But now we got weapons of the chemical dust. If fire them we're forced to, then fire them we must. One push of the button and a shot the world wide. And you never ask questions when God's on your side. With God on Our Side (1963), Bob Dylan Winner, 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature
Violence in the name of religion, placing blind faith in brutal demagogues, and fear of “the other” have become the bane of modern life. Reviving the Iran nuclear crisis, chin jutting with Kim Jong Un, barring immigration, thoughts about nuclearizing Japan and South Korea - make even the most stoic person squirm. According to Mikael Gorbachev…”It all looks as if the world is preparing for war” [1]. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Einstein predicted complete annihilation of human civilization. “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones” [2]. We live under constant threat that a religious zealot or ethno-nationalist ideologue will thrust the world into nuclear darkness. The defining question of our time: How to bring sanity to this pandemic of insane thought?
As we continue to grapple with the challenge of violent extremism, perhaps we should all take a braincheck. Instead of lip-synching to the shrill braying of polemical pundits and belligerent blowhards, maybe we should tune in to the quieter, more discerning notes emanating from some of our [academic] laboratories [3].
On October 18, 2017, Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU D) stepped up. Through the combined sponsorship of eight academic departments and administrative offices, the University hosted a full-day colloquium entitled “Where Faith and Violence Coincide.” The overall purpose of the event was to promote prosocial attitudes and peaceful solutions to problems engendered by ethnic or religious conflict. Two primary objectives were addressed: 1) Understanding how people are so influenced by religious, ethnic or nationalistic propaganda that they become devoid of empathy and become willing to make ultimate sacrifices; 2) Learning strategies to promote peace between ourselves and those with vastly different world views.
Renowned speakers from Israel, Libya, and the U.S. presented some of the best ideas of our time. Keynote, plenary and panel presentations, were punctuated by lively dialogues between attendees and presenters. The day concluded with an inspirational dance performance of “Oh Mary Don’t You Weep” celebrating the spiritual power of art [4]. Although there was no shying away from the complexity of issues at hand, there were convincing arguments about how to move the peace process forward. Analysis of pre-and post-questionnaires assessing the impact of the event suggest replication around the globe.
In response to the widespread problem of domestic violence in post-revolution Libya, keynote speaker Alaa Murabit [5] founded the Voice of Libyan Women (VLW) . By discussing the peaceful messages of Islam, VLW established a strong rapport among both men and women. Using religion to gain local-level support VLW evolved into a unique way to promote peace on all levels of society. Dr. Murabit emphasized the importance of education and the necessity of including all factions, especially women, in every aspect of the peace process.
How many peace processes last 5 years? Less than 10% will last 5 years or longer. That means that 90% are failing...it usually takes 3 or 4 years and millions upon millions of dollars to even get them to go through. How many last if women are included? They are 35 times more likely to last 15 years. It is incredible, when you look at it from a data perspective….it is almost insane that we are not investing in women’s inclusion in the peace process.
Thomas Pyszczynski [6] is co-author of Terror Management Theory (TMT) [7]. Based on research conducted around the planet, TMT explains how the universal fear of death - the worm at the core of the human condition (William James) - is mitigated through shared religious values and cultural world views. Nationalistic and religious extremism is more likely when an individual or group perceives existential threat. Aggressive attitudes, advocacy for violence, and submission to a populist demagogue may be ginned-up through fear mongering. Consistent with this perspective Ryan Lenz [8] provided data showing that following the inauguration of our current president there has been a precipitous emergence of visible hate groups and a staggering increase in reported hate crimes across the US. Vulgarity and hate appear to have gone public.
It is [fear] that make people so willing to follow brash, strong looking demagogues with tight jaws and loud voices: those who focus their measured words and their sharpened eyes in the intensity of hate, and so seem most capable of cleansing the world of the vague, the weak, the uncertain, the evil. Ah, to give oneself over to their direction – what calm, what relief. - Ernest Becker [9]
Dr. Murabit’s message of advancing compassionate scriptural messages across all religions, is clearly supported by TMT. When people in the United States, Israel and Iran are reminded of compassionate and loving messages found in their own religion, hostility toward outsiders is diminished. In David Brooks’ [10] recent essay entitled “We must learn how to talk to fanatics,” he explains the positive impact of compassionate listening.
