Tom Clark

Faith, Suicide Killings and Evil Iran
July 2006

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Faith is part of the discussions underway about suicide killings and about evil States like Iran. The impression can easily be gained that the Muslim faith is tied up in violence and that there is a kind of war between historic faith traditions - a "clash of civilizations."

The "my faith is better than yours" approach is not helpful in international dialogue. All faiths have problems just as the countries linked to them have problems. In the wider world, there are deeply rooted feelings of unfairness and injustice stemming from the aftermath of the last two centuries of the Western powers' colonial and slavery activities and the largely complicit role of the Christian churches. Church and other humanitarian groups in many countries simply don't accept that the West and its religion is better than the rest.

With respect to the Muslim faith, Iran and the middle east, I found a recent book by a Muslim apologist helpful. "No god but God" by Reza Aslan (New York: Random House, 2006) gives an account of the evolution of the Muslim faith. Aslan argues that what is going on now is not so much a clash between civilizations, but rather a conflict within Islam. It is between "fundamentalists" and those who see a dynamic Muslim faith evolving in the modern world. Alsan sees this internal conflict in Islam as comparable with the protestant reformation in Christianity. If Islamic countries such as Iran have the kind of religious struggles within them that tore Europe apart in the 17th century, it doesn't mean they are necessarily "evil." The increase in numbers of nuclear weapons and their proliferation among more countries is a threat to human life. On the other hand, it is difficult to say that Western countries may expand their nuclear arsenals and test more numbers of more potent forms of these evil weapons while Iran may not have nuclear weapons at all. Surprisingly, whether Iran develops nuclear weapons is likely in the hands of Russia and China - not necessarily our government's choice of "good" States, but our best hope for a solution in Iran because of their relative lack of unhelpful political baggage in the Middle East.

Is the Muslim faith itself a problem? No more than other faiths and no more than the rulers which manipulate them. The inter-faith writer, Karen Armstrong, makes it pretty clear that all the three Semitic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, have played off each other throughout their histories. Also, all three Semitic faiths have been tangled up in politics with empires and States during their evolution. It is hardly surprising that it is not always possible to separate religion as motivator from national myth and related government politics as motivator.

Are Muslim suicide bombers uniquely extreme? All major faiths have problem groups. The term "fundamentalist" was first used to describe certain Christian groups in the United States. Suicide missions are not a novel Muslim creation. Japan used suicide pilots in WWII. The Tamil Tigers seeking independence in Sri Lanka have used suicide fighters for at least the last four decades. Semitic religions were not involved in motivating either of these two groups. The Christian faith is not free from contemporary acts of violence. Christians have assassinated medical doctors who carried out abortions. Christians did this within the relative tranquility of a contemporary western democracy. Interestingly, the word "assassination" comes from the Muslim world of several centuries ago.

So in a complex world where, as McLuhan said, the medium is the massage, the best guidance comes from the common principles of people of faith working together out of compassion on human needs.

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Faith, Suicide Killings and Evil Iran July 2006 Click square for index Faith is part of the discussions underway about suicide killings and about evil States like Iran. The impression can easily be gained that the Muslim faith is tied up in violence and that there is a kind of war between historic faith traditions - a "clash of civilizations." The "my faith is better than yours" approach is not helpful in international dialogue. All faiths have problems just as the countries linked to them have problems. In the wider world, there are deeply rooted feelings of unfairness and injustice stemming from the aftermath of the last two centuries of the Western powers' colonial and slavery activities and the largely complicit role of the Christian churches. Church and other humanitarian groups in many countries simply don't accept that the West and its religion is better than the rest. With respect to the Muslim faith, Iran and the middle east, I found a recent book by a Muslim apologist helpful. "No god but God" by Reza Aslan (New York: Random House, 2006) gives an account of the evolution of the Muslim faith. Aslan argues that what is going on now is not so much a clash between civilizations, but rather a conflict within Islam. It is between "fundamentalists" and those who see a dynamic Muslim faith evolving in the modern world. Alsan sees this internal conflict in Islam as comparable with the protestant reformation in Christianity. If Islamic countries such as Iran have the kind of religious struggles within them that tore Europe apart in the 17th century, it doesn't mean they are necessarily "evil." The increase in numbers of nuclear weapons and their proliferation among more countries is a threat to human life. On the other hand, it is difficult to say that Western countries may expand their nuclear arsenals and test more numbers of more potent forms of these evil weapons while Iran may not have nuclear weapons at all. Surprisingly, whether Iran develops nuclear weapons is likely in the hands of Russia and China - not necessarily our government's choice of "good" States, but our best hope for a solution in Iran because of their relative lack of unhelpful political baggage in the Middle East. Is the Muslim faith itself a problem? No more than other faiths and no more than the rulers which manipulate them. The inter-faith writer, Karen Armstrong, makes it pretty clear that all the three Semitic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, have played off each other throughout their histories. Also, all three Semitic faiths have been tangled up in politics with empires and States during their evolution. It is hardly surprising that it is not always possible to separate religion as motivator from national myth and related government politics as motivator. Are Muslim suicide bombers uniquely extreme? All major faiths have problem groups. The term "fundamentalist" was first used to describe certain Christian groups in the United States. Suicide missions are not a novel Muslim creation. Japan used suicide pilots in WWII. The Tamil Tigers seeking independence in Sri Lanka have used suicide fighters for at least the last four decades. Semitic religions were not involved in motivating either of these two groups. The Christian faith is not free from contemporary acts of violence. Christians have assassinated medical doctors who carried out abortions. Christians did this within the relative tranquility of a contemporary western democracy. Interestingly, the word "assassination" comes from the Muslim world of several centuries ago. So in a complex world where, as McLuhan said, the medium is the massage, the best guidance comes from the common principles of people of faith working together out of compassion on human needs. TOP Click:
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