Religious fanaticism root of violence in Mideast
Monday, November 30, 1998
Religious fanaticism root of violence in Mideast
ISLAM: Attackers abuse faith by using terrorism to advance political goal
By Adva Kalderon
In his article "Critics ignore true causes of hate" (Viewpoint, Oct. 19 1998), Salar Rizvi correctly points out that Islam is a gentle and fundamentally non-violent religion. But having made this point, he continues to claim that those Muslims who commit senseless acts of violence in the Middle East are doing it on their own, due to so-called Israeli oppression, and without any connection to their religion. He then suggests that we not put labels on events and phenomena without a firsthand understanding of what they are.
Islam is gentle and non-violent at its core. But in stating that oppression is the true cause of hate, Rizvi has neglected a few facts, perhaps unintentionally, which support a different hypothesis altogether: that while Islam is a gentle religion, religious extremists among the Muslims (and admittedly, among the Jews as well) are abusing their religion for political or national causes.
Acts of senseless violence that would never be condoned by main-stream Muslims (e.g., suicide attacks against civilian targets) are being carried out by religious fanatics in the name of Islam. And while this phenomenon continues, it is hard for observers to disconnect those terrorist acts from the religion in whose name they are being carried out. Consider the following facts.
Violence (including violence against civilians) was practiced by Palestinians well before Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), as a matter of fact, was established in 1964 - three years before the occupation of these areas (source: http://www.pna.net/plo/pal_plo_1.htm). That by itself is sufficient to put a big question mark over Rizvi's hypothesis as to the true causes of hate in the Middle East.
Violence against Jews is being actively preached in religious temples in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. I am not claiming that this is as it should be, just that this is being done. This makes it hard for observers around the world to separate the religion from the hatred.
Hamas, an Islamic Jihad group perhaps best-known for its active terrorist acts against civilians in recent years, is using religious contexts to justify its attacks and in training its people. Potential suicide bombers, being trained by Hamas and other groups, are taught that success will grant them a status of a "Shahid" - a saint - and that their death will grant them a place in heaven.
So is it Islam? Absolutely not. Islam is fundamentally a just and gentle way of life. Religious extremists, however, are abusing the religion for political and national goals. Those who fail to recognize Israel's right to exist and the Jewish people's right to a homeland in Israel are using the religion as another tool to motivate troops. Regardless of whether their national or political goals are justified, their means are certainly not.
Just as I condemn Jews who are so fanatic that they shoot Arabs simply because they are Arabs, I expect Rizvi and my other Muslim friends to condemn these terrorists acts on the basis of their own view of Islam as being just and gentle. While acts against military targets can be justified as acts of war, blowing up buses with schoolchildren is not an act that can be tolerated by Jews, Muslims or Christians. The horror of the injustice done to the innocent cannot be, and should not be, justified under any agenda.
Rizvi himself considers it hypocritical to condemn a people or a faith without complete understanding of the origins of the situation and both sides of the story. I couldn't agree more. And I would suggest that he be one to heed his own advice.
While the facts I mentioned above have their own sources, my main reaction to the article was based on my own experience as an Israeli and as an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) officer who has served in the West Bank for three years. This is a firsthand understanding! The Middle East situation is not something Americans can learn about from three minutes of TV coverage once a week.
With all due respect, it is not something Rizvi, an American, even as the vice president of the Muslim Student Association, knows enough about. To take it further, even if he has the requisite knowledge, it is certainly not both sides of the story.
The Middle East situation is inherently complex. All attempts at clear generalizations, such as the one that Rizvi offers, are inherently doomed.
Perhaps the only thing that can be correctly stated about the Middle East is that the mixture of religious, emotional, national, political, geographic, demographic, social and economic issues there is too complex for any person to fully fathom and sort through. I hope Rizvi joins me and many others in praying to Allah for understanding and tolerance in the Middle East, which can be the only means for peace.
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