The Divine and War
On page one of the St. Petersburg’s Tribune on July 18, 2018, there was a story headlined, “Tennessee shooter embraced holy war” by Crag Whitlock, Carol D. Leonnig and William Branign of The Washington Post. The story goes on to tell the little which has come to be known about Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez who fatally shot four marines. The authors say of him, “…a young Muslim who appeared to be searching for meaning in his life and embracing jihad, or holy war. Just days prior to the shooting he had started a blog “that lamented existence in what he described as a “prison” of monotony and routine.” He also wrote, “This life we are living is nothing more than a test of our faith and patience…It was designed to separate the inhabitants of Paradise from the inhabitants of Hellfire, and to rank amongst them the best of the best and the worst of the worst. In another post he wrote of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad “…and how they served their faith by bringing it to the world, sometimes through warfare.”
I applaud the authors of this newspaper story for pointing that that this 24-year-old young man was searching for meaning in the life which seem to him to comprised of monotony and routine. He had also described everyday life as a prison. At this point not a lot is known about this young man. He may or may not have been abused as a child. There were some allegations of his father being abusive when he was young. Whether or not that is true, 24 is an age in which many young people may be attempting to find a sense of purpose in life while others seem caught up in getting their career off to a good start and being as professionally and financially successful as possible. Still others may be discovering that their life seems to be nothing more than working a mundane job, which barely pays the bills and supports their family.
It is certainly not unusual for young men and women to find that there members of all religious faith who sincerely belief that some divine being is directing them to do all they can do to insure that other people follow the teachings of the divine as they understand it even if this means using violence to achieve that end.
Many, including many young men and women in the United States have heeded the call to join the military and help the people of other countries overthrow their current regime and establish democratic nations. The web site of the Foreign Policy Association states:
Democracy promotion, in some form, has always been a cornerstone of U.S. thought, manifesting in policy in various ways since the country’s inception. The government explained projects in the Philippines at the end of the 19th century as democratic enlightenment. In both World Wars, the U.S. fought on grounds of democratic principles. During the Cold War, notably, the U.S. offered support to any developing country willing to embrace democracy over Soviet and Chinese communism. Democracy promotion programs vigorously sprouted throughout Latin America, and in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia, throughout the 1980s and ‘90s. Former President George W. Bush campaigned for the Iraq War largely on the grounds of establishing democracy in the Middle East. (FPA.org) He also talked about confronting evil and evil people.
While many may argue whether, in fact, the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan were about establishing democracy, overthrowing the established leader or President Bush using the excuse of Iraq having weapons of mass destructions the fact remains that the United States has a long history of saving others from current leaders or themselves their goals.
Established religions have also; in the name of the divine have been overtly and covertly attempting to convert the “heathens” of other countries for a very long time. One has to look no further than the treatment of the native tribes in Alaska by both the Russians and the United States as an example of the violent removal of a culture and belief system, In Alaska it was not usual to destroy the Totem Polls which was the only historical record system and to tape the mouths of the children shut so that they could not speak their native tongues. In Africa and many other countries missionaries were and are still being sent sometimes to provide humanitarian aid, to bring the heathen to “God” (the right God or only God as decided by the missionaries).
If one does a search of the history of The Holy Wars one can find one some revisionist history claiming that in fact the Holy Wars were an early attempt to defeat the conquering Muslims. This would, of course, be written from a Christian/Western perspective and not from a Muslim perspective. Rachael Woodlock says in an article in Christianitytoday.com “That is what gave birth to the Crusades. These were not the brainchild of an ambitious pop or rapacious knights but a response to more than four centuries of conquests in which Muslims had already captured two-third of the Old Christian world. At some point, Christianity as a faith and a culture had to defend itself or be subsumed by Islam. The Crusades were that defense.”
One can find as many versions of this truth as there are clicks left on one mouse.
One also has to look not further that the famous Patton Prayer. It is:
Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish Thy justice among men and nations. Pattonhq.com
One can also look at the prayers in various official books of common worship of such church bodies as the Anglian Church and the Presbyterian Church, the prayers of Billy Graham or some of the recorded prayers of various military chaplains to find examples of invoking the name of one’s particular God to help win in a battle or military endeavor.
