earthsedge

…Geert Wilders, a controversial Dutch politician, and Islam, which is growing rapidly in the Netherlands and throughout Europe. And let me tell you, those two just don’t mix very well. Wilders founded and currently leads a political party called Party for Freedom. He seems to elicit some very strong reactions, mainly for his extremely passionate stance against Islam (”controversial” is probably a bit of an understatement). He recently stirred the pot yet again with the release of a short film called “Fitna“; which graphically argues that Islam is an intrinsically violent, sexist, and suppressive ideology and the greatest threat to the Netherlands and Western civilization. Not surprisingly, Wilders is considered a hero by some, and an infidel by others. Here is a link to a speech Wilders gave just a few weeks ago, in America. I think you will find it to be rather eye-opening (he definitely knows his audience). It’s not difficult to see why Wilders is not appreciated by the Muslim world!

Wilders and his kind represent the extreme of one side of the debate. I really don’t know enough about the situation here in Holland to comment intelligently, but I will say this: Wilders’ posture toward Islam is not unique, and sadly it’s one that is often embraced by Christians-increasingly so after September 11 (or in the Netherlands, after the death of Theo Van Gogh). I say “sadly” because it seems to me that it all hinges on an extremely narrow understanding of Islam. I’m no expert on Islam, but from my (limited) personal experience with Muslims, which has been overwhelmingly positive, I think I can safely conclude that Islam is a little more nuanced than folks like Wilders make it out to be (just like Christianity is far more nuanced than folks like Dawkins and Maher make it out to be). If we feel compelled to judge millions and millions of people who adhere to a certain way of life (though I am a little baffled at how it is we think that God has delegated this job to us), the least we can do is give them the courtesy of not judging them by thier worst representatives. I know I would appreciate the same when it comes to Christianity.

But it is here that the argument come back around, and the question is asked, “But what is at the very core of Islam as an ideology?” Wilders believes that Islam is inseparable from jihad, and that ultimately a peaceful, tolerant Muslim is an oxymoron, for such a Muslim would not be faithful to what Islam truly is. For myself, I simply do not know enough about Islam to make that judgment. And I can understand, given the events of the past few years, why a person might be filled with dread as they look over their city and see mosques popping up everywhere and veiled woman walking the streets behind men. I’m not unsympathetic to that side of things; there are certain aspects of Islam that deeply concern me. (But again, let’s be clear: violence, intolerance, sexism, and ethnocentrism are human things, not just Muslim things. You will find them in adherents of every religion in the world, including Christianity. Whether or not a religion provides a way to overcome these things is another question altogether.)

But I can’t get away from this conclusion: even if it really is as bad as Wilders believes it is; if Islam is a dangerous political and religious ideology, perhaps even the most dangerous, posing the greatest threat, and we are more than justified in calling them the “enemy“-well…

We are still left with Jesus’ words about what we should do to our enemies.