As we begin this New Year it appears that intolerance has become a powerful force in our world.
The hope of the Arab Spring seems to be turning into a winter of discontent. The light of an incipient democratic movement has been taken hostage by Islamic fundamentalism.
In Egypt, the relatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood, which bases its political ideology on texts of the Quran, is winning in the nation’s parliamentary elections. The party coming in second is the Salafists. Their name derives from the early followers of the Prophet Mohammed. They offer Egypt a radical expression of faith and a government that would reflect Islamic fundamentalism.
Tunisia, Morocco and most likely a Libya, freed of Qaddafi, will likely follow Egypt’s lead. Syria, which finds itself in a civil war of deepening brutality, will choose between the iron fist of a secular Assad or an Islamic fundamentalism.
In Israel ultra-Orthodox Jews are not only desiring that the secular government accommodate their fundamentalist lifestyle; now they are beginning to demand that Israeli culture conform to their way of life. The dominant issue is, just as it most often is among Islamists, over the issue of the proper role and place of woman in the society. Females are to be modestly dressed, and those who are the most fundamental, ultimately characterize the definition of modesty.
According to the New York Times, “an 8-year-old girl, the daughter of American immigrants who are observant modern Orthodox Jews, had become terrified of walking to school in the city of Beit Shemesh after ultra-Orthodox men spit on her, insulted her and called her a prostitute because her modest dress did not conform exactly to their more rigorous dress code.”
Israeli authorities also have charged an ultra-Orthodox man with sexual harassment because of his abusive language toward a female Israeli soldier who would not move to the back of a bus. The ultra-Orthodox Israelis may be a much more complicated threat to the security of Israel than that of the Palestinians.
In New York City, a private bus company contracted with the city to provide bus transportation for ultra-Orthodox Jews, demands women passengers, whether Jewish or not, ride in the back of the bus.
Women are not the only people discriminated against by fundamentalist Jews. According to The Jerusalem Post, 40 rabbis signed a letter that prohibits members of their congregations from renting or selling property to Gentiles. The 90-year-old Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who is the head of Shas’ Council of Torah Sages justified the prohibition by saying in a sermon that, “Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world – only to serve the People of Israel.”
In the United States, Christian fundamentalism is a significant contributor for financial support for Israel’s expanding settlements in Palestinian occupied territory. Israeli settlers welcome the assistance even as they hold their noses as they realize the Christians' ultimate goal is to convert Jews to a belief that Jesus is the Messiah.
Those Christian fundamentalists also hope the establishment of a Jewish nation throughout the ancient biblical land of Israel will help bring about the Second Coming of Christ.
In the race for the White House, Republican candidates have found they must adjust their political positions to reflect the Christian fundamentalist/evangelical perspective.
Romney and Gingrich have expressed political positions that appear designed to appease the fundamentalist positions. Other candidates, such as Bachmann, Perry and Santorum arise out of the Christian fundamentalist camp.
What is the cause of this growth in fundamentalism with its associated intolerance? How should we, those who desire to live respectfully with others who have differing religious and cultural beliefs, respond to flagrant intolerance –- and even hatefulness -– by adherents of those beliefs?
There is, I think, something very dangerous which is a part of humanity’s genetic make-up. It became a part of who we are ages ago as our species ventured to survive in a very hostile world. As hunters and gatherers on the plains of Africa, and as we migrated to all the continents of the world, it was necessary to define our selves, our kinship group, our tribe, in ways that clearly separated us from others.
The definitions, over time, took the form of variations of language, religion and even dress. In this way, we knew who to trust and who to fear. This survival mechanism served us well and allowed us to thrive, and even conquer, much of the natural world. But now, what helped us survive threatens to undo our survival as we grow more fearful and intolerant of all who do not think, believe and live as we do. The others, those who are different, are seen as a threat. We retreat into our religious and cultural ghettos and prepare as if for war.
Modernity, and now post-modernity, which opens ways of transcending our sectarianisms, is viewed as a treat by our psyches. The world we have created goes against the grain of our innermost and instinctive survival mechanism. We would, as the old cigarette commercial use to say, “Rather fight than switch.” And so we fight….
We fight against the rush of the modern world. We fight against women and girls who wish to enter the new world. We fight against the beliefs of others who do not conform to our beliefs. We are intolerant and we wish to retreat to some bygone world that, in truth, never really existed except in the fantasy of our romantic notions.
America was not established as a Christian nation. The “promised land” of Israel was a faith truth, not a truth of geography. There is no single interpretation of the Quran that will usher in a world of peaceful surrender.
We will all be better off if we begin to recognize our beliefs and customs as a part of the interwoven fabric of human life in the world, and that the beliefs of others add to the fabric's beauty. Who others are is not a threat. It is time to -- as all three Abrahamic faiths believe -- welcome the stranger.
