ISLAM ONE-O-ONE

In a previous entry I introduced Reza Aslan,
author of the monumental book: No god but
God. Of this book, Steven Cook of the
Council of Foreign Relations says: "A
fascinating account of Islam's evolution.
Aslan's book should be required reading
for all analysts and policymakers interested
in the Muslim world. It's a terrific read ---
no easy feat for such a difficult subject."

Further praise: " Wise and passionate . . .
an incisive, scholarly primer in Muslim
history and an engaging personal exploration."
---The New York Times Book Review

In spite of all the hulabaloo to the contrary,
as Reza Aslan (RA) points out, there is not
presently a "clash of civilizations" going on
between the Muslim world (MW) and the
West. Osama bin Laden, and some of our
own neo cons (Dick Cheney among them)
are trying to promote such a clash. And
both 9/11 and our invasion of Iraq were
planned, each in their own way, to further
that goal. But the vast majority in the MW,
as RA points out, want only peace, and to
be left alone. That's as their religion
teaches.

Young people, all over the world are
communicating on the internet, and are
enthralled by Western culture, especially
movies, music, and dress. Global economics
are turning the planet into one big common
market. No clash there!

While the clash of civilizations is more
imagined than real, the real shooting and
killing over land and oil goes on, and is
complicated by what RA refers to as a
"clash of monotheisms." Europe's fastest
growing religion (by far) is Islam. This is
due to several factors: 1) Christianity is dead
or dying in most of Europe (less than 5%
church attendance). 2)Europe's Jews are
gone (for the most part), due to the
Holocaust and migration to Israel.
3) Muslim immigration and high birth
rate (3 to 4 times that of native Europeans.)

And misunderstanding of and between the
monotheisms is rampant. The Pope has
referred to Islam as a religion of the sword,
forgetting, perhaps the Crusades, the
Inquisition, the bloody conquest and forced
conversion of Latin America's Indians,
European colonial history in sub-Sahara
Africa, and on and on! We ascribe Arab
and Ottoman conquests to Islam, but don't
identify European colonialism with Christi-
anity. But the Muslims do! And they have
long memories.

When prominent churchmen like Franklin
Graham and Jerry Falwell refer to Islam as
"an evil and wicked religion" they are guilty
of the same error the Pope made: they are
mistaking the unquestionably evil behaviour
of violent extremists like Osama and his
cutthroats with the authentic religion of
Muhammed.

RA's great contribution to understanding
is to plainly show and explain the original
teachings of the Prophet in their historic
intent and context, and to explain the
battle going on now within Islam to restore
that original vision: "Once a reasonable
interpretation of the rise of Islam in sixth
and seventh century Arabia has been
formed, it is possible to trace how
Muhammads's revolutionary message of
moral accountability and social egalitarianism
was gradually reinterpreted by his successors
into competing ideologies of rigid legalism
and uncompromising orthodoxy, which
fractured the Muslim community (the Ummah)
and widened the gap between mainstream, or
Sunni, Islam and its two major branches,
Shi'ism and Sufism."

RA goes on to point out: "Religion, it must
be understood, is not faith. Religion is the
story of faith. It is an institutionalized
system of symbols and metaphors (read
rituals and myths) that provides a common
language with which a community of faith
can share with each other their numinous
encounter with the Divine Presence."

(To be continued)

jgoodwin004@centurytel.net