After the Paris attacks a few weeks ago, I heard one
reporter say something about Europe being more vulnerable to terrorist attacks
than the U.S. Maybe because of its closer geographic proximity to radical Islamists in the
Middle East, or governments that are perhaps not so good at gathering
intelligence about potential terrorists. But then he suggested maybe the reason
was because Muslims are persecuted and maltreated more in Europe than they are
in the U.S.
I wish I could remember who said it or even what network it was on. Having never been to Europe, and having never lived in a part
of America that has a high Muslim population, I absolutely can’t confirm the
truth of that statement. But it got me thinking.
What if that’s true?
If it is, I’m proud of the citizens of this country for
respecting and loving Muslims despite the increasing pressure from politicians
and media to “register” them, “profile” them, etc. And I sincerely hope that we
continue to do so. My worry is that, after centuries of living in peace with
Muslims, we will cave to this pressure.
It’s true that there are some Muslims out there who
want to kill us. Some even live in this country. There are also white Christians out there who want to kill
Muslims, or black people, or pro-choice baby-killers, etc. I’m so glad that
that doesn’t make every non-Christian Muslim or black person or pro-choicer
feel like I ought to be registered or profiled because I am a white Christian. I guess being in the "majority" helps me there.
Being Muslim is not the same as being a terrorist. Being a terrorist is the same as being a
terrorist. But we are being increasingly taught that this is not the case.
What if this is exactly what ISIS and other radicals want?
They want us to fear Muslims, judge them, whisper about them when they walk by
in their hijabs. They want more and more Muslims to feel like this country does
not accept them, so that maybe, maybe,
those more extreme individuals might decide to fight back against us. And maybe
those who never even considered more extremist thoughts might begin considering
them. That’s what ISIS wants. They want the United States to come alive with
extremists to fight us from within. They’ve said so, many times.
The Paris attacks happened just before Thanksgiving, and I began
to think about just how vulnerable we are to mass terrorist attacks. A crowded
train station, shopping mall, airport—and a single bomb. Apparently they are
easy to make. The Internet tells me there are an estimated 12 million Muslims
living in this country, and yet, in the weeks since the Paris attacks when ISIS was
calling on their followers with even greater fervor to commit the same atrocities in America, we were
somehow able to hold a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, numerous NFL and college
football games, and Black Friday with the most egregious incidents involving a
pretty bad snap to Aaron Rodgers and a couple of white people fighting over a
GoPro.
And yes, we just saw something happen in San Bernardino
involving Muslims who may have been radicalized. Fourteen people died.
Please understand that I in no way want to diminish the
horribleness of this tragedy. But does that mean we should fear all the rest of
those 11.9999 million Muslims? To judge them, and stare at them, and clutch nervously
at our spouses as we pass the neighborhood mosque or find a Middle Eastern man
sitting next to us on an airplane, and deny them services, and make them register—like a sexual offender or a
mutant from the X-Men universe?
It is my not-so-educated opinion that that kind of treatment
might make even the most peaceful of people begin to feel oppressed.
We are being told that the best defense against ISIS and
radical extremists is to go about our business to prove to them that we’re not
afraid. I concur with that statement, but want to add to it—I think our best
defense is to go about our business among
our Muslim friends and neighbors and prove to ISIS that we are not afraid.
I’m not overly optimistic that terrorists will
never attack America again. It will probably happen. Yes, sometimes (especially
lately) I fear what will be on the news when I turn on the TV. But I would
honestly rather take a bullet from a misguided extremist than sacrifice my compassion
and kindness in a misguided attempt to “feel safer”.
