Is Christianity Really Better Than Islam? Yasmin Alibhai-Brown inquires

DEBATE AND COMMENTARY

PART I. THE DEBATE

All enlightened Muslims in Britain, writes Yasmim Alibhai-Brown in the editorial column of the Independent newspaper (29 Monday, March 2004): feel a terrible pessimism and foreboding that authoritarianism, philistinism and barbarism are now the hallmarks of most Muslims states and too many Muslims immigrant communities. A barbarism which in Yasmin’s own words, needed reformation as it is killing hope, excellence, ambitions and life itself. Former Archbishop George Carey of the United Kingdom, had indicated his believe in a speech that Islamic faith, as the Archbishop put it, “is associated with violence and political dictatorships; and that a dark age has descended on Muslims in recent centuries which has led to creative stagnation?”

“But we are also keenly aware of how leaders in the west- most of them the products of a Christian sensibility have encouraged this backward state because it benefits their interests…,” Yasmin argues. With Easter around the corner and Mel Gibson’s Christ dripping with blood and money, Yasmin says that it is time to interrogate the faith and its role in the world. “Let us not go to the Atlantic slave trade or Apartheid, both of which distorted parts of the Bible to justify the unjustifiable,” she added. For readers of the Independent, Yasmin is perhaps, a household name. The author is one of the most powerful Muslim women whose writings, are, arguably, devoid of emotions, stereotyping, ethnic and cultural prejudices, that often impede issue-based debate.

Research (Maybo, 2003) shows that prejudice and stereotyping could flaw rationale thinking and judgement. That whenever we are in a high state of emotions and anger, there is little prudence in trying to appeal to our realistic conscience. This explains that the more emotional we become the less we could hear and rationalise what is being said. We might inadvertently react to simple issues with not only stiff body language and tone of voice but also, throwing of hands and legs which more often than not, complicate the crises. It is some of these stereotyping and prejudices against followers of one of the world’s dominant and fast growing religious faiths that perhaps, prompted Yasmin to inquire whether Christianity is really better than Islam.

Although study shows that our body language and tone of voice will make a big impact in a dialogue, it’s not so much what we say- but how we say it matters. Thus, understanding our rival’s standpoint will help in communication rather than having prejudiced or stereotyped views. Prejudice is defined as a preconceived opinion (for or against) based on little or no fact or a faulty or inflexible generalisation… “It is about the thoughts, ideas and opinions that people have, based on limited information, knowledge and understanding that cause assumptions and pre-judgements…” We may be wrong, for example, in our assumptions that “all successful Akans are cocaine dealers or corrupt/ritual murderers. Or Northerners are warmongers so nothing can calm their tempers in a conflict or don’t entrust your cat in the hands of an Ewe man.” Suppositions could be rooted in/or linked to race, colour, ethnicity, nationality, regional origin, gender, sexual orientation, accent, disability discrimination and/or even ideological differences. True, ideological belief, similar to religion, is about numbers- so political campaign strategies to maintain or win new souls- for Omnipotent God- all around the world- as history shows, have been sometimes, dirty and crude. So in Ghana, both domestic and foreign policies of leaders such as Dr(s) Nkrumah, Busia, Limann and Flt-Lt. Rawlings, remain contentious bequests.

In comparison to other great religions- Krishna and Buddha, we may agree with Yasmin that “Islam and Muslims are indeed faced with such unfair generalities, disrespect and sweeping accusations.” Yasmin worries are that notwithstanding the great contributions that Christians are making or had made to science, medicine, the arts and literature, to freedom, human rights and maybe, to democracy, which Muslims were also once at the vanguard, former Archbishop Carey appeared indeed undue in stereotyping [alleged bitter side of some] Muslims-in adding that “Muslims are people without direction with hate in their hearts and bombs in their pockets?”

Yes, good Christians, Yasmin argues, were central to the overthrow of both Nazi and Apartheid regimes; yet, it is incumbent on us to assess the impact of some Christians over the last 75 years. “Has the faith been wholly benign or often destructive,” she asks. The vital role that Islam plays or had played in the political and socio-economic development of mankind, can hardly be underestimated. Globally, Islam had been at the forefront of ancient civilization- the role of Prophet Mohammed and Ottoman Empire, in shaping contemporary religious architecture, are well documented by historians. Yet, since 2001, Islam and for that matter its faithfuls and sympathisers, have come not only under extreme political scrutiny but also, religious scorn.

