My better half caught a TV appearance by Newsweek editor Jon Meacham discussing the recent shooting spree at Fort Hood. Meacham, who’s written entire books on the subject of religion, really ought to know better than this:
MEACHAM: Here’s, for what it’s worth, here’s what I think: I think the president was right to say don’t jump to conclusions. We can now at least sort of hop up to one. And it is that this is an act of terrorism committed by someone — clearly a Muslim, clearly influenced to some extent, we don’t know yet what, by radical Islam. Let’s call it what it is. It is an act of terror, which is part of what we’ve been struggling with now for nearly a decade. In the same way, to some extent, now I would not refer to it as Islamic terror in the same way I would not call Oklahoma City Christian terror. But there is no doubt that Timothy McVeigh — and I am a Christian — there is no doubt that Timothy McVeigh was affected by the warped edges of a white supremacist ideology that was informed to some extent and to some degree by antisemitism and that part of the world. So I wouldn’t shy away from it. It does a disservice to the people who fell.
The implication that McVeigh was a “Christian terrorist” is flat-out wrong, and it’s also a falsehood the media has repeatedly perpetuated. For the record, McVeigh was confirmed as a Catholic but decidedly agnostic as an adult. McVeigh famously declared “science is my religion.” Meacham’s overall point — that Islam doesn’t necessarily lead to terrorism — is clear. But the desire here to draw false equivalences just goes to show cultural relativism and outright ignorance are frequently indistinguishable. To the extent that motives are important in evaluating terrorism, it’s very important they be correctly discerned. What’s really unfortunate about the media’s continued insistence on emphasizing politically correct tolerance and pluralism when discussing terrorism is it’s disregard for the truth. (This was a point made in a recent Examiner editorial.) Extremist Islamic ideology is very much a catalyst for terrorism, but the media thinks that the public can’t be trusted to discuss this fact without understanding that it only applies to a small fraction of the world’s Muslims. Or they are under the impression that stating the obvious fact that Islamic ideology is responsible for the overwhelming majority of terrorism makes them somehow bigoted, so they try to point the finger at other religions. This is not only wrong, it’s dangerous as it obscures the true nature of the biggest threat to Western civilization.
Bonus question — what terrorist said this regarding those who write him in jail:
Most of them have, of course, an agenda; mostly born-again Christians looking to save my soul. I suppose the assumption is made that because I’m in here I must be a ‘sinner’ in need of salvation, and they would be glad to sell me a ticket to heaven, hawking this salvation like peanuts at a ballgame. I do appreciate their charity, but I could really do without the condescension. They have been so nice I would hate to break it to them that I really prefer Nietzsche to the Bible.
That’s abortion clinic bomber Eric Rudolph, who is frequently — and wrongly — portrayed as a Christian zealot.
