Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

How Dangerous is Islam?

A few years ago on the anniversary of 9/11 I invited a local Muslim leader to join me on a live phone-in television show to discuss Israel and the Palestinian issue.  We advertised the show, so it was quite an affair as we were bombarded with on-air phone calls.  One of the issues we debated was the meaning of jihad.  As most Muslim moderates, he argued that jihad’s meaning was struggle against sin.  I pointed out, however, that every Muslim uprising or organized act of violence followed cries of jihad, and so it seemed that jihad justified violence.  Islam is the second largest religion in the world with approximately 1.5 billion followers.  Until the 1990’s Islam’s center and regions of influence were North Africa, the Middle East and Southern Asia.  With huge numbers of immigrants to primarily Europe but also to the United States and the rise of increasingly radicalized Islamic fringe groups culminating in 9/11, suddenly Islam has become center stage to the world.  So how dangerous is Islam?

Islam originated with Mohammed, who claimed to have a vision of the one true God - Allah, meaning God in Arabic.  He preached against idolatry in his hometown Mecca but was rejected.  He then traveled to nearby Medina where he attracted a large following.  He returned to Mecca with an army.  The leaders in Mecca surrendered peacefully, and Islam became the religion in a major trading post in the Middle East.  Following Mohammed’s death Islam spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa and eventually Spain through Islamic armies and preachers.  Mohammed’s views on violence and peace are mixed.  Both the Koran (Allah’s revelations to Mohammed) and the Hadith (Mohammed’s sayings) contain contradictory messages on war and peace.  For example, in chapter 2:191 the Koran declares: “Slay them wherever ye find them and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter.”  On the other hand, Muslim scholars often point to this suggestive passage: Chapter 5, Verse 32: “[I]f anyone slew a person—unless it be for murder or spreading mischief in the land—it would be as if he slew the whole people. And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.”  Interestingly, the part about saving a life is very similar to a quotation in the Jewish Talmud.  Most modern Muslim scholars argue that passages in the Koran and Hadith that apparently advocate violence are misunderstood and taken out of context.  More radical Islamic leaders, however, utilize these same passages to justify violence.

Moderate Muslim scholars point to violent periods within Christianity as a way to deflect attention to Muslim violence.  It’s true - Church sponsored or accepted violence has a long history.  But there are very few Christian leaders who advocate violence today.  With the exception of responding to outright aggression, Christianity’s record vis a vis violence has been quite good over the past few centuries.  When issues of human rights are examined, the areas of the world with Jewish or Christian majorities and influence have far better records than areas controlled under Islam.  Muslim scholars rightfully argue that most Muslim countries are controlled by autocrats, who are Muslim in name only.  In fact, there is really only one Muslim country that is truly democratic, i.e., Turkey, which has a pretty good record on human rights, and interestingly is the most Israel friendly nation among the Muslim nations.  However, where Muslims overthrew autocratic governments and installed more Muslim-leaning nations, human rights regressed, such as Iran, Afghanistan under the Taliban and the Sudan. 

Until the rise of Islamic terrorism in the 1990’s, concerns about Islam were limited.  9/11 changed everything.  Despite popular attempts to minimize the effect of Islam upon the 9/11 terrorist acts, in the minds of the perpetrators the attacks were religiously motivated.  In the past, religious wars were common.  The United States, however, has never been involved in a religious war and Europe has not since the 17th century.  Since 9/11 the United States and her allies have invaded two Muslim countries with the express purpose of rooting out Islamic terrorists, costing hundreds of billions of dollars.  In addition, hundreds of billions have been spent on internal security within the U.S. to prevent terrorist attacks, most related to Islamic fundamentalist threats.  Muslim immigrants to both the U.S. and Europe have come under increasing scrutiny bolstered by laws enhancing eavesdropping.  To the dismay of many throughout the world, the U.S. continues to hold so-called enemy combatants (all of whom are Muslim) in Guantanamo Bay without formal charges.  Many question whether Muslims can be integrated into a modern society.  Of course, moderate Muslim leaders find such attitudes patently offensive and discriminatory. 

Muslim immigration (legal and illegal) to Europe and to the U.S. has dramatically increased over the past thirty years.  Today, the population in some European countries in Europe approximate 10% Muslim.  In the U.S. the Muslim population ranges somewhere between 5-7 million.  In Europe the non-Muslim population is decreasing due to low birth rates.  Birth rates among Muslims are quite high, and some demographers project Muslim majorities in parts of Europe within 20-30 years.  Can Muslims be assimilated into Western cultures without forcing conflicts with democratic and human rights institutions?  In parts of Europe where Islamic communities are strong, anti-Semitism has increased.  In addition, there have been domestic disturbances and violent outbursts in Islamic communities.  This could be due to the fact that Muslims are not readily accepted by the larger European community, and thus, unemployment and poverty prevail.  For the most part, however, the majority of Muslims in the West keep a low profile and seem to assimilate into Western culture.  It must be noted, however, that almost every terrorist plot exposed by authorities is comprised of radical Muslims. 

There is no question - Islam contains two sides, a peaceful one and a violent one.  Over the past 20 years the violent side has predominated, certainly in terms of public exposure.  While Western fear mongers generate hatred and xenophobia, the main problem lies within Islam itself and Muslim leaders.  If Muslims are unwilling to publicly condemn Muslim fanatics such as President Ahmadinejad of Iran or terrorist actions by Hezbollah against Israel, the West understandably will hold deep suspicions about Muslim motivation and intention.  Sadly, the reality in the United States is that many Muslims, possibly unwittingly,  have donated to Muslim “charities” that support terrorism.  Members of Saudi Arabia’s royalty, supposed U.S. allies, fund the radical Wahhabi Muslim sect from which Al-Quaida originated, including funding Wahhabi preachers in mosques within the U.S.  When Muslim leaders in the U.S., Europe and around the world show by their actions that democratic freedoms and human rights must be upheld over fanaticism, Islam can become a respected and accepted faith.  Until then, the jury remains out on Islam.