…[M]ost fanatics…are lonely and sad, their fanaticism emerging from wounded pride, a feeling of not being seen. [When] these people feel heard, maybe in some small way you’ll address the emotional bile that is at the root of their political posture.
For the alienated and downtrodden there is ample religious text calling for violence. Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi [11] argues that all biblical stories are fantasies, inspiring feelings of superiority and prejudice towards non-members, especially in the face of perceived threats to kinship or territory. Christians, Muslims and Jews are all subject to the same inflammatory rhetoric. According to Beit-Hallahmi, despite stories in ancient religious texts, in reality:
There was no Exodus, no conquest, and no extermination…the stories express a religious ideal of total extermination, which will be the fate of outsiders. This is a claim for superiority and exclusion, which means that outsiders are less than human.
Adam Graves [12] explains that the emergence of Christian fundamentalism is relatively recent (late 19th century). During medieval times and earlier, there was a prevailing belief that religious stories should be understood as figurative, serving to guide moral development. With the 16th century advent of science, questions arose about whether the Bible is also authoritative on scientific and historical grounds. Hence literalism took hold.
Arthur Gilbert [13] tackled the question of how social forces may invigorate more literal scriptural interpretations, as we observe them in recent times. There is a strong historical record of increasing religious fervor coinciding with a societal crisis, e.g., millennialism and self-flagellation, during the Middle Ages, when the plague annihilated 60% of Europe’s population. At this moment, destabilizing and competing forces of globalization vs. nationalism may constitute a major tectonic shift.
Several speakers used humor to diffuse the seriousness of their commentary. Graves told “the funniest religious joke ever,” as voted by the U.K based website, Ship of Fools [14].
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!" Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over. - Emo Philips (1985)
Consider the example of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland or the violence between Abrahamic people of the Middle East.
To the outsider it seems insane that people from similar ethnographic backgrounds can wage war against one another. Nader Hashemi [15] tackled the thorny issue of personal motives behind radical Islamism. He explained a common jihadi profile of disaffected French youth with virtually no religious training. Being part of a radical movement brings meaning and community to their battles with disillusionment, isolation and alienation, “the Islamization of radicalism [16]” - a kind of nihilistic and generational revolt with similarities to Western college students joining violent subcultures during the 60s and 70s. A group of Isis recruits, before traveling to Syria, was reported to have made the online purchase of Islam for Dummies [17].
For others there is a more religiously grounded spread of Wahhabism, an austere form of Islam with roots in Saudi Arabia, based on a literal interpretation of the Koran. Strict Wahhabis believe that all those who don't practice their form of Islam are heathens and enemies. On a psychological note, for some who follow a “radicalization of Islam” [18], there is an underlying depression. Because their religion forbids suicide, death through martyrdom allows entry into heaven and preservation of self-esteem.
There are far more cogent arguments for the attraction to Islamic extremism than the universal phenomenon of depression. Stephen Zunes [19] presented the systemic view that Islamic extremism is directly attributable to misguided US military actions in Israel, Afghanistan and Iraq. He cited the fact that for most of the last 500 years, the Muslim world was more peaceful than the Christian World.
There is nothing inherent in Islam that makes it more violent.
Why then, in recent times, has there been a disproportionate amount of terrorism in the name of Islam? Zunes explained that Osama Bin Laden was not an authority on Islam, yet he and other extremist leaders have been able to capitalize on palpable resentments toward the US: 1) US military presence in the Persian Gulf; 2) humanitarian consequences of US policies towards Iraq; 3) US support of the Israeli government; and 4) US backing of autocratic Arab regimes.
According to Zunes:
Virtually the entire military and political leadership of the so-called Islamic State are made of Iraqis radicalized by the US occupation and repression by the US backed Shia regime…There is broad consensus that there would be no Isis had there not been a US invasion.
