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A Sense of History
If militant Islam is on the rise again, Western Christians should
reacquaint themselves with their own historic tradition.
On September 11, the typical American became a “news junkie.” Pushed abruptly into an unfamiliar and dangerous world, he scoured the newspapers and clicked through the television channels, looking for insights that could help him to regain his bearings. Soon he realized that the stories in Newspaper A were very similar to those in Newspaper B; he could begin watching the evening news on Channel 4, then switch to Channel 5, without noticing any difference.
If they were really determined to find some fresh new perspectives on the news, readers ventured outside the homogenous little village of the American mass media. With the help of the Internet, some readers discovered that British newspapers were providing more timely details of the US military response to terrorism—just as, throughout the 1990s, the British press outstripped the American competition in uncovering the serial scandals of the Clinton era. Others noticed, perhaps for the first time, that the Vatican’s statements on the international crisis did not quite match those of the US State Department; the view from St. Peter’s Square was not the same as that from Foggy Bottom.
The judgments of the Holy See on political affairs are not infallible—far from it. (We at CWR shake our heads in bewilderment over the unflagging Vatican support for the UN, despite the enormous support that international body has offered to the “culture of death.”) But in a time of peril and uncertainty it is only natural for a loyal son of the Church to look for guidance from Rome. And when there is talk abroad about a conflict between the world’s great religions —a global struggle between Christianity and Islam—we look instinctively to Peter for leadership.
Ancient complaints
Is this truly a religious conflict in which we are now engaged? Opinions are split. Some Muslim scholars tell us that Islam is a path toward peace; others point to the many passages in the Qu’ran that call for war against the “infidels.” Is it safe to assume that the “moderate” spokesmen of Islamic thought are more representative, or more influential, than the mullahs who call for
jihad?
Even a cursory review of world news over the past several weeks should be enough to convince us that a substantial proportion of the world’s 1 billion Muslims feel more sympathy for Islamic terrorists than for their victims. Why have thousands of Muslims joined in anti-American protests in Pakistan, Kenya, and Indonesia since the start of the US air strikes on terrorist bases in Afghanistan? These demonstrators are not all supporters of al-Qaeda, thirsting for American blood; they are not Arabs, caught up in the political turmoil of the Middle East. They are united only by the Muslim faith. Is it Islam, then, that prods them toward violence?
The history of Islam, and of relations between the Muslim world and the Christian West, does nothing to alleviate suspicions that this is a warlike faith. In the more than 1,400 years since the days of Mohammed himself, Muslims have been engaged in a battled with the West. The front lines have shifted back and forth over the centuries. But the struggle has never ended.
From the Islamic perspective, the 20th century was an unusual period of Muslim retreat in that old struggle. That, apparently, is the perspective that prompts Osama bin Laden in his terror campaign. In a warning to the West, delivered in early October, bin Laden spoke of 80 years of humiliation—a reference to the period since the League of Nations gave its mandate to Britain and France, allowing those colonial powers to carve up the Arabian peninsula. It was nearly a month after the terrorist offensive that Western historians reminded us of the exact date when the League authorized that mandate: September 11.
Clearly Osama bin Laden views history from a long-term perspective. The focus of his hatred is the United States, and yet his complaints against the West trace back to long before this country was founded: to 1492, when the Muslims were driven back from their outposts in Spain. How many Americans, and how many Catholics, see today’s crisis from the same long-term perspective?
One fundamental goal of this magazine is to give readers a distinctively Catholic perspective on the news. CWR cannot compete with daily newspapers in covering the latest developments. But we strive to give our readers what the secular outlets do not offer: a view of the world as it is seen through the eyes of the Catholic faith. In terms of today’s crisis —and this month’s issue—that editorial goal prompts us to offer a fresh report on a problem the American media generally ignore: the injustice suffered by the Palestinian people. It means offering a breadth of coverage, analyzing the effects of the campaign against terror in Sudan as well as the US. It means preparing readers to judge an American military campaign against the standards set by the just-war tradition. And it means reminding readers of a glorious Christian military victory over Islamic forces nearly 500 years ago.
—By Philip F. Lawler
Back to Catholic World Report November 2001 Table of Contents