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Palin and Muslim Fundamentalists: "Is there a difference?"
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by Rhonda J Mangus | September 10, 2008 at 04:11 am
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Palin and Muslim Fundamentalists: "Is there a difference?"
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"A theocrat is a theocrat, whether Muslim or Christian", according to an opinion piece authored by Juan Cole, salon.com, who poses the question, "What's the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists?" Cole argues that Republican vice-presidential nominee, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is a theocrat; a religious extremist "a heartbeat away from the presidency.", and Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain's "animus against fundamentalist Muslims no longer looks consistent. It looks bigoted and invidious."
Theocrats confuse God's will with their own mortal policies. Just as Muslim fundamentalists believe that God has given them the vast oil and gas resources in their regions, so Palin asks church workers in Alaska to pray for a $30 billion pipeline in the state because "God's will has to get done." Likewise, Palin maintained that her task as governor would be impeded "if the people of Alaska's heart isn't right with God." Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei of Iran expresses much the same sentiment when he says "the only way to attain prosperity and progress is to rely on Islam."
Not only does Palin not believe global warming is "man-made," she favors massive new drilling to spew more carbon into the atmosphere. Both as a fatalist who has surrendered to God's inscrutable will and as a politician from an oil-rich region, she thereby echoes Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has been found to have exercised inappropriate influence in watering down a report in 2007 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Neither Christians nor Muslims necessarily share the beliefs detailed above. Many believers in both traditions uphold freedom of speech and the press. Indeed, in a recent poll, over 90 percent of Egyptians and Iranians said that they would build freedom of expression into any constitution they designed. Many believers find ways of reconciling the scientific theory of evolution with faith in God, not finding it necessary to believe that the world was created suddenly only 6,000 ago. Some medieval Muslim thinkers asserted that the world had existed from eternity, and others spoke of cycles of hundreds of thousands or millions of years. Mystical Muslim poets spoke of humankind traversing the stages of mineral, plant and animal. Modern Islamic fundamentalists have attempted to narrow this great, diverse tradition.
The classical Islamic legal tradition generally permitted, while frowning on, contraception and abortion, and complete opposition to them is mostly a feature of modern fundamentalist thinking. Many believers in both Islam and Christianity would see it as hubris to tie God to specific government policies or to a particular political party. As for global warming, green theology, in which Christians and Muslims appeal to Scripture in fighting global warming, is an increasing tendency in both traditions.
Palin has a right to her religious beliefs, as do fundamentalist Muslims who agree with her on so many issues of social policy. None of them has a right, however, to impose their beliefs on others by capturing and deploying the executive power of the state. The most noxious belief that Palin shares with Muslim fundamentalists is her conviction that faith is not a private affair of individuals but rather a moral imperative that believers should import into statecraft wherever they have the opportunity to do so. That is the point of her pledge to shape the judiciary. Such a theocratic impulse is incompatible with the Founding Fathers' commitment to tolerance and democracy, which is why they forbade the government to "establish" or officially support any particular religion or denomination.
McCain once excoriated the Rev. Jerry Falwell and his ilk as "agents of intolerance." That he took such a position gave his opposition to similar intolerance in Islam credibility. In light of his more recent disgraceful kowtowing to the Christian right, McCain's animus against fundamentalist Muslims no longer looks consistent. It looks bigoted and invidious. You can't say you are waging a war on religious extremism if you are trying to put a religious extremist a heartbeat away from the presidency.
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Rhonda J Mangus
North Tonawanda, New York, United States
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (39)
at 04:48 on September 10th, 2008
Rhonda J Mangus, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 04:53 on September 10th, 2008
Barry, I think it is a very compelling and enlightening opinion/argument. Thanks so much for reading and for the Flag.
at 07:03 on September 10th, 2008
moonwolf, thank you for reading, commenting, and the Flag. Let's hope not! Personally, I hold to the separation of powers between church and government. I also hold concerns for any extremist thinking for the reason that I think it is clearly and seriously lacking in critical, objective, and/or logical thought; the forms of thinking I think necessary to run any country successfully.
at 08:51 on September 10th, 2008
Exalted language aside, Gov Palin is also a rocket scientist and brain surgeon when she isn't preparing her Doctoral dissertation on theocracy. On weekends she is a commercial fisherman.
at 09:02 on September 10th, 2008
Rhonda J Mangus, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Not only a holy war, but Cheney is already stiring the pot with Russia and Iran, so....we for sure will be in a world of hurt if McSame and Palin get in, because McCain won't last and we sure don't want Palin running the country further into the ground than even McCain would
at 09:31 on September 10th, 2008
Needs Opinion flag if highlighting an opinion piece.
