Dear Readers,
It is hard to believe that it has been more than a year since I set virtual pen to virtual paper on this blog. Life has just been too busy and exhausting, and the gruesome reality show that is the Trump presidency has so alarmed, aggravated and depressed me that at times I have not been sure what to talk about here, as there is such a constant cavalcade of erratic and destructive actions and ignorant and hateful rhetoric exploding from the House of Tweet that I find myself at times too overwhelmed to respond. Add to that the rising tide of Trumpian right-wing nationalist politicians and parties around the world from India to Hungary to Britain to Brazil and the dispiriting effect is only magnified a hundredfold, and I fall into anguished silence contemplating how the world that I once knew, in which Fascism had been vanquished in a World War and there was a general understanding that Nazism was an evil thing, seems to be falling apart and past hatreds and cruelties rising up again, with delighted mobs deliriously cheering blood-lust.
What brings me to write today is the very sad realization that someone who I have worked with for a long time in the academic world, someone I have respected for his work in Pagan Studies and thought I knew, someone who I considered a kindred spirit, seems to have been fully converted to the hateful outlook of the new global right wing. I noticed him making very characteristically far-right Islamophobic statements on a blog that he writes, seizing on the extreme rhetoric of one particularly aggressive and offensive Muslim cleric and seeming to trumpet this as proof of the overall vileness of Islam, the religion of some 1.3 billion human beings on this earth. I contacted my friend and pointed out that it is neither accurate nor intellectually honest nor morally defensible to lambaste all the members of a group or religion for the actions or statements of a single person or small minority within that group. He backed off a little bit, but only a little, acknowledging that not all Muslims were bad people but adding that overall, he still finds Islam a malevolent force in the world. He observed that while some academics and intellectuals might feel it important to respect Islam out of their dedication to religious tolerance, this was, in his opinion, a misguided "ivory tower" view that overlooked the true reality of the world in which Islam was a threat to the tolerant lifestyle of Western societies, a threat that had to be defended against.
Having spent some serious time in the last several years researching right-wing nationalism and extremism, particularly anti-Muslimism, also known as Islamophobia, its close relation, anti-Gypsyism, and their older sibling anti-Semitism, I was very sad to see how almost every word my friend had to say about Islam was right out of the hackneyed, hateful hymn book of the modern far right. Islam as threat to the west has been the mother's milk trope of right-wing Islamophobia for decades, going into overdrive after the 9/11 attacks and asserted with renewed vitality after the horrific Charlie Hebdo incident in France. This is not to say that the homicidal brutality of Muslim persons in those incidents was justified or forgivable. Those responsible should be prosecuted and punished for such crimes. However, the vast majority of Muslims worldwide who live peaceful lives of daily toil and experience the same range of human triumphs and travails as others, should not be blamed or vilified, demonized or disadvantaged due to the actions of a few within their community. To do that is to begin following the old playbook of racial and religious prejudice that cherry-picks the most unpleasant and offensive behaviors, beliefs or customs to be found among the members of any group, whether defined in ethnic, religious, or other terms, holds this up as the essence of the group, and proclaims the need to suppress, segregate, deport or exterminate said group. That way lies Pogroms and Final Solutions.
We all have our quirks and shortcomings, and I wish I could just write off my friend's anti-Muslim bias as a quirk of his personality, something I could simply agree to disagree with him about and then put behind us. The problem is, I am bound to this person in an academic enterprise in the field of Religious Studies. Though my friend's particular expertise and interest is in regards to modern Paganism, it is axiomatic in modern Religious Studies to accept the basic validity of all religions on their own terms, practicing religious tolerance and respect for diversity. I now have reason to believe that my friend has either never really believed in religious tolerance and diversity, or has turned a corner in his mind where in the case of Islam, the principles of tolerance and diversity do not apply.
I find his stance not only offensive to my own sense of ethics and my own commitment to respecting religious diversity, but extremely puzzling and ironic in someone who is a long-time supporter of modern Paganism. It is the principles of religious tolerance and respect for diversity that have made it possible for Pagans to practice their religion in many countries today without fear of persecution or violence. If we start saying that Islam is not to be tolerated because of certain behaviors or beliefs of a small minority of its members, do we not begin to dismantle the structures that uphold the edifices of tolerance and diversity that we Pagans shelter under? Does that not lay the groundwork for persecution of minority religions including forms of Paganism such as Wicca, Druidism and Heathenry, that many Christians find offensive and Satanic?
I would welcome comments from readers about their own viewpoints on Pagans and Muslims. Do you agree with me that upholding respect for all religions is the best protection for minority religions like Paganism, or do you feel like my friend that in America and other Western societies, Islam cannot be tolerated and Muslims are not welcome? Do you think we should "Build the Wall" against Islam? Or should we be looking to build bridges and find common ground? I will be curious to hear your voices.
1 comment:
I am glad to see you break your silence, my friend, and break it with love, even if in dismay. I strongly believe that the most effective cure for depression and anxiety about the state of the world is to keep in the flow, get involved in activism, or any other form of expression that contributes to making it a little better. We are all part of this world.
That said, having been a solitary pagan for over 30 years, I have observed the pitfalls of over-intellectualism, which can lead to branches of thinking that cut one off from the humanity and heart of the world.
In my variety of jobs, I have worked with people from many cultures. I have felt the powerful love (boom) heartlight of quick-witted Muslim women, enjoyed the laughter and ease of Native American culture (much, much easier than white culture). I first heard the sing-song phrase "I appreciate you." from a tall, deep-voiced, elegant African man... and more.
What I have learned from it is not new. There is nothing exotic or mysterious about any people. We are all made of the same thing. We all want love and we all bleed. We all encounter the same problems when religions become too organized. Every spiritual path has these dangers. Unfortunately, people become pagans for many reason, many with have nothing to do with an earnest devotion for the earth. I actually had a discussion once with someone that far preferred reading about the elemental associations than walking out his back door and listening to the wind. It is true, Muslim practices that oppress and support violence against women, I will not abide, but my understanding is that there is a spectrum within Islam - and that understanding comes to me, who has not studied it at all.
It is troublesome when those we thought we knew, start speaking against our values but there - right there - is the challenge before us, before us all, in every country. There is the rare opportunity for change, that not taken, will lead to bloodshed. How can we stand in our values and still see the heart of the speaker? How can we understand where they are coming from? How can we ask the right questions, actually keep them talking rather then shut them down, guide them back to their hearts? I am no heroine here and I have not done this fully, but this is where my head is at, what I think should be explored for myself in the future. I will be to diversify my reading in order to understand. Not just the rhetoric, but perhaps seek to hear from those that came back and have something to say. There has to be a crack in the rhetoric somewhere.... but more likely the cracks are in the barriers of the heart. Sometimes just showing love and understanding over a period of time does the work without direction.
Perhaps what is at the root of all this hate is the fear and belief of pure evil, which only draws more of the same frequency. Perhaps if we talk more about redemption and the oppressive systems within all systems of people from all countries we can bring to light that there is light everywhere.
(Partly thought out, partly channeled.)
Tasara
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