The Real Islam

Channel surfing the other night, I happened across one of the Rick Steves’ PBS travel programs. If you’ve seen him, I’m sure you’ll agree that he does a great job of getting off the beaten path of the touristy-types and capturing the real culture of the place he’s in.

I’ve seen many of his shows, most in countries that are commonly visited. But not this night. He was making his first trip to Iran. This one I really wanted to see.

Once he received approval to film and a visa to travel about, he visited five different cities and did his usual mingling with real people on the streets, in the restaurants, museums, shops and bazaars. There were some restrictions imposed as you would have expected, and in the end, he didn’t take anything out on film that wasn’t approved to go.

What was most impressive and very nice to see, was how friendly, outgoing and curious these real people were to see and speak to an American. They just never see them, obviously. I suppose you could cynically accuse the Iranians of somehow “planting” these people, but for all I could see, it seemed like genuine friendliness and respect. Sort of an affirmation of that old adage that people are the same everywhere, and it’s countries that are enemies, not the ordinary citizen.

It was a real delight to view this surprising profile of Iran. Honestly, I felt like I could see myself going there someday to visit these people and see some of the ancient Persian ruins, the incredibly clean cities and the amazing architecture. But just as the show was starting to wrap up and I was feeling so impressed and surprised, Rick decided to visit one of the country’s oldest, largest and most revered mosques. It was here that the respect and delight ended and the disappointment and revulsion, which I frankly expected to have from the beginning, set in. Because it was here in this beautiful shrine and house of worship, that a huge sign hung proclaiming “Death to Israel”.

It’s a really twisted picture isn’t it? That he could travel throughout a major chunk of that country and not encounter a single hateful word or attitude, until he walked into a house of God; at least their God.

And with that, any hopeful and optimistic thoughts rolling around in my head, just vanished.
What comes to mind with this, is the philosophy that atheists (and others) like to express which states that it is religion, and our differing beliefs and intolerance, that is the major cause of the world’s hate, prejudice and violence. Certainly, they can make that case from a historical perspective. But in our modern, enlightened and supposed civilized societies of today, there is only one major religion which espouses violence and hate. One that promises eternal reward for the killing of it’s (supposed) enemies. That religion is Islam, and it was very apparent in this unique picture of Iran.

I’m really done listening to those that just keep harping the simplistic view that Islam is being hijacked by radicals against the will of the people. Even if it’s true that it’s being attempted, it certainly is not being done against anyone’s will in Iran. Nobody is forced to attend this mosque of hate. They go there freely and willingly to worship. In doing so, they empower the radical leadership. How would you react if you showed up at your Church one morning to find that a sign had been hung there saying “Death to Hindus”? What would you do? Continue to worship underneath that banner? Pretend it’s just some radical rubbish and ignore it? I don;t think so.

Last week, a prominent Buffalo, N.Y. Muslim businessman was arrested in the beheading death of his wife. With encouragement from her back in 2004, Muzzammil Hassan launched “Bridges TV” in order to dispel stereotypes of Muslims as terrorists and balance images of Muslim extremism with moderate viewpoints, (he said). Well, so much for that. But it’s a perfect model of Islam today.

All over the world, the stories of violence done in that name of Islam are a daily dose of reality. Women with explosives strapped to themselves kill a score of policeman or a dozen pilgrims on a bus. Somewhere else, a young woman is stoned to death because she was raped! These things are happening every single day, and yet there are those that still would preach that “this isn’t the real Islam”. Well, the mosque in Iran is certainly not the only one who would display a sign of violence like that. They exist all over the Middle East, and probably some in the west. Islam is not being hijacked. It is being guided by a new populace who are redefining Islam as a body who’s faith is violence.

Any Church or religion only exists on earth within it’s believers. The believers are the Church. So with Islam, or any or other body of believers, there is no distinction between the faith and it’s people. If the people believe, support and pray for violence and death, then that is what their religion is.

Islam is no longer to be respected and held up as faith separate from, but akin to Judaism, Christianity or any other world religion. It is the anti-everything. Time to treat it as such.