akbar," and Muslim Tolerance

I still hope that Islam really is a "peaceful religion," and that a region in which Muslims are a majority can tolerate people who don't measure up to whatever Islamic standards the local imams say are 'true Islam.'

What's happening in Indonesia isn't helping me maintain that assumption.

For 20 years, students the Arastamar Evangelical School of Theology in Jakarta have been praying and singing hymns. What news services call 'hard line' Muslims, naturally, don't approve. They feel that it's proselytizing. They say.

So, the Muslims used bamboo spears and Molotov cocktails to drive the Christians out.

Indonesia's reputation for tolerance isn't entirely gone. The Christians were allowed to live, and even permitted to move into a small office building on the other side of the Indonesian capital.

Those Thieving, Singing, Burglarizing Christians

Well, singing, anyway.

From one point of view, the Christians must be at fault. After an attack on the Christians on June 26, 2008, east Jakarta district chief, Murdani, blamed the Christians for the raid, saying that both "warring" parties should stay calm.

Besides, there was a rumor that one of those Christian students stole a motorcycle from a neighboring village.

A July 25, 2008, attack began when stones fell on the school's dormitory roof. At the same time a voice on a nearby mosque's loudspeaker cried "Allah Akbar." "God is great" in Arabic.) It's hard to shake the notion that the Allah Akbar/incoming rocks was more than mere coincidence.

This time, the rumor was that a Christian student had broken into a residence. Police dismissed the accusation, but the Akbar bunch didn't.

Making Nice with Radical Islam, and Leaning on Property Owners

There's a possibility that recent attacks on the school were more about economics than religion. Someone made the school an offer to move out, and the school refused.

It's not hard for me to see the attacks as an 'offer they couldn't refuse.' Particularly since the school can be torn down now.

A few years ago, locals had burned construction shelters, when the school tried to build on new land. More land for the school meant less land for the Muslims, so naturally someone torched the construction equipment. Makes sense, in a lawless sort of way.

There doesn't seem to have been much done about whoever forced the school out. Arastamar Evangelical School of Theology's chairman, the Rev. Matheus Mangentang, said, "Why should we be forced from our house while our attackers can walk freely?"

Part of the answer may be that there's an election coming up. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government doesn't want to seem anti-Islamic, by treating attacks on Christians and other minorities as crimes.

A Jesuit priest, Prof. Franz Magnis-Suseno, has lived in Indonesia for a half-century. "People are still tolerant, but there is a growing suspicion among Muslims of others," adding that police haven't prevented attacks on minorities, and forced closures of both Christian churches and nontraditional mosques. "The state has some responsibility for this growing intolerance, namely by not upholding the law," he said.

Equal-Opportunity Bigots

Muslims have burned several mosques of the Muslim sect Ahmadiyah. The firebugs feel that the Ahmadiyah sect is heretical.

Indonesia has been a good example of how a largely Islamic nation can tolerate diversity and freedom. I sincerely hope that the country does not begin running its affairs along "Islamic" lines, as Saudi Arabia does.

Indonesia intolerance in the news:

• "Attack forces Indonesian Christians off campus"
  Associated Press (August 22, 2008)
• "Indonesia's Growing Intolerance of Christians"
  DigitalJournal.com (August 22, 2008)
• "Christian students driven out by Muslims find refuge in parliament"
  AsiaNews.it (July 31, 2008)
• "Muslims storm Protestant school in Jakarta, scores of students injured"
  AsiaNews.it (July 28, 2008)

Related posts, on tolerance, bigotry, racism, and hatred.

"OBAMA OSAMA / HUMM / ARE THEY BROTHERS" Church Sign: Daft or Devious?

Whether the small South Carolina church sign is the result of ignorance or deceit, it does not help Christians, Muslims, or most other Americans.

"Small Church's Obama Sign Causes Big Controversy"
WYFF4.com (April 21, 2008)

Excerpt: "JONESVILLE, S.C. -- The sign in front of a small church in a small town ... reads: 'Obama, Osama, hmm, are they brothers?'

