Religious fanaticism root of violence in Mideast

Monday, November 30, 1998

Religious fanaticism root of violence in Mideast

ISLAM: Attackers abuse faith by using terrorism to advance
political goal

By Adva Kalderon

In his article "Critics ignore true causes of hate" (Viewpoint,
Oct. 19 1998), Salar Rizvi correctly points out that Islam is a
gentle and fundamentally non-violent religion. But having made this
point, he continues to claim that those Muslims who commit
senseless acts of violence in the Middle East are doing it on their
own, due to so-called Israeli oppression, and without any
connection to their religion. He then suggests that we not put
labels on events and phenomena without a firsthand understanding of
what they are.

Islam is gentle and non-violent at its core. But in stating that
oppression is the true cause of hate, Rizvi has neglected a few
facts, perhaps unintentionally, which support a different
hypothesis altogether: that while Islam is a gentle religion,
religious extremists among the Muslims (and admittedly, among the
Jews as well) are abusing their religion for political or national
causes.

Acts of senseless violence that would never be condoned by
main-stream Muslims (e.g., suicide attacks against civilian
targets) are being carried out by religious fanatics in the name of
Islam. And while this phenomenon continues, it is hard for
observers to disconnect those terrorist acts from the religion in
whose name they are being carried out. Consider the following
facts.

Violence (including violence against civilians) was practiced by
Palestinians well before Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and
the West Bank. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), as a
matter of fact, was established in 1964 – three years before the
occupation of these areas (source:
http://www.pna.net/plo/pal_plo_1.htm). That by itself is sufficient
to put a big question mark over Rizvi’s hypothesis as to the true
causes of hate in the Middle East.

Violence against Jews is being actively preached in religious
temples in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. I am not claiming that
this is as it should be, just that this is being done. This makes
it hard for observers around the world to separate the religion
from the hatred.

Hamas, an Islamic Jihad group perhaps best-known for its active
terrorist acts against civilians in recent years, is using
religious contexts to justify its attacks and in training its
people. Potential suicide bombers, being trained by Hamas and other
groups, are taught that success will grant them a status of a
"Shahid" – a saint – and that their death will grant them a place
in heaven.

So is it Islam? Absolutely not. Islam is fundamentally a just
and gentle way of life. Religious extremists, however, are abusing
the religion for political and national goals. Those who fail to
recognize Israel’s right to exist and the Jewish people’s right to
a homeland in Israel are using the religion as another tool to
motivate troops. Regardless of whether their national or political
goals are justified, their means are certainly not.

Just as I condemn Jews who are so fanatic that they shoot Arabs
simply because they are Arabs, I expect Rizvi and my other Muslim
friends to condemn these terrorists acts on the basis of their own
view of Islam as being just and gentle. While acts against military
targets can be justified as acts of war, blowing up buses with
schoolchildren is not an act that can be tolerated by Jews, Muslims
or Christians. The horror of the injustice done to the innocent
cannot be, and should not be, justified under any agenda.

Rizvi himself considers it hypocritical to condemn a people or a
faith without complete understanding of the origins of the
situation and both sides of the story. I couldn’t agree more. And I
would suggest that he be one to heed his own advice.

While the facts I mentioned above have their own sources, my
main reaction to the article was based on my own experience as an
Israeli and as an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) officer who has
served in the West Bank for three years. This is a firsthand
understanding! The Middle East situation is not something Americans
can learn about from three minutes of TV coverage once a week.

With all due respect, it is not something Rizvi, an American,
even as the vice president of the Muslim Student Association, knows
enough about. To take it further, even if he has the requisite
knowledge, it is certainly not both sides of the story.

The Middle East situation is inherently complex. All attempts at
clear generalizations, such as the one that Rizvi offers, are
inherently doomed.

Perhaps the only thing that can be correctly stated about the
Middle East is that the mixture of religious, emotional, national,
political, geographic, demographic, social and economic issues
there is too complex for any person to fully fathom and sort
through. I hope Rizvi joins me and many others in praying to Allah
for understanding and tolerance in the Middle East, which can be
the only means for peace.

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