Linguistic gymnastics to avoid criticism of Islam are regrettable
Two weeks ago at 10 a.m. any Canadian within earshot of a television screen or radio could have guessed the ideology ascribed to by the man running around downtown Ottawa with a loaded rifle.
It wouldn't have been a wild guess, for instance, to suggest that the 32-year-old perpetrator, who had just gunned down a Canadian soldier before shooting his way the Centre Block of Parliament, hell-bent on killing others, was a follower of the Islamic religion. No, this would have been a good guess — an educated guess — given the apparent frequency and regularity with which such events occur worldwide.
In the wake of these sorts of events, most of us desperately engage our linguistic gymnastic skills in order to avoid saying anything negative about Islam. We suggest the actions are the work of madmen, lone wolves or, simply, losers. Moderate Muslims encourage us in these beliefs — no doubt in an effort to help cast their religion in the best light possible. This is entirely understandable, but regrettable, nonetheless, for the inaccuracies (and sometimes blatant falsehoods) it helps to promote.
It's time, however, that we were honest with ourselves, and others: Some of the fundamentals of Islam are a problem and do provide a credible excuse for acts of terror.
The reason I say this is that, despite a concerted public relations campaign to assert the contrary, Islam isn't a religion of peace. It's not all warm and fuzzy, through and through. No, like most religions, including Christianity, Islam is complex, diverse, textured, and represents both some of humanity's highest aspirations and basest impulses.
It is undeniable, for instance, that significant portions of the Qur'an — the source text of the Islamic faith — are categorically and undeniably pro-violence, and explicitly call on believers to brutalize and kill non-believers (i.e. every person who isn't a Muslim). Admonishments from Allah (God) to "strike unbelievers over the neck" (cut off their heads) and to "smite over all their fingers and toes" (cut off their fingers and toes) and to "cast terror into the hearts of those who … disbelieve" (and the like) litter the pages of the Qur'an, especially in its later chapters.
And that's a problem, because like it or not fundamentalists do provide a tenable, if all too ignoble, interpretation of these violence-laden passages — sometimes to murderous effect. For them the Qur'an provides a gold-plated excuse for unabashed 7th century savagery. They're purists, of sorts (in the worst possible sense of the word) and present a danger to us all, as recent events make painfully clear.
This doesn't mean, of course, that the majority of Muslims aren't peaceful — the vast majority most certainly are. Just like the vast majority of Christians, for example, who no longer burn witches at the stake, target Jews or kill homosexuals (practices which were easily squared, and in some darker regions, still are squared, with the teachings of the Bible), moderate Muslims across the globe have worked hard to fit Islam, and the Qur'an, into a modern moral framework. That framework is now entirely at odds with the brutality and savagery of ages long-since past, but forever captured in such holy texts as the inerrant word of God.
If we deny, however, that some very bad ideas do find support in the Qur'an, or if we simply gloss over this fact or fail to see how such ideas might hold sway with some people, surely we do so at our own expense.
Thus, despite all of the tragedy and heartbreak the recent events in Ottawa and Quebec represent, Canadians must now find it within themselves to become uncomfortable and to cause some discomfort in those who would otherwise prefer to avoid having difficult conversations.
The topic of Islam, once again, is a relevant and pressing one, and it's time we put away the fear of being inopportune or offensive, and say what's really on our minds. It's time, in short, that all of us were a bit more honest with ourselves about what we believe and what we wish were the case, but simply isn't so.
T. David Marshall is a former lecturer in ethics and current lawyer practising in Hamilton.
