What If You Could, Would You?

Imagine that you are traveling in some distant land, hiking through forgotten hills, and you find a box buried beneath slag. And in that box you find proof, definitive, incontrovertible proof that a religion, let's say, Islam, was false, phony, so much batooey. What would you do with it? Would you publish your findings in your own name? Would you write a book or create a documentary? I mean, what I am asking is serious: What if you could destroy the foundations of Islam, would you?

Let's look at this differently. Imagine that you could destroy Judaism and Christianity. Imagine that you could lay waste to the ideas of YHWH and Moses, Exodus, King David and Elijah and the "Chosen People"; and that you could prove that Jesus was still in his tomb, or that he was just a teacher, or even that he never existed. Would you do it?

Perhaps you'd be reluctant to destroy a religion - be it Islam or Buddhism or Shintoism - that not only inspires millions, but inspires millions of good deeds. Why destroy something beautiful for the mere sake of truth, or historical accuracy? Why make something so lovely crooked by setting the record straight?

But I beg you to ask yourself if your reluctance to destroy Christianity or Judaism would have anything to do with fearing for your life. Do you think Rome would set a hit squad on you? Do you think Jerry Falwell would wish you dead? Do you think Jerusalem's Hasidim would wrap themselves in C-4 and blow your proofs to bits?

What if you could destroy Buddhism? Do you think the Dalai Lama would spear you with a lance? What of Hinduism? Do you think people would call for your death because you proved that the caste system was man-made, and therefore escapable? Perhaps yes, to all. But I tend to think that fear of death does not strike at many of us when considering the power of Buddha or Christ. At least most of the time.

Of course, we know that periodically people in all major religions have turned violent. This is less a testimony to the poverty of religion as it is proof of the poverty of humanity. But there is a difference, today, between faiths. For when a Hans Küng writes critically of the Catholic Church, Rome may denounce his opinions, but it does not call for his death. But when a Salman Rushdie writes unflatteringly about Islam in a work of fiction, there is a bounty placed on his head. In fact, one cannot off-the-cuff recall an equivalent declaration of death toward any writer criticizing a religion, particularly his own religion. Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa on Rushdie has no modern analogue.

So, then, with that in mind, would you post on your website an argument that could disprove that "Allah is One and Muhammad is his prophet?" Would you go on Nightline or Hardball to unveil your evidence? Would you shout your findings from a mountaintop?

Here is a curious thing: much of Islam, if not all, pretty much believes that Islam is living proof that Judaism and Christianity are not only wrong, they are scourges on the earth. They are the holdouts of infidels. They are loathsome in their unrepentance. They are flat out wrong. And yet, there is no call from Christian clerics or Jewish rabbis to bring the sword down on Mecca. However, chillingly, there is this fatwa you should read, issued against those of us in the West (in 1998, by Osama bin Laden, et al):

'...On that basis, and in compliance with God's order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims

'The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies--civilians and military--is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty God, "and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together," and "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God."

'This is in addition to the words of Almighty God "And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated and oppressed--women and children, whose cry is 'Our Lord, rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will help!'"

'We -- with God's help -- call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.

'Almighty God said "O ye who believe, give your response to God and His Apostle, when He calleth you to that which will give you life. And know that God cometh between a man and his heart, and that it is He to whom ye shall all be gathered."

'Almighty God also says "O ye who believe, what is the matter with you, that when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of God, ye cling so heavily to the earth! Do ye prefer the life of this world to the hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least. For God hath power over all things."

'Almighty God also says "So lose no heart, nor fall into despair. For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in faith."'

I beg you to find any religious leaders in Christendom or Judaism who have made such claims against a people, any people. Even George Bush has declared that the war on terrorism is not against Islam, though it surely feels like such a war to many of us. And he has never stated that the war is against Iraq or Iraqis. It is a war against a "regime", the regime of Saddam Hussein. The scope of America's fight is selective, and not general: It is not against "infidel" Muslims, but "terrorists" and "extremists". The very language chosen by this administration is an effort NOT to sound like a fatwa has been declared against Mecca. There is reticence in America's voice. And, I believe, reverence.

But there is nothing particularly reverent in Osama bin Laden's fatwa: We are just plain bad.

What I am ultimately saying is not that Islam is wrong. I am saying that to the Westerner, Islam is scary and confusing. We hear of peace, and yet the peace seems so much like hate. How do we come to terms with it, particularly when there is a fatwa on each of our heads? Where do we go to meet our accuser "along the way," as Jesus taught, so that we might make "peace with our enemy?" To whom do we address our petitions, since there is no heirarchy, no authoritative structure, and no holy seat of Islamic power? How can we make peace when our enemies conceal themselves, making no effort to extend the hand of friendship?

This is the confusion and fear many of us have for Islam. We know the Pope, we have his Church's catechism; we can have audience with his underlings. That is why we do not fear the Catholic Church with mortal fear. But the Islam of Osama bin Laden, hidden and concealed, and yet viciously angry at our infidelity, is like a serpent in the rocks; a spider in the bloom; a bomb in the seat next to us. We do not know how to make peace, when peace is not an option given us.

Would you make peace, if you could?

Contratimes

©Bill Gnade 2005/Contratimes