If we care to really look, what we can discern in the posturing of terrorists who claim to be Muslim is a political movement wrapped in the language of religion. I have Mahmood Mamdani to thank for this insight in his book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, The Cold War, and the Roots of Terror. In order for all of to keep our balance in the earthquake of rhetoric about Islam current today, it is important, when invited to play the game of “good Muslim, bad Muslim,” to learn how not to play.
As I was thinking about this post, I was reminded of our oldest son, James, and his 12th birthday party. We hired a magician to perform for the kids (because you really have to work hard to entertain twelve-year-old boys).
The magician asked all the guests to form a big circle, and he asked James, as the birthday boy, to come into the middle. Then he proceeded to crumple paper and ask James to pay close attention because he was going to make it disappear. Then the magician waved his hands around and while James was distracted, he threw the crumpled paper over James’ left shoulder. We in the circle could see this absolutely clearly because we could see the whole scene. James could see a small portion of what was going on and he was fooled every single time.
Don’t get preoccupied with mesmerizing words like “violent” and “religion.” My strongest advice is to step back so you can see the whole picture and not get distracted by the magical religious rhetoric that is being used often with great cynicism to mask a seriously dangerous political struggle.
There are those who will point to religious fundamentalism, especially in Islam, as the source of religious violence. Here too, it is crucial not to isolate religion from politics and culture. Fundamentalism in religion is a rejection of modernity in order that the believers might achieve purity of faith. But fundamentalism does not equal terrorism. The Amish are fundamentalists and they are pacifists.
On the other hand, the absolute truth claims of fundamentalism, as Charles Kimball points out in When Religion Becomes Evil, “open a door to the possibility that their religion will become evil.” In Kimball’s work, evil is often a synonym for religiously justified violence.
My advice is don’t play the game of “good Muslim, bad Muslim” because it the game is designed to distract us from the very large, geo-political struggles we actually face and so render us incapable of effective action. And so far, the gamers are winning.
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