When I originally published the following essay almost twelve years ago in a local Peace Action Network newsletter and on my "Imagine Peace Project" website, I had deeply mixed feelings. The words were accurate and well weighed, and the feelings were absolutely honest. Somehow, at the time however, it didn't convey the level of respect that I felt was absolutely necessary for writing anything about religion. I eventually I got too burnt out with the stress of work and too furiously frustrated at what was passing for public discourse in those days to continue imagining peace. So I stopped. I honestly don't know what I'm imagining now. But I found myself rereading this piece and realizing that it was not only right on then, but needs to be said again right now, exactly as it was said back then. So here 'tis. Peace!
The hypothesis that Christianity has progressed beyond Islam because Christianity embraces forgiveness and the love of enemies has been expressed often of late in one form of another. The sentiment is understandable as the U.S. administration pursues a “war on terrorism” that at time of writing anyway, seems to be focused on Islamic people and regimes. While the feeling is understandable, particularly among Christians, the logic contains deep flaws that we as Americans are particularly prone to because of our relatively shallow understanding of the world at large and of its many diverse lands and cultures. Humorous words that a Christian preacher shared with me about a year ago, perhaps say it best. “If you speak two languages, then you are bi-lingual,” he said. “And if you speak three languages, then you are tri-lingual. But if you only speak one language, then by God, you’re an American!”
Luckily, the fact that such humor could be shared and appreciated by two monolingual Americans, such as the preacher and myself, indicates that we can begin to broaden our perspectives without necessarily quitting our jobs, going back to school and learning a bunch of languages. In fact, the methods for doing so can be found in the exact same guidelines for analytical reasoning that have been embraced by the Western Christian world perhaps more so than by any other culture. An analysis of the question at hand, for instance, immediately indicates that we need to define the primary terms in the opening hypothesis. What is Christianity? What is Islam?
All religions, including Christianity and Islam, can be understood from many perspectives that include the teachings of the religion, the behavior of people who claim to follow the religion, and the political histories of cultures that have espoused the religion. For instance, Ernest Thompson Seton, a former head of the Boy Scouts of America, and Julia M. Seton compiled a book, entitled “The Gospel of the Redman,” that has been in print at least since 1937 and has been sold in Boy Scout supply stores perhaps from then until now. The Setons open the first chapter of their book with the following comparison of Western Christian culture to that of the Native Americans:
“The culture and civilization of the Whiteman are essentially material; his measure of success is ‘How much property have I acquired for myself?’ The culture of the Redman is fundamentally spiritual; his measure of success is, ‘How much service have I rendered to my people?’” Elsewhere in the book, the Setons also point out the terrible historical irony that despite sublime Christian teachings of forgiveness and love, the history of Christianity is probably more brutal than any other religion. With regard to the opening hypothesis, the extermination of Native American cultures, Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Jim Crow, Apartheid, Imperialism, Inquisition, Crusades and World Wars I and II (just to mention a few) make any assertion of Christian progress based on exceeding anyone else in matters of forgiveness and love hard to swallow at best. In terms of modern American experience we find the oft-quoted observation by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that the hour of Christian worship on Sunday is “the most segregated hour in America.”
Back to the original analysis, however, a Muslim teaching that is relevant to the opening hypothesis can be found in the scriptural statement that “there is no compulsion in religion (or in the way of life).” I’m sure that many of the people and cultures who were forced to convert to Christianity probably wished that the Christians had and had followed such a teaching also. Nonetheless, this essay is not about the semantics of religious teachings; it is about the behavior of religious people and religious civilizations. Despite cultural differences between Christians and Muslims they are, qualitatively speaking, equivalent in terms of espousing great teachings that they don’t follow very well.
As an African-American, who has spent almost three decades as a devout Christian, almost two decades as a devout Muslim, a tour of duty in the U.S. armed services and a little over two decades struggling to explain the inconsistencies of religion and politics to my offspring, I believe that I can say this based on experience. A rigorous argument to this effect would take far more space than the medium allows, and it is also a topic that no longer interests me. This, by the way, is where the analysis ends and we start to put the pieces back together. The teachings of Christianity and Islam both begin in the same Semitic monotheistic source, Judaism. The teaching stories or parables have varied somewhat with time and culture, but the messages are the same. In that light, rather than analyze the concepts of relative progress among religions, it becomes more relevant to ask what Jesus, Muhammad or Moses would think of the “progress” of their respective followers.
In the modern Christian world, Jesus would be confronted with the same religious and political hypocrisy as he was in the Christian scripture. He would probably have to be assassinated all over again for speaking out against it, just as the Rev. Dr. King was assassinated in modern times. In the modern Muslim world, Muhammad would probably be fleeing for his life after speaking out against brutal and corrupt Arab regimes, as he was doing at the opening of the Muslim calendar 1400 years ago. And if Moses were still alive, he would probably tell the Jews, as he did thousands of years ago, that they have to spend at least one more generation in the wilderness before they are ready for the Promised Land. While modern technology, artistry and political sophistication may build the best golden calves that money can buy, it must not, as the Setons imply in the first chapter of their book, be confused with love.
Ironically, as the descendant of a culture of scripture-less pagans, I am finding myself increasingly grateful on a daily basis, particularly in the aftermath of Sept. 11, that my ancestors were victims rather than perpetrators of the “progress” about which modern religions and civilizations rival each other and boast. Today Jews, Christians and Muslims probably control the lion’s share of resources on the Earth. Yet instead of sharing what in many cases was brutally taken from others anyway, the diverse followers of Abrahamic teachings are fighting amongst themselves. It seems that in the glorious rush to progress, we have all left behind something of great importance. And considering the decidedly ugly turn of current events, it would behoove all of us to stop patting ourselves on the back for a little while anyway, so that we can go back and retrieve what we have lost. In the wise and loving words of the great Pogo, “We have met the enemy and they is us.”
Hassaun Ali Jones-Bey is (or was back in 2001 when this was initially published) a senior editor for a high technology trade magazine, and he is (was) developing an online storytelling project (which as of this afternoon he's thinking of starting again) at www.imaginepeace.org.
