I received an email from one of my friends who clicks “Forward to everyone” at least five times per day. Usually, that’s pretty annoying. However, this email was somewhat thought-provoking. In it, the original author noted how in the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, Timothy McVeigh, “a Roman Catholic from Lockport, New York,” was responsible for a massive loss of life. The message goes on to ask that all people, for the sake of solidarity, not hold Muslims culpable for the heinous acts of the one individual who went on a murderous rampage at Fort Hood. I agree with that, however I think it’s interesting how the argument works: A man who happens to be Catholic blows up a building because of his contempt for the government compared to a man who yells Allahu Akbar before killing American soldiers because, in his opinion, “Muslims need to stand up and wage jihad against America.” I have nothing but compassion for the worldwide Muslim community who may be targeted by ignorant and closed-minded individuals, but I think we need to stop dancing around the facts:
A Muslim committed an act of terrorism because his interpretation of his faith led him to do so.
One need not say that this interpretation of the Qur’an was flawed – that’s too obvious for words. I sincerely hope that, for the true sake of solidarity, all who read this blog offer a few moments of prayer for the perpetrator, those of his faith who will now suffer unduly, and those among us who have nothing but contempt for Islam. The Catholic Church holds that all faith has some measure of Truth within it, but that some faiths contain more Truth than others. As Catholics we must, as I have said time after time, hate the sin but love the sinner. While Islam has tended to be a religion more of subjugation of others, not subjugation to God, many Muslims have done noble things for the world. Pray for them as we pray for all people: that they may, in time, see the whole Truth of God and His Church. After all, as Our Lord Himself says, we cannot come to the Father but through the Son.
Tags: News and Media
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