COMMENTARY: Confusing religious freedom with religious triumphalism

c. 1997 Religion News Service (Salam Al-Marayati is director of the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council.) UNDATED _ A good deal of attention has been given lately to the issue of the persecution of Christians in the United States and overseas, particularly in the Muslim world. Outrage over this issue has been the motivating […]

c. 1997 Religion News Service

(Salam Al-Marayati is director of the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council.)

UNDATED _ A good deal of attention has been given lately to the issue of the persecution of Christians in the United States and overseas, particularly in the Muslim world.


Outrage over this issue has been the motivating force of major lobbying efforts behind two bills _ the Religious Freedom Amendment that would, among other things, formalize school prayer in the United States, and the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act that would slap sanctions on countries found to be persecuting Christians and other religious minorities.

With respect to the Muslim world, there is partial truth to the claims. But while it is true religious minorities suffer in some Muslim nations, so, too, does the majority.

There is little freedom in the Muslim world today, and what freedom there is _ Iran’s recent democratic election and Malaysia’s delicate pluralism, for example _ generally is written off by Western decision-makers as an aberration and by many Muslim leaders as conflicting with”true”Islam.

However, ending persecution is not achieved by punishing people who have little or no say in their government’s decisions. Economic sanctions _ as called for in the Religious Persecution Act _ are toughest on the people, not the government. Iraq is a good example.

Rather, we should concentrate our efforts on encouraging dialogue between U.S.-based groups and Muslims abroad who speak out for freedom and human rights. Sanctions that punish people led by despotic rulers will only raise the level of antagonism within the Muslim world toward the United States.

There is also some truth to the proposition that God sometimes seems to have been censored from public discourse in the United States.

The result is a rising level of home-grown anger, an echo of the white male rage that surfaces in discussions about the economy, welfare, immigration and affirmative action.

Limits must be drawn, however, to distinguish legitimate grievances from illegitimate statements and behavior.

In South Carolina, for example, Dr. Henry Jordan, a surgeon and a member of the South Carolina state board of education, recently said,”Screw the Buddhists and kill the Muslims,”in defense of displaying the Ten Commandments in South Carolina’s public schools. He believes Christianity is obstructed in the public arena, while Islam is afforded preferential treatment, particularly in schools.


Jordan’s remarks exposed a significant level of ignorance and hostility within American society. He also said,”… Muslim theology and history demonstrates, teaches and pledges the eventual overthrow of Christianity and Christian-based nations like the U.S.” That statement represents the fear and prejudice resulting from the misinformation campaign surrounding the persecution of Christians, both here and abroad, and how such myopic views lead to hate and bigotry.

Jordan _ who has also said Muslims worship the devil _ is unfit to serve the people of South Carolina and should be forced to step down.

Other noted figures also have been called to task as a result of derogatory statements against minorities. The downfall of Al Campanas, the former Los Angeles Dodgers baseball executive, comes to mind. He lost his job when he said African-Americans are not capable of filling management positions in Major League Baseball.

More recently, Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls was hit with a $50,000 fine _ the largest against a player in the history of the National Basketball Association _ for his disparaging remarks about Mormons.

If sports figures are held accountable for offensive statements, why is it that Jordan, a public official, has not been? Is it because African-Americans and Mormons _ two minorities subjected in the past to official persecution _ have made it into the mainstream, while Buddhists and Muslims have not?

But Jordan’s comments are only the latest example of comments by individuals in positions of influence made against religious minorities within the context of securing”religious freedom”for Christians.


Judge Roy Moore of Alabama, also speaking in defense of displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom, said Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists do not believe in the same God as”the God of the holy Bible on which this country was founded.” The judge apparently does not know that Muslims worship the God of the Abrahamic tradition, the same God believed in by Jews and Christians. Nor does he seem to understand that even Christians differ in their beliefs concerning the nature of God.

Religious broadcaster and founder of the Christian Coalition Pat Robertson contributed to this poisoned atmosphere when he said that for an African-American to embrace Islam is tantamount to embracing slavery. His remarks came in the context of addressing the slavery problem in the Sudan, a prime target of those concerned about persecution of Christians.

But by linking the problems in Sudan to the religious status of African-Americans, he managed to confuse religious persecution abroad with religious freedom at home. It’s no surprise that, like Robertson, many of the same people who support the Religious Freedom Amendment also back the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act.

Statements made by Robertson and others should, at the very least, make us question the intent and result of both pieces of legislation. They should also prompt us to work more diligently to preserve American pluralism rather than letting others tear it apart.

If we sincerely want to end the misery of persecution, we should not bias the debate in the direction of one religious group over another. At stake is”our sacred honor,”what the Declaration of Independence calls the nation’s highest value.

MJP END AL-MARAYATI

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