I trust by now many of you are aware of the outrage in the Muslim world over Pope Benedict's comments. I think it is difficult for many of us to grasp the seemingly hair-like trigger of sensitivity towards any negative comments on Islam. One thing that I have to keep reminding myself of is the preeminence of the value of respect in the Muslim world. Generally speaking, in the West we tend to place the value of truth over the value of respect. In the Muslim world, it is reversed and respect is prized over truth. I think that goes far in helping me understand their reaction, even if I disagree with it.
Politically speaking, I think it would be of great value to have a Cultural Advisor as a Cabinet position to the President. As tolerant as we may have become as a nation towards other cultures, we are still grossly uninformed and unaware of the differences that exist, especially between the Muslim worldview and the Western worldview but also in the Asian versus Western worldviews. I think a substantial amount of the flaring crises we are experiencing on the geopolitical level can be boiled down to the issue of respect.
Of course, the flare-up of cultures is nothing new. As I was reminded of by my roommate, it was noted back in Genesis that the sons of Ishmael "lived in hostility toward all their brothers." Perhaps part of the current outrage is the result of a genetic disposition. Way to go Abraham.
When I see violent mobs of Muslims rioting because someone in the West claimed that Islam is not a peaceful religion, I feel furious, but it is important that as followers of Christ, we temper our response with grace, love and truth. We are well aware that our Lord was mocked and scorned, treated with contempt and suffering, but in spite of this he forgave those who tortured and crucified him. When his followers wanted to use a display of power to enable their cause to prevail and to overcome their enemies, he rebuked them (Luke 9:51-56). We should remember that those who follow the Prophet do not have this same role model before them.
I also want to remind everyone that obviously not all who follow Islam want violence. I had the opportunity to spend a couple weeks last year in a predominantly Muslim country, and the people I met there were some of the most gracious, kind and gentle people I have ever known.
I think part of what the West wants in this whole dialogue is a universal response from the Muslim world that condemns acts of violence and terror in the name of God. So far, I don't know if that has happened. Often people will point an accusatory finger at the Church for its own acts of violence. The Crusades were a regrettable, despicable episode in the life of the Church, but in the centuries that have passed the Church has acknowledged and confessed its gross error and understands that those behaviors are incompatible with the message of our Lord and what God intends for human life and faith. Has that happened yet in the Muslim community? I hope it will.
One last point that is often lost in discussion is that those in the Muslim world often equate Western nation-states with Christianity even though those connections have long since severed and dissolved in many cases, especially in Europe. We should bear in mind that we share common ground with our Muslim friends against the gross and flagrant excess and debauchery of the secular humanistic culture that has come to define the West. If I thought everyone who was on MTV was a Christian, I would despise Christianity too. Sadly, many in the Muslim world are not educated about that distinction and they hate Christianity for it.
Please allow me to close with a couple disclaimers. First, I am not an expert in this area, so if I have misrepresented Islam in any way, please correct and educate me. Secondly, I do not intend for anything I say to be in any way offensive. We need a constructive, sympathetic dialogue. I hope we can share one. This rough draft of thoughts is just an initial volley in that conversation.
6 comments:
I don't think your comments are in any way offensive or out of alignment with reality. However, I would like to comment about what we see on television.
I tend to question a LOT of what I see per our American media regarding the Muslim countries (and everything else). I don't doubt that they riot and such, but I often wonder if the footage we see of the rioting isn't about something entirely different from what its being reported as.
Having lived overseas as an undergraduate, I gained a major level of doubt when it comes to news media. BBC is so different from American news. I was living in London when Timothy McVeigh was executed for the OK City Bombings. The BBC footage of what was happening in America and the attack in general was so oddly spun from what I had seen and knew of American television.
I just have a general doubt for everything I see on television with virtually every network. Every individual has personal biases and it is next to impossible to report things without some level of personal bias. If our media wants us to believe all Muslims are a bunch of war mongers who go nuts every time someone says they aren't peaceful, they can make us view something that looks that way on television and because we are sheep, we will believe.
My point: Develop doubt for what we see on television, wait until you have your own experience to report, which Steve has - he went to a Muslim country and find kind, nice people - the exact opposite of what we see on television.
I feel incredibly sorry for the Muslims and think we should all try to place ourselves in the fear and confusion many of the Iraqi's have to feel on a daily basis.
While I agree that it is good to be skeptical, with the resources we have available it can be easy to get the other perspective. On Al-Jazeera (a bastion of independent, unbiased reporting I'm sure) the same report is indicated. Please see: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/92D262CF-6F8D-4702-98D2-15D3D35AFF61.htm
Even worse, they reported several churches have been firebombed. While I have tried to be restrained, I can't help but be disgusted by their hyprocisy when they claim they are peaceful and then firebomb innocent followers of another faith. There are elements within Islam that will not be content until the entire world is subject to Islamic power. This is consistent with their doctrinal beliefs.
Also, we are still in great disagreement over our understanding of Iraq. The attacks you are seeing are Muslim against Muslim, not American against Muslim. Among other errors, we obviously underestimated the power vacuum that would be created when we removed their genocidal dictator, and we bear responsibility for that. But I would again argue that to say that the whole situation is our fault is not accurate. Is the initial catalyst for a chain of events the only part responsible for all of the contingencies that happen afterward? I would argue that we bear part but not all of the blame.
Here is an illustration of my last point that all Western powers and influences are misunderstood as being Christian in nature:
"These Christians are all infidels. Benedict himself is an infidel and a blind man. Doesn't he see that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places were waged by Christians?"
Worshipper at al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, Egypt
(from aljazeera.net)
I <3 Hiroshima
Apparently, a Nun was recently shot over this.
WE must NOT become like them in assuming that all Muslims would have acted or thought in this way. After all, if that were true, how many more people would have died? We must not allow the American concept of a cliche, imflammatory, oversentitive, suicide bombing, head-severing Muslim to dominate our opinions.
What does trouble me is that there are no Muslims who are publicly saying, 'we know what you meant,' or, 'a violent reaction is unnacceptable,' or, 'it's only one man's words.' Nothing. And I am very curious: Is this because the Muslim people are truly silent, or is it because they have no way to speak their minds?
I wish that the Muslim and Christian people could reconcile their differences in peace; that they could meet man to man, woman to woman and speak earnestly and with truth. These big leaders, the Pope, who does not represent every Christian, nor the Islamic leader in Iran, who does not represent every Muslim, will never be able to do this. They are figureheads only, and the only way to truly undestand a man is to talk with him face to face, not to observe the banter of two proxies who do not represent either side well. I also wish that Muslims would be more educated regarding what exactly Christianity is. First of all, they associate Christianity with the west. We have followers on all points of the compass, and in their own nations as well. They must also understand the concept of seperation of church and state, which is something that seems to be unheard of in Muslim circles. Likewise, Christians, and Americans in general, must learn about Muslims . Naturally, I think that they are in more dire need of learning than we; that is the nature of being to one side or the other. But I also think that American politics, and the fractured religious beliefs of the west are far more complicated and difficult to understand. Of course, no news station over there would do anything of the sort.
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