Radical Islam: Humanity’s Deathtrap

Radical Islam: Humanity’s Deathtrap.

How the world is progressing from burning books to burning authors.

By R.J. Godlewski

The hallmark of any great idea is its ability to survive both adversity and challenge. Galileo’s acceptance of Copernicus’ heliocentric view of the solar system required extraordinary determination on his part. So, too, did Darwin’s plausible but still unverifiable theory of evolution. Religion, itself, is often based upon an idea so outlandish that it requires both the strength of time and of the masses before it is even afforded the title of ‘greatness’. Judaism is arguably the world’s most maligned faith. Christianity, for its part, built upon this proud tradition – eighty percent of its Bible is Jewish history – but its proponents still had to peacefully endure crucifixion, being fed to the lions, being burned at the stake, countless radical sects, and more than its share of maniacal leaders. The key substance here, of course, is peacefully endured. The religion of “love thy enemy” had to practice what it preached in order to survive.

I would like to include the Muslim faith within this litany of ‘great ideas’ but two things prevent me from doing so. One is largely of context; the other, contemporary observation. The first resides within the fact that Islam, in and of itself, is not breathtakingly original. It did not originate the theory that the planets revolved around the sun. It did not firmly establish the belief within a single God. It did not usher in the knowledge that this same God could come down to earth as a simple human being. What it did do, however, is pick and choose from pre-existing ideas in an attempt to subdue the tribal masses. In fact, it spread as much through polygamy as inspiration.

The second reason that I, personally, fail to include Islam amongst the ranks of the ‘great’ ideas of humanity is, quite simply, the view that I see emerging from the Muslim world itself. That is, the overwhelming intolerance from its more radical proponents and the seemingly lack of challenge from its true believers. Author Karen Armstrong writes in her book Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time (Harper Collins Publishers):

“We have a long history of Islamophobia in Western culture that dates back to the time of the Crusades. In the twelfth century, Christian monks in Europe insisted that Islam was a violent religion of the sword, and that Muhammad was a charlatan who imposed his religion on a reluctant world by force of arms…This distorted version of the Prophet’s life became one of the received ideas of the West, and Western people have always found it difficult to see Muhammad in a more objective light…We can no longer afford to indulge in this type of bigotry, because it is a gift to extremists who can use such statements to ‘prove’ that the Western world is indeed engaged on a new crusade against the Islamic world. Muhammad was not a man of violence.”

Hmmm. Okay; I agree. Muhammad was not a man of violence. The Muslim faith is not a religion of violence – at least any more than Christianity and Judaism are. However, the Prophet is no longer around today and his followers are human – no more, no less. And, people, humans can be seduced by evil. Can Muslims, today, lay claim that their own religion is not being sacrificed at the hands of those who wish to pervert its ideas for personal – and militaristic – gain? I’m waiting patiently to hear from the more ‘moderate’ proponents of the faith but I’m beginning to wonder.

Let’s consider the issue of author Salman Rushdie, whose book The Satan Verses has launched a firestorm of protests and a 1989 ‘death warrant’ from none other than Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini himself. Now, after this week’s knighthood of the author by the queen of England, ostensibly for his life’s work, the Islamic community is, once again, in selfish uproar, demanding among other things, his being handed over to face Islamic justice. By that, I am quite certain; they mean a kangaroo trial and an expedited death sentence. I, for the life of me, cannot understand how any peaceful religion can condone such violent reaction to one man’s thoughts. Apparently, the Muslim community has decided to forfeit history and the lessons to be learned from it.

Christianity experienced its own “growing pains”; our religion suffered through some horrendous deeds and injustices of its own. Our forefathers suffered through the cruelty of the Romans. Our God was brutalized at the mercy of the Jews. The interminably infamous Spanish Inquisition overshadowed the even more violent Protestant Inquisition. Many of our leaders were corrupt, sadistic, and wholly unreligious. Yet, these periods also produced our greatest saints and, by extension, our greatest laws. If the Muslim faithful take offence at an author’s mere words, could they have endured the lion den? The rack? Could they, as did St. Simeon Stylites, live atop a sixty foot pillar for thirty years without coming down once?

Through the greatest injustices offered by the Christian Church there were still countless people who fought against these grievances. Many died, as did Joan of Arc, whose own belief was one of simplicity:

“About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they’re just one thing, and we shouldn’t complicate the matter.”

Where are the Muslim Joan of Arcs today? Where are those who are willing to be put to death – as opposed to taking lives themselves – to counter the injustices of their own religion? They exist, I am positive, but they are silent and herein lies, perhaps, their own sins. If such a simple thing as a ‘blasphemous’ book by Sir Salman Rushdie – and, yes, I’ll use the title Sir even if it should offend every damn Muslim on the planet for the monarch of Great Britain has bestowed this honor upon him and I find that I must respect their culture as much as anyone else’s – could possibly undermine the integrity of the greater Muslim faith, then the Roman Catholic Church would’ve ceased to exist centuries ago. We have endured, and so shall you.

So when Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, who claims to be Pakistan’s religious affairs minister, states officially in response to Rushdie’s knighthood:

"The West is accusing Muslims of extremism and terrorism. If someone exploded a bomb on his body, he would be right to do so unless the British government apologizes and withdraws the 'sir' title,"

One has to ask, “Who the hell do these Muslims think they are?” To use Ms. Armstrong’s phrase, we can no longer indulge in this kind of bigotry. The fundamental tenet of any ‘great’ religion is that its proponents don’t preach but inspire. We, in the Christian faith, know this true to heart. It is why, for example, that mainstream Christianity grows at a rate far greater than evangelical fundamentalism. People are converted through God’s grace, not man’s actions. If we have to tell people what we are, then by all chances we aren’t.

I’ll use myself as an example. Jesus, Himself, appeared directly to me twice. Once as a child, and once while my wife was upon her deathbed. I believe it, yet cannot ‘prove’ it. In the earlier example, people have laughed at me, criticized me, somewhat threatened me, and still I believe it. It makes absolutely no difference what people say or do, I simply know. Therefore, I understand how deeply personal and empowering religious belief is. After all, I’ve told the same story for thirty some odd years and have been a Catholic for forty-four. I’ve lived in different countries, different cultures, and earned a living through different careers. I have even experienced a successful, if terribly brief, marriage to a woman who was, quite frankly, hostile to my own religious views. In spite of all of this, the one thing that hasn’t changed within my life is my relationship with God.

So you’ll have to forgive me when I distrust any religion that wants to engage in suicide bombings just because of one author and one book. I really don’t care if he shared medieval Europe’s quaint belief that the Prophet was a pedophile. When does one sin ever justify another? More importantly, where is the leadership within the global Muslim community today? If you seek respect and recognition, you must prepare yourself for the good of the many and not your own twisted interpretations of the Prophet’s ideas.

If your own culture has a phrase for the ‘People of the Book’, meaning Jews and Christians – ahl al-kitab – then you must respect our cultures inasmuch as we should respect yours. We are all people of God. To threaten one author because of his work may just expose you to the wrath of another – me. J You may believe that Islam must be spread throughout the world but sooner or later you’re going to come across my own kind and we won’t let you spread your radical ideas of hatred, violence, and persecution. We believe that our religion was established by God Himself, not some mere prophet who, in his own words, questioned whether he was being hounded by jinn. What makes our culture special is that we accept everyone and promote love for our fellow man. We survived the Jews, the Romans, the lions, the Black Death, the Dark Ages, fascism, communism, technology, and ourselves. We’ll surely survive what you have planned for us.