The time has come for Islam to condemn violence against man
Milan (AsiaNews) - In recent times, too many news reports have brought Islamic terrorism and extremism startlingly to the fore, but these events fall like a drop of water in an ocean, without provoking any discussion, proposals, taking of positions, meetings or even dialogue with Muslim brothers in Italy. It almost seems as if discussion of Islam is one of the many taboos that the "politically correct" has imposed on Italian media and culture. Which is certainly not the case for Christianity.
We cannot speak ill of Islam, they say, because it is a great religion practiced by a 1. 3 billion believers in more than thirty Muslim majority states. I too agree with this statement, which I have often supported. But faced with this series of news, which are not only negative, but tragic, and which express a cruel and inhuman ferocity coupled with an absolute lack of mercy and forgiveness, I now see that many have become tacitly convinced of the following: Islam is a religion steeped in violence.
I do not know if this is true, I hope and pray it is not, but it is becoming a serious danger even for our beloved country. We can no longer remain silent, we can no longer pretend nothing is happening. This is what the daily news is presenting us with: the crucifixion of Christians in the main square of Maalula, the ancient Christian village of Syria where Aramaic is still spoken; in Sudan, a Muslim woman is sentenced to 100 lashes and death by hanging for having married a Christian; 200 or more female students abducted by Boko Haram from a Christian village in Nigeria and sold as sex slaves; the violent military progress of Islam in Niger, Northern Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic; for two and a half years Syria is being destroyed by a civil war between rival factions of Islam; civil war is exploding in Libya, after the massacre of the dictator Gaddafi two and half years ago; Egypt has returned to a military dictatorship, after a brief experience democracy gave power to the Muslim Brotherhood; every day thousands of desperate refugees are pouring into Italy from the countries of North Africa and the Middle East are pouring over Italy, a human river that nobody is able to stop; in Brunei, the wealthiest oil producing country in the world, the Sultan has announced a gradual return to sharia, Islamic law applied in its entirety; in Turkey, the "moderate Islamic" president Erdogan is reorienting the country toward a less democratic form of Islam.
The list go could go on and on. Yet no one is asking: where is the root of this violence and cruelty that seem to characterize the people who practice Islam? In European and American colonialism? A certain dated "third world" philosophy still supports this theory. Sunday, May 18, an Italian "expert" on TV said the seizure of 200 or more students in Nigeria is also the fault of the West, because Nigeria is floating on oil, but the riches that this "black gold" produces end up in the pockets of 0.7 % of Nigerians while the people languish in poverty, which is the root of terrorism! No one could possibly believe this statement, but which has to be said to remain within the confines of being "politically correct", of which print and TV are both protagonists and victims. I understand that fear of the arrogance of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism heavily influences us, but it is not a good reason to keep quiet when it comes to defending human beings and their rights.
Benedict XVI , who spoke with sincerity, in his famous lecture at the University of Regensburg (September 13, 2006) said that Islam, in order to enter the modern world, must "confront itself with violence against man in God's name, which does not, cannot exist". On March 19, 2009 , Benedict XVI himself, meeting 22 representatives of Islam, who represent 20 % of the population of Cameroon in the Nunciature of Yaoundé, said: " believe a particularly urgent task of religion today is to unveil the vast potential of human reason, which is itself God's gift.. what is "reasonable" extends far beyond what mathematics can calculate, logic can deduce and scientific experimentation can demonstrate".
The "reasonable" , the Pope emeritus explained, "includes the goodness and innate attractiveness of upright and ethical living". This view of religion, he added, " rejects all forms of violence and totalitarianism: not only on principles of faith, but also of right reason. Indeed, religion and reason mutually reinforce one another since religion is purified and structured by reason, and reason's full potential is unleashed by revelation and faith". The Pope concluded his address by expressing the hope that "the enthusiastic cooperation of Muslims, Catholics and other Christians in Cameroon be a beacon to other African nations of the enormous potential of an interreligious commitment to peace, justice and the common good".
It is also the hope that all people of good will express today and that can really be achieved by entering into dialogue with Muslims in our house (not only personal homes, but cultural bodies and other associations), without taboos and hypocrisies, questioning Muslims on this issue, willing to accept the values of Islam and the Islamic tradition, which are many and which even we Christians need.
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