In his "Beyond the News" commentary today, Michael Medved raises the very crucial question of whether any book, however holy, should be more precious than a human life.
It's a question worth asking.
I know very few Muslims, and I know them only slightly, from work and the community. Where do everyday followers of Islam stand on terrorism? Were they outraged by September 11? Do they think other religions deserve respect and tolerance? I couldn't say, not from anything I've heard them actually say.
The Boston Globe published an excellent article yesterday by Jeff Jacoby on "Why Islam is disrespected." In it, he mentions the various outrages to other faiths that have taken place in recent years: priceless statues of Buddha blown up, a sacred Jewish tomb plowed under, a crucifix submerged in urine. These insults to their faith produced no violence from Buddhists, Jews, or Christians, who were undoubtedly enraged by these acts.
Most religious people of all faiths respect themselves, their faiths, and the right of others to differ with them. As a Catholic, hardly a day passes without me hearing some form of joke, misconception, or disparaging remark about my faith. If I was going to toss a tantrum each time I heard or saw my Church belittled, I'd be in a coma of exhaustion. If I was going to seek vengeance on the "infidels," I wouldn't have energy for much else.
Most religious people are not destructive. But even in their silence, Muslims who act indifferent to the radical terrorists within Islam are encouraging destruction and violence, as Jacoby notes in an especially chilling paragraph:
But what disgraces Islam above all is the vast majority of the planet's Muslims saying nothing and doing nothing about the jihadist cancer eating away at their religion. It is Free Muslims Against Terrorism, a pro-democracy organization, calling on Muslims and Middle Easterners to ''converge on our nation's capital for a rally against terrorism" -- and having only 50 people show up.
Statistics vary widely, but there are between one and two billion followers of Islam in the world. If that many people can't tolerate different religious beliefs in other people, it shouldn't be that difficult to figure out that the rest of us are in a whole heap of trouble.
