Terrorism: while the politicians wrangle over how to refer
to it, we all have this sense that religion has something to do with what is
happening. In particular, we have this sense that Islam, one of the world’s
major religious traditions, has something to do with the violent criminal
activity that has been happening around the world. But just exactly how are
these horrible incidents and Islam related to each other?
We are
going to try to understand that relationship in a four-part series for adults
on Wednesday evenings beginning at 7:30 pm, October 12, 19, 26, and November 2.
Dr Ali Chaudry will be with us once again those evenings, and Hometowne TV will
record and broadcast those sessions in case you cannot make all of them. Dr.
Chaudry, who was with us this past spring for our world religions series, is
the president of the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, where he also served as
Mayor. He has taught courses on Islam through Rutgers University and the New
Jersey State Police Academy.
Of course,
while we focus right now on Islam’s relationship with violent criminal
activity, we must remember that Islam is not unique among world religions
dealing with this sort of behavior. When I was growing up, Protestants—most of
them Presbyterian—and Roman Catholics were almost at war with each other in
Northern Ireland. And the Church’s role in US history in violence against
native peoples and African Americans is well-documented. Indeed, as a student
of Church history, we have to acknowledge the violence that the Church has, at
various points in world history, inflicted on Muslims. And so this issue of
violent behavior related to religion is not a uniquely Islamic one.
Surely, the
most helpful way forward is one that is built, not on the emotion of the
moment, and not on fear, but on solid understanding. We hope that you and your
neighbors will find that this series contributes to your better understanding
of the complexity of the issues we face.
Pastor Don Steele
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