The Terror of Fundamentalism

Each religion aspires to inspire the nations of the world
 to embrace their own universal truths.

 The problem with the world’s religions is that they are systems of thought with defects in intelligence protected by the authority of God. Meaning if the religion’s books are words of God they become absolute and untouchable, frozen in time, not open to evolution in intelligence, thus dead weights to the collective consciousness of humanity. The orthodox Muslim view of the Koran as self-evidently the Word of God, perfect and inimitable in message, language, style, and form, is strikingly similar to the fundamentalist Christian notion of the Bible's "inerrancy" and "verbal inspiration" that is still common in many places today. The notion was given classic expression only a little more than a century ago by the biblical scholar John William Burgon.The Bible is none other than the voice of Him that sitteth upon the Throne! Every Book of it, every Chapter of it, every Verse of it, every word of it, every syllable of it ... every letter of it, is the direct utterance of the Most High!

     R. Stephen Humprey, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara says that, "The Koran is the charter for the community, the document that called it into existence," thus questioning its sanctity or authority is thus considered an outright attack on Islam, as Salman Rushdie knows all too well. In the west the Bible is not seen as the charter for western society even though its roots reach into almost every corner.

     The moment we try to speak out about religious beliefs people get terribly defensive. We don't attack other people’s beliefs; we are supposed to respect them. We are not used to challenging religious ideas believing the illusion that we are better human beings for this tolerance. Douglas Adams asked, “Why do we ring-fence than for any other reason other than that we've just got used to doing so? There's no other reason at all, it's just one of those things that crept into being and once that loop gets going it's very, very powerful.” When we try to look rationally at why we should not be as open to debate religious ideas as any other, we really come up empty handed except that we have agreed somehow between us that they shouldn't be.

     It will be the job of World Psychology to evaluate religious truth and its use as a foundation stone for terrorism and violence for that job has to be done eventually before humanity can free itself of its violent nature. The current debates about religion and fundamentalism demonstrate that when it comes to evaluating religious truth there is no public arena, no common or safe ground for the discussion of religious truth. And because of this it is very difficult to render any kind of judgment about the legitimacy of the declarations that issue from Bin Laden and his followers about the religious basis of their actions. 

     There are many passages in the Koran and Bible urging mercy toward others, tolerance, respect for life and so on. But there are also incredibly violent passages. In the Koran we have: ''And when the sacred months are passed, kill those who join other gods with God wherever ye shall find them; and seize them, besiege them, and lay wait for them with every kind of ambush.'' And ''Believers! Wage war against such of the infidels as are your neighbors, and let them find you rigorous.'' In the Old Testament bible of the Christian and Jews we have God saying kill and stone people for a whole list of sexual improprieties including of course homosexuality. Thought the universe and nature are quite violent it seems just a little much to project that into a God of violence, which is what all the Abrahamic religions have and share in common.

The blind recourse to texts embraced as literal truth,
 the injunction to follow the commandments of God
 before anything else, the subjugation of reason and judgment
and even conscience to the dictates of dogma have led
 human beings to perform extraordinary acts of evil. 

     Fundamentalist views do have an internal logic to them. If you believe that there is an eternal afterlife and that endless indescribable torture awaits those who disobey God's law, then it requires no huge stretch of imagination to make sure that you not only conform to each letter of the law but that you also encourage and, if necessary, coerce others to do the same. If this encouragement or coercion is not sufficient then the grounds are laid for violence. In a world of absolute religious truth there is no room for dissent or theological doubt, no room for humanity, freedom and free choice.

     If you believe that women should be consigned to polygamous, concealed servitude, then Manhattan must appear like Gomorrah. If you believe that homosexuality is a crime punishable by death, as both fundamentalist Islam and the Bible dictate, then a world of same-sex marriage is surely Sodom. It is not a big step to argue that such centers of evil should be destroyed or undermined, as bin Laden does, or to believe that their destruction is somehow a consequence of their sin, as Jerry Falwell argued.                                                                    Andrew Sullivan

      Fundamentalism of any kind is convinced of its own objectivity and they all consider themselves to be rational about the proper relationship between religion, political and social life. It is very necessary to see this if we are in the beginning of a religious war that will grow instead of diminish. We can see that part of the conflict is between two views of religion's role in public life, each with its own logic. The official party online in America is that religion is a private matter. (Yet the government has no compunction in applying religious morality into its national sexual education policy or exported in decisions about family planning around the world) The fundamentalist argues that is it perfectly legitimate to subordinate politics to a particular religious worldview yet in the west it is political suicide to openly state this.

