THIS IS A RELIGIOUS WARAND SEPTEMBER 11 WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING

In an article published by the New York Times Magazine on October 7, 2001,

author Andrew Sullivan writes about the war sparked by the events of

September 11, 2001. He asserts that the war is, in fact, a religious war,

despite what President Bush and others say to the contrary.

AUTHOR

Andrew SullivanControversial, outspoken, and often contradictory

Andrew Sullivan’s Background English, of Irish

Roman Catholic Descent

BA in Modern History from Oxford University, Masters in Public Administration and PhD in Government from Harvard.

Career History 1991-1996:Served as Editor of The New

Republic magazine 1994:Published excerpts from The Bell

Curve, which was considered racist material, and caused controversy.

Briefly wrote for New York Times magazine, leaving the magazine in 2002.

Career History 2000:Began his blog The Daily Dish, which is

characterized by passionate argumentation and a willingness to admit doubt and entertain changes of mind. His blog has been quite popular, receiving up to 300,000 unique visits per month.

2003:Wrote a whimsical, oft-cited salon essay proclaiming himself a member of the gay “bear community”.

Currently, he serves as a columnist for The Sunday Times of London.

Politics

Politics Self-Proclaimed

Conservative Dissociated himself

from the Republican Party

Believes they have abandoned conservative principals

Endorsed Kerry in 2004 for President

Voiced support for Democrats in 2006

Though he claims to be conservative, many of his views are to the left of the political spectrum.

Controversies and Religion

Controversies Speaks out against

gay promiscuity, however, is rumored to have posted ads on internet for “bareback” sex, though HIV positive

Defends himself, stating in his book Love Undetectable: “…I never defended promiscuity. I never publicly attacked it. I attempted to avoid the subject… because I feel unable to live by the ideals I really hold.”

Controversies Journalistic ethics

called into question for accepting sponsorship to write his blog from the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America.

He dropped the sponsorship when the ensuing criticism of him and the company (which he credits with saving his life) regarding its practices in AIDS infected areas of the Third World raged.

Religion Born a Catholic, he

has maintained an interest in and not proclaimed or indicated abandonment of the religion, though the Church considers homosexuality to be a disorder and a sin.

His writings, such as in his book Virtually Normal, have at times dealt with this issue, and may have been influenced by homosexual Roman Catholic John Boswell.

THE ARTICLE

This is a Religious WarSeptember 11 was Only the Beginning.

Historical BackgroundThe article was written less than a

month after September 11, 2001, when the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and speculated target the White House had ripped Americans sense of security to shreds, but also bound us together to stand strong against the evil that had destroyed property, families, and lives.

Historical Background President Bush, government officials, and

commentators stressed repeatedly that this was not a religious war.

Americans were suspicious of anyone who did not appear “all-American”

Fear and a sense of loss ran high and wide throughout the nation

Many feared and speculated this may be a religious war, despite what those in power claimed.

Main Points

Certain assertions have been made to emphasize what this war IS NOT about. Bush, government officials, and

commentators have repeatedly stressed that this is not a war between the Muslims and the Western World.

They assert that the murderers are not representative of the Islamic faith.

To emphasize this belief, an attempt to include Muslim leaders alongside Christian, Jews, Buddhists, and others in talks and conventions has been made.

Problems with these assertions. They don’t hold up under inspection. Sullivan

states that the religious dimension of this conflict is essential to its meaning.

Osama bin Laden’s words are “saturated with religious argument and theological language”.

Many Muslim Leaders in the Middle East and elsewhere have not denounced these acts, and even celebrated them.

The things these terrorists hate about our culture are inherently religious in nature.

Though not mainstream Islam, this enemy surely represents a radical fundamentalist part of Islam that cannot be ignored.

“This war is not Christianity vs. Islam, but is a war of fundamentalism against faiths of all kinds that are at peace with freedom and modernity.”

The conflict has ancient roots, but seems to be gaining new force as modernity spreads and deepens.

Our Aggressor

Osama bin Laden and Al Quaeda

Osama bin Laden’s View “The call to wage war against America was

made because America has spearheaded the crusade against the Islamic nation, sending tens of thousands of its troops to the land of the two holy mosques over and above its meddling in its affairs and politics and its support of the oppressive, corrupt, and tyrannical regime that is in control.”

-- Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden’s View Littered with explicitly religious terminology, such

as “crusade”, “two holy mosques” (Saudi Arabia) Ignores the fact that the last few major American

interventions abroad, in Kuwait, Somalia, and the Balkans, were all conducted in defense of Muslims.

