"A Confession of Confusion"

JMJ. I confess to being confused. Maybe conflicted is a better word. Yes, conflicted. Bear with me as I try to sort things out because, in so doing, mayhap you, o Reader, will be spared my travail. I am terrified of world-wide Islam. Not just radical Islam, but Islam in general. Liberals try to make a distinction between the religion itself and its fanatic fringe.

I don't think it's possible to do that, though. And that stems from the unassailable fact that the Quran cannot be separated from the culture. Then, too, Islam suffers from the same problem that Protestant Christianity has--no centralised authority. Modern Christians seems to think that the Church Christ left us is a democracy when it is anything but. It is a monarchy with One King, Jesus, and one regent, the Holy Father.

So it is not with Islam. Every imam claims to interpret the Quran for himself and his "congregation" (for want of the correct term.) And every ayatollah issues fatwas proclaiming this or that and condemning this or that. But it cannot be denied that verses in the Quran proclaim that Islam is the true religion and all others, primarily Christianity and Judaism, have been superseded. therein lies the problem in inter-faith dialogue. A Muslim assumes first that everyone else is inferior. And therein lies part of my conflict. What is to prevent any Muslim from becoming "radical?"

This is the same phenomenon that we had in Viet Nam. the Vietnamese who worked on the base during the day might fight with the Viet Cong at night. The peaceful villager, through intimidation, might hide infiltrators. The pilgrims traveling to their homes during the Tet holy days might well be Viet Cong or North Vietnamese soldiers. An ally looks no different from an enemy. A wonderful Muslim man lent my wife and me the down-payment for our first home. Muslim friends were invited to our wedding. But Osam Bin-laden's right arm is a Saudi physician and the Muslim living next door to you could possibly be part of a terrorist sleeper-cell. There is just no way of knowing.

I am an American and my constitution, which I swore to up-hold, says that everyone has the right to freedom of the practice of his or her religion. A church, therefore, under our law, is no better than a synagogue or mosque. And that is the way it should be. And yet Christianity and Judaism do not qualify for that same equality in the Muslim world because of the mind-set already mentioned--they are inferior to Islam. That is why the building of a church or the outward practice of Christianity or the wearing of a cross or crucifix are all illegal in the Muslim world.

I have a problem with that. and I have a problem accepting a world religion that is so paranoid that it condemns to death one of its adherents who converts to another religion, that stones to death anyone who commits a serious religious offense, or which applauds honour killings. This is not my culture, it is a sick culture because it denies the God-given worth of each individual. It is the command of my Saviour that I love my neighbor as myself and with His help (and ONLY with His help) I may actually accomplish that someday. But I will resist Islam with my dying breath if need be. I guess that's the message that's important.

Love the Muslim but resist Islam!