"[Pastor Roger] Byrd said that the message wasn't meant to be racial or political.

" 'It's simply to cause people to realize and to see what possibly could happen if we were to get someone in there that does not believe in Jesus Christ,' he said.

"When asked if he believes that Barack Obama is Muslim, Byrd said, 'I don't know. See it asks a question: Are they brothers? In other words, is he Muslim? I don't know. He says he's not. I hope he's not. But I don't know. And it's just something to try to stir people's minds. It was never intended to hurt feelings or to offend anybody.' "

I really don't know what to make of this.

Hayseed or Huckster?

"And it's just something to try to stir people's minds. It was never intended to hurt feelings or to offend anybody."

I've been acquainted with people who were daft enough to say something like what the pastor said - and be perfectly sincere.

(Small towns don't have a monopoly on people with, to be polite, peculiar ideas. I learned one of my favorite loony lines, "[North Dakota] farmers don't have to work [because] they store all their grain in an elevator in Grand Forks," from a resident of a mid-sized metropolitan area.)

On the other hand, the claim that the sign isn't political made me wonder just how stupid the pastor thought most Americans are.

Maybe that was the idea: by displaying that "HUMM" sign, Pastor Byrd got more publicity for his church, than almost anything else could. It's not hard to argue that publicity leads to interest. Someone who's interested might come to see what a service is like: and might even become a member.

This might be a very well-managed membership drive. There's not way for me to know, one way or another.

There's a moderately adequate photo on that WYFF article. You'll find a better photo, and a little background, at "South Carolina Pastor Posts Church Sign Linking Obama With Bin Laden" (FOXNews.com (April 21, 2008)).

Some Church Puts Up a Stupid Sign: So What?

Whether the Jonesville Church of God's pastor, Roger Byrd, is the hayseed he's making himself out to be, or a man with a real talent for putting his congregation on the map, I don't know: and it doesn't matter, except to him and his flock.

What does matter is that public attitudes in America, toward Islam and Muslims, are at present quite tolerant (CAIR notwithstanding): but are not cast in stone.

However ridiculous a sign like that is, there will now be people who will repeat what it says.

The Whopper: It's Not Just a Burger

That is a problem. I'm not a Muslim, but I'm a convert to a faith that hasn't been universally popular in America: Catholicism. One of the tools that people who didn't like Catholics used was 'the whopper:' a lie so big, so obviously incredible, that it wouldn't be believed. The problem was (and is) that, "for a whopper to be effective, it does not need to be believed in every detail. It is enough that it leaves behind a bad impression. People will think that if anyone bothers to promote such a lie, there must be a kernel of truth in it." ("Anti-Catholic Whoppers" Catholic.com (August 10, 2004))

I am disturbed, that the pastor of what appears to be a Christian church would be either so ignorant, or so cynically manipulative, as to put a sign like this up.

Related posts, on tolerance, bigotry, racism, and hatred.

Nero Was Working for the Christians: Who Knew?

A post in this blog, " 'Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics:' Arizona" got a very interesting comment today.

The gist of it is that the Crusades were bad, and the "Jews were kicked out of Israel by the Romans in the name of Christianity." (In about 70 AD - who knew?!)

And, of course, the Christian attack on Muslims is done by: "Murderers in uniform. Terrorists in uniform. Rapists in uniform. Then these blood-sucking hindus."

It's interesting reading, from several points of view.

Quite seriously: I think this is an excellent insight into the alternatively-factual history and view of current events which many people, Islamic and otherwise, use as a basis for decisions.

Also, I think that the comment is a good example of emotion overcoming reason.

Related posts, on "Who Knew? Assertions and Assumptions from All Over"

What is an American? For that Matter, What's America?

I think it was last year when someone told me that my avatar (that very blue eye in "About me") is a very American eye.

