Catholics and Muslims reject terrorism

In this joint declaration.  It appears that Shia Muslims and Catholic leaders signed a joint declaration rejecting weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and extremism.  As well as indiscriminate sanctions.   That’s fine.  I usually assume most people want good and not bad.  Most don’t want to hurt people.  Most don’t want carnage and death and destruction.

And yet, what most people want as often as not isn’t what drives history.  Many of those sad periods we study either began with, or were dominated by, that rather vocal minority.  Those squeaky wheels.  Sometimes that vocal minority was right.  Sometimes it wasn’t.  But it’s those squeaky wheels who more often than not get the grease, and sometimes get the power to do something about it.

I have no doubt that most Muslims condemn terrorism.  Whenever some Muslim leader decries terrorist attacks, people act as if some grand revelation has been made about what Muslims really think.  I don’t know the total numbers, but a casual glance at the news over the last few years suggests that most victims of Islamic terrorism have been Muslim.  So that makes sense that Muslims would, on the whole, condemn something that kills them as much, if not more, than anyone else.

But as common sense as it is, differences still remain.  Not just theological differences.  I’ve often compared it to a football game between rivals, like Ohio State and Michigan.  Most people want a fair game.  Most people want a safe game.  Most people want a good game.  But everyone wants their team to win, not the other team.  Another thing that history shows us is that, eventually, there comes a time when people want their side to have the most points at the end of the game.  And it’s better to admit it now, than hope against hope this time it doesn’t matter and everyone just wants to sit around and sing Imagine.  That’s when those loud voices suddenly get up and declare that if nobody else is going to help the team win, they’ll do it.  All we need to do is give them a little more power, or at least look the other way while they rack up the points.