By
C. Andrew
Prior
to 9/11 the Taliban government in Afghanistan did not register very much on
American radar screens, with one notable exception: when it blew up two
colossal images of the Buddha in Bamiyan province in early 2001. But
destruction of treasured artifacts isn’t just limited to the Taliban.
There’s a right-wing politico-religious outfit
(Christian Taliban) centered in the US, with a global reach, engaging in
similar practices, destroying religious and cultural artifacts as a key aspect
of its ideology of “Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare” (SLSW.
The phrase “Christian Taliban” is used to
refer to the ultra-conservative and imperialistic Evangelical Christian
movement begun in America by the likes of Francis Schaeffer and R.J. Rushdoony.
The doctrines of that movement call for a
takeover of the American government and nation by Christians, and the
imposition of Biblical laws, including the execution of homosexuals, adulterous
women, women who have had abortions, etc. Once this takeover of America is
accomplished, the next step is to use American power to Christianize the rest
of the world. The ultimate goal is to replace secular democracy, both in
America and around the world, with a Christian theocracy, and ideology known as
“dominionism”.
The supposed purpose is to “purify” the world
for Christ’s return – again, strikingly similar to what the Taliban believed,
but also significantly at odds with more common, long-standing Christian
beliefs about the “end times”, as well as the nature and purpose of prayer, and
the roles of human and divine power. According to evangelical Christians, the
United States was founded on Biblical principles. It is part of their mission
to return the United States to a Christian nation.
One way they have tried to make this change is
by fighting to restore biblical teachings and principles back into schools.
Opponents cite that these evangelicals are going against the Contitution, which
clearly defines a separation between church and state. According to the Constitution
people are free to practice their religion of choice, but it also protects
citizens from the establishment of a national religion.
Evangelical Christians in the United
States, on one hand condemn Muslim Extremism as a threat to the country and their
way of life, while on the other hand clearly endorsing their own from of
extreme religious authoritarianism. This form of religion establishes a
tribally divisive “us” versus “them” mentality, which places “our” rights and
prerogatives above the needs of any other group. And it’s used repeatedly as
the basis for denying other people’s rights – particularly their freedom to
choose and even their right to exist. It’s worth mentioning that in the south
religion buttressed this tribal mentality to force a separation between whites
and blacks, who were/are seen as inferior.
This tribalism is deeply embedded in white
suburban Christian thinking, and accepted without question, using words like
“righteousness” or “faith” or “Christ-given mission,” and hiding behind ideas
like “tradition” and “heritage” and “family values” won’t cover up this fact.
And it is up to every freedom-loving person, who prefers freedom of choice,
freedom of worship, who cares about protecting women’s rights and equality for
all, and advancing reason and scientific knowledge, to be aware and oppose it.
If evangelicals hate tyranny, they should be
very wary of becoming tyrants. But evangelicals will never see themselves as
tyrants, because they are commanded by their faith to be “missionaries for
Christ.” This mandate engages them in a zero-sum game to convert the country,
indeed the whole world, to their faith. And over the decades they have
increasingly reached for more and more political power to achieve this goal.
This is exactly what ISIS proposes, by trying to establish a global Muslim
caliphate. The goal of religious extremists, regardless of faith, is always the
same.
This ‘Talibization’ has roots both in
the US government and few of the white militant groups in the country. The
emerging waves of Christian Taliban under Bible – thumping fundamentalists are
bent on shaping the US government on ‘theocracy’. For instance, Jeff Sessions
(Attorney General of the US) wants Sharia law in the US, but of the biblical
variety. In his statement he said, ‘I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and
his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government
because God has ordained the government for his purpose’ while Ted Cruz
(presidential candidate), calls himself a Christian first and and an American
second. To really politicize religion and bring the theocracy in the mainstream
of US politics, a bunch of politicized clerics are bringing Christian religious
transforms.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee
Sanders gave the statement in response of a question about why the Trump
administration is separating immigrant children from their parents. ‘It is very
Biblical to enforce the law. That is actually repeated a number of times
throughout the Bible.’ Michael Richard Pence, the Vice President of the US,
said in one of his speech that ‘I’m a Christian, a Conservative, a
Conservative, and a Republican, in that order.’ Mullah Jim Bakker said to
‘obey’ Trump because ‘God had him elected’, a language of theocracy unexpected
in the US democracy.