Religious fundamentalism is a threat to democracy.

      It is just because these two positions have no common ground and just because we are not clear about all of this that we need to penetrate to the foundations of religious ideas and how they affect society, politics, and the abuse of human life. Both Islamic and Christian fundamentalism threatens the roots of democracy in powerful ways for there is no room for dissenting views. Hence the reliance on literal interpretations of texts because interpretation can lead to error, and error can lead to damnation. There is no way around these tendencies in neither Christianity nor Islamic religious thought. There is no other way but their way, which is the way of God and that leaves very little room for listening or democratic discussion or practice. Military and economic fundamentalism also holds the same threat; they leave little room for actual dissention though they do tolerate more open discussion with the basic assumption that such dialogues will lead nowhere.

"The enemy is not Russia. The enemy is global terrorists
who hate freedom, and together we can work to defeat
 that enemy in the name of freedom."
                                                              President Bush

     Is Bush really for freedom or is he just using these words to try to pull the rug over the world’s eyes when he spoke thus in Prague in November of 2002. The world knows that the American government is really not interested in the freedom of others and has shown this over and over with its foreign policy decisions. Former President Carter wrote, "Fundamental changes are taking place in the historical policies of the United States with regard to human rights, our role in the community of nations and the Middle East peace process—largely without definitive debates (except, at times, within the administration). Some new approaches have understandably evolved from quick and well-advised reactions by President Bush to the tragedy of Sept. 11, but others seem to be developing from a core group of conservatives who are trying to realize long-pent-up ambitions under the cover of the proclaimed war against terrorism."

      The forceful resurgence of the Christian right in America in the early 1980s paved the way for the post-Carter conservative renaissance in America. If we think that we only have a problem with Islamic fundamentalism in the world think twice. There is a reaction in the world to the fundamentalist right in America just as there is a strong reaction to a fundamentalist led Jihad against America. The majority of people in the world are not fanatics or fundamentalists yet it does seem we have entered an age again when they are defining the world’s agenda.  What is American fundamentalism? Cloaked in patriotism and our doctrine of spreading democracy throughout the world, our most basic fundamentalism is perhaps business and the unfettered spread of our economic interests throughout the globe.

     When it comes to political and international affairs the religious aspect of American fundamentalism is hidden doing its dirty work behind the scenes. Carter indicated that "a core group of conservatives" are involved in setting the pace of change in America. In the spring of 2002 Tom DeLay, soon to be House majority leader, told a church group that: "Only Christianity offers a way to live in response to the realities that we find in this world — only Christianity." He also said he was on a mission from God to promote a "biblical worldview" in American politics. Paul Krugman expressed that this has all been “hidden in plain sight for years.” He then went on to say that “years from now, when it becomes clear that much public policy has been driven by a hard-line fundamentalist agenda, people will say, "But nobody told us."

     Bob Herbert said that the Republican Party “wears a sunny mask, which conceals a reality that is far more ideological, far more extreme, than most Americans realize. Driven by its right wing and aided immeasurably by George W. Bush's genial smile, the G.O.P. is putting in place profoundly conservative policies. The right wing of the G.O.P. has also proved itself hostile to environmental protection, and to the myriad health and safety regulations that protect Americans against poisonous foods and other dangerous products and practices.” Herbert uses words like “devastating trap of right-wing assault from all sides” when he talks about the Republican Party taking control of all three branches of American government. He talks about them being a danger to America. In the Republican Party it is difficult to separate its Christian based fundamentalism from its economic and the current dramatic rise in military fundamentalism.

     Some people think that the centrists are far more influential in the GOP than they've been since the 70s because old warhorse conservatives like Thurmond and Helms have been replaced by more moderate voices like Dole and Lindsay Graham. Yet when we look at issues like publicly funded sexual education in the States and the government’s attitudes to international family planning we do see the open invasion of the Christian agenda. When it has been said that there are no moderates in the Republican Party it does not mean specifically that the fundamentalist right has taken control but it is equally possible that they have. We have to look at the totality of the party that now controls the entire Federal government and see that it has successfully thrust itself out in an integrated way, as a whole knowing that at its core is a very large group of very fundamental people.

