Separate true religion and terrorism

Anders Behring Breivik is, without question, a terrorist and should be treated as a terrorist. The unspeakable tragedy that he brought upon the people of Norway is beyond comprehension. The question of whether or not Breivik should be called a “Christian Terrorist” is not a simple one to answer.

Frankly, so many in the media have spent the last decade using the term “Muslim terrorist” to reference any terrorist act committed in the name of Islam, by that standard, it seems only fair to call Breivik a “Christian terrorist.” Fair is fair.

But the problem is that it’s not fair. It was not fair when done to the Muslim community and it would not be fair to repeat the error in relation to the Christian community. Combining terms like “Muslim” and “terrorist” is at best lazy journalism and, at worst, a blatant attempt to smear an entire religion based on the actions of a few who claim to adhere to that religion. The erroneous and unfair implication is that all coreligionists of terrorists are somehow responsible for the few who follow an extreme interpretation or contradictory definition of their religion.

As a Christian, I am no more responsible for Brevik’s murderous actions than Mohamed Ali is responsible for September 11. Let’s be consistent, please! Let’s be fair.

The consequences of terrorism are bad enough standing alone. To allow blame-placing for a terrorist act to demonize an entire religion and divide the international religious community adds insult to injury and benefits absolutely nobody. It should have happened a long time ago, but since it did not, now is the time to stop explaining terrorism by scapegoating in such a manner that creates an environment that unnecessarily maligns others and poisons the attitudes of even more.

Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy  | Jul 28, 2011 11:20 AM