No one can deny that in the ancient world religious beliefs were the threads of unification among peoples ravaged by primeval clans and tribes totally lacking a sense of justice. Yet there is clear evidence that most religions were formed by transvaluing surrender to God’s Will as surrender to the will of the handful of thugs and prophets claiming direct communication to heaven.
Without this subterfuge, nations of might could never have materialized, just as the primeval clans needed the mystery of their witch doctors. The great Pharaohs — masters of authoritarian illusion — ruled for thousands of years as gods on earth. Hinduism institutionalized the caste system some 3500 years ago and still thrives, despite Buddhism’s path of enlightenment which does not fit in well within the mold of religion. Ironically King David and Muhammad have much in common because each was engaged in nation building and secularism.
Contrary to Jewish and Islamic claims, their respective and ostensible prophets were essentially warriors and womanizers. Both had harems and both were marauders bent on the will to power. And, of course, both succeeded under the guise of God’s will. The rationalization that these men were prophets preceding and succeeding Jesus, a true man of peace and democratization, is ludicrous.
The great threat to civilization today is not terrorism but the underlying authoritarianism of Islam that refuses to move with the times, enslaving its followers in the sink of antiquity and poverty, lest its hold on the minds of a billion people dissolve by modernity and democracy. Terrorism itself is not uniquely Islamic, except perhaps for its suicidal nature and the undeniable abhorrence of reasoning in the Koran. One need only to look to the Mafia, the Spanish Inquisition, the KKK, the IRA, the French Revolution, Stalin and Hitler, our own Manifest Destiny to see that it is purely and simply to wreak havoc indiscriminately.
The rise of Islam is no less evil than the totalitarian, uncompromising, imperial movements in history. Its aim to enslave the mind by denying access to the egalitarian spirit of the world’s great literature and failing to inculcate respect and tolerance toward successful nations is no less threatening than Iraq, Nazism, Stalinism, or for that matter Christianity in the dark ages.
Democracy in Israel is owed to the infusion of American and European immigration, revitalizing Zionism and resulting in the displacement — similar to America’s violent infringement of the native American — of almost a million Palestinians — native Jews and Arabs alike. The reason for this is that the post war massive immigration had nothing in common with the Arab world. Claiming rights to the holy land would be tantamount to the native Americans reclaiming Manhattan.
Jews for two thousand years were of a European mind-set; they had no business returning with the intent of democratizing a medieval authoritarian land. Is there any wonder that Islam is dead-set against this lone star state in its midst? Nonetheless, this is no excuse for the killing of innocent civilians on either side. The cast has been set now; both sides must learn to coexist. Obviously, easier said than done. Even in this great nation of ours, the diversity we praise is the essence of enduring conflict. In this light the egalitarian spirit of Jesus is a "consummation devoutly to be wished."
Copyright © 2001 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: November 9, 2003 .
