I think there is a general oversimplification [in American media] when it comes to the discourse about Islam and Muslims. And partly that has to do with the reality that in large parts of the Muslim world there are undeniable, unavoidable political/cultural/sectarian/religious conflicts that are saturating our television screens.
In the battle over which group has the best Imaginary Friend, there’s little doubt about which side most of this country would come down on. America, after all, is a country in which 80% self-identify as “Christian.” Most would claim Jesus to be their homeboy…mostly because they don’t know much about any of the other choices.
Among those other options, Islam and Muslims have been the victim of ignorance and fear-mongering of a sort that any reasonable, educated people should find offensive. Most Americans don’t know the first thing about Islam, nor its Holy Book, the Quran. Worse, most Americans don’t care to know anything, because they’ve already made their mind up, having decided that Muslims hate America and wish for nothing but its violent, bloody destruction. That most Muslims are peace-loving people much like themselves is something that too many Christians seem incapable of comprehending.
The truth is that every religion has its Taliban-like wing of zealous, kill-‘em-and-grill-‘em wingnuts who use their bastardized faith to lend their hateful, violent urges a patina of legitimacy. Virtually every time we turn on the news, we sees images of ISIS/ISIL and/or feverish panel discussions about the “threat” they pose to the Homeland. It’s all fear-mongering, all the time, with no room for thinking people to step back and ponder the truth. What is that truth? How about that the vast majority of Muslims (as is true for Christians) are peaceful, nonviolent souls who only want to live their beliefs and their lives in the best, most authentic and honest way they can?
When we allow ourselves to accept others’ definition of people of faith- in this case Muslims- we become the problem. Too many in the media and with websites have their own agenda, often involving stoking hatred and distrust of people and a faith they can’t be bothered to understand. When they decry the Islamic “propensity” for terrorism, they conveniently ignore the truth that there are Christians similarly disposed towards violence and mayhem in the name of their flavor of Imaginary Friend.
There’s no doubt that Islamic terrorists exist…as do Christian terrorists (Scott Roeder, Paul Hill, and Timothy McVeigh, leap immediately to mind). Terrorism isn’t sanctioned by Islam any more than it is by Christianity. Politically- or religiously-motivated murder is an act of violence committed by a coward or cowards who use religion to provide cover and faux legitimacy. Murder and mayhem perpetrated in the name of Islam or Christianity or any other religion doesn’t make it any more acceptable and less reprehensible.
Too many Americans hate and fear Islam because it’s not Christianity. It’s not the religion they grew up believing to be the One, True, and Only Faith. That belief allows them to claim ownership of the superior Imaginary Friend- and that Muslims are heretics and idolators whose beliefs are just plain wrong. The arrogance behind this attitude notwithstanding, too many Americans simply can’t be bothered to understand that Islam is simply another version of their own God. They refuse to understand that Muslims generally want the same things out of life they do- peace, security, family- and that mainstream Islam is no more a threat than mainstream Christianity. Peace, love, and understanding aren’t values that Christians hold a monopoly on. Most Muslims hope for the very same things and the freedom to live and worship as they see fit. They’re no more a threat to Christians than Christians should be to them. Sadly, too many Christians seem unable to follow a basic tenet of their own faith: live and let live.
A good part of America’s character and strength lies in its diversity. That means expecting everyone to profess allegiance to one flavor of Imaginary Friend is as untenable as it is arrogant. Our differences help make this country what it is. While there are those who would destroy America from within, there are Christians who desire that every bit as much as there are Muslims. That doesn’t make either side “right” or “wrong.” It just makes them monsters and criminals.
Can’t we all just get along?
