Clash of Civilizations

Clash of Civilizations

Dear Editor:

Today we are living through a war between two civilizations. For a period of some 20 years Muslim terrorists have been making war primarily against the United States. This is not a conventional war where one nation’s army invades another. Our enemies wear no uniforms, they march under no national banner. They acknowledge no rules of combat. They have no code for humane treatment of civilians and prisoners of war. Civilians are terrorized and slaughtered. Prisoners are tortured, tormented and eventually killed. All of this is done in the name of Islam and for the glory of their god, Allah.

Our nation’s response to this aggressive enemy, although long delayed has been swift and overwhelming. This is remarkable since a sizeable portion of our population have no heart for war or defending the nation from her enemies. Much of our media are more interested in finding some flaw in our president, his military advisers and our troops than in exposing the viciousness of the enemy. A multitude of our intellectuals, pundits and clergy devote much of their time and energy to persuading our citizens that Muslims are really nice, peace-loving folks and that it is wrong for us to scrutinize those in our midst in the name of security. This flows from a faulty doctrine called multiculturalism that argues that all cultures and religions are of equal value. As Postmodernists they find it impossible to pass judgment on anyone, even terrorists who have vowed to kill them. Their addiction to political correctness blinds them to the threat of the Muslims who are all about them. This has resulted in a tragic situation where our young soldiers are putting their lives on the line in war zones while only half of the home population they are protecting is supporting their efforts.

Sizeable numbers of Americans seem to think Middle Eastern Muslims are just like us and that we really just need to get to know them and all will be well. In 1993 Professor Samuel P. Huntington published an essay entitled The Clash of Civilizations in the Foreign Affairs journal. He expressed concern that a global clash of civilizations was imminent. His insightful observations about differences in civilizations are worthy of our consideration.

"First, differences among civilizations are not only real; they are basic. Civilizations are differentiated from each other by history, language, culture, tradition, and, most important, religion. The people of different civilizations have different views on the relations between God and man, the individual and the group, the citizen and the state, parents and children, husband and wife, as well as differing views of the relative importance of rights and responsibilities, liberty and authority, equality, and hierarchy. These differences are the products of centuries. They will not disappear. They are far more fundamental than differences among political ideologies and political regimes. Differences do not necessarily mean conflict, and conflict does not necessarily mean violence. Over the centuries, however, differences among civilizations have generated the most prolonged and most violent conflicts." He especially fears "a confrontation between the Christian West, the Islamic Middle East...a war of religious fundamentalism on a global scale."
(As quoted in When Nations Die, by J. N. Black (p 261-262).

We who are Christians live in the midst of this world conflict. We have an interest in the religions of mankind. We are concerned with the mortal struggle between truth and error, right and wrong. We have more than ordinary interest in what is happening in this war and its outcome. Many Christian leaders have far more knowledge and understanding of the history and background of Islam than the politicians who are directing our nation in this time of war. The triumph of Islam in the 7th and 8th century crushed and obliterated the Christian civilization that fell before it. Look at any part of the Islamic world today and contemplate the possibility of living under similar circumstances. The only freedom they know is the freedom to be Muslims and hate Christians and Jews. The kind of Islam they may follow is forever evolving as one tyrant succeeds another and demands conformity to his interpretation of that faith. May God save us from this evil adversary.

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