report aired during Tuesday’s AC360 focused on radical Muslims who are preaching hatred outside a non-participatory mosque in New York City, much to the dismay of the Imam there. They are openly contemptuous of the United States and its people, and they say it stems ultimately from what they are being told in the Koran, which is to “terrorize” non-believers. In other words, they are doing it because Alllah, their interpretation of God, is telling them to do so.
The report was labelled as a focus on “hate speech,” but, ironically, the Muslims who are voicing the hate do not see it in the same way. They see themselves as messengers of Allah, or their God, bringing His views further into the world. Americans, naturally, as a whole are aghast, with the rising levels of anger and disgust rising with further movement along the right side of the political spectrum. That seems rather ironic, because in many ways the speech of the radical Muslims directly mirrors that of conservative Christians in America.
For years, conservative Christians have pushed the belief that they have heard God, and it is He who is imposing their views, through them, into the lives of everyone else, including and perhaps especially non-believers. Ironically, it is partly this attitude that has fostered backlash towards America from others in the world, such as the radical Muslims.
What’s missing from the conservative Christians’ views is recognition that there is a New Testament as well as an Old, perhaps mirroring the typical liberal Christian behavior that there is no Old Testament at all. The shortcoming on each side is to realize that there are actually two books to the Bible, and they both deserve equal attention. Yes, there is sin in the world, but it is to be forgiven. Yes, it is to be forgiven, but not encouraged.
It is a difficult tightrope to walk, that between forgiveness and responsibility. The Christian Right long ago abandoned any fidelity to the concept of continuing to walk it and jumped off, whereas the Christian Left seems more to have slipped, but still ends up not walking the line.
In its defense, which is not a sterling one, those on the Left, for the most part, practice a “Live and let live” philosophy that does not seek to intrude upon anyone’s lifestyle. The Christian Right, however, can do no such thing, for they are convinced they have heard the truth from God, and that it is their mission to spread His word, and impose their beliefs, whether others want to hear it or not.
Much like the radical Muslims that the Christian Right says we must fight and obliterate. It begs the question, “What if you think you hear God talking to you but it isn’t really Him?” – George Curcio
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