Regarding progress toward peace, Zunes believes that because extremist movements will continue to exact enormous suffering, they will never gain power, hence an increased likelihood of “an eventual return to large scale non-violence against dictatorships and foreign occupation…a strategy that has had a great deal of past success in overthrowing autocratic regimes in Muslim countries. Zunes final argument was:
Given the critically important role that US foreign policy had played in creating conditions for extremism, perhaps the most important place for non-violent resistance in support of freedom in the Islamic world is right here in the United States.
Following the thread of non-violent means to maintain peace in post-conflict societies, Lucy McGuffey [20] discussed the role of secularism as a means to mitigate religious conflict. She argues that the primacy of secularism can be exclusionary and divisive in human conflict resolution. When religious groups are “tolerated’ there is implied superiority of non-religious perspectives. McGuffey advocates for moving the dial to a position of equal “respect” for religious and secular worldviews.
If we could rethink difference, so instead of it being an inherent problem that needs to be resolved by recognizing that we are all the same…we could think of difference as the creative potential by which we learn about the lives of others, by which we are given the gift of different perspectives of the world, and in which we are given the sense of the possibility of other ways of organizing life and of living.
Eloquently stated by Alaa Murbit and unanimously validated by speakers throughout the day, there are several points of light:
- The issues of ethnic, nationalistic, and religious conflict are complex
- Avoid binary thinking, i.e., steer away from categorically “right or wrong” world views
- Solutions require understanding historical and contextual perspectives
- It is critical to “know what you are talking about”
- There are no simple solutions, i.e., “No Band Aids”
- Propagation of compassionate messages, inherent in all religions, can mitigate inhumane interpretations of scriptural doctrines
- Local and community-wide peace-oriented discussions are the starting point for systemic change.
- To attain durable peace, it is vital to include all factions, especially women, at the negotiating table.
There was unanimous consensus among all Colloquium presenters that education about the causes and successful interventions into extremist ideologies is essential to peaceful resolution of ethnic or religious conflict.
One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world - Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Laureate
Colloquium Highlights [21]:
References:
1. Mikhail Gorbachev. It all looks as if the world is preparing for war. Time Magazine, January 26, 2017.
2. Albert Einstein, in an interview with Alfred Werner, Liberal Judaism 16 (April-May 1949).
3. Dutton, K. and Abrams, D. What Research Says about Defeating Terrorism. Scientific American Mind. March 25, 2016.
4. Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Denver, Colorado.
5. Dr. Alaa Murabit. International advocate for inclusive peace processes.
6. Thomas A. Pyszczynski, Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.
7. Solomon,S. Greenberg, J. & Pyszczynski, T. ( 2015) . The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life. Random House
8. Ryan Lenz, Senior Investigative Writer, Intelligence Project, Southern Poverty Law Center.
9. Becker, E. (1971). The Birth and Death of Meaning, p. 161.
10. Brooks, D. We must learn how to talk with fanatics. The Scotsman, Oct. 27, 2017.
11. Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, Professor, University of Haifa, Israel.
12. Adam Graves: Professor, Department of Philosophy and Director of Religions Studies, Metropolitan State University of Denver.
13. Arthur N. Gilbert, Associate Professor, Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.
14. Emo Philips. The best God joke ever – and it’s mine! The Guardian, 29 September 2005.
15. Nader Hashemi, Director, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver.
16. Chotiner, I. (2016). The Islamization of Radicalism. Slate, 22 June 2016.
17. Clark, M. (2003) Islam For Dummies. Wiley Publishing, Inc.
18. Trofimov. Y (2016). Radicalization of Islam or Islamization of Radicalism? Wall Street Journal, 16 June, 2016.
19. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco; Associate Editor of Peace Review.
20. Lucy McGuffey, CU Denver, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science.
21. Video Production by David Sharman, Learning Spaces Specialist, Information Technology Services, Metropolitan State University of Denver.
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Harvey Milkman, Colloquium Chair, is Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, Metropolitan State University of Denver. Email: milkmanh@msudenver.edu