Is Islam 'Evil'?
"Tyranny, slavery, subjugation, and irrationalism"
By Jason Pappas
Faith Freedom.org
4-7-4
"Sophisticated" critics usually react to the word "evil" with condescension
and derision. Describing something as "evil," in their view, generally brands one as
an unenlightened throw-back to the dark ages -- or the equivalent of a televangelist
preaching hellfire and damnation. Who forgets the outcry when President Reagan
described the Soviet Union as the "Evil Empire?" Or today, when President Bush refers
to the "Axis of Evil?" Commentators unequivocally condemn the word as an outmoded
judgmental term unfit for today's multi-cultural world. Unless, of course, one wants
to use it to describe the United States of America or Western Civilization itself.
The question, "Is America evil?" is routinely discussed not just on message
boards and in chat rooms -- the Internet equivalent of bathroom walls -- but by
tenured professors and in respected newspapers. A New York Times book review on
January 11, 2004, quotes author Lance Morrow from his book: "Evil, An Investigation".
"Americans are struggling now with the possibility that their country may be evil --
or, to be more practical, that their country may be doing evil in the world." Just two
weeks later, the front page of Book Review section reads: "Is America an evil empire?
Seven new books seem ready to think so."
Most Americans are shocked at the notion of an evil America . Considering our
history, the attack on our country's character is hard to fathom. Over the last two
centuries immigrants came in droves, seeking refuge from tyranny and poverty. They
found unequalled freedom and opportunity secured by a stable democracy. During that
time, totalitarian barbarity threatened to consume the world. America played a crucial
role in defeating European and Japanese fascism in WWII. However, Europe was left in
ruins and half enslaved by Communism. In Asia, Japan was in ruins and China soon
became Communist. We then faced the Communist strain of totalitarianism; one that
would result in the deaths of 100 million people and threatened to engulf the world.
Once again, our military might was crucial. We contained Communism until it fell of
its own internal contradictions. In short, America has saved civilization.
Given the recent worldwide attacks by Islamic terrorists, why isn't the
question "Is Islam evil?" With few exceptions ( Turkey , for example), Islamic
countries are fascist, autocratic or theocratic, where women are subjugated and
minorities persecuted. Islamic countries are rife with poverty and have been for
centuries. Polls show that in many Islamic countries a majority of Muslims lionize the
man responsible for the atrocities of September 11th and the terrorist gangs who
routinely slaughter civilians in Israeli buses and restaurants. In Arab schools and on
Arab television, children are taught the glory of becoming suicide bombers. Almost
everywhere that Islam borders other cultures, there is violence.
The idea, then, that Islam is evil has far more plausibility than the idea
that United States is evil. But merely, raising the question, "Is Islam evil?"
provokes an instant, inevitable outcry: "Bigot!" "Racist!" "Zionist!" Indeed, the
attempt to suppress debate on this question is so intense that few people in the
mainstream will ask it.
The level of banality goes beyond the empty name-calling. Typical knee-jerk
questions are: "How can you call all Muslims evil?" "Have you ever met a Muslim?"
"Don't you think Muslims have children, too?" Notice the switch from the religion to
the demographic group. Muslims, as individuals, range from lapsed to devout, from "in
name only" to fully practicing Jihadists. As in all religions, some individuals retain
the label even if they don't practice the religion. Indeed, knowledge of the religion
varies from person to person. It is not at all unusual to find members of a religion
who don't understand the doctrines, practice, or history of their religion. As a broad
label, "Muslim" is nothing more than a meaningless demographic term. To judge a
religion, one considers those who understand and practice the religion. Would we judge
Catholicism by someone who, following the tradition of their parents, calls themselves
Catholic but has no knowledge of the teachings of the
Church, the Pope, the Saints, and the Bible?
Why is Islam exempt from critical analysis? In Western society, there is no
shortage of critics of Christianity. Indeed, on many college campuses it is open
season on anything that has the faint odor of Western Civilization -- Christianity
included -- even though Christianity, like Islam, originated in the Middle East . One
might wonder why Islam, which sees itself as a continuation or fulfillment of
Judeo-Christianity, is not subject to the same intense criticism. Instead,
multi-culturalism treats Islam as a protected species -- an indigenous ethos
inseparable from a people. Consequently, self-appointed Politically Correct
thought-police stifle debate on Islam by shamelessly playing the race card -- even
though Islam is not a race.
We Americans are incredulous to hear the vilification of our country, our
traditions and our principles. Yet, we hesitate to publicly condemn Islam as evil when
that is far more plausible. Or even raise the question! Yet, it is clearly on people's
mind. So much so that it is often answered in a pre-emptive manner. "Don't blame Islam
for the acts of a few", we are told. "Islam has been hijacked by militants," say our
leaders. No discussion. No one explicitly asks the question. No one dares. We must not
allow ourselves to be deterred by this intimidation. The question is both legitimate
and important: "Is Islam evil?"
Negative moral pronouncements - bad and evil - are unavoidable if we are to
take the requisite actions to avoid what is harmful to our lives and well being.
