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Terrorism and Religion

Ever since September 11th, I've been arguing that religion had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. I've been pointing out that the Qur'an specifically forbids the killing of innocents in war, the killing of other Muslims even by accident (there were Muslims in the World Trade Center), and even forbids suicide. Islam does not condone this sort of thing, it condemns it in at least three different ways, if not more. Thus, I asserted that the people who committed this act were not acting in the service of any god recognized by any religion.

I was wrong.

I should have figured this out on September 13th, when Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson made themselves the Taliban's spokesmen in America. They claimed that the events of September 11th were God's punishment for America's sins. This is precisely what many fundamentalist terrorists are reported to believe: that they are executing Allah's will in punishing America. Of course, they differ on which sins are being punished, Falwell blaming those who condone paganism, feminism, homosexuality, abortion, the ACLU, and the People for the American Way. But the central message is the same.

Alas, all the news in the world will sometimes fail to fully impact us until some little event in our own lives connects with it. Thus, I did not realize the significance of Falwell's comments on the 13th, and how they demonstrated the falsity of my own opinions since the 11th, until I encountered a woman on the 21st who helped me see what was wrong with my thinking.

I was helping staff the SCSU Pagan Alliance's table in Atwood, as I do every pagan holiday (the Autumnal Equinox in this case), when a woman stopped by the booth to talk to us. She started by "asking" us (and I quote "asking" since it later became obvious that she had already made up her mind and wasn't going to listen to any answer we provided) if we worship Satan. We don't, of course, and we told her so, and explained a bit about our various religions. She then professed her belief that the attack on the World Trade Center was caused by Satanists, and expressed her complete surprise that we would dare set up a display in Atwood so soon after that attack. I don't recall what we said, if anything -- we were all rather stunned by this. She concluded by expressing how deeply offended she was by our display and our very presence before storming off.

At the time, we laughed it off. What else could we do? But intolerance is a very serious matter, whether it be religious, racial, ethnic, sexual, or any other kind. And intolerance is one of the central tenets of the religion followed by this woman, by Falwell and Robertson, and even by the terrorists who attacked America. For you see, it finally dawned on me what I should have realized eight days before, in light of the disturbing echo between the words of Falwell and the words of radical terrorists: these people all worship the same God and follow the same religion!

The religion in question is called Fundamentalism. In the past, I've mistakenly believed that Christian Fundamentalists were a type of Christian, and that Islamic Fundamentalists were a type of Muslim, etc. But clearly, I was wrong. As I pointed out in the beginning, the terrorists were acting in ways directly contrary to the Qur'an. Could they even properly be considered Muslims? I don't see how, as they've rejected the very principles of Islam.

In fact, Fundamentalism is its own religion, that just happens to have denominations that insidiously associate themselves with other religions. An Islamic Fundamentalist is not a Muslim, he or she is a Fundamentalist who takes on the trappings of Islam. Likewise, a Christian Fundamentalist isn't a Christian, just a Fundamentalist of a different sort. And regardless of what name each sect calls their god, all Fundamentalists worship the same god: the god of hatred.

I had previously claimed that the attacks of September 11th were inconsistent with any religion in the service of any god, but they were not. They were fine examples of Fundamentalism in the service of hatred. Hatred is powerful, and also deceptive. Many people who worship Hatred are deceived into thinking they worship a different god, the god of love or of justice or of all good things, but if they really look at themselves, their own actions and attitudes that their religion inspires, they should be able to see through the deception. In the coming weeks, months, and years, I hope all of us, religious or not, can learn to stop and examine ourselves, and recognize when hatred is coloring our thoughts, and how to deal with it and not be deceived by it.

As for the woman who visited our display, she parted by wishing that God find us and help us. The gods have never abandoned me, despite my having abandoned them for many years, but I appreciate her thought, and I return it. Whoever you are, may you someday return to the God you believe in. He is, according to all the good Christians I know, a god of love and peace, and if you truly listen to him, he can help you in the struggle against hatred.

Bright Blessings.

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