First in a series of essays
Yes, there is a clash of civilizations going on. No, it’s not the one you think.
It’s not between Islam and Christianity, or Islam and Judaism, or Islam and Judeo-Christianity, or Islam and “the West.” It’s not merely about terrorism, religion and politics. Islam as a whole isn’t even on one side in this struggle — despite what Bernard Lewis and Mark Steyn believe. It’s bigger than each of these individual religions and cultures, but all of them do play a role.
There are Muslims, Jews and Christians on each side of this conflict. This struggle is hard to define and difficult to name, but the side that wins will determine the fate of society as we know it. This is bigger than September 11, 2001.
So, what is this conflict? The best way I can describe it is as a conflict between Skeptics and True Believers. These are more than ideas; they are entire mindsets and the two major ways in which people — of any religious faith or political creed — view the world. The clash is between two collective states of mind.
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The Enlightenment, a reaction against the tyranny, warfare and fundamentalism of the Middle Ages, produced several beliefs and attitudes:
- Skepticism: The attitude that everything is debatable, and that people should ask tough questions and examine all available evidence without personal biases and through the empirical scientific method. One cannot assume anything is true unless there is evidence that supports the theory or idea.
- Religious and Political Liberty: Everyone is free to develop, maintain and follow his own personal religious and political beliefs as long as he harms no one else in the process. This is summarized by a quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes: “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.”
- Freedom from Coercion: No one should be forced to adopt another religion or political belief.
- Political Change Through Peaceful Means: Violence as a means of political change is never permissible except in cases of self-defense.
- Toleration of Minorities: No one shall be deemed a second-class citizen because of his religious beliefs, political opinions, race or ethnicity. All religious beliefs and political opinions must be respected unless they harm other people.
- Government by the People: Whether it is through democracy, republicanism or the parliamentary system, the people of a state have the right to determine their own fate.
All of these principles, to varying degrees, form the foundation of modern, Western society. The clash is not between civilizations and cultural identities (as Samuel Huntington proposed); it is between those who accept these Enlightenment principles (the Skeptics), and those who do not. Those who do not are the True Believers. Muslims, Christians and Jews can be on either side.
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The True Believers who oppose these Enlightenment principles are not “the Muslims” just as “the Christians” are not in support of the founding ideals of modern, Western society. People of each religion are on each side. The trademark True Believer tendency is to believe without question that one’s religious or political belief is the only correct, valid and acceptable one, that any evidence to the contrary is false, and that everyone else should adopt the belief as well. Any action taken to spread or empower that belief is also acceptable — if not mandated.
True Believer Muslims are those who believe that Islam is the only true religion and that it is their duty to spread it throughout the world through any means necessary. True Believer Muslims are those who seek to enact shar’ia (Islamic law) throughout the Muslim world, if not the entire globe. True Believer Muslims kill former Muslims who convert to other religions. True Believer Muslims murder innocent people and blow themselves up — and encourage others to do the same — to advance religious and political causes. True Believer Muslims who are taxi drivers who refuse live in a pluralistic society and transport people who carry alcohol.
True Believer Christians also believe that their religion is the only correct one and seek to spread it in the same fashion as True Believer Muslims. These Christians are those who ignore science, blindly accept that the entire universe is 6,000 years old, and force schools to stop teaching evolution. True Believer Christians believe that the entire Bible is the inerrant and literal “Word of God” despite obvious contradictions and centuries of scholarship proving that the books have had countless authors, editors, changes and redactions. True Believer Christians protect those who hide child-molestation because protecting the church is more important than protecting children.
True Believer Jews think that Israel has the unquestionable right to control every inch of land from the Sinai peninsula to the West Bank, and perhaps even the land currently owned by Jordan and Syria, based solely upon a literal interpretation of writings from thousands of years ago. True Believer Jews think that all Arabs and Muslims are inherently inferior, murderous and evil — and that the Palestinians do not have some legitimate grievences. True Believer Jews cannot forgive — they think that all Gentiles want to kill every Jew on earth. True Believer Jews think that only Orthodox Judaism is valid. True Believer Jews refuse to change divorce laws so women can remarry after their husbands disappear before divorcing them.
The fundamentalist wings of the world’s major religions are growing stronger, and the major threat to the world is not a war between Islam and Christianity, Islam and Judaism, or Islam and the West. The most frightening scenario is a conflict erupting between the True Believers in Islam, Judaism and Christianity that will engulf the sensible moderates and secularists on all sides. A secondary concern is that a series of mini-civil wars will begin within Christianity, Judaism and Islam over who will dominate the religions.
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True Believers, however, are not only religious in nature — they can be political as well. President Bush is the best example. He leads by belief; he does not weigh or consider all of the available evidence and then come to a reasoned conclusion. This True Believer refuses to recognize any data and analysis that proves him wrong and then adjust policy accordingly. In his mind, he is always correct. There is no doubt.
The Bush administration also violates other Enlightenment principles by believing that the executive branch of the U.S. government is superior to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the legislative branch and the judicial one. True Believer conservatives refuse to compromise and demean the opposition by calling the “Democratic Party” the “Democrat Party.” True Believer conservatives think they are always correct, that liberals are always wrong, and that the “Red States” are superior to the “Blue States.” (The opposite also holds true for True Believer liberals.)
True Believer liberals accept various creeds without question. They support feminism unreservedly without acknowledging that the movement has had some unintended, negative consequences (see here and here); they support socialism without realizing that the United States’ high standard of living is a direct result of capitalism; they oppose so-called sweatshops without knowing that many workers there would be living in destitute poverty without the income earned from them; they reflexively support other liberals like Hugo Chavez even as he slowly erodes civil liberties and democracy in Venezuela.
All of these people are True Believers. They see the world in black-and-white, us-versus-them terms — and not in complex shades of gray. While True Believer liberals are usually annoying and cause little damage (unless they establish Communist governments), True Believer conservatives like President Bush pose a direct threat to the world. Despite the United Nations, C.I.A. and Department of Energy’s assertions that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction, the Bush administration believed the country did. And the rest, unfortunately, is history. When a True Believer and another True Believer declare war against each other, everyone else should duck for cover.
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The most frightening aspect of this clash is the fact that the Skeptics are at a disadvantage. Skeptics are inherently weaker than those who “know” they are correct. True Believers of all religious and political persuasions have a burning zeal that inflames and inspires their actions. Those who are open-minded and constantly debate, explore, learn and discuss have are full of doubt, which always weakens a person’s efforts. If I were fighting in a battle, I would want a True Believer on my side, not a Skeptic.
The most dangerous possibility today is that True Believers on opposite sides of the spectrum will battle each other and destroy modern civilization in the process. This is not an option. We cannot defeat Osama bin Laden with George W. Bush. Fire versus fire will burn the entire world.
Rather, the forces of the Enlightenment — those Skeptics among the Christians, Muslims, Jews, conservatives and liberals — need to organize and stop the True Believers within their midst. We need to be moderates who have the zeal of True Believers. After all, we’re fighting for ourselves.
Moderate Muslims need to eliminate the terrorist elements within their religion. Sensible Christians need to educate their fundamentalist brothers. Jews need to stop people like Avigdor Lieberman and the Kahanists. Conservatives need to remind the White House that the Republican Party used to stand for fiscal restraint and civil liberties. Mainstream liberals need to tell those on the far left that liberals used to question everything and not be beholden to any sacred cows.
Each of us has certain political, cultural and religious affiliations — but, at the end of the day, we’re all on this planet together. It’s time that we act like it.
Other Essays: Critiques of Feminism: Arguments Against Feminism Essay and In Defense of Free Trade and Globalization
