What'll It Be, America? Religious Pluralism or Apocalypse Now?

"The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much." Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad

"It's the lie of evolution that all man are just evolved and that they're all equal, and that all creatures are equal."

"People recognize something's going to happen, and they'd better get ready." - "Rev." Tim LaHaye

E Pluribus Unum. That's still the unofficial motto of the United States, right? I mean, I know that 9/11 was supposed to have "changed everything", but I didn't think that actually meant EVERYTHING. I pull a quarter out of my pocket, there it is, E Pluribus Unum. The last time I checked, this phrase is still found on the Great Seal of the United States. But do we even remember what it means these days? Of many, one. Can we honestly say that at this moment in our history, this phrase fittingly describes the state of our union?

This question confronts us as our nation continues to reel from the aftershocks of 9/11, which are perpetuated by mendacious, opportunistic politicians who exploit the memory of that horrible day in order to harvest votes and maintain power for its own sake. Mitt Romney recently stated that he would not appoint a Muslim to his prospective Cabinet, because "based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified." This from a member of the Mormon Church, United States membership of which currently stands at approximately 5.7 million. By Mitt's own informal reckoning process, American Mormons, like their Muslim brethren, fall well short of mathematically qualifying for Cabinet consideration (at least according to Kevin Drum of The Washington Monthly). Romney has since tried to spin the content and character of his comments, but I think it is fair to speculate that Romney's motives for marginalizing American Muslims might have something to do with playing to anti-Muslim sentiment among the Evangelical Christian voters he is so desperate to court.

Now, there is no denying that the 9/11 attacks radically impacted America's relationship with the Islamic world. And when the Saudi embassy funds a private Muslim school just outside of Washington, DC, and won't allow an independent inspection of the textbooks it uses, even the casual observer may grow alarmed and in turn begin to view all Muslims on American soil with suspicion.

It isn't the casual observer who is sounding off with hysterical diatribes, however. A cursory Google search with the phrase "americans hate muslims" generated the following links, among others:

• Americans hate working class Muslims (Rants and Raves: San Francisco Craigs List, November 27, 2007)

• Arabs, Muslims all hate America, even if they don't say it (Daniel Pipes.org)

• Why Do Americans Hate Muslims? (Islam Forum: Topix.com, November 24, 2007)

Are we on the brink of WWIII? (Tim LaHaye)


Enough. Incendiary comments and attitudes, like the inferno they are forged in, suck all of the oxygen out of the air and stifle healthy discussion of alternatives that are available right here, right now. The majority of Americans are not born with a hard-wired predisposition to hate Muslims any more than Muslims are born hard-wired to hate America. The majority of Americans OPPOSE the very notion of transforming America into a theocratic police state. While we were all busy arguing about who is more patriotic, about whose religion is better or right, others have been working to lay the foundation for a fully-functioning pluralistic society, the kind that the American nation was founded to sustain in the first place. Those of us who count ourselves as members of the interfaith community need to get on board with this. If we value notions such as freedom to worship and freedom from worship; if we value the notion of the Common Good and the types of institutions it takes to sustain this; if we value participating in and contributing to a society where, as Dr. Eboo Patel puts it, all members enjoy equal dignity and mutual loyalty, then we need to put our money where our collective mouth is and do what it takes to make pluralism more than an unofficial motto for our country. There are some links to resources below that will hopefully get you started. The YouTube video with Dr. Patel is over an hour long, but if you've got the time it is definitely worth watching and listening to. So, read, inform yourself, and then let's get to work. There is no time to waste, and we have a lot of ground to make up. Salam.

- Doug L.

Dr. Eboo Patel: The Faith Line

FOR FURTHER REFERENCE (UPDATED, November 30, 2007):

The New Evangelical Leaders: Part I, Jim Wallis (Krista Tippett, Speaking of Faith, November 29, 2007)

CBS probes if the Christian Right is turning Left (RawStory.com, November 30, 2007)

Mitt the Mormon: Why Romney Needs to Talk About His Faith (Slate.com, November 27, 2007)

No Child of God Left Behind, by Eboo Patel (Washington Post: OnFaith, November 26, 2007)

Interfaith Youth Core

Securing the Common Good: A Vision for America and the World (Center for American Progress, October 2006)

The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America (Catholic Charities USA)

Tim LaHaye's Paranoid Politics (Faithful Progressive blog, February 23, 2005)

