ACT for Ignorance

Last updated on: June 20, 2017 at 6:38 am by Robert Hunt

ACT for Ignorance 2017-06-20T06:38:34-06:00 Robert Hunt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

anti-sharia Recent Anti-Shari’a demonstrations hosted by ACT for America have shown us once again that there is a highly mobilized and extremely ignorant and fearful group of Islamophobes.

They are ever ready to sling their manhood over their shoulders, and come when their masters whistle and promise to feed them lies.

So maybe some truth is in order.

The term shari’a in Arabic has at least 5 meanings.

If you visit Israel or Arabic speaking countries you will see street signs in Arabic with the word shari’a. It means “street, path, or road.” Poetically: it is a path to an oasis or a place with water.
It also stands for the concept of “divine governance.” It is the equivalent of torah in Biblical Hebrew, or even the Christian word “providence.” To attack shari’a is thus to attack the idea that God governs human affairs.
It can mean the fundamental principles of God’s governance as understood in Islam: specifically the value of human life, the traditional family, religion, the intellect, personal property and responsibility, and freedom to choose or reject God. To attack shari’a is to attack these values.
It can mean the tradition and principles of juridical reasoning, the basis and logic by which judges reach legal conclusions. To attack shari’a is to attack rational legal reasoning.
And finally it can mean the specific rulings that Muhammad, his successors, and different Muslim judges have come to over the centuries. Essentially books of legal rulings that become enforceable laws should a government decide to do so. Although the proper term for these laws as such is not shari’a but fiqh.

It is also worth nothing that within fiqh (definition 5) it is universally recognized that Muslims living in non-Muslim lands are obliged to live by local laws. So in fact it is the fiqh within shari’a that protects the US against shari’a, not inane protests.

Now both ignorance and fear are a choice, and the protestors are voluntary participants in both. So there is little to be done for them except resist them in public and keep them from hurting anyone.

But for those who wish to break free from ignorance and fear there are things we can do.

The cure for ignorance is education, and it should be more readily available. Given those who control our public school curriculum it is unlikely that ignorance about non-Christian religions will be cured there. So I’m afraid it will be up to churches and private institutions to educate the public, and up to responsible journalists to counterbalance Fox and Breitbart and their allies in promoting misunderstanding and bigotry.

And fear? It is overcome only by continual sustained contact with those we fear. So against the segregationist policy of school vouchers and segregationist nature of the real estate market our churches need to be centers of interreligious hospitality, even as we defend the diversity in our public schools.

Ignorance and fear are not the normal state of human being. They are not a natural goal for persons or societies. The natural goal of human life is knowledge and peace of heart. We need to get back on track. We need, frankly, to find the right shari’a.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 4, 2017

Binary BS and PC Politics

Next Post

July 6, 2017 Our Culture of Fear

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Christian Identity Christian Muslim Relations Home Page Inter-Religious Dialogue Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 July 2010 May 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz