Radical Islam

I recently shared on Facebook a conversation that took place on CNN with a person by the name of Reza Aslan concerning Bill Maher’s comments about Muslims and Islam.  I have not heard Bill Maher’s comments, but from the conversation with Reza Aslan it sounds as if Maher was condemning Islam as a radical religion and essentially not worthy of the Twenty-first Century community.  Go to my Facebook Timeline to find the video recording.

The Facebook “share” drew only two comments.  One of those comments simply asked what my opinion is.  The following is my response to that question.

What is my opinion?

First, you must understand that I have trust issues, which come from a lifetime and a career of experiences.

Second, you should understand that I have "faith" in the Bell Curve. There is a normal distribution of any population that defines thought, behavior, actions, and beliefs. About two-thirds of any full population trudges along in the middle. It is the one-third, one-sixth on either side of the standard deviation that grabs our attention. When you go further out two and three standard deviations you find the truly exceptional.  In many cases you could call those who are that far out as being “radical”.

Expression of religious faith can be included in the Bell Curve. I believe that most adherents of the different beliefs trudge along in the middle and that you will find extremists on either end of the spectrum. If you wish, Christian text will give you the excuse to join the Crusades. It will allow the Catholic Church to march through Central and South America and destroy complete populations and eradicate cultures.  Also, the last time I looked, stoning of those caught in adultery is still in print in the Old Testament.  As a large sub-set of Christianity, Mormonism will give you an excuse to participate in the Mountain Meadows Massacre while that general Mormon population and the opposite end of the curve are repulsed at that tragedy.  Then you have the outliers who come together and establish their own population.  This is where you will find the Warren Jeffs of the FLDS group (please don’t call them Mormons or Fundamentalist Mormons-there is nothing Mormon or fundamental about them) and the Westboro Baptist Church (I suspect most mainline Baptists have the same feeling about them that I do of the FLDS).  It is my opinion that these groups are the fundamental equivalent of Radical Islam.

The notion that certain Islamic countries are “modern” and allow women to be involved in government and give women freedom to drive or dress as they please merely represents a larger population—two/thirds if you please, who make up the big middle in those countries.  I assure you that there are radicals within those countries.  They look for documentation, an excuse, to hold and act on the values they have.  Little will convince them to act otherwise.

Convincing me that Islam is a peaceful religion is like telling me that Christianity has had a peaceful history.  It just isn’t so.