[Peace-discuss] Re: [Peace] The common core of Christianity, Judaism and Islam

[Robert Naiman]

But, it should be pointed out, what's "interesting" and "sells more
tickets" it's something we have some input into. We can all do our bit
to spread the notion that violence is dull and stupid and nonviolence
is sexy and clever.

When I was a computer programmer, I had to write short programs for
different platforms. The biggest pain in my life was DOS/Windows. I
once complained about this to one of my coworkers who happened to be a
DOS/Windows programmer.

"Look," he said. "Anyone can write a program that compiles and runs on
UNIX and does what it's supposed to. But if you can write a program
that compiles and runs on DOS and even does what it's supposed to, now
you have something to be proud of."

Similarly: any jackass can make a bomb. But if you successfully resist
violence with nonviolence, you deserve an Academy Award.

On 10/23/07, Jenifer Cartwright <jencart13 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> A good article, Chris. Thanks for posting it.
>
> Sad but true that voices for war are ALWAYS always amplified (get more
> press) while those calling for peace are muted (get little or no attention).
> Check the movie and TV listings -- evil is more interesting (sells more
> tickets) than good.
>
> Wish it were otherwise, am amazed and happy when it is.
>
> Jenifer
>
> Chris Tuck <christuck911 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> The common core of Christianity, Judaism and Islam
> By John Renard
>
>
>
> Below is the link to the story.
> http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/220DA2283E383A1C8625737C008139A0?OpenDocument
>
> Here is the story.
>
> Something remarkable in Muslim-Christian relations happened this month, yet
> few Americans are aware of it.
>
> More than 130 Muslim religious scholars from more than 20 countries in the
> Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and North America sent an open letter to
> Pope Benedict XVI and to some two dozen other leaders of Orthodox and
> Protestant churches. Overwhelmingly conciliatory and non-polemical, the
> document (available at www.acommonword.com) lays out evidence from the
> Bible and Quran that all three Abrahamic faiths share a common focus on the
> "two great commandments": love of God and love of one's neighbor as
> oneself.
>
> The letter is historic in many ways and marks the first anniversary of a
> letter seeking deeper understanding and reconciliation that was written by
> some three dozen Muslim scholars in the weeks following Pope Benedict XVI's
> controversial address at the University of Regensburg. No direct response
> was forthcoming from the Vatican at that time, and press coverage virtually
> disregarded the Muslim voices then, too.
>
> This month's noteworthy development has received virtually no electronic
> media coverage and been consigned to back-page blurbs of major newspapers.
> Had it been a diatribe against Christianity and the leaders of the many
> churches, it almost certainly would have received banner coverage.
>
> Why is it so difficult for us to hear Muslim voices for moderation and
> peace, and so easy to hear only voices calling for indiscriminate violence
> in the name of Islam? Print and electronic media coverage of events in Iraq
> and Afghanistan continues to be slanted toward spectacular violence
> apparently perpetrated by Muslims, infighting among Muslim politicians in
> the Middle East and South Asia, quests for suspected weapons of mass
> destruction and alleged pervasive plotting to undermine and overthrow
> Western civilization.
>
> The increasing availability of cable TV programs and books that purport to
> offer the truth about Islam and Muslims reflect an American populace
> increasingly adamant in its suspicion of all things Islamic. This is hardly
> surprising, given that the purported truth — that Islam is inherently
> violent and bent on world domination and that no Muslim can be trusted —
> provides a clear, black-and-white, know-your-enemies narrative that's
> frighteningly easy to sell.
>
> Here's the problem: That narrative is constructed, beginning to end, of
> pumped-up stereotypes, half-truths, ideological assumptions and outright
> bigotry. Supposed truth-tellers blithely toss around oversimplifications
> about a "clash of civilizations" and a "return of the Caliphate" as
> descriptors of a global state of unfolding religio-cultural conflict.
> Blended with various versions of Christian end-time scenarios, such
> expressions dovetail nicely with a growing perception that Islam and
> Muslims are the embodiment of the apocalyptic horrors foretold in biblical
> prophecies.
>
> The problem is exacerbated by the widespread — but false — belief that
> Muslims have remained silent about the horrors visited on so many people
> here and abroad since Sept. 11, 2001. Many ask, "Where are the Muslim
> voices denouncing terrorism?" and "Why have Muslims, both here and abroad,
> given at least tacit approval to the grim work of suicide bombers?"
>
> The straightforward, truthful answer to these questions is that Muslim
> religious leaders and ordinary citizens alike have energetically responded
> to these and other outrages, which have been the scourge of Muslims as well
> as non-Muslims. Hundreds of counter-fatwas (legal advisories issued by
> Muslim jurists) have been issued, explaining in unambiguous detail the
> Muslim abhorrence of all forms of suicide (whether rationalized as
> self-selected martyrdom or not), mass murder and the destruction of life
> and livelihood perpetrated against innocent people of every faith and
> culture.
>
> Readers who would like to sample some of these pervasive yet un-reported
> Muslim reactions may visit www.theamericanmuslim.org (a St. Louis-based
> website).
>
> Few Americans seem aware of all this activity, perhaps because it does not
> support the accepted narrative of Muslims as unredeemed and unredeemable
> perpetrators of violence.
>
> Indeed, the remarkable new Muslim outreach to the leaders of Christian
> groups is being characterized by some who purport to tell the truth about
> Islam and Muslims as no more than a ruse, a smokescreen to cover their
> sinister designs. After all, how could followers of the nefarious Muhammad
> be capable of telling the truth or relenting in their mandate to conquer
> the world for their fascist faith?
>
> It is regrettable that when it comes to being informed about Islam, most
> Americans hear only voices from the ideological extremes: non-Muslims
> espousing hatred and suspicion of Muslims, and Muslims distorting their
> tradition beyond the recognition of most of their co-religionists.
>
> Willingness and ability to hear Muslim voices begins with the simple
> acknowledgment of our shared humanity. That openness can flourish only with
> the further affirmation that, like most other people, the vast majority of
> Muslims abhor all forms of violence and long for peace and justice.
>
> John Renard is a professor of theological studies at
>
> St. Louis University.
>
>
>
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-- 
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org