feotakahari

I’ll write up my thoughts from a Utilitarian perspective once I’m finished, but I’m curious what a Muslim perspective would look like. Islamic theology isn’t my specialty, but I understand there’s a treachery-of-images thing going on. If you worship a picture of Allah, you’re not actually worshiping Allah; you’re worshiping the picture itself, and giving it reverence that should be reserved for Allah. The church in Blasphemous (a grotesque parody of Catholicism) treats the creation of lavish art as a form of worship in and of itself—more gold, more gems, more labor, more beauty = more holiness. As a Utilitarian, I’m appalled at wasting so much money on luxury while the poor sicken and starve, but I imagine a Muslim would really enjoy beating these people up.

 The free world… all of Christendom… is at war with Islamic horror. Not one penny of American treasure should be granted to any nation who harbors these heathen animals. Not a single radicalized Islamic suspect should be granted any measure of quarter. Their intended entry to the American homeland should be summarily denied. Every conceivable measure should be engaged to hunt them down. Hunt them, identify them, and kill them. Kill them all. 

-Congressman Clay Higgins, U.S. House of Representatives, 3rd District of Louisiana

If I lived in a country run by Muslims, I’d probably care a lot more when people argued about whether Islam is a bad thing.

If I lived in a country where Muslims wrote the laws, I’d have to care what the Muslims in question considered punishable by death. For that matter, I’d have to care whether they believed in the death penalty at all! I’d have to care whether they let women go out without a hijab, or what they did to women convicted of adultery. But I live in a country where Christians write the laws, and if I’m ever put to death, it will most likely be by Christians.

If I lived in a country where Muslims directed the culture, I’d have to care what they considered inappropriate. I’d have to care if people discriminated against me for not praying, or if they thought it was un-Islamic to drink alcohol. It would matter to me if people disliked my fiction for going against Muslim values, or if they disliked my blog for supporting things good Muslims shouldn’t support. But I live in a country where the culture is set by Christians, and when people who think they’re righteous say things that horrify me, they’re usually quoting what the Bible told them.

If I criticize Christianity a lot, that’s not because I think Christianity is worse than Islam. Nor do I think it’s better, or exactly the same, because I don’t know or care enough to say any of those things. But when people say that America is adopting “Sharia law” or “surrender tactics,” a little research usually reveals that they’ve got the wrong end of the stick. America is a Christian country, no matter how much I wish it weren’t, and when I talk about America, I have no choice but to talk about Christianity.