That pleasant sentiment started me thinking. Words like "Spanish," "Japanese," or most nationalities carry an ethnic identity with them. Quite a few people seem to think that there's an "American" ethnic group.

Understandably: since most immigrants were from northwestern Europe for the first century or so. I'm part of that bunch.

But that's not what being "American" is. What I wrote almost six years ago still applies ("An American Family" (June, 2002)):

As of June, 2002, we're still seeing those "I am an American" public service announcements on the television.

Being "American" is, I think, more than just having ancestors from scattered points on the globe. It's being willing and able to accept good ideas, no matter where they showed up. It's an American strength that we're able to pick up what works, use it, and sometimes even make it work better.

What is an American family? I think I'll use my own as an example. Here's a "typical" family event: The parents and children in a Norwegian-Irish-Scots Irish/German-Dutch-Swiss family, having finished a supper of (Italian) noodle and chicken soup, practiced Tai Chi, using a VCR made by a Japanese company.

What got me started on this post is an article I read today, "What Is An American?" The (anonymous) author wrote more than I did, and had a different point to make. It's worth a read, though.

What Does This Have to Do With the War on Terror?

Some Muslims think that the "Great Satan America" is out to get Islam. Some Americans think that "Christian America" has to defeat Islam.

There's some truth to both beliefs, but not much.

• America Against Islam? I don't Think So
  America is no more against Islam than it is against Catholicism, Hinduism, or any other religion. My homeland's laws and culture aren't in full compliance with my beliefs, or (I suspect) those of a devout Hindu or Muslim.
  But I can go to a Catholic church down the street, Muslims (where there are enough to build one) can go to a mosque, Hindus are free to go to a temple, and the same applies to other religions.
• Is America a Threat to the Terrorists?
  Yes, but not for the reasons the terrorists and their supporters seem to believe. America allows individual freedoms and economic opportunities which threaten the values of people who seem to want, above anything else, to live in the seventh century. America doesn't have to do anything to be a threat, other than exist as a place where people can come to live without clearing everything through an imam who doesn't like electricity, or women who know how to read.

America is a central figure in the War on Terror: So it's a good idea to know what America is.

Related posts, on Islam, Christianity, Religion, Culture and the War on Terror.

Jerks Burn Tennessee Mosque, Churches Help Rebuild It

'What a country!'

"Churches Help Rebuild Burned Mosque Other Churches Offer Spaces For Worshippers" "WSMV," Nashville (February 14, 2008)

As of yesterday, one church had raised about $10,000 to help rebuild the mosque. The news article tells where donations can be sent.

This sort of response is fairly typical of the America I live in: and it's one of the reasons I like living here.

More at "Mosque Burned in Tennessee: What Does it Show?" (February 13, 2008)

Mosque Burned in Tennessee: What Does it Show?

The Islamic Center of Columbia, Tennessee wasn't a very big mosque, and it hadn't been around very long. But for the 10 or 15 people who had gathered there since 2000, it was a place of worship.

Then, last Saturday, some jerks painted swastikas and slogans on the walls, and set the place on fire.

The center's president, Daoud Abudiab, said that some of the slogans were "white power" and "we run the world."

Daoud Abudiab also said:

• "We have not had any trouble."
• "This is the first incident."
• "This has been home for us _ Middle Tennessee and Columbia _ since 1998, and people have been supportive and friendly and welcoming."
• "Obviously, we are concerned, but it hasn't really sunk in yet."

Sounds like most of the 38,000 or so people who live in Columbia are decent sorts.

I'll admit to being biased: wherever I've lived, there have been a lot of people who are willing to get along, and a tiny minority of noisy jerks. As a result, I expect to find jerks everywhere. But, I also expect that if I use a noise filter, I'll find a lot of people who are as willing to put up with me.

Back to hatred and violence in Tennessee.