In his 5,000 words ((Sermon?), Archbishop Carey, Yasmin says, never asked British Jews to denounce the murderous policies of the then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. “He accuses Muslims of not condemning enough the suicide bombings in Israel. How else do you explain the fact that the sanctimonious governments of the US and UK and actively support the tyrannical despot in Uzbekistan, which has an appalling human rights record? Ah well, we Muslims are getting used to doublespeak and double standards from our great and good. Not a week passes by without Islam being put in the dock. Carey says he meant to provoke a reaction…Well…my sober reflections on the influence of Christianity today… Christianity, as originally envisage, is a great faith, one I have learnt much from myself,” Yasmin argues.

Christianity seems to Yasmin as the most redemptive and merciful of all the major religions. “I remember as a child trying to comprehend this. Underneath the statute of Christ on the cross at the church near one of the four cinemas in Kampala were his words of sublime forgiveness: Father Forgive them for they know not what they do.” Gandhi once wrote of Jesus: “He was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and become a ransom of the world. It was a perfect act,” says Yasmin. But faiths, as pointed out in the editorial, are more than their texts, their ideal, their stated principles or their heroic exemplars. “Culture and politics invade, change, misuse belief to noble purposes, sometimes so much so that the faith becomes nothing more than useful spin,” Yasmin believes.

Indeed only few could perhaps argue forcefully that global or inter-border terrorism became an issue only on 9/11 2001. The operational strategies of the Basque Separatist Movement- ETA, the Irish Republican Army, not forgetting the Baader-Meinhof gang of May 1970 (Koch, P. & Hermann, K., 1977), had had its innocent victims. For example, on 5 September 1977, the Baader-Meinhof group kidnapped Hanns Martin Schleyer- a staunch Christian Democrat and President of the Federation of German Employers. The former “SS” officer was killed on 18 October 1977 when Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (SPD), refused to bow to extreme terrorist demands.

With these, we may not only be capable of helping Yasmin resolve the question of whether or not it is faith which corrupts societies or societies which corrupts faith but also, be bold and honest in conceding that long before September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States were all forms of terrorism. Notwithstanding United Nations’ position on non-interference, the late President Julius Nyerere, for example, is still on records of moving troops to hel?p topple the then Ugandan military leader - Field-Marshall Dada Iddi Amin? In 1985?86, the Togolese TV footage- picked in a nearby Kpetoe, beamed on some captured Ghanaian registered cars-Nissan Patrols and military armaments- Makarow pistols, AK47 and other self-loading rifles?

The assumption had been that the PNDC regime was involved in state-sponsored coup against President Eyedema? The Ghanaian is puzzling over whether or not our focus should be on how to resolve our current plagues or on who did what and at what time?

Our diverse political faiths and for that matter its disciples, it seems to many, have assumed the position of self- righteous perfectionists. All round the world, especially here in London, we spend precious time- either on the “Kasapa?h” or the “Voi?ce” of Africa Radio and other platforms reproving almost everything that is not “our own”. Similar to what Yasmin writes about the Christians/Moslems contest, most ordinary Ghanaians and scholars have sadly, become executioners and self-justifying bullies.

Yet, our counter evidence lies in what Yasmin writes here: “since the 1930s the body count produced by the so called soldiers of Christ far, far out-numbers the deaths caused by other faiths on this good earth. I am including the two world wars and the Holocaust. Same story today- Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Pagans, Buddhists, Bahais, or believers in Voodoo do not own most of today’s weapons of mass destruction. Christians do.” Christ, as Yasmin argues, had humility and called for perseverance in the face of provocation- turn the other cheek and so on…

Yasmin seems therefore, not too far from right in suggesting that many individuals do live by testing doctrine. “I listened to a British woman on Radio 4 this week who was married to a Tutsi killed in the genocide. She is going back to find the killers so she can forgive them. But where, oh where is that essence of forgiveness among the merchants of power today [and yesteryear]? Christians such as George Bush and Tony Blair are so consumed with the madness of vengeance that they feel they have the right to “punish” the guilty and the innocent in their thousands …the US will not budge on Guantanamo Bay- a purpose-built concentration camp…,” she argues.

Indeed, it is an established revelation or prophecy that despite the traditional or say conservative outlook or hardly to be found edifications in the Holy Quaran- here, the Sharia- Islam, we think, remains one of the messianic religions to the broken-hearted?

As to why this is so, and why many Christians are opting out from their traditional faith, in spite of its compassionate and reformist evangelism, not forgetting its communual and charitable foundations as demonstrated by Ananias and beloved Sapphira, Christian scholars and the papacy, lend itself for Yasmin’s investigation:

“Think of what we would do today if a swarthy, bearded, impoverished Joseph arrived with a pregnant wife looking for a place to stay for a few nights… The gift of love and hospitality to strangers is another tenet which has been crushed by the laws of Christian countries and their populations…,” she submits. In her own words, it is OK to hate asylum seekers and people desperately seeking a small living in the West.

