Fwd: Christian intolerance editorial

Begin forwarded message:

> Columbus Dispatch ed. page
>
> Tale of 2 Smiths holds a moral for all Christians
> Monday, March 21, 2005
> LEONARD PITTS
>
> When the man came to, he asked why Smith had beaten him unconscious.
> "Because I'm Christian," Smith said.
>
> The anecdote comes from a story alleging prisoner abuse at Guantanamo
> Bay,
> Cuba, written by my colleague, Miami Herald reporter Carol Rosenberg,
> and
> published Sunday before last. Her report, based on recently
> declassified
> notes taken by lawyers representing the captives, included other
> claims of
> religious intimidation. Prisoners say their American captors kicked and
> stomped Qurans, cursed Allah and denied them pants, knowing Muslims are
> prohibited from praying with bodies uncovered. A man who refused to
> surrender his pants said he was gang-tackled, beaten and
> pepper-sprayed.
>
> Still, it's Jumah al Dossari's alleged encounter with a military
> policeman
> he knew only as Smith that leaps out.
>
> Why did you beat me until I blacked out? he asked Smith. "Because I'm
> Christian," Smith said.
>
> Yeah, I know. Dossari's probably no Boy Scout. Maybe had his hand in
> some
> major nastiness. Maybe isn't telling the truth.
>
> But his character is beside the point. And as for truth, well, this
> account sure jibes with those of other Muslim detainees who described
> brute-force attempts to make Christians out of them.
>
> Add to that last year's whiny complaints that saying happy holidays as
> opposed to Merry Christmas somehow threatens the foundations of
> Christendom. And the caterwauling crusade to force public display of a
> rock bearing the Ten Commandments. And recently renewed attempts to
> force
> schools to teach so-called creation science.
>
> What you get is an unsettling picture of intolerance and arrogance
> under
> the guise of faith, renewed proof that religious people are often the
> worst advertisement for religious life.
>
> Then, there's Ashley Smith.
>
> She is the 26-year-old woman from Duluth, Ga., who was taken hostage
> this
> week by accused rapist and escaped Atlanta courtroom shooter Brian
> Nichols. Smith knew even before this what trouble is. Four years ago,
> her
> husband was stabbed and died in her arms. And The New York Times
> reports
> that she has a history of arrests for shoplifting, drunken driving and
> assault.
>
> Then, says Smith.s family, she found God and, through God, change. They
> say it was what she knew about hurting, about life at the end of your
> rope, that enabled her to reach out to Nichols. By her account, she
> talked
> to him about God. She encouraged him to think about his purpose in the
> divine design. She reminded him that the people he is alleged to have
> killed were loved. She made him pancakes. In a word, she ministered to
> him.
>
> And he, in response, let her go.
>
> Compare this Smith with the one at Guantanamo. It.s hard to imagine a
> starker contrast.
>
> I am loath to question anybody's bona fides where religious beliefs are
> concerned. Still, if the Smith at Guantanamo Bay embodied the faith he
> professed, might not Jumah al Dossari have wound up asking different
> questions?
>
> Might he not have said, Smith, why do you treat me decently? Why do you
> respect my religion when the others don't? Why did you stop them from
> beating me?
>
> Then it would have made sense, would have been a stirring affirmation,
> for
> Smith to reply, "Because I'm Christian."
>
> As it is, this Smith affirms only the niggardliness of spirit that so
> often masquerades as faith. I could spend the rest of the day
> explaining
> why niggardliness and faith are mutually exclusive, could fulminate in
> righteous rebuke of religious bullies who see faith as a license to
> mistreat instead of as an obligation to serve.
>
> But it is enough, I think, to point to this other Smith, making
> pancakes
> for a man with a gun, seeking humanity in the despicable.
>
> I can.t put it any better than she already did.
>
> Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary,
> is a
> columnist for the Miami Herald.
Received on Mon Mar 21 13:22:16 2005