Three men, members of the Christian Identity movement, were arrested Saturday:

• Eric Ian Baker, 32
• Michael Corey Golden, 23
• Jonathan Edward Stone, 19

That "Christian Identity movement" isn't one organization, but a sort of network of "a theology that is associated with several groups, such as the Aryan Nation." There are two Christian Identity movement organizations in Tennessee: and they're both in the eastern part of the state.

So far, the three firebugs face federal charges (unlawful possession of a destructive device) and state charges (arson). I'd say that the odds are that hate crimes will be added to the list, since "White Power" was one of the slogans.

The complaint against the trio gives a sort of doorway into the mind of the three arsonists. I'd suggest wearing a mental hazmat suit before entering. Quotes from the complaint:

• "Stone admitted to special agents that he is a member of the Christian Identity movement and that stripes or promotions are earned for committing acts of violence against 'enemies'."
• "Baker explained to the special agents that 'What goes on in that building is illegal according to the Bible,' "
• "Baker also explained to the agents that the Nazi symbols painted on the building meant 'freedom on the streets.' "

These days, I probably have to say it: Those three bozos are not typical representatives of Christian beliefs or practice.

In my experience, at least, outfits like the Mid-Atlantic Dialogue of Catholics and Muslims (established 1996) are more typical of Christian-Muslim relations in America. (More at the "Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs - Islam" page of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' website.)

So What?

Islam doesn't have a monopoly on having moonbat-crazy supporters. As the the Christian Identity movement members showed last weekend, Christendom has its share of wackos.

However, I think that the War on Terror would be over much sooner, if more Islamic countries followed the example of (Islamic) Indonesia and (Christian) America¹ in treating terrorists as the dangerous people they are. Even if the terrorists claim to be supporting the country's major religion.

---

¹ I know that it's unpopular in some of the 'better' circles to call America a Christian country, unless it's a criticism. However, since 78% of Americas are Christian, lumping together Protestants, Catholics, and Mormons I think it's safe to say that America is a country with a Christian majority.

Related posts, on Islam, Christianity, Religion, Culture and the War on Terror.
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Father Kills Daughters, Disappears: Surprisingly Little Hysteria

The Dallas Morning News reported on the funerals of Sarah and Amina Yaser Said today.

They're the sisters, age 17 and 18, who were found shot to death in their father's taxi. Those three, the young women's mother, and their brother, are Muslims.

News reports have carefully avoided the term "honor killing," except when reporting the reaction of a third party.

The blogosphere has been admirably restrained, too, with a few exceptions (more on this at "Father Kills Daughters, Disappears: Watch This Story" (January 4, 2008).)

This lack of Muslim-bashing is pretty remarkable, considering how 'Islamophobic' Americans are sometimes imagined to be. It's particularly remarkable, since in this case it's easy to see a Muslim father killing his westernized daughters as being an honor killing.

Maybe it helped, at least on the state level, that there had been an attempted filicide earlier this month: "San Antonio man shoots his two daughters, kills himself." Salvador Paralta apparently was upset because the girls' mother was leaving him.

Meanwhile, back in the Dallas area, funerals for the murdered teens were decidedly interfaith: "The funeral at the Rahma Funeral Home on Spring Valley Road highlighted the two vastly different cultures the girls had come from. Mingling among women wearing hajibs covering their hair and loose-fitting flowing clothing were teenagers and adults in Western clothing.

"Robert Crisp, a Catholic priest, led a Baptist service, which was followed by a service at a Richardson mosque."

Islamophobia doesn't seem to be an issue on the north side of Dallas, Texas.

From the bits and pieces of hearsay and rumor that are coming out in the news, my guess is that it's at least even odds that Sarah and Amina Yaser Said were killed by their father, Yaser Abdel Said, and that his motive only slightly connected with his Islamic beliefs.

So What?

You'll find jerks everywhere.

But not everyone is a jerk.

And Muslims don't have a monopoly on having a few members of their community who are able to commit horrible crimes.

