This week’s Newsweek cover story is about the “War on Christians.” Upon seeing the article title, I was expecting a story on one of the GOPs favorite narratives; the “persecution” of Christians in America. The Religious Right’s ability to always find a way to make themselves the victim (like this recent example) is both entertaining and infuriating, so I was a bit surprised to see this article look outside the country at what is certainly actual persecution of Christians in the Middle East. Deadly persecution, in many cases. And while the story is eye opening, I take issue with it. I have less a problem with the substance of the article as I do with the way it was written; specifically, what was left out and glossed over.
The main thrust of the article is that for all the attention “Islamaphobia” gets here in the states, there is a much harsher form of “Christianphobia” taking place in the mostly Muslim Middle East (say that five times fast). And it is a very valid observation to make. There is an argument to be made that, because of the sensitive nature of the politics of Islam, Muslim culture is often handled with kid gloves so as not to appear offensive or intolerant here in the U.S. It especially tragic when we see just how oppressive and hostile the religious majority can be half a world away.
The problem, though, is that the article refuses to address the underlying issue that is at play: that religion acts as a terrible and violently divisive force in society. All of the violence being carried out in these countries is being carried out in the name of a being whose existence cannot be shown or proven through any means. This all boils down (albeit in a simplistic way) to a “my dad can beat up your dad” mentality, except your dads are invisible and by “beat up” you mean “work in mysterious way,” so there is no way to actually prove if your dad is there, let alone who’s is better.
Leaving this out, to me, is like leaving racism out of discussions about the Civil Rights movement; it is vital to understanding how we arrived at this point. But instead of even giving this even a passing mention, the author merely posits the Middle Eastern Muslims as the bad guys against the courageous Christian underdogs. Now don't get me wrong, what is happening to these Christians is absolutely and truly unacceptable and awful. But the issue goes beyond Muslims treating Christians in such an abhorrent way. It is about how religion in general views any group or thing that falls outside its worldview.
There are parallels in this country, thought they are admittedly less extreme when compared to what is presented in the article. We do not have any blasphemy laws here in the United States, but that didn't stop Christians from sending death threats to a 16 year old girl who successfully filed a lawsuit against here public high school to have them remove a prayer banner (which violated the Separation of Church and State). Koran's have been burned in public. The building of Mosques have been protested across the country. Religion is inherently exclusive, and they are all competing against each other, all claiming to have the same thing. Islam is a threat to Christianity for the same reason Christianity is a threat to Islam: they are making the same claim, and only one can be right. (I am focusing on these two religions since they are the ones discussed in the article)
Yet none of this was even briefly touched upon. Even if you do believe in a god, you should be able to admit that it does create tension and division in the world. And not just one specific religion, but religion in general. To ignore this is naive and misrepresents the issue at hand. If you want to have a discussion about how one religion treats another, you must also talk about how ALL religions treat other worldviews, no matter how uncomfortable it may make you.
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