The “crusade” the USA allegedly leads, is not said by bin Laden to be against Arabs, but against the Islamic Nation – spanning many ethnicities.

Osama bin Laden’s View bin Laden’s beef is with American troops

defiling Saudi Arabia – the land of the two Holy Mosques.

He stated in 1998 that his terrorism was “of the commendable kind, for it is directed at the tyrants and aggressors and the enemies of Allah…Our religion is under attack.”

Believes that their call is “the call of Islam as revealed to Muhammad, and this war is against unbelief and unbelievers”.

Is Islam Against Us? It is not mainstream Islam that holds these

beliefs. It is an extreme, violent strain of Islam that

emerged in the 18th century. Many passages in the Koran urge mercy,

tolerance and respect for life. Extremists latch on to stray passages such as

“ Believers! Wage war against such of the infidels as are your neighbors, and let them find you rigorous.”

Is Islam Against Us? The use of religion for repression and terror is

not restricted to Islam. The answer is that fundamentally, ISLAM is

not against us, but that the extreme, violent and passionate subculture that has taken root cannot be ignored.

The religious element of this conflict cannot be denied, and should not be denied.

In understanding and addressing the cause of a conflict, a better chance at resolution exists.

Fundamentalism

What is the difference in Islam, and the violent, fundamental strain of Islam that terrorists fight for?

What does fundamentalism offer? Sullivan asserts that: It elevates and comforts. Provides a sense of meaning and direction to

those lost in a disorienting world. Texts are blindly embraced as LITERAL truth,

to follow the commandments of God before anything else, even reason and judgment.

Has led individuals to commit acts of both extreme evil and extreme good.

What do fundamentalists fear? Unbelief. Sin begets sin. The sin of others can

corrupt you as well. Solution is viewed as to construct a world in

which sin is outlawed and punished and constantly purged – by force if necessary.

If you believe strongly enough, it isn’t crazy to act this way, but crazy not to.

There is no room for dissent or doubt. Interpretation can lead to error and error to damnation. Literalism is key.

Defeat of Fundamentalism

How do you defeat an ideal, even more difficult, an extreme, irrational, fundamentalist ideal?

Fundamentalist Conflict is not new… Inquisition, religious wars that raged in Europe for

nearly three centuries, and many witch hunts were all product of fanatics who often genuinely thought their efforts were in the best interests of their victims – that they were acting out of mercy and godliness.

A few minutes of hideous torture on earth were deemed a small price to pay for spiritual cleansing and helping a soul to avoid eternal damnation.

Sullivan sums these things up by showing the “good” intentions of the fanatics who waged these wars.

Taliban reflects this history Fusion of politics and ultimate meaning Fear they are in danger by those too weak to

have faith – therefore they must be liquidated or purged.

The lessons learned in Europe in its bloody history have yet to be absorbed within the Muslim world.

We are not at the end of this conflict, but at a very early stage.

Resolution

Is there possibility of resolution?

Assimilation into Western CultureWe often think that assimilation into

Western culture will bring fundamentalists around somewhat, but in fact the opposite is true.

The allure of such a culture is seen as temptation – and there is little room in the fundamentalist psyche for moderate accommodation.

Separation of Church and State The security against an American Taliban is

simple: The Constitution. It has not led to a collapse in religion or faith, but

has instead strengthened the tolerance thereof, and allowed a huge diversity of belief without fear for that belief.

What is at the heart of this war is that we have the freedom to practice or not to practice any religion we see fit, any way we see fit, without government interference according to the author.

Expectations of Resolution The symbol of this conflict should not be “Old

Glory”, but our Constitution and the freedom of religious faith it guarantees.

This conflict is indeed as momentous and grave as the conflict against Nazism and Communism.

This conflict represents another battle against a religion that is succumbing to the temptation Jesus refused in the desert – to rule by force.

Expectations of Resolution We can expect a resolution to this conflict to be as

long and arduous in coming as the end to Nazism and Communism.

It is not about ending Islam, or the fight against Islam, but the fight against those whose religion has become terrorism in the name of a religion they have embraced in a twisted, fundamentalist effort to cleanse the world of their idea of sin, much as Hitler wished to cleanse the world of those not “racially pure”.

If we truly seek a resolution to this conflict, we cannot deny its religious underpinnings.

Things to Consider Do you think that

separation of church and state has truly created diversity in this nation?

Do you think that separation of church and state is in danger in our country today?

Do you consider this conflict a religious war? Who do you feel the religious aggressor is?

How do you feel the author’s conflicting beliefs and politics affect his point of view on this subject?