Reacting to religious diversity: exclusivism, pluralism & inclusivism (ReligiousTolerance.org)

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, by Chris Hedges

If Best-Selling End-Times Author Tim LaHaye Has His Way, Church-State Separation Will Be... Left Behind (Americans United for Separation of Church and State, February 2002)

In the Name of Allah's Law, by Hesham A. Hassaballa (BeliefNet.com)

Modern Wahhabism: A Mutation of Its Founder's Islamic Principles (BeliefNet.com)

Honor Killing: No Such Thing

There is nothing particularly brave about taking a stand in opposition to murder. It takes about as much courage as it might for any member of Congress to publicly state his or her support of puppies and kittens. Nonetheless, this is the most difficult subject I've taken time to write about to date, and words escape me in my attempt to address this subject in any meaningful way. The monstrous nature of "honor" killings is such that I truly wonder if there is anything intelligent anyone can say in response, other than that this ritual is so inhuman and unspeakably cruel as to be obviously far outside the realm of minimally passable human behavior. You can ask "why", as in why would anyone do such a thing, and yet only an eternal optimist would expect an answer that makes any sense or otherwise puts this form of murder into some type of appropriate context.

A very cursory Internet search using the term "honor killing" immediately and unfortunately yields a wealth of information about this sinful phenomenon. Its origins are primarily found in Islamic cultures of the Middle East. It is a tradition that has tragically migrated to the countries of Western Europe, and even to the United States.

I am not a Koran scholar of any sort, and won't attempt to delve into how the tradition of honor killing emerged from various interpretations of Sharia law. You can find further information about Sharia on the Council of Foreign Relations Web site, which includes specific information about those sins that the Koran specifically singles out for punishment.

The comment I would like to make is that, as a blog devoted to fostering interfaith dialogue and unity, it strikes me that "honor" killing is an extreme form of the type of violence that occurs when people of different faith traditions and beliefs cling too tightly to said traditions and beliefs. Name any faith tradition or religion under the sun, and each one is populated with a wealth of adherents who take a hard line on their particular beliefs and forms of worship. It's this exclusive mindset that leads the Catholic Church to declare that it, and only it, is the one and true right way to know and worship God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), the one and only path to eternal salvation. It is this mindset that sets off Hindu riots against Muslims in India. It is this mindset that fuels the violence between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq. It is this mindset that pits the better part of the Arab world against the State of Israel and all of its supporters.

What are we doing? What is any of us doing when we have convinced ourselves that it is God who requires and sanctions any form of violence between and against other human beings? How convinced can any religion be that it holds the ultimate and complete truth about who God is and what God wants when this exceptionalist stance results in any form of violence and hatred perpetrated against people of different beliefs? How does any religion materially improve the lives of all of God's children if it is only intended to sanctify those who profess its specific beliefs? After thousands of years of bloodshed and violence committed in God's name, might it not be time for each of us to step back and examine those beliefs and traditions that facilitate peace and justice vs. those that perpetuate separation and violence?

Thankfully, religious differences do not always lead to violence and separation. In fact, harmony between different faiths and the resulting blossoming of love can occur in the midst of violent bloodshed and deprivation. Case in point: Sarajevo: if you can make it there you can make it anywhere! Actually, this might only be true in more recent times. In the period before the war, inter-ethnic and interfaith relationships were common and mainly not remarked upon. Would that it was so around the world in every culture and society.

To couples of different faith backgrounds who struggle to maintain loving relationships in the face of pressure, even violence, from family, friends, and faith, I say, God bless you. To the victims of violence, to those murdered (mostly women) for daring to love someone of a different religion than your family's, my prayer for you is that you would know peace with God despite having been murdered by those proclaiming to believe in God. Shalom.

- Doug L.

FOR FURTHER REFERENCE:

International Campaign Against Honor Killings

"Thousands of Women Killed for Family 'Honor.'" National Geographic News, February 12, 2002.

Reclaiming Honor in Jordan, by Ellen R. Sheeley (Amazon.com)

"The Death of a Muslim Woman: 'The Whore Lived Like a German.'" Der Spiegel, March 2, 2005.

"The girl who was stoned to death for falling in love." Daily Mail (London), May 17, 2007.

"Father in honor killing found guilty of murder."
MSNBC.com, June 11, 2007.

"God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule." The Onion, September 26, 2001.