Darkness in the City of Light

The recent terrorist attacks in Paris are horrifying. Any terrorist attack, by definition, is horrifying. But these attacks seem more disturbing than most because they were planned, organized, and cost many lives.

 Any time this sort of thing happens (and it’s happening all too often) the knee-jerk reactions abound on social media outlets and news sources. On this occasion, reactions were like this:

• Some people want to stop all refugees from bringing their culture and religion into Europe.
• Some people get pre-offended at all the anti-Muslim rhetoric that they assume will be coming in the wake of the disaster.
• Some just want to know who to blame.

Let me address that last sentiment first: Who should we blame? Blame terrorists.

I grow weary of a world that looks for easy targets. This is what terrorists do, but it’s also what pundits do. Whenever a tragedy occurs, people have a natural desire to allot blame. And usually the person who actually pulled the trigger is dead or incarcerated after these attacks are over. But the human desire for blame is not satisfied by this. We want to know what more could have been done to stop these attacks. We want to know which political party allowed it to happen. We want to form committees and assign judgment. We want to FEEL like we’re doing something about it.

But we’re not. The damage has been done. Yes, we can prepare to defend ourselves better in the future. But this is not accomplished by updating a Facebook status or tweeting angry words of blame at a senator. The people responsible for those deaths in Paris were the people who pulled the triggers, set off the bombs, and planned the attacks. Blame them.

When it comes to the Syrian refugee situation, there are no easy answers. Is it possible—even likely—that opening borders to Syrian refugees has given terrorists more opportunities to attack Western nations? Yes, I believe it is. But there were also terrorist attacks long before this migration began, particularly in France. And does the fact that terrorists could be sneaking in with Syrian refugees mean that we shouldn't accept any more of them? Well, I suppose that depends on how you decide to value a human life.

Several hundred people were killed or injured in Paris this weekend. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed in the last few years in very similar types of attacks. That’s exactly why they’re trying to leave their homeland. I don’t say this to compare tragedies and diminish the horrifying nature of the Paris attack. I only mean to point out that these horrors are not new and that terrorist attacks have in fact led to the refugee crisis itself.

If you allow Syrians and other refugees into your country, you will certainly face new challenges and/or dangers. But if you refuse Syrian refugees, you are essentially saying that the lives of people in your country are inherently more valuable than the lives of those Syrians. You would be either sending those Syrian people back to their deaths or foisting them and their troubles onto another more hospitable nation.

I don’t claim to know how the worldwide refugee crisis should be handled. I only know that we can’t pretend this is “someone else’s problem.” Clearly, the problems of the world are at our doorstep. Whether we like it or not, we need to help our fellow human beings. I hope more of us can learn to want that.

For those who are more cynical, there is still a reason to consider accepting refugees. You should know that common people in Syria are increasingly being forced to choose sides in a civil war they don’t want. Every Syrian that is sent back to Syria is a potential new member of ISIS. Undoubtedly, some are joining those ranks for lack of other options. Given the choice between a brutal dictator and an evil terrorist group, millions of Syrians are trying to choose neither. Don’t send them back and force them to make that choice.

Finally, I need to discuss the very uncomfortable topic of Muslim extremism. Not just ISIS, not just the Paris attackers, but Islam as a whole. As I see it, there are basically two schools of thought:

1. There are those who believe that Islam is evil and that all Muslims should be feared and hated.
2. There are those who believe that most Muslims are peace-loving and all extremists are woefully ignorant of their own religion.

As in most situations, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. It’s ludicrous to pretend that Muslim belief does not factor into these terrorist attacks. There are warring ideals involved in these clashes between the "Western World" and Islamic groups. 

Most Muslims do NOT condone these violent attacks, but there IS precedent in the Quran for militant conversion. The Quran (Surah 9:29) says the following:

Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - until they give the jizyah [basically an “infidel tax”] willingly while they are humbled.

The Quran justifies forced conversion and subjugation. It condones religious war. Muhammed himself led armed attacks on opponents. We cannot act as if Muslim beliefs have nothing to do with the animosity that many Muslim nations and groups feel toward America and her allies.

