Interesting you had to go back to the 1st century AD for an example.
1st century AD?? The Crusades were 1000 years ago..
Hell, I can take you back to the 30 years war in the 17th century, if you'd like..
The point I'm making is that, PRIOR to the Renaissance and acceptance of secular government as a umbrella under which ALL religions can co-exist, Christianity was just as corrupted by the religious fanatics seeking political and societal power, or rulers using religious fanatics to serve their own greed and avarice, as well as the traditional means of instilling spiritual fear into their subjects (divine right of Kings).
While the West was finding scientific enlightenment and moving towards religious tolerance, the Muslim world was the empire of the Ottomans and Persians. And after their last defeat on the steps of Vienna, for the Ottomans, it was the zenith of their empire and the Muslim world stagnated and never achieved their own renaissance.
Thus, had there been no Protestant reformation, nor any renaissance, who's to say we wouldn't a "Spanish Inquisition" every day to force people convert to Catholicism?
And Eric Rudolph was not just a single nutcase. The boy held out in N. Carolina for well over a year.. He had support (and approval) of many of the folks there.
But let me tell you.. I had the disgusting opportunity to witness the activities of the Aryan Nations back in the early '80's. Some call them neo-Nazis, but these folks had a distinct religious basis and they were willing to commit violence with very little conscience.
With the Muslims.. it's the same way.. there are moderates who have no personal desire to force you to "convert or die". But there also others who will never forget that non-muslims are Kafir and that Islam is in a perpetual war with the infidels.
So unless folks want to conveniently label all Muslims as Jihadists and wage war against the entire Muslim world, then they need to be a bit more creative and less denigrating way of interfacing with the Muslim world.
It's a civil war within Islam that we require. To create a willingness on their part to understand that religious tolerance must exist under a secular democratic government.
Hawk |
