L.R. Burt

“Islam is an anti-Christ religion that intends through violence to conquer the world,” says Pastor Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church in Cleveland, Ohio. “America was founded in part with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed, and I believe Sept. 11, 2001 was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore.”

The instant I heard Parsley’s words, which managed to hit nearly all of my hot buttons (including an aversion to people who shout and spit to make a point instead of talking sensibly), I knew I had a rant coming.

Now that I’ve sat down to rant, I’m not sure where to begin. I guess as The Sound of Music so wisely put it, the beginning is a very good place to start, although I’m not entirely sure where that is, either. Do I want to simply deconstruct these statements point-by-point? Or do I have a full-fledged religious/political rant coming? We shall see…

1. Islam is an anti-Christ religion that intends through violence to conquer the world.
This first statement sickens me, especially combined with his assertion that “Islamic extremism” (air quotes his) is somehow a Politically Correct term and that what is commonly referred to as “extremism” is actually mainstream Islam. Why does this sicken me?

A) Because Parsley pastors a church of 12,000. Twelve thousand. That’s a huge responsibility, being accountable for what you tell 12,000 rapt listeners every week who accept his word as, well, gospel. Yet he stands up in front of them and spouts ignorance. Worse than ignorance — willful ignorance — because anyone can educate themselves about Islam these days and see that the mainstream Muslim faith is not extreme. That’s why the term Islamic extremists exists at all — it’s acknowledged that the Jihad types are an off-shoot group.

B) Because Parsley alienates the entire Muslim community with what boils down to hate speech.

The extremists preach that America is hostile toward Muslims. So when people say things like this, at a time in current events when the sound bites are sure to be replayed over and over all over the world, it marginalizes the mainstream. It makes them afraid that maybe the extremists are right, that our country is anti-Muslim, and makes them vulnerable to sympathizing with the terrorists and militant Muslims.

And I can’t say I blame them. It’s how I’d feel if I were Muslim. You can call it a false religion all you want, but they don’t believe that — they believe just as vehemently that Islam is the true religion, and they’re people, just like us, and playing the false religion card is not going to win friends or influence people or do anything but bring about more violence and bloodshed. And maybe there will be another 9/11, or worse; but does someone have to initiate it by running their mouth?

C) Because Islam is a long way from taking over the world, and to insinuate that anything of the sort is taking place — or will take place — is plain and simple fear mongering. From the lips of the people with the world’s dominant military force…

2. America was founded in part with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed.
Admittedly, it’s been a long time since I took American history, but even at a Christian school, I can’t remember once hearing the word Islam (or Mohammedism, as the Founding Fathers would have been calling it), much less the destroying of it, coming into the founding of the United States. In fact, I’m pretty sure America was founded by merchants and trading companies who were trying to strike it rich. (You know, The Virginia Company…First permanent settlement in Jamestown…Disney made a movie about it.) And the actual War for Independence was all about taxation without representation.

Money. Not religion. Not even Christianity, though there were a few groups who came here to escape religious persecution. Definitely not the destruction of any religion.

But I would be extremely curious to read the history book from which Parsley got this idea.

On second thought, no, I wouldn’t. Not least of all because if the idea is in a book, it’s not in any history book.

3. I believe Sept. 11, 2001 was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore.
In one breath, Parlsey condemns one religion for aiming to conquer the world through violence, then, in the next, invokes the Christian religion to make war on Islam. Hypocritical, much?

There’s a lot more I could say on this topic, but I think now that I’ve picked those specific bones, I’ll let it rest. Suffice it to say, I hate that the trend these days is for the pulpit to be used for politics instead of the Gospel of the Prince of Peace.

Also, the last time Christianity went to war with Islam, it was called the Crusades. Nobody won. And nobody came out looking very good, either.

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9/11, christianity, crusades, holy war, islam