Most of what's happening on the north side of Dallas, Texas, seems to show that the people who live there, Muslim, Christian, whatever, are decent sorts who want to support each other.

I think that communities like this are common in America. And, that American laws and customs which allow people to worship, or not worship, as they please help make such communities possible. I think it's easier to love your neighbor, if some authority isn't forcing you to worship the same way your neighbor does.

Islam, Christianity, Religion, Culture and the War on Terror

Posts on Islam, Christianity, Religion, and Culture:

• "Jundallah, Iran, Islam, and the U. S. State Department"
  (November 3, 2010)
• " 'Draw Mohammed Day,' the Sequel"
  (July 13, 2010)
• "Bombs in Uganda: Islam, Martyrs, and Making an Impression"
  (July 12, 2010)
• "Pakistan, YouTube, Censorship and the Sixties"
  (May 20, 2010)
• " 'Draw Mohhammed Day?!' Get a Grip!"
  (May 19, 2010)
• "Afghan Husband Rapes Wife: Culture, Law, History, and Catching Up"
  (September 24, 2009)
• "Sudan, Women, Trousers, Culture and Common Sense"
  (September 7, 2009)
• " 'Pope Turns Back on Peace Dialog' - Sort of"
  (May 11, 2009)
• "House of Saud Lashes Old Woman: Another Tale from the Weird Side"
  (March 10, 2009)
• "Kaffiyeh Craziness at Gateway High"
  (February 19, 2009)
• "Saudi Arabia Bans Valentine's Day - and the Color Red"
  (February 10, 2009)
• "What is Islam? Even Muslims Don't Seem to Agree"
  (February 6, 2009)
• "Ayman al-Zawahiri: The Face of Islam?"
  (January 6, 2009)
• "Hamas Leader's Son Converts to Christianity, Moves to California"
  (January 2, 2009)
• "Muslims and Others Discussing Islam and Related Topics"
  (December 6, 2008)
• "No Burial in India for Terrorists: Muslim Group's Gutsy Stand"
  (December 1, 2008)
• "Quran On Demand Text Service - By an Israeli Company"
  (December 1, 2008)
• " 'Why is Everybody Always Picking on Me?' - The United Nations, Muslims, Zionists, and 'Those People' "
  (October 5, 2008)
• "Saudi Cleric Wants Women to Use One Eye - I'm Not Making This Up"
  (October 4, 2008)
• "United Nations Treats Islam More Equally Than Other Religions"
  (October 3, 2008)
• "More Academic Freedom, American Style?"
  (September 22, 2008)
• "Chief Saudi Judge: Death to Network Owners! "
  (September 19, 2008)
• "Mickey Mouse Must Die! Agent of Satan Targeted by Saudi Cleric "
  (September 19, 2008)
• "This Should be Interesting: Sharia Law Officially Adopted in Britain"
  (September 15, 2008)
• "Another Teacher in Trouble in a Muslim Country
  (September 14, 2008)
• "Honor Killing is Against Islam, Islamic Party Members Say"
  (September 7, 2008)
• " 'Self-Satisfied Ignorance?' Eucharist, Quran, and Athiest Book Trashed"
  (August 5, 2008)
• "Quran, Eucharist, Atheist Book Nailed by Equal-Opportunity Desecrator"
  (August 4, 2008)
• "Islam in the Information Age: Afghan Journalist Charged with Blasphemy"
  (July 30, 2008)
• "The Subway Project and 'Why Islam?' - Terrorists in the Subways! Or, Not"
  (July 23, 2008)
• "Pro-Islamic Ads Coming to New York City Subways: There's a Real Danger Here, of Becoming Informed"
  (July 21, 2008)
• "Sandeela Kanwal, Chaudhry Rashid: Honor Killing? Maybe, Maybe Not"
  (July 9, 2008)
• "Looks Like Another 'Honor Killing' - This Time in Georgia"
  (July 7, 2008)
• "Brit Puppy Offends Muslims - Outrage Over Police Insult"
  (July 1, 2008)
• "Aqsa Parves, Muslim Teen: No Scarf, No Life"
  (June 28, 2008)
• "Spiritual Leader of 1,000,000,000 Doesn't Meet With Los Angeles Advocate!"
  (April 15, 2008)
• "Pope Visits America: News and Adequate Coverage"
  (April 15, 2008)
• "Pope Benedict XVI is Coming to America"
  (April 14, 2008)
