Rabbi Philip Lefkowitz writes: The issue of why the press does not explore the elements within Islam that give rise to terrorism and beheading was brought to the fore recently by conservative commentator Bernie Goldberg. He stated that were he to have been a reporter in the time of the Spanish Inquisition, he would have written extensively on what elements in Roman Catholicism give rise to the barbarism of the Catholic clergy.
Let me hasten to add, when one speaks of barbarism exhibited by a religious community, when considering torture and horrid means of inflicting death upon another in the name of religion, I would suggest that Torquemada could give lessons to ISIS on the subject.
His answer to this dilemma, the rationale for the media not to inquire, was the general left of center view held by most reporters, that Muslims have been the recipients of cruelty and discrimination visited upon them by Western civilization and therefore they have to be pitied for their suffering, which somewhat justifies the actions of the more militant elements of that religion.
I wholeheartedly disagree with Bernie. That which ultimately fortifies the barbarism of both Christianity and Islam against each other and the Jewish people in particular is a singular foundational element of their theology which they share – they are both “universal churches” – both faiths believe they are the true word of G-d to the exclusion of all other religions. It is this commonality of belief which must be addressed, one which Christendom in all its manifestations refuses to admit. Even the most left-wing of the media, is not willing to take on this reality, that of asking the Christian world to take a good look into the face of the Muslim terrorist and realize that behind that scarf is their own face.
While many in the Jewish community hailed Nostra Atatae issued by Pope Paul VI on October 28, 1965 as a new beginning for Catholic-Jewish relations, this document never stepped back from Catholicism’s belief in Replacement Theology- the Church is the new Jewish People. “True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ ;(13) still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ.”
As for Islam, an honest expositor of Islam, a former attorney in the United Kingdom, Anjem Choudary, has continuously given voice to the true belief of Islam as a universal church. “Look, at the end of the day innocent people—when we say ‘innocent people’ we mean Muslims—as far as non-Muslims are concerned they have not accepted Islam and as far as we are concerned that is a crime against God.
What we are left to consider then is, why Christians no longer resort to torture and murder in propagating their faith, relying upon missionary efforts instead, while Islam continues to do so. The answer would seem to be the difference between Western society and the societies of the Middle East.
