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The Sword and the Word of God
Sep. 18th, 2006 04:42 pm♠
“Muslims are one billion human beings, rich in complexity, beauty, and humanity. A few of them are haters, as in every religion. But those who would diminish them, look down on them, turn them into the 'niggers' of the world, don't just degrade Muslims. They cheapen us all.”
-- R.J. Eskow for The Huffington Post
Another big flare-up between the West and the Muslim world graces the world news. Pope Benedict XVI used an Islamic example favoring violence at around the turn of the fifteenth century to argue that violence is incompatible with God. In reaction to the suggestion that Islam is a religion of violence and hence ungodly, Islamists have reacted violently to prove that Islam really is a religion of peace.
At first, I was going to post this Mary Laney piece. Although she does not address this papal controversy, focusing more on the Danish cartoons episode and the anniversary of 9/11, she was capturing my mood. I held off, because I think I have done enough along those lines, and I don't want this to look like one of those hate blogs. Because Monk is all about the love.
Then I came across Mr. Eskow's piece, which runs a hundred-and-eighty degrees in the opposite direction from Ms. Laney's perspective. He also cites some examples of Muslims raising their voice against the jihadists and their terrorist ways. That was very good, and I perhaps needed more of such balancing material. I also like this:
“As I pointed out elsewhere, less than one Muslim in 43,000 has ever joined a public demonstration or reacted violently against anti-Muslim statements, whereas one American Catholic priest in 20 has been accused of molestation (and protected by his Church.) Yet I would fight any broad characterization of Catholics based on the child abuse scandal, just as I fight the Pope's outrageous statements about Muslims this week. I hope his most recent statement is sincere and healing.”
Even so, although we may be talking about a fringe minority, they do seem to be acting with greater purpose, and there is state support. And I do not believe that our antagonized reaction is all about Islamophobia. Their problem is not Islamophobia, nor is it Western imperialism, nor is it the existence of a Jewish state in the region. In the Muslim Middle East, too much despotism and too much theocracy makes for some genuine dysfunction, off which the Islamists feed even as they feed the flames in turn.
One comes across this Associated Press release emphasizing the point:
Al-Qaida in Iraq warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that its war against Christianity and the West will go on until Islam takes over the world, and Iran's supreme leader called for more protests over the pontiff's remarks on Islam.
Just as Islamophobia is not the problem, neither is terrorism the answer. Terrorism will only make life harder for Muslims as well as for its victims.
xXx
“Muslims are one billion human beings, rich in complexity, beauty, and humanity. A few of them are haters, as in every religion. But those who would diminish them, look down on them, turn them into the 'niggers' of the world, don't just degrade Muslims. They cheapen us all.”
-- R.J. Eskow for The Huffington Post
Another big flare-up between the West and the Muslim world graces the world news. Pope Benedict XVI used an Islamic example favoring violence at around the turn of the fifteenth century to argue that violence is incompatible with God. In reaction to the suggestion that Islam is a religion of violence and hence ungodly, Islamists have reacted violently to prove that Islam really is a religion of peace.
At first, I was going to post this Mary Laney piece. Although she does not address this papal controversy, focusing more on the Danish cartoons episode and the anniversary of 9/11, she was capturing my mood. I held off, because I think I have done enough along those lines, and I don't want this to look like one of those hate blogs. Because Monk is all about the love.
Then I came across Mr. Eskow's piece, which runs a hundred-and-eighty degrees in the opposite direction from Ms. Laney's perspective. He also cites some examples of Muslims raising their voice against the jihadists and their terrorist ways. That was very good, and I perhaps needed more of such balancing material. I also like this:
“As I pointed out elsewhere, less than one Muslim in 43,000 has ever joined a public demonstration or reacted violently against anti-Muslim statements, whereas one American Catholic priest in 20 has been accused of molestation (and protected by his Church.) Yet I would fight any broad characterization of Catholics based on the child abuse scandal, just as I fight the Pope's outrageous statements about Muslims this week. I hope his most recent statement is sincere and healing.”
Even so, although we may be talking about a fringe minority, they do seem to be acting with greater purpose, and there is state support. And I do not believe that our antagonized reaction is all about Islamophobia. Their problem is not Islamophobia, nor is it Western imperialism, nor is it the existence of a Jewish state in the region. In the Muslim Middle East, too much despotism and too much theocracy makes for some genuine dysfunction, off which the Islamists feed even as they feed the flames in turn.
One comes across this Associated Press release emphasizing the point:
Al-Qaida in Iraq warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that its war against Christianity and the West will go on until Islam takes over the world, and Iran's supreme leader called for more protests over the pontiff's remarks on Islam.
Just as Islamophobia is not the problem, neither is terrorism the answer. Terrorism will only make life harder for Muslims as well as for its victims.
