We ought to recognize the familiar sound of sharia - Muslim religious law. Some American Christian fundamentalists regularly advance the idea that this country should be governed by biblical principles. Elected leaders, they believe, should subscribe to such principles and commit to governing by them. Inevitably such governments encounter the problem of interpreting or understanding ambiguous scripture passages. For guidance they turn to religious leaders. Then, we would have what the Muslims have in their sharia: not government of, by and for the people, but government by religious leaders. It is because of this dynamic that many Christians oppose Christian Fundamentalist efforts to govern by biblical principles.
Muslim fundamentalists declare a deep hatred for the United States and for its culture. This should not surprise us, either. Many Christians object to the values Hollywood and TV project. Many of us see our society as overwhelmingly secular. We object to the sexuality which pervades advertising. And that group includes those of us who are not particularly puritanical in our approach to life. Others are even more vehement in their opposition to our cultural values. Because Muslim fundamentalists are, from our point of view, extremely puritanical in their value system, their reaction to our values is stronger than ours.
We also ought to remember that Christianity is a missionary religion. So is Islam. The difference between the two is that the method used by fundamentalist Muslims is jihad - war against those who do not believe - the infidels. We are the infidels and the jihad is against us.
The principle of religious freedom which we hold dear guides us not to interfere with any person's religious practice - as long as that practice does not endanger the welfare of the nation. A jihad - a holy war - against us certainly endangers with the welfare of our country!
So let us not be fuzzy minded about this. These people are trying to kill us!!! They don't need to be understood, or pitied because of their poverty, not do we need to minimize their threat to us. All our law, our culture, and our religious values ask of us, other than that we defend ourselves, is that we pray for our enemies. There is an old Irish prayer that is appropriate to this situation:
May God bless our enemies and may he turn their hearts; and, if he cannot turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles, so that we may know them by their limping. Amen.