It is mentionable that Donald Trump
administration is seeking to make the case for Christian Supremacism in the US
that is evident from the statements made by the finest harpers of his troupe.
US authorities remain reluctant to call the extremists’ acts by the Christian
US nationals as ‘Terrorist Incidences’ and have been labeling them as just
‘Hate Crimes’ or ‘Act of Evil’ in contrast to such crimes commited by the
Muslims that are termed as ‘extremism, radicalism and terrorism’.
Christian
groups including government officials in Trump administration hijack and
pervert religion in the US and aim to impose new and oppressive laws. Extremist
Christians have consistently posed a bigger domestic terrorist threat than
Muslim foreigners who are treated as wizards of terrorism. This is likely to
lead the US governmental structure towards an extreme religious mindset on the
lines of the Crusades. One of the oldest and best-established forces in the
Christian Taliban attack on secular government has been the Christian
Coalition.
Recently the group threw its full weight
behind the President’s push for a constitutional amendment banning gay
marriage. The Christian Coalition has been conducting a “Let’s Take America
Back” national petition drive over the last several months, which now also
includes support for the so-called Federal Marriage Amendment.
Domestic extremism in the US mainly
has two origins, i.e. “homegrown” (mainly Islamic extremism), however,
statistics of US Govt Accountability office (GAO) indicate that during the last
16 years (2001 – 2017), 74% of attacks have been undertaken by the homegrown
extremist elements. These 16 years are those that have allegedly been termed as
the rise of Islamic extremism in the US, which is not supported by the
statistics. These dual standards of the US should be questioned by countries
that have remained target of US criticism of supporting terrorism including
Pakistan.
Between 1990 and 2014, the US Extremist Crime
Database (ECDB) identified 178 homicide events motivated by far-right
extremism, with 413 killings including the Oklahoma City bombing. The data for
2015-2017 shows eight homicide events committed by far-right extremists that
killed 27 people. This data reveals that far-right extremists tend to be more
active in committing homicides than Islamist extremists in the US. Evidence
also shows that far-right violent extremism poses a particular threat to law
enforcement and racial, ethnic, religious, minorities and a severe threat to
the US national security.
The Nation Institute’s Investigative Fund and
The Center for Investigative Reporting also revealed that there were almost
twice as many terrorist incidents by right-wing extremist as by Islamist
extremists in the US from 2008 to 2016. The database shows 115 cases by
right-wing extremists from White Supremacists to militias to sovereign citizens
compared to 63 cases by Islamist extremists.
The
existence of different opposing group in a society being a natural phenomenon
has a legal acceptance in the US as long as someone does not commit crimes or
violence based on those beliefs.
However, rise in the number of extremist
groups in the recent past increase of violence in US society as a result has
raised many eye brows both home and abroad. Adopting extremist views and
committing horrendous acts of violence in the name of some ‘righteous’ cause in
the US, be it religion or politics or just plain old hatred, isn’t something
that only Muslims, or Arabs, or immigrants, or any other group of people
commit. It’s something beyond that as demonstrated by politically backed
extremists Christian Taliban.
It may be concluded that emergence of
Christian Taliban has created white supremacists having anti-Muslim and
anti-Jew feelings in US as the case of extremist organizations present in
Pakistan such as LeJ, SSP, TJP, AI,LI, TNSM, HuT, TTP, etc., that are posing
threat to the peace of the country. But it is notable that in Pakistan the
extremist elements are dealt with iron hand but the case of Christian Taliban
in US is otherwise which shows the existing fault lines of US society.
Last
but not the least, it is said that statements by the government or its
representatives inciting religious sentiments as quoted above would do nothing
but will give rise to religious hatred in the heterogeneous US society.
That religious hatre would ultimately endanger
the peace of the World. So it is need of hour that US should also pay attention
to emerging threat of Christian Taliban instead of propagating that only
Islamist extremist elements are threat to the World peace.
