After years of the War on Terror and centuries of religious turmoil in the Middle East the United Nations held a much-needed interfaith dialogue to discuss the promotion of religious tolerance in all countries. Yet the impact of the conference was meager at best.??
Ironically the conference was initiated by the Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz leader of one of the most religiously intolerant nations in the world. As questionable as King Abdullah’s motives were at the conference President Bush’s motives were just as suspect.
The surface value of such a conference was commendable – there is no doubt that religious tolerance on a global scale would be a huge step toward intercultural peace and respect. But this prospect is highly unrealistic. Just seven years ago thousands of Americans died because some thought the religion of Islam called for individuals to wage “jihad” against all non-Islamic peoples. ??
Now Bush is pursuing his own “jihad while simultaneously advocating religious freedom around the world. At the conference, he said: Freedom is God’s gift to every man woman and child and that freedom includes the right of all people to worship as they see fit.” ??
Freedom though is not defined as stationing troops in another’s country to implement far-fetched ideals. Freedom is not waging a war in the name of religious tolerance. Freedom is “God’s gift” to everyone and if President Bush wants America to be envisioned as a beacon of religious tolerance he should take a few words of advice from the Bible verse Matthew 5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.”??
“Religious freedom” should not have room for exceptions.
President Bush’s statements at the conference implied that democracy – and America – should be placed on the world’s pedestal because of its moral superiority. “Our nation has helped defend the religious liberty of others from liberating the [World War II] concentration camps of Europe to protecting Muslims in places like Kosovo Afghanistan and Iraq he said.
But Christianity, as the most common religion in America, does not call for arrogance. The Bible calls for leaders of merit who practice humility before God. All of you must clothe yourselves with humility for the sake of each other because ‘God opposes the arrogant but gives grace to the humble'” according to 1 Peter 5:5.?
An agenda of morals – not of political stature – is a much more effective way to show the Islamic countries that religious persecution is wrong. ??
Given the fact that Middle Eastern countries were founded on religious persecution itself it is highly doubtful that democracy is the miraculous solution. After 1400 years of tradition and power struggles between the Shiites and Sunnis the last thing Muslims want is someone else telling them what to believe.
Moreover is it even safe to call for sudden and universal religious tolerance? For America to simply declare “You are free to convert from Islam” will not result in rainbows and world peace.?
More than a millennium before the United States was even founded Muslims were fighting for their beliefs – beliefs that will not be easily compromised in a culture as old as theirs. Leading by humility and moral example rather than by force would be much more effective in the long run.??
For President Bush to stand before almost 70 other nations and declare democracy the symbol of freedom and superiority will not make much of an impact in a world so characterized by political agendas and religious persecution. The world is in need of a guiding light – not a one-way street lined with combat troops.