• "The Pope Comes to America: A Prediction in a Very Catholic Post"
  (April 13, 2008)
• "America is in Good Company: Bin Laden Slams Pope, Too"
  (March 20, 2008)
• "What is an American? For that Matter, What's America?"
  (March 12, 2008)
• "All's Quiet on the Harvard Front: Jiggling Gymnast Segregation Continues
  (March 3, 2008)
• "Harvard Decision Threatens Collegiate Tradition: Girl Watching"
  (March 3, 2008)
• "Mosque Burned in Tennessee: What Does it Show?"
  (February 13, 2008)
• "Does 'Death to America' Warrant 'Death to the Terrorist?' "
  (February 11, 2008)
• "Riyadh: Home to International Business, Islam, and Reality Checks"
  (February 7, 2008)
• " 'Will the Real Islam, Please Stand Up?' "
  (February 6, 2008)
• "Cultural Acid Test: Islam and Hygiene, Rights and Responsibilities"
  (February 3, 2008)
• "Islam, Assault, Culture, and a Houston Area Crisis Hotline"
  (February 1, 2008)
• "Something Different: Afghan Women Want American Back"
  (January 29, 2008)
• "Muslims Chant 'Death to America! Death to Israel! at Hajj Part 2"
  (December 20, 2007)
• "Muslims Chant 'Death to America! Death to Israel! at Hajj Part 1"
  (December 20, 2007)
• "Canadian Teen Killed by Muslim Father - Over Scarf: Maybe - And This Isn't News?"
  (December 12, 2007)
• "Canadian Teen Killed by Muslim Father Over Scarf: Maybe / And This Isn't News?"
  (December 12, 2007)
• "Is the War on Terror a War on Islam? Not Quite"
  (December 8, 2007)
• "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' "
  (November 29, 2007)
• "Beyond the Teddy Bear: Sudan, the Darfur Genocide, and Islam"
  (November 29, 2007)
• "New on the Blogroll: American Islamic Congress"
  (November 28, 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)
• "It's Arabic, Is It Islamic?"
  (November 21, 2007)
• "Tolerance Only Goes So Far"
  (October 31, 2007)
• "Does Free Speech Include Disrupting Funerals?"
  (October 26, 2007)
• "A Film Not Approved by PBS, Nation of Islam, or the Islamic Society in Denmark"
  (October 21, 2007)
• "Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics:"
  (October 20, 2007)
  • ""Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics" - This blogger's introduction (last section of "Muslims, Terrorism, Islam, PBS, and 'Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics'")
  1. ""Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics:" Denmark
  2. ""Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics:" Canada
  3. ""Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics:" Canada - Women
  4. ""Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics:" Chicago
  5. ""Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics:" Michigan
  6. ""Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics:" Arizona
  7. ""Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics:" France
• " 'Pope attacks Iran at Jewish Congress' "
  (October 13, 2007)
• "Muslim Leaders Call For Dialog!
  Pope Told "Survival of World" at Stake!!"
  (October 12, 2007)
• "Arabs, Jews, Israel, Islam, and More: 11,000 Years of History In 800 Words"
  (October 8, 2007)
• "Islam: Salafi, Wahhabi, and That's Just a Start"
  (October 4, 2007)
• "Islam and the 21st Century: Not the Best Fit?"
  (September 27, 2007)
• "I'm With the Devout Muslims on This One"
  (September 19, 2007)
• "Muslims Are Not All Alike"
  (August 19, 2007)
• "More about 'Yeh Hum Naheen' / 'This is Not Us' "
  (August 9, 2007)
• "Moderate Muslim Video from Pakistan: Very Good News"
  (August 7, 2007)
• "Another Islamic Voice in the Debate"
  (July 16, 2007)
• " 'Islam is a Peaceful Religion' 2"
  (July 15, 2007)
• " 'Islam is a Peaceful Religion' "
  (July 6, 2007)

Muslim Leaders Call For Dialog! Pope Told "Survival of World" at Stake!!

