The Pope and Islam

I haven't blogged on the Pope's recent comments about Islam. But Jim Geraghty captured my point of view perfectly...

The Pope’s comments, quoting one of a historical figure's (I had previously, erroneously, said one of his predecessors) negative view of Islam – was honestly, just a nicer version of what’s being said in lots of circles around the world; endless variations of, “Wow, these folks are nuts.” It’s mean, it’s insensitive, it’s a broad generalization – but it is what is being said, all around dinner tables, barstools, and office water coolers around the globe.

I recall noting during the Danish cartoon riots that the most angry and extreme voices in the Muslim world were claiming that their blasphemy laws – and their fatal punishments – apply to those of us who are not the Muslim faith. Now they’re contending that the Pope – the head of an entirely different religion – is forbidden from criticizing their faith. In fact, he's forbidden from quoting a predecessor's criticism of their faith.

Look, I have a hard truth for a lot of religious believers around the world: No matter what you believe, there are people out there who think your faith is nonsense. If you’re Jewish, there are people out there who think you’re the pushy, nosy embodiment of Kyle’s mom from South Park. If you’re Christian, there are people who think you’re naïve, intolerant snake-handlers who lack critical thinking skills and are obsessed with and simultaneously terrified by sex. (We call these people “New York Times editors.”) If you’re Muslim, I hate to break it to you, but somebody out there thinks that there is a God not named Allah, and that Mohammed was not a divinely inspired prophet. And there are a lot of people out there who think all religions are baseless superstitions.

There are people who don’t share your faith, who don’t like your faith, who mock and criticize your faith, and you’re going to have to learn to live with it. Christians and Jews have largely learned to deal with this.

Sure, when somebody in Hollywood thinks they can earn a reputation for being “brave” or “edgy” by mocking Christianity or Catholicism, it rankles at me. (Occasionally, somebody will make fun of certain Christians’ tendencies for holier-than-thou or eager-to-judge attitudes - I’m thinking of Dana Carvey’s Church Lady – that stings a bit from a bit of accuracy.) But largely, the jokes cross over into bashing, or a cheap, easy, “boy, aren’t these-Bible-thumpers stupid” attitude.

But as much as it bothers other Christians or myself, the snide types have a right to that attitude. They’ve got a right to look at a faith and find it meaningless. They’ve got a right to say, “I don’t think that faith is divine, I think it’s all mumbo-jumbo” and tell mean jokes and not fear for their lives.

Something I've never understood -- if you've got the one true answer, and other people are mocking it, shouldn't you just feel sorry for them? Aren't they all effectively headed to hell?

In the end, Islam is probably going through a maturity process that Christianity and Judaism have already undertaken (sort of like when Peter Brady's voice changed... okay, not really, but I needed to throw in that reference). The problem is that the violence-loving perverters of that faith have the capacity and ability to cause untold damage in today's world.

It's not a unique problem historically in nature, but it is in the potential impact. The nice thing is that we're going to win eventually. The bad news is that the short term costs may be greater than anyone wants to acknowledge.