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Getting back to fundamentals in Iraq

By Taya Fabijanic - posted Monday, 3 April 2006


The secular democracy underlying the US, Australian and UK government dictates that religion and state are firmly separated in the governance of its peoples. This form of democracy saw in infancy, as a precaution against a monopoly on scientific, philosophical and aesthetic beliefs, inequality among all citizens and a caste or feudal system in society.

A primary concession during this evolution of democracy was that religion was valued in shaping the moral and ethical beliefs of individuals, if so they chose, to support rational decision-making, never to undermine it. One would assume that secular democracy would influence the strategy, orientation and world-view of the coalition’s invasion of Iraq, but sadly, both Blair and Bush have made God’s whisper a public spectacle.

Bush repeatedly made fundamentalist public gaffs an art form in the constant praise of God in White House addresses: particularly alongside the terms “war in Iraq”, “the tragedy of September 11” and “the hunt for al-Qaida”, and through the infusion of political speech with such terms as “the coalition of the willing”, “the good and the willing”, “evil people” and a whole list of biblical compound nouns.

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It is regretful that Tony Blair uttered such a silly statement, a statement that brings to light the prominence of fundamental religious motivation to political decisions. Furthermore, it contradicts his earlier statements on the role of religion in politics. For example, in 2005 he said in a BBC report that faith was very important on a personal level however it could quickly become misinterpreted if brought into the public sphere.

"I don't want to end up with an American-style type of politics with us all going out there and beating our chests about our faith," he said.

The most current implications of such “chest-beating” can be seen in the killing of American peace activist Tom Fox, whose body was found on  March 9, 2006 in the Mansour district of the capital, Baghdad. Fox, who had been shot dead by unknown assailants, was among four peace activists kidnapped in Iraq last November. The activists were from the “Christian Peacemaker Teams” NGO.

But this is only one example shown by the hostility of Muslims worldwide against what they see as a Christian invasion in their lands.

In 2001 the Taliban in Afghanistan arrested Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer for trying to convert families in Kabul. Bonnie Witherall was killed in Lebanon while working in a Christian mission in November, 2002. Martin Burnhamin was kidnapped and murdered in the Philippines in November, 2002 and three Southern Baptist missionaries were killed in Yemen in 2003.

Bringing God into a justification for invading another country undermines not only the death of British soldiers, as family members of those who died pointed out in a BBC report of March 4, 2006, but it also undermines the spiritual and moral values of many Iraqis who died and the Iraqi’s who continue to suffer.

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As more resistance grows against the war from people of all religions and none, let neither Blair nor Bush shift responsibility for what they have done onto God. And if God ultimately bears responsibility for the destruction of an entire nation it is not up to Blair to communicate this to the public.

For as Ambrose Bierce and the doctrines of Islam and Christianity imply, it is humankind, not God, who need to be responsible for what they have learned, and what it took to get there.

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Article edited by Lynda White.
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About the Author

Taya Fabijanic is a freelance journalist. She recently completed a Masters paper on the media representation of nation building in Afghanistan.

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