Islam Is Not Christianity

A year or so ago I took in a lecture on Islam by a fellow writing a book and he advanced some interesting theses, one being for Christians the Word was made Flesh, and for Moslems the Word was made Book.  The idea is not original to him, but the implications and the difference would be, of course, profound.

We met later and conversed, and I expected to someday see a book that advances the conversation on Islam and Christianity.  His book is out, at daunting prices, and he gave up the copyright, so I will not know what he wrote.  In an exchange of emails he offered talking points that sounded like something straight out of a Rick Santorum fund raiser.  Quite disappointing end result.

He offered several debatable points against Moslems, which are beneath reply, but he hit a very common point I hear expressed against Islam. This point I would like to address.

The argument is Islam, at the level of the Book, the Koran, has violence so blatantly integrated into the faith that only the most obtuse or delusional could possibly fail to see its premise of violence towards nonbelievers.  Let me paraphrase his expression:

For Moslems, the verses calling for violence are part of the divine word dictated by Allah, part and parcel of the Koran and one undifferentiated religion. The violence is a religious imperative.

Indeed, here is one website that lists all 109 calls to violence in the Koran.  We are supposed to tremble.

First let’s set aside few if any critics of Islam have ever read the Koran. Translations, yes, Koran, no. An article of faith in Islam is a translation of the Koran is not the Koran. The Koran is written in an archaic Arabic, and if you cannot read that, you have not read the Koran.   

This may seem a trifling point, but if you have studied any languages, you will understand that language structure also communicates information.  There are cultural and intellectual consequences of mastering a foreign language, and indeed such adepts profess that to speak a foreign language is to have a second life.  This phenomenon is a part of the studies we call linguistics.

So to critique the Koran based on an English translation, without the insights of the structure, grammar, and poetry of the orignal is rather presumptuous.  When I read a critique of Islam from someone who has mastered the Arabic of the Koran, I’ll listen.  Those who can read the original do not make the claims about Islam those who cannot read the Koran make about Islam.

But but but... fiery Islamic clerics who can read the original and do make the claim and use it to inflame suicide killers!  And this we know from confessions yielded from torture and what patsies the FBI can entrap?  If that is occurring, let the police arrest anyone who conspires to commit a crime.  We have Christian preachers who incite people to violence too, finding warrant in the Bible. Even moviemakers.  German soldiers advanced nazi goals with “God is With Us” emblazoned on their belt buckles. They are no more representative of Christianity than some neanderthal named Sheik Badhmood bin Kranki al Week calling for violence represents Islam.

And, as you will see in other posts on this blog, USA’s #1 Muslim cleric has specifically denounced any Moslem violence, and condemned the one act of “honor killing” that occurred in USA (and as if honor killings do not occur among Christians.)

But let’s for the sake of argument grant that Islam is inherently an aggressive, violent religion.  So what?  We are obliged to respond to the religion to which God calls us.  Faith is an act of the intellect assenting to a Divine truth owing to the movement of the will, which is itself moved by the grace of God. The Islamic faith is for Moslems, not for Christians.  

Without getting into the “my God is bigger than your God” arguments, Christianity teaches both suffering has meaning and the gates of hell will never prevail against Christ’s church.  Putative Christians who scaremonger Islam do not seem to trust God, or His mysterious ways. So what if 1.3 billion people all are willing to die to destroy Christianity (or as my correspondent more liberally reckons, a mere 200 million).  As Jesus might say, “make my day.”  It ain’t gonna happen.

What is clear, regardless of religious imperative, the only place Islam today seems to prevail over Christians is when they are repelling invaders.  Like the Vietnamese.

And further, there is a disconnect where we have boots on the ground. Why is it that so few Islamic fighters with so little in resources can tie down the sole superpower which spends more on military than all other contrres combined?   Al Qaeda, when not financed by the Christian powers, has a few dozen adherents at any time.  Al Qaeda means “the center” as in the place where all activities are coordinated.  Taliban means students, these the young, highly motivated, highly intelligent adversary to the infidels.  With an army of 200 million to call on, these people willing to die certainly do not have much to show for their efforts.  The Koran has harsh things to say to those who fail to defend Islam, and it appears Islam has some 200 million AWOL soldiers, by Christian reckoning.

Or perhaps it pleases Allah to demonstrate it only takes a few thousand Moslem students and a like number of Al Qaeda operatives to tie down the world’s sole superpower.  As the Moslems say, Allahu Akbar!  Why call up the 200 million suicide squad reserves when God is with a few thousand students?

Or perhaps, more reasonably, Islam is a more nuanced experience than people who view Islam as “one undifferentiated religion” can imagine..  Iran and Saudi Arabia are both quite conservative and both quite opposed to each other.  The nuances among Moslems is diverse indeed, and probably the most effective nonviolent movement in the history of man was Moslem.  Malaysian Islam seems to me to be rather Buddhist.  So rich a culture!

Much is made of the Moslem penchant for suicide missions, as if this is some sort of special evil.  I am trying to remember a single war movie when I was growing up, or even into adulthood, that did not include the suicide mission.  hmmm... Saving Private Ryan?  Dirty Dozen?  Bridge Too Far?  Green Beret?  Shoot, I can’t think of one.

And not to put too fine a point on it, since we are experiencing more deaths of US soldiers in Afghanistan by suicide than by battle, Christians have their own challenges to face in this regard.

Critics of Islam excuse violence dished out by Christians on the premise there is nothing in Christianity that calls for violence.  But that ignores that there is nothing in the religion that prevents it either.  And if it is true that Islam promotes violence, then Moslems have an excuse for violence, whereas Christians have none for the blood-soaked centuries and current events.  If Islam was Christianity, then we would have the bloodshed that is historically endemic among Christians, without Islam.  Where would be the advantage of no Islam? Religious imperative or not, either way, man still choses to do violence. So much for the “clash of civilizations.”

(And, of course, “the clash of civilizations” is simply tarting up the struggle over who gets the oil and who gets to tax the Middle East. All religious wars are about real estate.)

The putative Christians who condemn Islam do so because Islam is not Christianity.  They have firmly grasped the obvious.  If the religions were the same, then they would not be different  Such is the level of intellectual rigor of those who fear Islam.

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