For a few weeks, I have seen a terrible, and potentially dangerous, trend on social media: people (and bots, to be sure) are saying that all Muslims in the United States must be rounded up and deported. They suggest that all Muslim must be treated as foreigners, whether or not they were born in the United States (showing one reason why Christian Nationalists are taking on birthright citizenship, because if it is removed, it is easier to deport American citizens they do not like, such as Muslims). Most of those saying this also claim that United States is a Christian country (it is not, as the Constitution makes clear that not only there is no state religion, but they are to be relatively free to practice the religion of their choice without interference from the government). This leads them to make the false claim that Muslims are anti-Christians who are seeking to take over a Christian nation. Again, the United States is not a Christian nation, it is a secular nation, one which its founders wanted to move beyond religious wars, be it wars between Christians, or wars between Christians and non-Christians. These attacks against Muslims seem to follow the lead of Rep. Andy Ogles from Tennessee, who said on twitter (X): “Muslims don’t belong in American society. Pluralism is a lie.” Rep. Andy Fine, from Florida, also showed his true colors, as he suggested that not only are Muslims subhuman, dogs have more inherent worth than them: “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” Fine’s words emerged after a fake story was spread saying that all Muslims hate dogs, using what some Muslims think to represent all Muslims. In Islam, like in Christianity, Judaism, and every other major religion, there are a variety of opinions; some Muslims do consider touching dogs a problem, but others, indicate there is nothing impure about them or any other living being. With this misrepresentation concerning Islam, it was also suggested that Muslims want to kill all dogs, which of course is false. Islam certainly does not teach this; the argument used to justify this falsehood is based upon a misrepresentation of a historical event when Muhammad was dealing with an outbreak of rabies, when he indicated those who had it sadly would have to be euthanized. Even today, people often put their loved pets to sleep when they are suffering from an incurable disease, and shelters often end up having to euthanize some dogs; it would be like using those situations to suggest shelters and pet owners hate dogs and want them dead.
The rhetoric being raised against Muslims is just another instance where xenophobia is being used to create scapegoats for social ills. Sadly, the United States has a history of people doing this. Catholics in the 19th century were once the scapegoats; it was claimed that they were trying to take over America. It was even said by some that Catholics wanted to force everyone to follow canon law (similar to the way anti-Islamic rhetoric claims Muslims want to impose sharia on everyone, often said by those who do not understand sharia and the variety of it in the Islamic religion). Jews, of course, have also faced similar xenophobia, and with it, similar claims of trying to take over (or control) the world, with one of the most famous examples of this are the conspiracy theories found in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. In every instance of this kind of rhetoric, those promoting hate will find examples of people from the group in question doing something bad, and use those bad examples to represent the whole. This generates fear and hatred, as we can see in the anti-immigrant movement today. What those bad examples demonstrate is that in every group of people, there will be some who do bad, even as there will be some who do good. It is important to denounce all xenophobia and hate, but today, because of how Muslims and Jews are consistently attacked, we must especially denounce Islamophobia and antisemitism.
It is a shame to see so many Christians, let alone Catholics (who have official teachings promoting religious liberty as well as the need to respect people of other faiths) fall for this rhetoric. Christians should know better. They should know that Christ taught love, not hate, that even if they thought someone is their enemy wishing them harm (which is not the case), the Christian response is to love, to do good to those who hate them instead of responding with similar malice. But, of course, loving someone is easier when you realize the other is not your enemy seeking to take you over or destroy you. This is why it is important to expose Islamophobia and antisemitism for what they are, and for Christians to do that, they need to better understand Islam and Judaism, because with such knowledge, they will easily see through the hateful rhetoric and explain why it is wrong.
Too many Christians, especially in the United States, far from following Christ’s teaching of love, are embracing dangerous ideologies, reinforcing nationalistic ideologies that promote hate for the “not-we.” They actively deny religious liberty, and the pluralism which flows from it; they want to enforce Christian nationalism, and with it, the idea that Christians should be in charge, and not just that, but particular kinds of Christians; anyone else shall be told what they are allowed to do. We can see this in the way Hegseth’s mentor Doug Wilson has made it clear he would ban Catholic worship such as their eucharistic processions, if and when he and his supporters control the United States.
Contrary to Ogles’s claim, the United States was founded on pluralistic principles. The “Founding Fathers” certainly were not all Christian; many were deists who denied basic Christian teachings (like Thomas Jefferson), and some even wrote extreme criticisms of Christianity (like Thomas Paine). They wanted people of all religious faiths to feel welcome in the United States. They specifically indicated Muslims are among those whom the United States welcomes. Now, to be sure, the “Founding Fathers” often promoted principles which they did not properly follow, as can be seen in the way they approved of or continued the use of slavery (denying slaves the equality they claim all should possess). The history of the United States shows us how the country, from time to time, ended up persecuting some “other,” be it Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Africans Americans, Native Americans, or Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, or even women, contrary to its greatest aspirations. However, even when this was happening, there were those living in the United States who pointed out the founding principles of the country, and explained how and why, if properly followed, such xenophobia could have no place in the American experience. Time and time again, we find groups which were once hated eventually welcomed into the republic, thanks, in part, to those who defended them against the hate they experienced. We need to once again take those principles, those found behind the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and show how contemporary Islamophobia and antisemitism goes against them. Christians, however, need to do more than this; they need to realize in their daily lives the love Jesus told them to embrace: they are called to love their neighbor, especially those who are being marginalized, demonized, and persecuted, for they, too, once experienced such in their own history. If and when they don’t, they risk losing the saltiness that Jesus said they were meant to have, that is, they will no longer be preserving and protecting the good of everyone, but instead, will be a part of the problem.
* This Is Another Post From My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series
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