REZA ASLAN ON "COSMIC WAR"

In my last blog I reintroduced Reza Aslan, author of
No God But God, the best book on Islam available in
English, and probably the best in any language! Why
is it so good? Because the history of the religion is
there, warts and all, along with clear explanations of
the main doctrines. Aslan, an American Muslim born
in Iran, has studied the main writings of Islam in Arabic.
While I won't say that no non-Muslim can fully under-
stand that religion, I will say that Muslims fully edu-
cated in their faith are in a better position to under-
stand it than any non-Muslim. In other words, the
view from inside is different (and better) than the
view from outside the circle of belief. That would be
the case, I believe, with any religion.

Now Reza Aslan (RA) has brought his profound under-
standing of his faith, with its rich variety of peoples and
teachings, to a discussion of the clashes going on between
Muslims and the West. The result is a second brilliant
effort as valuable as the first. Jim Wallis says of this
new book, How to Win a Cosmic War, "Aslan makes the
case that the War on Terror is an unwinnable one, pre-
cisely because it is the wrong war to fight. A war between
religions, a battle between good and evil, a 'cosmic war,'
fails to address the underlying social and political roots
of conflict and terror. For people of faith and all those
concerned with peace in our world, Aslan's exacting prose
and depth of discernment create an enticing and neces-
sary read."

While RA discusses the origins of Christian "cosmic war"
teachings in the Crusades, and the lasting effects on Mus-
lims of those Crusades (and Mr. Bush's unfortunate use
of that poison term after 9/11), his most valuable insights
are into Jihadism, its history and spread and appeal to
certain kinds of Muslim youth that are culturally adrift.

He points out that: "According to a 2006 poll by the Pew
Global Attitudes Project, 70% of Egyptians, 70% of Indo-
nesians, 73% of Pakistanis, 85% of Jordanians, and 88%
of Turks (all U. S. allies, by the way) have an unfavorable
view of the U. S. If the War on Terror is an ideological
battle for the hearts and minds of Muslims, there should
no longer be any question that the battle has been lost."
(Emphasis mine.)

Jerry Falwell proudly proclaimed God to be "prowar."
That's the Old Testament God of Israel, of course, not the
"God is love" of the new. Pres. Bush, following 9/11, re-
peatedly said it is America's task to "rid the world of evil."
That's Cosmic War talk. He said further that "America is
the hope of all mankind . . . the light that shines in dark-
ness . . ." in other words, America is the light of the world.
The same as Jesus!

RA explains further: "The concept of cosmic war, which in
its simplest expression refers to the belief that God is
actively engaged in human conflicts on behalf of one side
against the other, is deeply engrained in the Hebrew Bible.
'God is a man of war' (Exodus 15:3). In 1 Sam. God orders
Saul to attack the Amalekites and "utterly destroy all that
they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman,
child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." A simi-
lar fate was ordered for Achan, his wife and children and
their children. (Josh. 6:21)"

Folks, the world didn't change on 9/11. Nothing changed
in China, or India, or Africa, or S. America. Nothing really
changed in the Israel/Palestine conflict, or the Kashmir
stand-off between India and Pakistan. What changed was
our awareness of the world, our recognition of hatred
against us (not entirely unearned), and our feeling of
vulnerability. Our fear made us over-react, just as bin
Laden expected and planned. "This battle is not between
al Qaida and the U. S.," he said, This is a battle of Mus-
lims against the global Crusaders." He wants it to be, and
sees it as, a cosmic war. RA's answer to how do you win
a cosmic war? Don't fight it! Deal patiently and intelli-
gently with the real issues that divide us. This not a
"clash of civilizations." That's hogwash, and he explains
why. Military force is necessary to protect us, but it
cannot solve the specific issues we have in various parts
of the world. We can't make friends by killing children,
said Pres. Karzai of Afghanistan the other day. It can't
be done! Or by terrorizing Pakistanis with our drones
that strike without warning both friend and foe.

I urge you to read Aslan's book. Here's what Bernard
Avishai, author of The Hebrew Republic said about it:
"How to Win a Cosmic War hovers confidently over a
vast historical terrain, landing where it must to explore
how common and terrible apocalytic thinking is -- how
it plagues every religious tradition, every inspired na-
tionalism, and cannot be defeated with brute force, upon
which it thrives. This is a unique primer for pragmatic
leaders whose patient enlightenment is the real antidote
to terror."