“In truth, although Muslim states have much that disgraces them, on this they have shown themselves more worthy than Christians. Even in Iraq, even as we were starving them first and then bombing them to bits, Iraqis gave surprised British journalists food, tea, warmth and care,” Yasmin cogently says this in the editorials.

But, the behaviour and activities of some Moslems have also brought Islamic faith into disrepute. Bin Laden is one of them. Following his cold links with the US after the Cold War, he founded the al-Qaida terrorist group and, issued a declaration of jihad against the US, which he recorded on audiotape and distributed to all supporters in forty different countries. In a said widely published and full-blooded fatwah in February 1998, the fugitive called upon Muslims to kill Americans, including civilians, wherever they could be found. It came as no surprise when on 7 August 1998, Laden’s network gangs exploded truck bombs outside US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 234 (12 Americans) and wounding 5,000 (Robertson, 2006).

The conviction of Abdul Basset Ali al-Megrahi- the Libyan intelligence officer- for placing a bomb on Pan Am flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie in Scotland on 21 December 1988, killing 259 passengers and crew, remains a scar on many liberal Moslems. Robertson may be right that between the New York aeroplane attacks of 9/11 (2001) and the London tube and bus bombings of 7/7 (2005) came the disco in Bali, the train in Madrid, the cafés in Israel, the theatre in Moscow and the school in Beslan- repeated and fearful reminder of the calculated cruelty of [Islamic] fanatics.

Their object, per the Queen’s Council, is to provoke responses so repressive that they will encourage recruits and supporters who would never otherwise help their cause… Islamic terrorism, Robertson argues, may be traced back to the torture of Muslim brotherhood in Abdul Nasser’s Egyptian jails, via Israeli ill-treatment of Palestinians.

Besides what Robertson terms as ‘propaganda of the deed’ derived from reprisals- from tortured suspects, from internment, and from over-hastily convicting the innocent, the jurist concedes that the smartest counter-terrorism does not deal in lex talionis- an eye for an eye- and nor does it use the inflated rhetoric of war: “treats terrorism as a very serious crime to be combated by better intelligence gathering and more effective police work, together with close international co-operation,” he adds.

Having considered all the crucial evidence [ancient and modern] - slave trade; colonial injustices; the world wars; Apartheid and global terrorism, not forgetting its opposing arguments and heated blame-game, vis-à-vis global poverty, crime and starvation, we argue that: “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Both Christians and Moslems believe in Eli/Allah, Prayer, Alms-giving, Fasting and Paradise. Genealogically, both faiths trace their roots to Father Abraham/Ibrahim. Ishmael/Ishmaela; Isaack/Issacher, not forgetting Moses/Musa; are all shared names. Today, millions of Christians and Muslims alike hang on swaggering financial and logistics crutches of the rich few. The Biblical story of Ananias and Sapphira- the under declaration of the proceeds from their sold property for the common good of the early Church and its result, is ignored. Yasmin is right: “both Islam and Christianity as originally envisage, is a great faith, one I have learnt much from myself”

We doubt not, “culture and politics invade, change and misuse belief to our gross disadvantage.” The two major religions believe that once upon a time lived a perfect man or prophet [Jesus/Issah] - on this planet but disagree that he is/ or was the “Son of Man”. Lack of mutual recognition or co-existence makes the argument so complex that if German Protestant Martin Luther and the Turkish Islamic Campaigner Ottoman were to be alive today they would have, speculatively, relied on the authoritative curriculum vitae (CV) of these righteous men- Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed. The Kashmir and Rushdie’s theories are issues we are less knowledgeable to discuss.

But with some Jews still waiting for the “Conquering Messiah”, we forecast that there could be no “Win-Win” situation in an honest encounter that is founded on emotions, prejudices and stereotyping. The context therefore is: which of the political faiths is more righteous to lead Ghana in 2009 and beyond? Perhaps, the answer may be found in our next edition- the commentary, which forms part of this crucial examination.

Until then, we sign off with the findings from the United Nations that individuals and groups within a state [both Christians/Moslems,] could be at peace with one another-and in their international relations. It is the contentious policies of their government(s) that sever it. So we may do ourselves and Ghana a great service if we were to be able to sieve realistic policies from political abstractions and rhetoric that pole us apart.