Before getting on with this post, Happy Eid.

Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, is sweeping westward, as the moon is sighted. (If I am wrong about that, please forgive me: I'm an infidel, and not up to speed on what details of what all the varieties of Islam believe. I briefly discussed Eid in another post, and would appreciate knowledgeable comments.)

A Very Nice Idea

I don't know if the upcoming end of Ramadan is what prompted "an unprecedented open letter signed by 138 leading scholars from every sect of Islam, the Muslims plead with Christian leaders "to come together with us on the common essentials of our two religions" and spell out the similarities between passages of the Bible and the Koran."

Sounds nice.

Maybe

The Times (UK) quoted part of the letter: "As Muslims, we say to Christians that we are not against them and that Islam is not against them - so long as they do not wage war against Muslims on account of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of their homes."

"Oppress." That's par for the course, I'm afraid. "Oppression" seems to have been a favorite word for getting sympathy, ever since "workers of the world unite" became a catch-phrase.

As far as the idea of talking to find out what common ground Christianity and Islam have, that's fine: providing that it's discussion, and not a photo-op or platform for speeches.

I'm disappointed by the apparent assumption that the 'Christian west' is trying to oppress poor, innocent Muslims. It may seem that way, to those who believe that the Great Satan America was supposed to collapse along with the Twin Towers.

The process of freeing Afghanistan from the Taliban must have come as a terrible shock. And the prospect of a free Iraq, delivered from a brutal dictator by non-Muslims can't be helping.

I'm with Ruth Gledhill, the Times religion correspondent, at least to an extent.

She quotes Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, a leading Anglican expert on Islam, and the Bishop of Rochester. He was born in Pakistan, and is glad that over a hundred Muslim leaders want to talk with Christians. "But what I would stress is that dialog between partners must be conducted in the integrity of each faith," he said. "One partner cannot dictate the terms on which dialog must be conducted. This document seems to be on the verge of doing that."

The Muslims, naturally, are strict monotheists. And, they think that Christians should be, too. That's where the trouble starts, on a theological level. Dr. Nazir-Ali said: "One thing the document implies is that Christians have compromised their monotheism. It does this by implication, with all the business of saying we must agree that God is only one and not associated with partners, that we must not take others for Lord. It refers to various verses in the Koran which accuse Christians of taking Jesus and others as their Lord besides Allah." (Emphasis is mine)

Caution! Religious Content!

If you don't like to read religious stuff, skip the next paragraph.

(A little background may be needed here: Christians, aside from a few groups that didn't like the idea, believe in a Triune God. Not three gods: one God, three persons. If you find that hard to understand, join the club. It's a Mystery. Literally. "The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the 'consubstantial Trinity.' The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: 'The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e., by nature one God.' In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215): 'Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature.'" - excerpt from the Catholic Catechism.

Let's All Agree to be Like Us

I hope that this call for dialog isn't as one-sided as it sounds. But this sounds like Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. You may remember him. He's the fellow who gave a $10,000,000 check to New York City after the 9/11 attack, and then said that the United States "must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack." And that the United States "should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stand toward the Palestinian cause...."

Somehow, I don't think this "dialog" is going to go all that well. And, when at least some of the Muslims are disappointed, I'd say that the odds are that Christians, and particularly the Pope, will be blamed.

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.
Related posts, on Islam, Christianity, Religion, Culture and the War on Terror.
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