There are those who would like you to believe that Islam is inherently peaceful. I don’t believe it is. But, to be fair, there are MANY different interpretations of Christian scripture, on issues such as war, slavery, and gender roles. As a person of faith, I understand that many Muslims do not interpret verses about “jihad” in the same way as their more militant counterparts. But still, it is late in the year 2015 and a large, violent, outspoken number of Muslims (even if they are a minority) are still waging barbaric wars as if it were the 6^th century.

Muslims need to address real problems in their belief system. In my (obviously) biased opinion, they should do so by choosing to follow Jesus Christ. But even if they won’t do that, they need to ask why so many Muslims interpret their scriptures in these violent ways.

ISIS claimed that the Paris attacks occurred because France is carrying “the banner of the cross in Europe.” Anyone who hears rhetoric like this and argues that these clashes have nothing to do with religion is intellectually lazy or dishonest.

And yet, ISIS is also responsible for the recent attack in Beirut. There, Muslims were the victims of these extremist attacks. As with the Syrian refugees, Muslims here represent both the victims and the perpetrators. That’s why there are no easy answers.

[EDIT: This is a topic for another blog post, but have you ever considered why Muslims in America are less likely to be "radical" than Muslims in places like the Middle East? I imagine it's for the same reason Christians in America are less likely to be radical: namely, they don't face as much poverty and persecution. Suffering affects religious interpretation.]

[EDIT: Another blog post (Ugh! This is exhausting!) should explore the dangers of combining government with religion. The "separation of Church and State," which many Christians foolishly hate, is a major difference between U.S. society and societies that foster these types of terrorist attacks.]

I have no problem with massive airstrikes and further attacks on ISIS. I have no problem acknowledging that Islam (or a significant minority within it) is the root of this violence. But at the same time, Americans (and especially Christians) cannot fall into the same trap as those in previous generations. We cannot hate an entire group of people, forgetting to treat them with the same individual rights we all hold so dear. Just as our forefathers locked up loyal Japanese-Americans during WWII, we will have to choose how to respond to peaceful Muslim Americans during this time (and perhaps to peaceful refugees as well). We cannot be ruled by fear and rob our neighbors of the liberty we value so much.

I’ve heard colleagues arguing in favor of things like nuclear strikes against ISIS. Can you imagine that? Destroying tens of thousands of innocent lives along with the terrorists? Contaminating an entire region with radioactive weapons? Political leaders have argued that we need to start bombing more Syrian and Iraqi civilians because ISIS is willing to hurt our own civilians. I’ve heard reports of a man in London who pushed a Muslim woman into an oncoming train with no provocation.

People who are hurt and afraid make awful choices. Sometimes there are no GOOD choices to make. We’re already at war, whether we like it or not. Calling for peace will not bring us peace. Calling for blood in this case is redundant. But you’ll never hear my voice calling for the death of civilians. Collateral damage will always occur. But if we make civilians TARGETS, then the terrorists have dragged us into their own twisted thinking.

We can’t fight a war the way ISIS does. God keep us from it.

I’m a Christian. And as a Christian, I’ve thought long and hard about what my response should be to these horrifying events. I don’t have a full answer yet, but I’ve come up with a few things I know I need to work on. They are as follows:

·         I need to tell more people about Jesus and the hope that he brings.

·         I need to show love to more people who are different than me, whether by race or religion or nationality. (I think it’s harder for people to hate you once you’ve made the effort to get to know them. I think we should meet more people and make better impressions.)

·         I need to think ahead about how I would respond if I found myself in the middle of an attack. People are more likely to react well if they have played out a scenario in their head and practiced their response. This sort of thing could happen to any of us.

·         As a Christian, I need to be ready to die to save others.

·         I need to pray more.

In the end, I hope radical Islamic terrorists are defeated. If they have to be killed for that to happen, I’m certainly in favor of their deaths. But that’s not my goal. My goal is that they would find peace in Jesus and would afford peace to the rest of us. 

Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). He never told us we shouldn't fight evil. We should! But the fact that we have enemies can't stop us from showing His love to the world.

If you meet any Muslims today, show them God’s love. If anyone tries to hurt you, your family, or your fellow Americans, do your duty. Always love. Always pray. God help us.