Radical Catholic Terrorism

Commandment #1:  Thou shall have no other Gods.

Trump demands Obama call it 'Radical Islamic terror'."

Not terror.  Not a civil war within a religion, nor territorial or dynastic politics.  It was an act of Islam.  "Radical Islamic terror."

Barrack Obama and candidate Hillary Clinton refused to do that directly, recognizing that our essential allies in the fight against ISIS and religious nationalism in the Middle East were Muslim nations.   It was politically costly for Democrats.  Republican candidates understood that voters had little patience for comprehending religious nationalism in a complicated and far away part of the world.

Voters liked it simple:  when a Muslim killed to assert the greatness of Muslims and Islam, it was obvious: "Islamic terror."    When a Christian does political murder in Oklahoma City, or Charleston, or most recently in Portland, we call it a crime and "a mental health disaster."   

Catholic Terror

When Catholics from Ireland set bombs on subway trains in London to assert Irish Catholic nationalism, America did not go to war against Catholics.   Frequent guest post writer Thad Guyer makes the point below that in his childhood and youth of the 1950s and 1960s Roman Catholics in America had food, clothing, and rituals that separated them from the general public--not unlike some Muslims today. 

Things are different now--but not only because of the greater integration of Catholics and Protestants but generally because of the secularization of the culture.   Guyer's theme is that American culture is in a great trend of secularization, largely completed among Christians.  He writes that Trump is "just the guy for the job" of secularizing Islam in America.

I take a different position.  I think American culture has secularized because religion was ignored by government and without government interference people discovered they had more interesting things to do on a Sunday than go to church.  Sunday succumbed to football and family vacations and sleeping in.  It became a shopping day.  It was a day of leisure, not worship.  

Good short term politics

The one thing that might delay the integration of Muslims into the secularized mainstream American culture is identification and stigmatization by Trump.  It will slow or stop assimilation,drawing attention to their specialness as a frightening Muslims, not their normality as yet another immigrant community.  I have lived the process.  The first generation remains somewhat "foreign" here in America, but the 2nd generation are fully Americanized (but still speaks their parents' language) and often marries into the general population.  By the third generation young people who don't speak the old language, only eat some of the food, don't attend the old religious services, and are only associated with the old tradition when they visit grandmother.

Trump is slowing the process.  The effect of Muslim bans and anti-Muslim rhetoric and special attention to the Muslim community is that Muslim-ness remains "special" and suspicious.  Young women will cling to their scarfs.  Trump only makes more likely that some young men, eager to do something special with their lives, will find a higher meaning in making a bold and courageous statement against injustice.   

It is short term political strategy that works for Trump, but long term it is counterproductive.   But long term Trump will be long gone.

Guest Comment by Thad Guyer:  Radical Catholic Terrorism

Thad Guyer

Guyer:  "I was educated by women in burkas. We called them nuns, Catholic fundamentalists. At Sunday worship, the women wore hijabs (scarves or hats). I was supposed to pray 4 times a day, three meals and bedtime, sometimes death obsessed ("if I should die before I wake"). We had our own sunis and shites (Catholics and protestants), and radical Catholic terrorists bombing civilians (Ireland). These extremists bombed London too. Jews were our infadels and all were doomed to eternal death because they rejected the word of Mohammad (sorry, I meant Jesus). We had something Muslims don't (they eschew centralized religious power)-- the Pope. He's like "God's representative on earth" (no, I'm serious). Things Muslims and my Catholicism had in common included keeping women in their place and giving homosexuals their just desserts.

I escaped the bizarre rituals, daily prayers, hijabs, fasting, fish no meat Fridays, ashes on my forehead, Popery and eating "the body and blood of Christ". Western civilization religiously cleanes all religions sooner or later, and weirdo religious outfits drown in our cultural tides of secularism. We are culturally immune to Ecclesiastical and Sharia law. We are denim, dancing, profanity, drugs, sex liberation, and above all, religion cannot "govern" us. Jack Kennedy was forced to swear he would not be the Pope's proxy.

Fewer, not more, houses of god with bell towers and minarets is the American culural promise. Donald Trump is intent on not letting mosques popup all over the place like Europe is experiencing, and he doesn't want a bunch of new men and women walking around in weird headdress. He doesn't want more religious fanatics here who will embrace the toxicity of political radicalism with Belfast and Orlando type massacres. America has finally isolated Christianity out of the mainstream, thrown navity scenes off the public square. Liberalism humiliates holy rollers "of the cross". We will give Islam the same hostile reception. Trump is just the guy for that job." 

A lesson in empathy for Christians:  An example of post-religious America.  

This blog cites as an example of the rising tide of secularism the following observation by Rick Millward, a regular reader of this blog.  I would characterize Millward's world view as progressive and secular.  He expresses, openly, a skepticism of religion that would have been nearly impossible a generation ago.   Like a great many Americans, he sees people of faith as "the other", people deluded by superstition and poisoned by ignorance and racism.

My sense is that he represents a significant portion of Democratic voter thinking. That is a problem for Democrats because it turns off religious voters.    Expression of these values does to Christians what Trump does to Muslims.   It makes them angry.  They don't like being described as gullible fools, led by manipulative pastors.

I include the following so that faithful Christians might have a moment of empathetic connection with Muslims.   Read Millward.   If the characterization of you rankles, then take a moment and reflect.   How do you think Muslims feel when Christians--or Trump--describe them as stupid and evil?  When you read Millward, is your reaction: "Oh, I guess he is right.  I guess I am a gullible bigot.  I better stop that."?    I suspect not.  

This is why I think Trump is doing the opposite of Thad Guyer's prediction.  Trump is slowing assimilation and preserving American Islam as a cohesive and visible religion in America.

Rick Millward:   "The founders (please stop using the paternal and cloying. “Founding Fathers”) were enlightened to the point where they understood that religion was problematic when considering the ideal of political freedom. Struggling with the idea that suppressing religion contradicted freedom they compromised by separating church and state by decree, assuming that citizens would see the point.

So for 200 plus years we’ve had this uneasy relationship between church and state. Religion is waning in the western world, but like smokers, we are increasingly left with the most recalcitrant who still have sufficient numbers to be a political force. It’s not a coincidence that evangelical christians are also regressive, anti-science, bigoted, racist.

They trust their pastors, who lead them away from anything that threatens their power and cash flow. 

All religions are plagued with fundamentalists who use violence to enforce dogma. Even though they are a minority every violent act is magnified and exploited for political gain. What should be a criminal justice issue becomes a national security threat. Sunni/Shite, Muslim/Jew, Catholic/Protestant. . . only minor differences. I think most religious people understand this and practice tolerance for others, if reluctantly.

https://www.reverbnation.com/rickmillward

Trump and the Republicans represent large industry, oil, finance. These entities are threatened by Progressive policies that would curtail profits and weaken their ability to influence government. Using religion is just one tactic in a strategy to coerce people to vote against their own best interests. 

[Rick Millward is a Medford singer, songwriter, and observer of politics and culture.  He writes an occasional blog post:  https://rickmillward.blogspot.com ]