     Bush is talking about freedom yet some Americans are beginning to express fears of losing civil liberties because of the war on terror. When the Patriot Act was being debated in Congress it was hailed by some as "the most massive assault on our civil liberties since American history began." People are reacting heavily to the administrations heavy-handed way of attacking anyone that does not agree with them (main trait of fundamentalists) and is certainly not open to any kind of criticism or feedback from others either at home or abroad. ABC News reported recently that German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder recent re-election campaign infuriated Bush because it focused on opposition to Bush's Iraq policy. Why the anger we must ask? We see religious influence when we see that anyone who criticizes the present American administration, even on purely domestic issues, is accused of lacking patriotism. It is the same when you contradict a fundamentalist about anything they believe. Their way and interpretation of the word of God is absolute, which ultimately puts it in opposition to all other fundamentalists from other religions, against all others who see things differently. A fundamentalist world is by definition a violent world with the only way of resolving the violence in being the destruction of all fundamentalist worldviews but one. Thus World Psychology is against all fundamentalisms and against all thought forms in all the worlds’ religions that give birth to fundamental types of attitudes and violence. 

     Americans have not woken up yet to the fact that the Christian right is not for civil liberties for Christianity itself has never been so. It was not designed from the beginning to propagate freedom and liberty of thought or action. Historically Christianity has been cruel, secretive and oppressive and basically tore the heart out of Europe with all of its religious wars while at the same time spread its terror around the globe to the dismay of native peoples everywhere. Despite the fact that the majority of Americans call themselves Christians, America wears a secular face and that is confusing. The impression is that most people think that America is thoroughly secular when it is not.  

     Fundamentalism has a very popular appeal for it both elevates and comforts. It provides a sense of meaning and direction to those lost in a confusing and contradictory world. It gives one hope in the face of despair, comfort in the face of terror. There is only one way to beat the Islamic fundamentalists of this world and that is to make our world into something beautiful and fair with justice ruling for everyone. Under the right conditions terrorism has no chance at all to attract fanatical followers. But unfortunately for all of us:

From a global perspective we can see
 that present day power politics are being acted out
 in the worst possible way
 at the worst possible moment in world history.

     Al Qaeda's whole strategy is to encourage a turn away from freedom, to make things worse with the long-term dream of making things better. It’s a distorted vision but one that seems to come naturally to fundamentalists of every stripe. They are out to destroy and the American Christian right is willing to further Al Qaeda’s aims because all fundamentalists basically have the same aim at heart. The Christian right is out to terrorize, make no mistake about that, it is part of their fundamental nature, the nature of Christianity itself. The world again is going to have a great demonstration of fundamentalist policies but in the west they will do their best to hide the religious aspects that motivate them from behind the curtain.

     There is a deeply built in destructiveness at the heart of all fundamentalism, which could be described best by a single word, evil. Evil is a highly loaded word and speaks of intent whether conscious or not. It’s a dangerous word to use and easily and rightfully rejected. But it is still a word that is used, a word that is no stranger to any fundamentalist on the planet. They use the word easily as if they were not and the other always is.      One of the principle sources of ‘evil’ in the world is fundamentalism. From absolute rightness comes absolute wrongness or evil. Human ignorance and arrogance come together and get projected into the process of religion creation and this “rip off” of the intelligence of God is monumental. Through the tides of fundamentalism we see this ignorance and arrogance ripping through the human fabric of time and space, rolling down through the ages, perpetrating violence and injustice, terror and terrorism of so many kinds it can only be called evil in nature. Carl Marx hit on only a fraction of the truth when he declared organized religion to be the opiate of the masses. The core elements of religion, those parts that spring forth fundamentalist thoughts, attitudes and actions are anti-human and the antithesis of God’s intent and will.

Capturing the Moral High Ground.

    The un-thought of response to religious terrorism is for secular authorities and society to capture the moral high ground by working for what is best and true for the whole. The religious thunder of fundamentalists would be taken from them if secular authorities themselves were living and acting from a space of truth because in reality truth is another word or way of expressing God. If we want to talk about religious warfare we better get used to talking about God and his will for that is exactly what it is about for jihad warriors or anyone else involved in fundamentalist terrorism or violence. Though many people have rejected all fundamentalist and thus religious ideas about God this does not remove God from the universe and Gods place in human life. In reality only men and women of God will have the essential tools to challenge the fundamentalists in their home court for such confrontations need to happen not only in front of God but in the language of God, the language of religion.

The first duty of love is to listen.
                                                     Paul Tillich

    Fundamentalist religious people are vulnerable because they compromise their own moral integrity when their own fanatical constructs making it impossible for them to listen to anything other themselves and their ancient books. Religious wars are dangerous exactly because neither side is flexible to even listen to the demands of the other side creating impossible situations. Paul Tillich heralds in The Psychology of Listening that says listening is love. Perhaps this should be the first commandment or what the first commandment actually means. The minute we stop listening to the whole of creation we stop listening to God thus breaking the most vital of vital contacts.