Belief systems and ideas should be judged in the similar manner. Ideas have
consequences; if they lead to inimical results they are harmful. If, by their very
nature, they are blatantly horrific in their implications, are they not evil? Tyranny,
slavery, subjugation, and irrationalism are clear cases. However, most evil ideologies
are packaged to sell - including religions. Let's dissent Islam and ask if it is
inherently evil.
How shall we address this question? To understand how a belief system, like
Islam, can be evil, we have to start by asking: what do the ideas mean in practice?
When Islam is practiced, what kind of person does one become? What kind of society is
an Islamic society? Islam has 1400 years of history to help us answer these questions.
And we should compare Islam to other religions and philosophies. However, let us
proceed with caution. Merely listing historical atrocities by demographic group --
whether Christian, Jews, Muslims, or secular -- tells us little. We need to provide an
attribution analysis to determine whether it was because of the religion or despite
the religion. By carefully considering the interplay between ideas and events, we can
understand what ideas mean in action.
To get to the heart of Islam, start with its founder: Muhammad. Like
Christianity, Islam's essence is tied to the nature of a central figure who gives the
religion its distinctive soul. Muhammad's professional life as a religious leader can
be divided into two, roughly equal periods. In the first, he preached tolerance while
he struggled for acceptance in Mecca. But in the second period, after he rises to
power in Medina, he became increasingly harsh, mean-spirited and warlike.
In Medina, he inaugurated his reign of terror by assassinating two critics who
posed no physical threat: an elderly man and a poetess. Unaccustomed to the farm life
of Medina, he tried his hand at raiding caravans traveling to and from Mecca. After
several failed attempts he finally succeeded -- during the holy month. (As usual, he
conveniently had a revelation to justify this breach of regional ethics.) Muhammad had
found his calling: plunder.
The mere existence of the Jewish tribes in Medina threatened Muhammad's
authority. Muhammad packaged his religion as the completion and perfection of the
monotheistic religions: Judaism and Christianity. His converts were Arabs; Jews
refused to accept him as an authentic prophet of their religion. In a policy of ethnic
cleansing, he banished two of the three Jewish tribes and slaughtered the third. Of
the several dozen battles fought either by Muhammad or in his behalf, only one, the
Battle of the Ditch, was defensive. Islam, however, classifies them all as defensive,
virtually removing any meaning from the word. Muhammad had perfected his technique:
slaughter.
The chapters in the Koran, called "Suras", are Muhammad's "revelations" from
God. The Suras from the Medinan period reflect the corruption of Muhammad's rule. Sura
9, one of the last revelations, contains some of the most uncompromising doctrines of
aggression and belligerence. The progression from the early Meccan Suras to the latter
Medinan Suras transforms the nature of the religion. The Koran and the Hadith (the
collection of Muhammad's deeds and sayings, often called "the living Koran") paint a
bleak but unmistakable picture: Islam is a warrior religion of conquest and
oppression.
Compare and contrast Muhammad's life to the life of Jesus. Is Jesus a violent
warrior? His worst act of violence is overturning the tables of the money-changers in
the Temple. In fact, in one part of the Gospels he appeared to be advocating pacifism.
Although he is called "King of the Jews," he never ruled and gave no indication of
ever wanting earthly rule. According to the followers who recorded his deeds and
sayings, Jesus' career consisted of a few years as an itinerant preacher ending with
his crucifixion. According to the Gospels, he didn't rise to power but rose to heaven.
As a devout Jew, Jesus' holy book was the Old Testament, which does have some
harsh passages and violent episodes. But the Jesus of the Gospels is more concerned
with the spirit of the law than with the letter. (Witness his preaching on the
Sabbath.) He boiled his religious beliefs down to two essentials: love God, and love
thy neighbor. In effect, Christianity modified the religion of the Old Testament's
ever-jealous, ever-vengeful, take-no-prisoners Yahweh and his never-ending rules and
regulations (see Leviticus and Deuteronomy) with a more benevolent and less legalistic
message. Paul solidified this transformation by exempting converts from Jewish law.
By contrast, Islam is a more of a throwback to the harsh old days when, for
example, Moses (acting on God's orders) had a man stoned to death for gathering wood
on the Sabbath. It is true that Muhammad's early revelations have the more tolerant
and peaceful aura we associate with the New Testament. (Interestingly, it is these
early passages that are often shown to American audiences and university students,
creating a distorted picture but one that more closely matches the Western view of a
religion.) But his revelations grew more "Old Testament," as it were, as his power
grew.
Christianity began as a reformation of Judaism. Early Christians didn't focus
on living well in this life but on saving their souls before the impending return of
the Messiah. As a result Christianity has no political doctrine, except, perhaps,
"Render unto Caesar, What Is Caesar's." Thus, the Roman Empire could become Christian
while remaining an empire. Many centuries later, Christian apologists for the monarchy
preached the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings to justify royal supremacy, but
John Locke could argue for individual liberty and against the Devine Right doctrine
while still remaining a devout Christian. The lack of an explicit Christian political
doctrine enabled Christians to consider differing political forms and philosophies
without clashing with the authority of a revealed text. Muslims have no such
advantage.
