We know that fundamentalist followers of virtually any religion can be obnoxious, dangerous, and even deadly. It can be deeply disheartening and many have been either turned off religion or are deeply antagonistic because of these "ambassadors' of faith. This piece in the New York Times by Paul Krugman yesterday was so sensible I'll let it speak for itself.
Religions Are What People Make Them
The current crop of Republican presidential candidates is accomplishing something I would have considered impossible: making George W. Bush look like a statesman. Say what you like about his actions after 9/11 — and I did not like, at all — at least he made a point of not feeding anti-Muslim hysteria. But that was then.
Religions Are What People Make Them
The current crop of Republican presidential candidates is accomplishing something I would have considered impossible: making George W. Bush look like a statesman. Say what you like about his actions after 9/11 — and I did not like, at all — at least he made a point of not feeding anti-Muslim hysteria. But that was then.
Reason probably doesn’t do much good in these circumstances. Still, to the extent that there are people who should know better declaring that Islam is fundamentally incompatible with democracy, or science, or good things in general, I’d like to recommend a book aIrecently read: S. Frederick Starr’s Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age From the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. It covers a place and a time of which I knew nothing: the medieval flourishing of learning — mathematics, astronomy, medicine, philosophy — in central Asian cities made rich by irrigated agriculture and trade.
As Starr describes their work, some of these scholars really did prefigure the Enlightenment, sounding remarkably like Arabic-speaking precursors of David Hume and Voltaire. And the general picture he paints is of an Islamic world far more diverse in its beliefs and thinking than anything you might imagine from current prejudices.
Now, that enlightenment was eventually shut down by economic decline and a turn toward fundamentalism. But such tendencies are hardly unique to Islam.
People are people. They can achieve great things, or do terrible things, under lots of religious umbrellas. (An Israeli once joked to me, “Judaism has rarely been a religion of oppression. Why? Lack of opportunity.”) It’s ignorant and ahistorical to claim unique virtue or unique sin for any one set of beliefs.
Thoughts?
1 comment:
I watched the Republican debate - yes, it was probably the Donald Trump factor, and it's like passing an accident on the highway and trying not to look. You just have to look. After two hours, I was shocked to hear what was coming out of their mouths. I was hoping that at least one of the eleven fools would sound at least reasonable, but not a chance.
I am not a big fan of Hillary Clinton, but in next year's election I am hoping the Democrats take it to the Republicans. To think of ANY of these 11 candidates becoming President is a scary thought.
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