A Ring of Fire

Two weeks ago when I implied that Islam might not be a religion of peace, I agitated a hornet’s nest. More than one reader came to the conclusion that I was a narrow-minded bigot. After all, only a mean-spirited racist could suggest any such thing.

Nevertheless, this is a serious question. With Israel again under violent assault, with Egypt being torn asunder by ferocious street demonstrations, and with Syrians killing tens of thousands of their own, is there something about Islam that encourages this belligerence?

Over a decade ago the late political scientist Samuel Huntington observed that there was a ring of fire surrounding Islamic lands. He noted that almost everywhere Muslim territories abutted non-Muslim ones there were violent clashes.

Today this remains true. Not just Israel, but places as far removed as West Africa and the Philippines have witnessed Muslims killing non-Muslims in the name of their religion. Indeed, the list is long one.

We can begin with Nigeria where Muslims have been burning the churches and massacring the inhabitants of Christian towns. Then we can move north to Egypt where the Coptic Christians are under attack by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

If we travel even further north, we encounter the Chechnyan’s engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Russians. Now heading east we find the Chinese periodically needing to suppress the ambitions of Sinkiang Muslims. Turning south, the Pakistanis continue to harbor terrorists who intermittently cross to the border to slaughter the hated Indians.

Resuming our journey east, we discover Thai Muslims at violent odds with their central government and Mindanao Muslims defying the Christian rulers of their Island nation. Even the Indonesians have had their quarrels with the Portuguese and Australians.

Nor have I yet mentioned the Iranians who seem eager to destroy the power of the United States or Osama bin Laden of al Qaeda who wanted to re-conquer Spain and the Balkans in order to restore the Muslim Caliphate to its former glory.

It may be noted here that the enemies of Islam include not just Christians and Jews, but also Hindus, Buddhists, and atheists. Simply refusing to acknowledge the supremacy of Mohamed seems ample pretext for Jihad.

It may, of course, be argued that Christianity too has sponsored violence. And it certainly has. The Catholic Church organized crusades and inquisitions, while Catholics and Protestants butchered each other in holy wars. The difference is that that was hundreds of years ago. Modern Christianity has no such impulses.

Many Islamic lands, in contrast, are currently mired in a medieval mentality. They do not promote religious tolerance, but instead call Jews monkeys who must be killed on sight and condemn Muslim apostates to death for the sin of changing religion.

Then too there are all of those suicide bombers who cheerfully tear their own bodies to shreds on the promise that they will be rewarded with eternal glory in heaven. Yes, some Buddhists have been known to immolate themselves for religious causes, but they are few and far between.

With all this said, it must be acknowledged that many Muslims are peace loving people. Many tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions, of them are not about to become bomb-throwing jihadists. The religion to which they subscribe can be, and for many is, a force for kindness and understanding.

But what is possible is not necessarily customary. Christianity evolved from belligerence to tolerance. So can Islam. But to argue that it has already done so is to ignore the evidence. There have been too many conflicts, in too many places, to conclude that the religion has nothing to do with them.

If Islam is to become a modern tolerant faith, we must stop fooling ourselves. Most Muslims are fundamentally decent human beings, but that does not mean their religion advances the same tenets as held by most Westerners. It is especially imperative that modern-minded Muslims participate in encouraging the necessary changes in attitude.

Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology

Kennesaw State University