Religious Violence and Islam’s True Sacrifice

Yesterday was the 15^th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. Under the guise of sacred violence, violent men claiming to be Muslims perpetrated horrific acts. As they screamed “God is great” they hijacked planes and a religion.

The hijackers couched their violent acts as a sacrifice ordained by God. The following note was found in the baggage of a 9/11 terrorist. The language is engulfed with the rhetoric of religious violence,

Purify your souls from all unclean things. Tame your soul. Convince it. Make it understand. Completely forget something called “this world.”

Pray the supplication as you leave your hotel. Pray the supplication when riding the taxi, when entering the airport. Before you step aboard the plane, pray the supplication. At the moment of death, pray.

Bless your body with verses of scripture. Rub the verse on your luggage, your clothes, your passport. Polish your knife with the verses, and be sure the blade is sharp; you must not discomfort your sacrifice.

Remember they may be stronger than you, but their equipment, their security, their technology—nothing will keep you from your task. How many small groups have defeated big groups by the will of God?

Remember, this is a battle for the sake of God. The enemy are the allies of Satan, the brothers of the Devil. Do not fear them, for the believer fears only God.

And when the hour approaches, welcome death for the sake of God. With you last breath remember God. Make your final words “There is no god but God.” (Reza Aslan, Beyond Fundamentalism, pg 3-4.)

I want to quote this note in full because many in the West believe that it tells the truth about Islam. The terrorists thought that Islam and the West were in a cosmic war and that God demands true Muslims to kill their sacrificial victims “for the sake of God.” But make no mistake – that is a lie.

The terrorists were wrong about Islam. The chilling note itself gives us a clue. Notice how excessive its language is. It tries really hard to convince the terrorists that they were following God’s will. The note had to try so hard to convince them because deep down the terrorists knew that this had nothing to do with the God of Islam. They were motivated by their own sacrificial desires for violence and destruction. Allah was not their God. Their god is an idol with a simple name: Violence.

Interestingly, this year 9/11 happened to fall on Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest days of the Islamic calendar. It is the “Festival of the Sacrifice.” It commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son at God’s command.

At first look, Eid al-Adha landing on 9/11 might seem to be an unfortunate coincidence. Were the terrorists motivated by stories like Abraham’s near sacrifice of his son?

It’s actually fortuitous that Eid al-Adha fell on 9/11. In the Qur’an, Abraham leaves his father’s religion behind. In the ancient world, the gods frequently demanded human sacrifice. The great anthropologist Rene Girard refers to these spiritual traditions that demand violent human sacrifice as “archaic religions.” Abraham was to leave archaic religions behind, but he was tested. In the Qur’an, Abraham had a dream that he sacrificed his son. “My son,” Abraham said. “I have seen myself sacrificing you in a dream. What do you think.”

The son, who is never named in the Qur’an, but Islamic tradition claims to be Ishmael, replied to Abraham, “Father, do as you are commanded and, God willing, you will find me steadfast.”

Abraham held his knife high above his son’s neck, about to murder him in a bloody sacrifice. But this God was different than the gods of Abraham’s father. The God of the Qur’an stopped the act of sacrificial violence.

And that’s the point of the story. God did require Abraham to perform a sacrifice, but it wasn’t a violent human sacrifice. Rather, God called Abraham to sacrifice his relationship with his father and his father’s religion for a higher purpose. Abraham was called to leave the old life of sacrificial violence behind. God was the one who changed his sacrificial ways by stopping the violent murder of his son.

So, the 9/11 terrorists were wrong about Islam and Eid al-Adha tells us why. The story of Abraham reveals that God doesn’t demand sacrificial violence. But there’s more. Muslims commemorate Eid al-Adha by sharing a meal. Meat from an animal is divided into three parts. One portion is shared with family. Another portion is shared with friends and neighbors. The third is shared with the poor and needy. God desires that we overcome our divisions in order to meet the basic needs of our fellow human beings – food and friendship. This is Islam’s true sacrifice.

The terrorists of 9/11 were not worshipping the God of Islam. Under the guise of Islam, they worshipped the gods of Abraham’s father, the gods of archaic religion that demand sacrificial violence. In contrast to archaic religions, Girard claims that there are “revealed religions.” In Judaism, Christianity, and in Islam, Abraham begins the process of leading humanity toward revealed religions – those religions that critique sacrificial violence and reveal that the true God doesn’t demand that we sacrifice anyone, not even our enemies, but rather that we show everyone mercy.

The Qur’an sums it up like this, “Good and evil cannot be equal. Repel evil with what is better and your enemy will become as close as an old and valued friend” (41:34).

Image: Copyright: zurijeta / 123RF Stock Photo

Stay in the loop! Join Teaching Nonviolent Atonement on Facebook!