Bush on Islam...puh-leaze!
The first third of Cal Thomas' essay on Bush's recent, heretical comments about Christianity vs. Islam...
Whatever else his critics say of him, no one can fault President Bush for failing to go the extra mile in his efforts to show that neither he, nor the United States, is opposed to the Islamic faith, or to Muslim nations.
Last week, the president and Mrs. Bush hosted their seventh Iftaar Dinner, the celebration that breaks the Muslim fast during Ramadan. Immediately after 9/11, the president visited a Washington, D.C., mosque and proclaimed Islam a "religion of peace." He has frequently said that terrorists are not real Muslims, anymore than people who proclaim to be Christian and engage in violence are genuine Christians.
The president is the most openly evangelical Christian and faithful churchgoer since Jimmy Carter. And the evangelical community has mostly embraced him and twice voted for him in overwhelming numbers. But that constituency is likely to be troubled over something the president said in an interview with Al Arabiya television. In an official transcript released by the White House, the president said, "ŠI believe in an almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God." Later in the interview, the president repeated his statement: "I believe there is a universal God. I believe the God that the Muslim prays to is the same God that I pray to. After all, we all came from Abraham. I believe in that universality."
To paraphrase a remark often attributed to the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, everyone is entitled to his or her own faith, but everyone is not entitled to define the central doctrines of that faith. The doctrines of what is called Christianity not only stand in stark contrast to Islam, they also teach something contrary to what the president says he believes.
It is one thing to try to reach out to moderate and sincerely peaceful Muslims. It is quite another to say the claims of your own faith are of no greater importance than the often contradictory claims of another faith. If we all worship the same God, the president should answer the call of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Osama bin Laden, convert to Islam and no longer be a target of their wrath. What difference would it make if we all worship the same God?
posted by Eric Schansberg @ 5:34 PM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
Perhaps Mr. Bush has 1 Timothy 4:9-10 in mind: This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. (NIV)
http://www.hotconflict.com/blog/2007/10/allah-the-god-o.html
There seems to be a lot of debate here in the United States. Many people are trying to suggest that the God Allah of the Muslims is not the same God of the other monotheistic religions. This is a very serious misunderstanding of Islam and I am surprised it is so common in this society. The very essence of the message of Islam is that there is no other God than Allah. The God of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad.
At some level, this could be semantics. Among the monotheists, there is the vital belief that there is one God. And since all of us have (at least slightly) different conceptions of God's character, desires, etc., all monotheists believe in a different "one" God.
That said, in practice, the gaps here are so great that papering over the differences with a reference to semantics seems inappropriate. To note, why are Christians considered infidels or heretics or-- and why would conversion to other religions be considered problematic within Islam-- if we're all worshiping the same God?
I suppose one could believe that there is one god who has revealed himself to several distinct sets of people throughout the ages, who said one thing, and who has been interpreted inconsistently among different cultures. Does it make more sense to believe that our tradition is right and everyone else's is wrong? Can we learn more about the true nature of god by looking to what our tradition has in common with other traditions than by promoting a zero-sum game (e.g., sheep go to heaven, goats go to hell)? But I suppose these vacillations do not put butts in seats on Sunday.
If it's only (or mostly) tradition, then yes. For those who hold religion as a largely cultural thing, that makes complete sense.
But as religions, Islam and Christianity make radically different claims. So, what are our choices here?
a.) Ignore or paper over those differences.
b.) Acknowledge those differences and trash those who hold them.
c.) Acknowledge the differences, respect those with whom we disagree, look for common ground, dialogue and hope to persuade with evidence, etc.
C is the superior choice.
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