Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to hang for the deaths of 148 Kurds he claims were involved in an assassination attempt against him. While these deaths represent only a tiny fraction of the deaths of which he is guilty, the verdict may at last provide some closure for the Iraqi people.
Parts of Iraq are showing signs of becoming calm. The Baghdad area is still a war zone, but that may change with time. The question is, what will Iraq be like once the dust has finally settled? The new Iraqi constitution makes generous allowances to Islamic law. That could make the "new" Iraq a de facto Islamic regime. What a shame that would be. At this point it could go either way. Hard line Muslim fundamentalists will not peacefully retreat to the sidelines and allow a secular government to rule Iraq.
A number of changes must occur for Iraq to become a peaceful and free nation. First, the various factions must come together with an honest desire for peace. The Sunnis and Shiites must lay down their weapons and leave tribalism behind. The Kurds must have some degree of autonomy. And all of them must learn the hard lesson that there is no freedom to be had under a theocracy.
Our Founding Fathers recognized that last fact. Religion and government must coexist peacefully for freedom to be achievable. One governs the physical realm of people's day to day lives, while the other provides guidance to our hearts and minds. Unfortunately, one can easily make the case that hearts and minds guided by Islam end up wearing bomb belts and blowing up pizza parlors.
The Middle East is a deeply religious part of the world. More so than the United States and certainly more than secular Europe. The problem here is that Islam is such a violent religion. I'll not spend time extolling the virtues of Christianity. It should however, be noted that Christianity left its bloody history behind centuries ago. Baptists don't lop off the heads of Methodists, and Evangelicals don't strap on a bomb belt and blow up the local Kingdom Hall. Compare the reactions of Muslims around the world to the now-famous cartoons of Muhammad, and the quiet dignity and forgiving nature of the Amish in Pennsylvania after the recent bloodbath in a one-room schoolhouse near Lancaster.
Freedom of (or from, if you prefer) religion is among the most important freedoms any nation's people may possess. In Iraq, true religious freedom and equality would allow other teachings to be heard throughout the country and this could eventually lessen the influence of Islam. As Islam's iron-fisted grip was loosened, both the violence and the ignorance perpetuated by that vile so-called faith might finally begin to decline.
This of course begs the question: Can Iraq find its way to religious freedom? Do they even desire it?
I wish I knew. To put it mildly, Saddam was a brutal dictator. But if one can momentarily set aside the corruption and avarice of his regime, the reasoning behind his harsh ways becomes apparent. Had Saddam, who is more of a secularist than a zealot, sought to be a benevolent ruler, he'd have been overrun by Islamic fundamentalists. A pack of wild dogs is ruled by the meanest and strongest mutt of the pack, and Saddam was arguably the "baddest dawg" in all of Iraq. Iraq was a cruel and dangerous place under Saddam, but not so much as Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban. His willingness to kill political and ideological opponents kept much of Iraq in line, and the result was a somewhat orderly nation. Not a free nation by any stretch of the imagination, but an orderly one.
I'm not defending Saddam. He's an evil and egomaniacal man who richly deserves the noose. But I will go as far as to say that he isn't the worst of the evils lurking in the desert. As long as Islamic fundamentalists hold sway over the minds of the Middle East, there will be no true freedom. Well-meaning but misguided efforts by the US and other nations to "free" Arabs from Islamic rule will continue to meet violent resistance, and the reason is obvious to those willing to face the unpleasant truth.
Western-style freedom is looked upon as a corrupting influence by Islamic true believers. A culture that requires women to cover themselves head to toe for the sake of "decency" cannot be expected to embrace a way of life that might include bare breasts at Mardi Gras, mini skirts, hip hop music and gay marriage. Our culture is regarded with disgust and fear by Muslims. And that disgust and fear has lead to hatred and violence. The 911 attacks didn't occur because of any specific action by the US. Those attacks occurred because of what and who we are. The US has no desire to coerce Iraq to embrace indecent behavior, but many in the Middle East perceive otherwise.
The influence of Islam may very well be the downfall of Iraq's future. No civilized society can exist under the heel of an oppressive theocracy, and no religion is more oppressive than Islam. Until the Arab world recognizes the necessity of keeping religion and government out of each other's way, the Middle East will continue to be a place of death and destruction. To be honest, if they were only killing each other and leaving the rest of us alone, I doubt I'd care all that much. They've been busy destroying each other for centuries and they're not likely to change anytime soon. But that culture of death is spilling over into the civilized world, and the result has been chaos across Europe and the catastrophic attacks on the US in 2001.
Osama bin Laden has falsely claimed that America is at war with all of Islam. Perhaps it's time to make his claim a valid one. As long as Islam exists in its current form, there will be no end to the violence. Saddam Hussein wasn't the problem in Iraq. He was a symptom of the disease called "Islam."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
A number of my regular readers are atheists. And, I know that right about now some of you are thinking that if there was no religion in the Middle East that all this would simply go away. The reality of the situation is what it is, so please spare me the finger-pointing and sarcasm. Religion codifies the basic requirements of a civilized society. All of the great religions of the world, including Islam, have common ground in terms of civil behavior, honesty, solid work ethics, and humility. Each provides a Higher Authority to which all people are answerable for their wrongdoings regardless of their station in life.
For the sake of this discussion, it doesn't matter whether you believe that Man was created by God, or that religion is a creation of Man. It is the influence of Islam, not the origins of religion, that is at issue. And we can all agree upon how unfortunate it is that a fruitcake named Muhammad turned Islam into a centuries-long nightmare for the rest of the world. Frightening that one man can be responsible for so much death so long after he himself has turned to dust.
--Alan
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