The Dark Underbelly

Had you asked me several years ago what I thought about Islam, I would have said that it is a false religion. Beyond that, I probably would not have had much to say.

Today, my response would be quite different.

With all respect to my Muslim friends here in our local community—I do have some and they truly are genuinely good folks—I would say that 9/11 exposed the world to the dark underbelly of Islam.

For generations here in the land of the free, we had been sheltered from much of what goes on in the rest of the world. But cable news and the Internet have now brought the rest of the world into our homes.

In generations past we read about the evils of Hitler and his Third Reich. Images came to us on newslreels and in newspapers and magazines, but they arrived days and sometimes weeks after the actual events being reported. We enjoyed the luxury of being bordered by two oceans. The war was fought elsewhere, not here.

Images of starving Jewish prisoners in camps like Auschwitz and Treblinka shocked us (and still do), but they were in a far away place, removed from the sanctuary of America's quiet cities, towns, and rural heartland. Now the images invade our lives almost daily. Today these images are moving, in color, with sound, and in some cases they are happening in real time.

For those paying attention to world events, we are seeing a culture once hidden from most of the world, now come into view. We have watched the women of Afghanistan as they move through their towns, their identities hidden beneath their burqas, their physical beauty unknown to all but their families. We have seen video of prisoners surrounded by their captors who threaten to behead them if their demands are not met (and for those with the stomach to watch—not me—the videos of the actual beheadings can be viewed over the Internet). We have seen the bombed out remains of cars and buildings where the innocent are being murdered in defense of a worldview that reeks of hatred and bitterness.

Beyond the startling imagery, we are slowly learning about the religion of Islam itself. We have seen, as with the Church, that there are numerous variations of this religion. Some appear relatively docile, while others seem to be filled with rage, and hatred, and murder.

Does the Koran really teach that the only way to be guaranteed a place in heaven is to become a martyr while murdering your enemies? I have heard this. I have read this. But I am still sincerely asking because I really don't know.

Shortly after the attacks on 9/11, our president referred to Islam as a "religion of peace." With images of Palestinians murdering Jews, terrorists bombing innocent Muslims, the regularly published messages of violence from members of Al Quaeda, and Imams providing sanctuary for terrorists, I just don't see how Islam can be called a "religion of peace."

The events of the last five years have opened our eyes to this corner of the world. And what we have seen is very unpleasant. Attempts by some to associate conservative Christianity with fundmentalist Islam are laughable. I will grant you, some deeply fundamentalist Christian groups can be quite legalistic, and can lead people into religious bondage, but I have yet to hear of a fundmentalist Christian advocating the murder (or worse the beheading) of their enemies.

Perhaps one fruit of the 9/11 attacks is that we have now been exposed to the worldview of Islam's dark underbelly. Seeing this culture and religion of cruelty should challenge all of us to look more deeply into our own Christian faith, and to strengthen our own Biblical Worldview.

Our Jesus is called "The Prince of Peace."