No matter what the religion there are going to be those who sincerely believe that to be a martyr for one’s cause is something for which God, Allah or Elohim will reward one.
We humans are a master at finding ways to justify and/or live with what appears to be conflicting truths. None of the major religions is likely to win the prize for having devotees who have, in the name of their particular divine being committed acts of violence. Whether we call it martyrdom or dying in the service of one’s country and one’s God it amounts to the same thing.
As a child I noticed that many Christian Churches (those were the only ones I visited as a child) displayed the Church flag, sometimes the state flag and the United States Flag in the front of the Church. That confused me. I wondered how we in the United States could have separation of church and state and still have the flag in church and prayers (often Christian) said by legislative bodies, military bodies and other so called secular bodies. How could one claim separation and yet seemingly combine them. I would be close to adulthood before I was even introduced to the fact that there were many religions. Growing up I was taught that there were the Protestants and the Catholics. (We were Protestants) We might as well have been in Ireland.
My concern is one, which the readers of this blog have previously been challenge to think about. Do we, as a culture, want to continue to use God and/or democracy/republic as a rationale for the use of violence? Do we want to use religion as a reason for being right and the illusion of winning? Increasingly we are aware short term of what has always proven to be the case. Winning at war is an illusion. The tribe, nation or group that are subdued will not learn to respect or love us.
Once again I am reminded of one of the core teaching of every religion; if we want to make the world a more just place we must start with looking within ourselves for the beliefs, habit and past actions which have been unkind, unjust or even cruel. The goal is not to punish but to be honest with ourselves and to be accountable for all of who we are.
And what of the Tennessee shooter, Muhammad Youssuf Abdulazeez? Clearly our current justice system will demand a pound of flesh and possibly the death penalty. If he is given the death penalty he may die thinking he is a martyr and that Allah will be pleased. In truth I am not convinced that Allah will be pleased. Allah might say, “Silly boy. What made you think that I required you to kill and then die in order for me to love and respect you? You never had to do anything except learn to accept love. I have always loved you. Welcome home because you are human – not because you killed but in spite of that.
On page one of the St. Petersburg’s Tribune on July 18, 2018, there was a story headlined, “Tennessee shooter embraced holy war” by Crag Whitlock, Carol D. Leonnig and William Branign of The Washington Post. The story goes on to tell the little which has come to be known about Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez who fatally shot four marines. The authors say of him, “…a young Muslim who appeared to be searching for meaning in his life and embracing jihad, or holy war. Just days prior to the shooting he had started a blog “that lamented existence in what he described as a “prison” of monotony and routine.” He also wrote, “This life we are living is nothing more than a test of our faith and patience…It was designed to separate the inhabitants of Paradise from the inhabitants of Hellfire, and to rank amongst them the best of the best and the worst of the worst. In another post he wrote of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad “…and how they served their faith by bringing it to the world, sometimes through warfare.”
I applaud the authors of this newspaper story for pointing that that this 24-year-old young man was searching for meaning in the life which seem to him to comprised of monotony and routine. He had also described everyday life as a prison. At this point not a lot is known about this young man. He may or may not have been abused as a child. There were some allegations of his father being abusive when he was young. Whether or not that is true, 24 is an age in which many young people may be attempting to find a sense of purpose in life while others seem caught up in getting their career off to a good start and being as professionally and financially successful as possible. Still others may be discovering that their life seems to be nothing more than working a mundane job, which barely pays the bills and supports their family.
It is certainly not unusual for young men and women to find that there members of all religious faith who sincerely belief that some divine being is directing them to do all they can do to insure that other people follow the teachings of the divine as they understand it even if this means using violence to achieve that end.
Many, including many young men and women in the United States have heeded the call to join the military and help the people of other countries overthrow their current regime and establish democratic nations. The web site of the Foreign Policy Association states:
Democracy promotion, in some form, has always been a cornerstone of U.S. thought, manifesting in policy in various ways since the country’s inception. The government explained projects in the Philippines at the end of the 19th century as democratic enlightenment. In both World Wars, the U.S. fought on grounds of democratic principles. During the Cold War, notably, the U.S. offered support to any developing country willing to embrace democracy over Soviet and Chinese communism. Democracy promotion programs vigorously sprouted throughout Latin America, and in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia, throughout the 1980s and ‘90s. Former President George W. Bush campaigned for the Iraq War largely on the grounds of establishing democracy in the Middle East. (FPA.org) He also talked about confronting evil and evil people.
