Anti-Muslim hate is at record levels in the United States, in Europe, and in much of the Western world. This is due to a well funded and coordinated political and media strategy to make Muslims the scapegoat. And the impact is devastating. This fear mongering has long played an integral role in justifying the “War on Terror,” mass surveillance, and the gutting of our civil rights under the guise of national security.
In other words, the harmful impact of anti-Muslim hate doesn’t just stop with Muslims, it extends to broader society. Every bomb dropped on a school in Gaza is funding denied to a school here in the United States. Every expansion of Flock cameras is a gutting of our privacy. Every NSA wire tapping of our phones is a stripping of our rights under the 4th Amendment.
This is a much longer conversation, to be sure, but one of the voices leading the charge against this hate and fear mongering is none other than His Holiness Pope Leo.
On a recent flight, His Holiness was asked:
Some Catholics in Europe believe that Islam is a threat to Christian identity of the West. Are they right, and what would you say to them?
Listen to the Pope’s response:
I appreciate several things about how the Pope answers the question.
First, it’s grounded in lived experience. He is not asking his followers to do something he is not doing. He is leading by example and engaging with Muslims across the world to show the need for meaningful dialogue and engagement.
Next, the Pope’s answer acknowledges the fears some may hold, and acknowledges the fear generated by xenophobic and anti-immigrant sentiment. He doubles down that despite these fears, dialogue and friendship between Muslims and Christians is possible. He points to Lebanon, which is about 40% Christian and 60% Muslim, to show how two large religious communities can live in peace.
Moroever, he notes that despite religious differences, both Christians and Muslims are in this together. For example, he points out that both Christians and Muslims have had their villages destroyed [by the Israeli government] in Lebanon. This part is critical, because the Pope exemplifies that at the end of the day, a bomb does not discriminate in who it harms or kills, and therefore we must remain united against all forms of violence and injustice.
Finally—the Pope has bucked a historical trend. While Pope Francis was likewise compassionate in his engagement with Muslims, Pope Benedict was not. Historically, the Crusades are well documented acts of centuries long violence waged by the Catholic Church against Muslims—sanctioned and launch by the Pope himself. And even in contemporary times, who can forget that George Bush described his illegal invasion of Iraq as a “Crusade.” Or how even now, Secretary of “War” continues to allege that the illegal attack on Iran has divine mandate. In this backdrop, the Pope’s courage is more critical than ever before, and it’s important we elevate it to maximize its impact.
Pope Leo is modeling a path forward that actually works—grounded not in theory, but in lived reality.
The alternative is one we’ve seen fail for the past five decades, yes, from even before 9/11. A path of scapegoating Muslims, of the manufactured threat of WMDs, of endless war justified by anti-Muslim hate. This 50-year track record goes back to Ronald Reagan arming the Mujahideen in Afghanistan—enabling what would later become the Taliban. Has that made anyone safer, anywhere in the world?
Absolutely not.
We have tried that politics of fear. It has made us less safe, less free, and less human.
The Pope gets it that Muslims and Christians are not each other’s enemies. We cannot let billionaire-funded fear campaigns, complicit corporate media, and warmongering politicians funded by defense contractors tell us otherwise. The sooner we reject that propaganda, the sooner we can build the world that both our faiths, at their best, have always demanded. Indeed, the world that people of all faiths and no faith demand, one committed to universal human rights and absolute justice. His Holiness is courageously leading by example—even withstanding threats from the Trump regime. The rest of our leaders should find the courage to follow.
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