at 12:22 on September 10th, 2008
Thank you for sharing, Fairbanks.
at 12:23 on September 10th, 2008
Thank you for your comments and the Flag, master_jim.
at 12:28 on September 10th, 2008
Thank you, World_groove. I will do some re-phrasing, change the title, and add an Opinion tag. I think this piece can also be considered a well-written, clearly-documented comparison between Governor Palin's 'Christianity' and 'Muslim Fundamentalism' that is thought-provoking to say the least. Thanks again.
at 12:39 on September 10th, 2008
=-)
at 12:58 on September 10th, 2008
Rhonda J Mangus, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Good find Rhonda!
at 13:19 on September 10th, 2008
Amy, I'm glad you like the story. Thanks for commenting and the Flag.
at 13:29 on September 10th, 2008
Rhonda J Mangus, I like this story. ...praying for a gas pipeline in Alaska, only pigs with lipstick would do this, ha ha ha.
at 13:38 on September 10th, 2008
SOLARLIFE, that's quite a comment:)! Thank you for reading and the Flag.
at 16:18 on September 10th, 2008
Rhonda J Mangus, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 05:02 on September 11th, 2008
Thank you, Criticom.
at 13:12 on September 12th, 2008
Rhonda J Mangus, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Palin is bringing all the fundamentalists out to the polls for McCain. Too bad for him they all want him dead and her in the oval office.
at 13:19 on September 12th, 2008
Wino, thank you for your comments and the Flags.
at 13:35 on September 12th, 2008
Not that I agree at all with Mr. Kay's politics, but this editorial he wrote back in 2003 seems to be relevant to the discussion at hand ...
Source: geocities.com
at 13:49 on September 12th, 2008
Nice bit of writing regardless.
I always wondered what happened to Grizzly Adams !
at 14:16 on September 12th, 2008
It's different, World_Groove ... I ended up on this guy's site after diving down a Civil War rabbit-hole ...
It just gets me to thinking that McCain is actually going after this type of voting block by choosing Palin as a running mate, whose main qualification as a vote magnet, besides the obvious physical package and all that implies, is her avowed status as a devout Christian Fundamentalist ...
It's like this campaign has become a seminar on the total irrelevancy of party issues, one that now deals in terms of the lowest common denominators of what definately seems to be a very befuddled American electorate ...
at 14:29 on September 12th, 2008
Emilio, thank you for reading this story, for adding Kay's opinion, and for the Flag.
at 15:03 on September 12th, 2008
Mr. Juan Cole. Let me educate you on the differences between a Christian fundamentalist and a Muslim fundamentalist, having had the latter up in my face while living in India (surviving the Muslim riots of W. Bengal) and traveling through Pakistan, and the former while here in America. I will preface this by saying that I find most Christians supremely annoying.
When a Christian fundamentalist doesn't like something, they 1) stage public protests, sometimes obnoxious public protests 2) sue somebody 3) try to get legislation passed that will make people do what they want them to do and, 4) try to get one of their own voted into office or on a court bench.
When a Muslim fundamentalist doesn't like something, they 1) cut off one of your appendages like say, your head 2) stone you to death and, 3) destroy you with whatever weapon is around including nukes if they ever get their hands on one.
Christian fundamentalism is a culture of life that I will acknowledge but never subscribe to. Muslim fundamentalism is a culture of death. Period.
at 15:12 on September 12th, 2008
never forget the Spanish Inquisition.... ... .. .Or Salem .... ... .. .Christians have had their fair share of oopsies in the past
at 02:53 on September 13th, 2008
More examples of the Palin Derangement Syndrome.
at 05:51 on September 13th, 2008
Rhonda J Mangus, I like this story. A good post, Rhonda. Its ironic that in the US there is a separation of powers between state and church. Yet would be presidents have to claim devout christian credentials! Here, there is no separation: bishops get a seat in the House of Lords!! Can you believe it! But in politics it is not very cool to be an open religious believer! As Tony Blair's press spokesperson said: We don't do religion!
at 07:02 on September 13th, 2008
Rhonda J Mangus, I like this story. It's good stuff.
When did America become so fundamentalist and divided? How can a nation that was founded in The Enlightnement have fallen so far from its founding principles?
The hypocracy of these people astounds me - praying for money - oh, please!
at 08:38 on September 13th, 2008
Rhonda J Mangus, I like this story. It's good stuff. Fanatics of any stripe are downright scary and, in power, can drag us all into another big mess no matter which country starts it.
at 10:20 on September 13th, 2008
gerrypopplestone, nothing surprises me anymore:)! Thank you for reading, commenting, and the Flag.
at 10:22 on September 13th, 2008
And I think it very interesting how people forget, World_Groove. Thanks again for commenting.