Are you following the trial of the Christian terrorist, Anders Breivik, which is underway in Norway? Breivik is the cold-blooded murderer who bombed innocent people in Oslo, then slaughtered unsuspecting teens who were attending a camp. His actions were horrendous, he expresses no remorse, and he claims to be a Christian. We might argue otherwise. We could say he is a madman. Or that he has some twisted notion of faith to which he adheres and which does not resemble anything remotely Christian. Breivik says he is a member of the Knights Templar, a medieval order of crusaders long since defunct. Sure he is.
You might be offended that I would even call him a Christian terrorist but I point all this out because of what we often do with other religions. Extremists who claim a particular faith carry out despicable acts, so then it is tempting to characterize others who adhere to that faith as "all the same." It doesn't matter that those others are horrified or outraged by what has transpired. We may wonder why they aren't more vocal in their opposition to the acts of terror, but I don't think anyone expects me to speak from the pulpit decrying Anders Breivik. We all agree that what he did is cowardly and reprehensible and certainly not what we believe.
Are we guilty of stereotypes of other religions? Are some religions more inclined to extremism than others? I sometimes check myself from going down that road when I hear of an atrocity perpetrated by a supposed adherent of another religion. Do you see the comparison?
4 comments:
Call me wind because I am blown away by your post!
Point wel taken.
I have been thinking about this more and more, especailly since 9/11. Just after 9/11 Kevin and I got on to an elevator, (pre-my elevator phobia)and a woman wearing a hajib(?) and her child were already onboard. The woman made a protetive geture towards her child and they both kind of flattened themselves into the back wall. They were terrified of us. I have never felt so ugly in my life. I felt like the personification of just this thing you are talking about. I smiled at her, and said hello in as friendly a manner as I knew how and she relaxed but only slightly. It was a life changing moment to be sure.
I'm not necessarily "blown away" by your post, but it is definitely thought-provoking.
We certainly hear, repeatedly, about terrorists affiliating themselves with religions, and the whole idea is sickening. It doesn't help that media seem to perpetuate the problem.
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