Of course, both Christianity and Islam share the problems of dogma and
authority, elements that lend themselves to illiberal societies. In suppressing
Christianity, Roman Emperors were fighting what they considered an intolerant
monotheistic cult. After the Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in 312 AD,
Christians rose to power in the empire and by the end of the century nearly suppressed
all other religions. It wasn't long before pagans were fed to the lions. It would be
more than a thousand years before religious tolerance returned to Christianized
Europe.
In theory, Islam allowed for some toleration for Christians and Jews. But they
were subjected to slavery and a second-class status called Dimmis, which was far worse
than "Jim Crow". Due to Islamic proscriptions on domestic slavery, Islam invented a
large-scale race-based slave trade. Arab Muslims imported slaves from Europe and
Sub-Saharan Africa. Islamic slave raids were common in southern Europe and sometimes
reached the shores of Ireland.
Christians and Jews are called "People of the Book" in the Koran, and as such
are allowed to live and practice their religion in subjugation. Polytheists, atheists,
pagans and idolaters aren't so lucky: they must convert or be killed. One of history's
bloodiest atrocities, prior to the 20th Century, took place during the Muslim conquest
of India. Hindus were massacred wholesale. India's Buddhists, no military and
political threat to anyone, were virtually wiped out. The vast destruction of Buddhist
buildings, art and culture was a terrible loss to history.
It is true that the 1400 years of Islamic history were punctuated by periods
of tolerance, in which Muslim scholars, with the aid of Christian and Jewish scholars,
managed to salvage some of the ancient Roman and Greek wisdom. Under Islamic rule,
mathematicians adopted Hindu numerals and advanced algebra. However, the greatest
minds of the Islamic world, Avicenna and Averroes, were persecuted.
Averroes (ibn Rushd), one of history's preeminent Aristotelian scholars, was
banished by the Caliph; his books burned. Aquinas did for Christianity what Averroes
couldn't do for Islam: he reconciled Aristotle with Christianity -- thus setting the
foundation for the secular, rational, scientific (and Hellenic) worldview, with its
emphasis on living well in this world, that, with the Renaissance, became the dominant
worldview in Europe; and via the Enlightenment, America. Along with the growth of
secularism, religion also transformed. The work of Aquinas reformed Catholicism and
ultimately set in motion the questioning spirit that led to Protestantism.
Why was the Christian West able to move forward while the Islamic East
proceeded to decline? Was it just the fluke of Aquinas' demise on his way to a
tribunal and possibly escaping a fate similar to Averroes -- with similar consequences
for Europe?
Proponents of a moderate Islam point to a time when Muslim countries allowed
the study of philosophy and science. But given its history, one has to wonder if Islam
can furnish the environment for the stable and long-term development of modern
civilization -- or if it is just a place to occasionally hide the great works and
great thinkers during an otherwise vast period of darkness.
What is undeniable is that, over the centuries, the Islamic world decayed. For
a while the stagnant systems Muslims lived under were limited in their harmfulness
because the authorities had only primitive means of forcing submission. As soon as
modern technologies became available, Muslim leaders had the tools to increase the
oppression. They did so by adopting the modern collectivist policies of fascism and
socialism while marginalizing Islam. The failure of this faux modernization sparked an
Islamic revival. Instead of turning to the individualism and freedom welcomed in
Eastern Europe and the Pacific Rim, Muslims turn backwards. With the Islamic revival
came a renewed interest in the full practice of the religion -- including its
bellicosity and its imperial ambitions of world conquest.
We are told that the answer to fundamentalist Islam is moderate Islam. The
word "fundamentalist" comes from Protestantism, but used in a generic sense means a
literal interpretation of a religion. In Christianity, fundamentalist denominations
are considered different sects of Protestantism. In Islam, fundamentalism is called
"Islamic Revivalism." Is this a different kind of Islam, or just a different degree of
devoutness? Do moderate Muslims belong to a different Islamic sect, or are they just
less dedicated (or perhaps even lapsed)? If by "moderate," we mean "reformed to
reflect moderation and modernity" -- like reformed Christianity -- where are the
reformed Muslim theologians and texts like there are in Christianity? Is there a
"moderate Islam," or is this just an oxymoron?
Perhaps, in theory, there could be a reformed, tolerant Islam, based on the
revelations of Muhammad's early Meccan period; but an omission of intolerant,
political Islam could merely leave young Muslims enraged at the hypocrisy of the
reformers who deviate or ignore the true Islam. We are left with the following
problem: it only takes a few true Muslims, who want to practice Islam in its entirety
and heed the call to Jihad, to take weapons of mass destruction into Western cities
and destroy civilization. At this point in time, these weapons can only be created
with state sponsorship - a temporary limitation. Thus, we must return with some
urgency to our original question: Is Islam evil?
http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/JasonPappas40401.htm
The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy"
Groupe de communication Mulindwas
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