Islamic Musings Thinking back to my encounter with the Jordanian proprietor of the Gold Star Chili the other day. After I convinced him to accept the AAA discount (he had probably never even realized the sticker had been on the door of his establishment since before he bought it), he pulled out a blank pad and pencil and took all of three seconds to do the division and subtraction. In retrospect, I realized the guy was probably educated as an engineer or some other mathematical trade, couldnt get his degree recognized here and instead bought up this ghetto restaurant. He must be a very bitter man. Can one blame him? Meanwhile, I just today learned about the so-called Islamic State of Iraq, Syria and the Levant. I havent been keeping up with current affairs lately because I used to get my information from newspapers but stopped reading them when they became even more atrociously distorted in recent years. I was completely unaware a group had already decided to use the word Levant to describe a state along the lines I had proposed. It probably says something about me that I think along the same lines as a bunch of Islamic militants, but Im not sure what. As bizarre as it may sound, I believe that ISIS is actually a step towards ending terrorism. The only way terrorism will ever end is if there is state authority stronger than the terrorists - someone to negotiate with and ensure security and tranquility for the Arab populations. The proof is already in evidence: the Arab Wars came to an end not because Israel established its military dominance (certainly not what anyone took from the ambiguous ending to the Yom Kippur War), but because the Arab states developed their economies and international relationships enough that they came to believe that they had too much to lose from another war with Israel. Something I realized during my trip to Gambia - well, something I had been aware of at an academic level but had never seen in practice - is that Islams historic and current appeal and strength is that it provides a highly robust and stable social framework - a way of living and life that Western Christianity can only match with a much higher level of political sophistication and economic development. I came to realize that the path to peace and democracy for the Islamic world can only run through Islam. Perhaps the same is true for the Christian world. As the Lebanese gentleman I met so incisively noted about Israel - the status quo is a historical necessity - perhaps the same is true of ISIS. After all, once the IRA and Basque underground achieved their legitimate aims, they lost credibility and ultimately cashed in their chips and went legitimate. ISISs resonance with mainstream society may ultimately be what turns it from terrorism into a legitimate state, just like Israel and the Haganah/Irgun. I realized something else as well. Perhaps the most fundamental difference between Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Judaism derives its vitality from tradition. Christianity derives its vitality from faith. Islam derives its vitality from law. Of course all three of those concepts are important to all three faiths. But what defines each faith, keeps it going, are those respective concepts. Understand that and one understands the enduring appeal and historical significance of the three great Abrahamic faiths.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 03:30:04 +0000
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