While many may argue whether, in fact, the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan were about establishing democracy, overthrowing the established leader or President Bush using the excuse of Iraq having weapons of mass destructions the fact remains that the United States has a long history of saving others from current leaders or themselves their goals.
Established religions have also; in the name of the divine have been overtly and covertly attempting to convert the “heathens” of other countries for a very long time. One has to look no further than the treatment of the native tribes in Alaska by both the Russians and the United States as an example of the violent removal of a culture and belief system, In Alaska it was not usual to destroy the Totem Polls which was the only historical record system and to tape the mouths of the children shut so that they could not speak their native tongues. In Africa and many other countries missionaries were and are still being sent sometimes to provide humanitarian aid, to bring the heathen to “God” (the right God or only God as decided by the missionaries).
If one does a search of the history of The Holy Wars one can find one some revisionist history claiming that in fact the Holy Wars were an early attempt to defeat the conquering Muslims. This would, of course, be written from a Christian/Western perspective and not from a Muslim perspective. Rachael Woodlock says in an article in Christianitytoday.com “That is what gave birth to the Crusades. These were not the brainchild of an ambitious pop or rapacious knights but a response to more than four centuries of conquests in which Muslims had already captured two-third of the Old Christian world. At some point, Christianity as a faith and a culture had to defend itself or be subsumed by Islam. The Crusades were that defense.”
One can find as many versions of this truth as there are clicks left on one mouse.
One also has to look not further that the famous Patton Prayer. It is:
Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish Thy justice among men and nations. Pattonhq.com
One can also look at the prayers in various official books of common worship of such church bodies as the Anglian Church and the Presbyterian Church, the prayers of Billy Graham or some of the recorded prayers of various military chaplains to find examples of invoking the name of one’s particular God to help win in a battle or military endeavor.
No matter what the religion there are going to be those who sincerely believe that to be a martyr for one’s cause is something for which God, Allah or Elohim will reward one.
We humans are a master at finding ways to justify and/or live with what appears to be conflicting truths. None of the major religions is likely to win the prize for having devotees who have, in the name of their particular divine being committed acts of violence. Whether we call it martyrdom or dying in the service of one’s country and one’s God it amounts to the same thing.
As a child I noticed that many Christian Churches (those were the only ones I visited as a child) displayed the Church flag, sometimes the state flag and the United States Flag in the front of the Church. That confused me. I wondered how we in the United States could have separation of church and state and still have the flag in church and prayers (often Christian) said by legislative bodies, military bodies and other so called secular bodies. How could one claim separation and yet seemingly combine them. I would be close to adulthood before I was even introduced to the fact that there were many religions. Growing up I was taught that there were the Protestants and the Catholics. (We were Protestants) We might as well have been in Ireland.
My concern is one, which the readers of this blog have previously been challenge to think about. Do we, as a culture, want to continue to use God and/or democracy/republic as a rationale for the use of violence? Do we want to use religion as a reason for being right and the illusion of winning? Increasingly we are aware short term of what has always proven to be the case. Winning at war is an illusion. The tribe, nation or group that are subdued will not learn to respect or love us.
Once again I am reminded of one of the core teaching of every religion; if we want to make the world a more just place we must start with looking within ourselves for the beliefs, habit and past actions which have been unkind, unjust or even cruel. The goal is not to punish but to be honest with ourselves and to be accountable for all of who we are.
And what of the Tennessee shooter, Muhammad Youssuf Abdulazeez? Clearly our current justice system will demand a pound of flesh and possibly the death penalty. If he is given the death penalty he may die thinking he is a martyr and that Allah will be pleased. In truth I am not convinced that Allah will be pleased. Allah might say, “Silly boy. What made you think that I required you to kill and then die in order for me to love and respect you? You never had to do anything except learn to accept love. I have always loved you. Welcome home because you are human – not because you killed but in spite of that.
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