Peace in the Face of War

from the region are viewed with the same suspicion. If you are a Palestinian or
an Iraqi, you are regarded as a security threat whatever your religion. Western
unfamiliarity with Arabic names does not help. Two of my closest Christian
friends from Iraq are called Osama and Jihad. These are everyday names where
they come from, but in the West they set alarm bells ringing.) The remarks
of Iran’s (former 1 ) president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, about Israel have
further reinforced the idea that Islam, and especially Shia Islam, is essentially
aggressive. Nothing could be further from the truth. The majority of Muslims
in Iraq are Shia and I have found most of them to be peace-loving people.
This is not to deny the worldwide threat of al-Qa’ida. Today the danger it
poses is real. Kenya, Tanzania, America, Indonesia, Spain, Britain, Algeria
and Pakistan, among others, have all suffered the consequences of its
fundamentalist zeal. The result is that not only Islam but religion in general
has gained a very bad name. So often when people in the West learn that I am
a priest they start complaining about religion. They tell me that it is a major
cause of most of the wars in the world today. I totally agree with them. They
find this shocking, but I tell them that religion is like a hammer and chisel: it
can be used either to create something beautiful or to cause total havoc. Too
often it does the latter – as I point out when Christians tell me, as they often
do, that what the world needs now is more religion. Sadly, when religion
goes wrong, it really does go wrong. My job, however, is to try to make it go
right. As I frequently tell people: If religion is part of the problem, it must be
part of the solution.
I often watch Christian television when I am in Iraq. Most of it is American,
and most of it shows a profound lack of understanding of what is happening in
the wider world. Generally, it seems to be concerned only to make individuals
feel good about themselves and to tell them how they can prosper financially.
I find this hard to take when my people at St George’s have nothing. There is
no financial prosperity in store for them, and yet they are so sincere in their
love for the Lord. On the other hand, I find great encouragement in channels
such as the British-based God TV that have helped the FRRME so generously
to help those who have nothing. I often say to Christians that we not only
must pray for peace, we also must pay for peace. Too often we expect results
to come not only quickly but cheaply. This is a point I am constantly making
to governments and charitable trusts as well.
Demonizing Islam is not the only mistake we have made in the West, however.
We have misunderstood the very nature of this faith. When we talk of the
1
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the Sixth President of Iran from 2005-13
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