Sorry guys, I'm going to get political on you. It was bound to happen eventually, right? If this makes you nervous, feel free to skip this entry. I understand : )
I just read this article by John F. Cullinan, "Turkey: Christians in Danger." I read it because I agree with the author that we often do not hear about persecution and hate-crimes against Christians that happen in other parts of the world. Cullinan argues that Turkey's politics and media have become drastically unfavorable of Christians and Jews in recent years. He references hateful claims against these groups widely circulated in the mass media. Cullinan concludes that recent heinous crimes against Christians are caused by the reckless propagation of anti-Christian slander in Turkey's media. I completely agree with Cullinan when he says, "ideas have consequences, with bad ones often leading to deadly consequences."
So I was surprised when, in the same article, he scoffs at "the Islam-is-a-religion-of-peace happy talk peddled by both the Bush and Obama administrations." Is he seriously suggesting that our government, like Turkey's, should openly condemn an entire religion? Does he wish that our newspapers, like Turkey's, were filled with bigotry and bias?
In 2001, hate crimes against Muslims in America increased by 1,600 percent over the previous year (source). In the intervening years during the Bush administration and their refusal to attack Islam, such crimes decreased by almost 80 percent (source). I know that correlation is not causation. But, I have to wonder if the statistics would display such a decrease in violence if our government chose Cullinan's approach to blame an ages old, diverse religion for the atrocities committed by men. After all, ideas have consequences.
So I was surprised when, in the same article, he scoffs at "the Islam-is-a-religion-of-peace happy talk peddled by both the Bush and Obama administrations." Is he seriously suggesting that our government, like Turkey's, should openly condemn an entire religion? Does he wish that our newspapers, like Turkey's, were filled with bigotry and bias?
In 2001, hate crimes against Muslims in America increased by 1,600 percent over the previous year (source). In the intervening years during the Bush administration and their refusal to attack Islam, such crimes decreased by almost 80 percent (source). I know that correlation is not causation. But, I have to wonder if the statistics would display such a decrease in violence if our government chose Cullinan's approach to blame an ages old, diverse religion for the atrocities committed by men. After all, ideas have consequences.
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