The identity of each individual consists of a series of life roles that together create the sense of self. A man can be a teacher or a businessman, a father, an ardent Cardinals fan, a weekend gardener, and a Christian, Jew, or Muslim. Being a golfer and a Republican can be part of the complex package in which various aspects of his personality are expressed throughout the week.
During the week, his attention is focused on his profession. At his son’s soccer game, he masters his role as a father, and the shifting balance depicts a happy life.
When a key part of her core identity comes under attack, this balance is destroyed as she musters her resources to defend who she is. In the worst, but not rare, cases, men kill in defense of an aspect of their lives they once took for granted.
Ten years ago, the daily worries of a Muslim American were similar to those of his Christian neighbors. He was perhaps a little more proud to be an American, especially when he read about corruption or violence in his former home country. His work schedule ruled out Friday prayers at the mosque, but the family prayed at home and he felt secure in his faith.
When the 9/11 attack drew negative attention to Muslims, he realized that his neighbors no longer saw him as just another father in the ball game, but felt safe in the American Constitution that gives everyone the right to freedom of religion.
Fast forward to 2010, and you see crowds chanting attacks on Islam in New York, and someone in Florida planning a public burning of Qurans. She now dominates one aspect of his identity. He is a Muslim and his faith is under attack. As a father and husband, his response may be limited to disappointment with his chosen country. If he is young, he may feel compelled to fight to defend his faith.
Incendiary rhetoric has the same effect on a young Christian, as we saw in the student who stabbed a Muslim taxi driver after he admitted his faith.
The current poisoned atmosphere where attacks on the faith of others have become a political tool is a danger to all of us. General Petraeus has warned that those who flaunt burning the Koran will cause the deaths of young American soldiers who do not support such action but find themselves in a vulnerable position. We are going down a path that will probably end badly. Have we forgotten Hitler and the Jews?
Both the Bible and the Qur’an emphasize treating your neighbor as you want to be treated. Nothing in the Qur’an supports attacks on innocent civilians in the World Trade Center or on the streets of Baghdad or Kandihar. Al Qaeda has openly declared its goal to divide the American people and vilify this country in the Middle East. We must not allow this radical sect to create an “us against them” climate based on religion.
Our founding fathers wrote freedom of religion into the Constitution. For more than two hundred years, our nation and individuals have benefited from that freedom. Fear should not lead us to discard it.
