God deserves better than terror

What should we call terrorists, some of whom claim to be motivated by their religion? Can one be an Islamic terrorist? What about a Christian terrorist? Does what we call terrorists matter?

A terrorist is a terrorist by any other name, be it a religious or non religious entity.

When President Obama relaxed the language adopted during the Bush administration, I was, for one, relieved, because somehow, merely saying "Muslim terrorist" or "jihad" made it too easy to throw an entire group of people into one pot.

There are extremist Muslims, to be sure, who hate America, and who engage in horrible violence in the name of their god and their religion, but all Muslims are not terrorists, nor do they want to be. To use the word "terrorist" as a kind of blanket description of the definition of Islam was wrong and unfair.

Religion writer Karen Armstrong, in her book "Holy War," says that it is true that the Koran taught that there could be no distinction between religion and politics, and that Muslims must engage in a practical struggle, "jihad," in order to create a perfect society (umma). Armstrong says that early doctrine of jihad taught that there was only one God and there was only one true religion, it being Islam. Every Muslim must participate in jihad. She says this early understanding of "jihad" gave Islam its reputation of being the "religion of the sword."

However, as it became clear that there would be no one religion, the concept of jihad faded. Muslims understood that there would "be no more holy wars of conquest," Armstrong notes. While Muslims let the concept of jihad fade, Christians could not and did not let go of their fear of jihad.

If that Christian fear exists today, which it seems it does, then it is understandable that Christians might use the word "jihad" as a blanket description of Islam, but it seems that Islam is no more violent or committed to conquest than is Christianity. In fact, Armstrong argues, the "holy war is a deeply Christian act. Christianity had an inherent leaning toward violence..."

That being said, a terrorist is a terrorist and has to be called such, no matter his or her religion. There has always been much violence done in the name of, or under the rubric of, religion. The Ku Klux Klan claimed that it did the work of God; Hitler is said to have designed the swastika as a sort of contorted Byzantine cross. Both Hitler and racist KKK members were terrorists. There is no difference.

The power of relaxing the blanket description of "terrorist" and not using it to apply to all Muslims is that it recognizes that there are good and bad apples in all sectors of society and in all religions. Just because a segment of Christians in the United States, for example, were in fact (or are) domestic terrorists does not justify calling all Christians "terrorists." To do so would be offensive and wrong.

There are plenty of Muslims who live good lives, who are not extremists, who do not practice hatred under the rubric of religion. They teach their children that God is love, and that God's people should respect each other.

Therein might lie the problem: God's people still struggle to respect each other. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, wondered if people "feel the need to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression." It would seem clear that terrorists have no appreciation for such a thought.

In a New York second, I would call Timothy McVeigh a terrorist, just as heinous and despicable as Osama Bin Laden. A terrorist is a terrorist...But woe to us who call ourselves believers who descend into cheap name calling and generalizing of an entire religion or people because of the dastardly and cowardly actions of a few. God's people deserve better than that.

In fact, God deserves better than that.

By Susan K. Smith  |  July 13, 2010; 6:47 PM ET Save & Share:                 
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