Powerful force of religion examined

Powerful
force of religion examined
…………………………………………………………………

BY TYLER SMITH
Special to the Rice News

Pointing out
that religion can be a “powerful force in its own right
… sometimes stronger than government,” William
Martin, Rice’s Harry and Hazel Chavanne Professor of
Religion and Public Policy, stressed the importance of understanding
the religious dimension of Middle Eastern politics.

His comments
were made in the introduction to a panel discussion titled
“With God on Their Side: The Impact of Islamic, Jewish
and Christian Fundamentalism in the Middle East” held
Oct. 30 at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.
The discussion inaugurated the 2001-2002 Harry and Hazel
Chavanne Lecture Series on Religion and Public Policy.

The first speaker,
John L. Esposito, professor of religion and international
affairs and of Islamic studies at Georgetown University,
argued that to understand the al-Qaeda organization and
Osama bin Laden, it is necessary to understand “political
Islam,” which Esposito calls the “Army of God.”
It arose during the 1960s and ’70s in reaction to secular,
Western-style modernization in parts of the Arab world.

After the Six-Day
War of 1967, the Arab-Israeli conflict became “a worldwide
issue” for Muslims, Esposito explained, and soon the
dominant reality in the Middle East was “revolutionary
Islam,” which took the form of militant Jihad groups.
Bin Laden, a one-time ally in Afghanistan, turned against
the United States, enraged by U.S. policies in the Middle
East and elsewhere. In Esposito’s words, bin Laden
“hijacked” Islam by putting it in the service
of anti-Western terrorism. The danger now is that any effort
to broaden the scope of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan
or beyond, after the initial, proportionate, focused strike,
may prove counterproductive.

Marc H. Ellis,
professor of American and Jewish studies at Baylor University,
forcefully argued that Jewish fundamentalism is not the
primary problem in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Rather, it
is “Settler Judaism,” promoted for the most part
by moderate and liberal Jews. Ellis provided a detailed
analysis of the origin and development of Jewish settlements,
which, according to Palestinian estimates, have brought
more than 400,000 settlers into Palestinian territory through
a series of “steady confiscations.” As an example
of the way moderate liberal Jewish voices have helped to
encourage Settler Judaism, Ellis cited Elie Wiesel’s
remarks last year in which the Nobel laureate described
Yasser Arafat as “ignorant, devious and unworthy of
trust.” “In reality,” Ellis concluded, “the
problem is also us.”

Timothy Weber,
dean of the seminary and professor of church history at
Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, began his talk by
noting that Christian fundamentalist groups have given more
support to Israel than American Jews. According to Weber,
Christian fundamentalists believe that the state of Israel
will play a part in the “Second Coming.” According
to the prophetic doctrine known as dispensationalism, wars,
famine and anarchy in the Middle East will set the stage
for a great war against “God’s people” —
Armageddon. Dispensationalists believe that for the “Final
Game” to begin, the state of Israel must expand. Thus,
when Israel was established in 1948, Christian fundamentalists
regarded this development as “the most significant
prophetic event of the age,” Weber said. Yet despite
their common goal of strengthening the state of Israel,
Christians and Jews continue to be divided by a theological
gulf. As Weber put it, the attitude of the fundamentalists
seems to be, “Israel sí, Jews no.”

The final speaker,
Edward Djerejian, director of the Baker Institute, offered
his insights on U.S. policy toward the Muslim world based
on his experience as assistant secretary of state for Near
Eastern affairs and as ambassador to Israel and Syria.

— Tyler
Smith is a free-lance writer.