Three Faiths -- Has the United States Become Judeo-Christian-Islamic?

NewHouse News Service ^ | 5/15/03 | Mark O'Keefe

[Incorrigible]

Has the United States Become Judeo-Christian-Islamic?

BY MARK O'KEEFE
Newhouse News Service

	Leading Muslim organizations say it's time for Americans to stop using the phrase "Judeo-Christian" when describing the values and character that define the United States. Better choices, they say, are "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" or "Abrahamic." Illustration by Monica Seaberry

 

Leading Muslim organizations say it's time for Americans to stop using the phrase "Judeo-Christian" when describing the values and character that define the United States.

Better choices, they say, are "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" or "Abrahamic," referring to Abraham, the patriarch held in common by the monotheistic big three religions.

The new language should be used "in all venues where we normally talk about Judeo-Christian values, starting with the media, academia, statements by politicians and comments made in churches, synagogues and other places," said Agha Saeed, founder and chairman of the American Muslim Alliance, a political group headquartered in Fremont, Calif.

Other national Muslim groups supporting a change include the Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR], the Muslim American Society and the American Muslim Council.

The budding movement is largely unformed, and religion watchers question whether it will succeed. Still, the call for new terms shows that words carry huge symbolic importance for Muslims trying to find their role in America after Sept. 11 and the Iraq war.

"These are not just let's-make-you-feel-good words," Saeed said. "These are words that define how we're related to each other."

Others take offense, arguing that to alter the phrase "Judeo-Christian" is political correctness and revisionist history at its worst.

"A lot of the ideas that underpin civil liberties come from Judeo-Christian theology," said the Rev. Ted Haggard of Colorado Springs, Colo., president of the National Association of Evangelicals. "What the Islamic community needs to make are positive contributions to culture and society so we can include them."

Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Washington-based Ethics and Public Policy Center, said a "Judeo-Christian understanding of things like freedom of conscience and liberty" are embodied in the Constitution. "No offense intended," he said, "but Muslims weren't a part of that, even though they're part of the discussion now."

The conflict illustrates the power of words, especially those touching on religion, national history and identity.

In a 2002 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, two-thirds of respondents said they consider the United States a "Christian nation" and 58 percent said the strength of American society is based on the religious faith of its people.

But only 14 percent said it is essential that a person believe in "basic Judeo-Christian values" in order to be a good American.

From its founding to the late 1940s, the United States was commonly described as Christian, a trend epitomized by an 1892 Supreme Court ruling in which Justice David Brewer wrote, "This is a Christian nation."

According to a 1984 scholarly article by religion writer Mark Silk, "Judeo-Christian" wasn't used to refer to a common American outlook of values and beliefs until World War II, when the supposedly Christian Nazis and their death camps made future references to "our Christian civilization" sound ominously exclusive.

"`Judeo-Christian,' which in 1952 looked like an incredibly inclusive term, doesn't look very inclusive now," said Silk, now director of the Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College, in Hartford. Conn., in an interview. "So we probably need a new term."

But, Silk acknowledged, "I think Judeo-Christian-Islamic is going to be hard for the public to accept at this moment when you've just had people attacking the United States in the name of Islam."

While "Judeo-Christian" may not be used with the frequency heard in the 1950s, it's still a part of the vernacular, uttered recently by public officials ranging from Republican Attorney General John Ashcroft to Sen. Ted Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat.

The movement to drop or change the phrase has some non-Muslim support, including the head of the National Council of Churches.

The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the council, which represents 36 Christian denominations, said he prefers "Abrahamic" to "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" because it "rolls off the tongue a little easier."

"The more inclusive we can be, the more committed we are to the founding fathers and mothers who struggled with the issue of respect for each other's religious faiths," Edgar said.

There are other arguments for change, among them these:

-- Numbers. The U.S. Muslim population is growing. Estimates are disputed but range as high as 7 million. This compares to an estimated 5 million Jews.

"Muslims are here, and there are 7 million of them, even though they're largely invisible to most Americans," said Saeed. "This necessitates some discussion about language."

-- Commonality. Even though many people emphasize the differences, Islam has similarities with Christianity and Judaism.

"We believe in heaven and hell, in doing good deeds, in following the Ten Commandments," said Hannah Hawk, a spokesperson for the Houston Muslim Public Affairs Council. "Islamic values are not only compatible with American values, they're almost identical. I personally believe the most Islamic country in the world is America, where we believe in freedom of religion, freedom of the press and equality of all."

-- Diplomacy. When President Bush mentions "churches and synagogues," he's quick to add "mosques," but many Islamic nations still perceive the United States as a Christian country bent on dominating Muslims in a modern-day crusade. An inclusive change of language could alter that view, said Zahid Bukhari, director of Muslims in the American Public Square at Washington's Georgetown University.

"It would convey a very positive message that it's not an issue of us versus them because Muslims are here," Bukhari said.

-- History. Some assert that African Muslims were among the slaves brought to America, as dramatized in Alex Haley's "Roots," a 1976 novel with a Muslim main character, Kunta Kinte. In addition, some argue that Islamic ideas helped shape the European West, which produced the values cherished by the Constitution's framers.

"What we call Western culture is in fact based on Muslim Middle East culture, but the average American doesn't know that," said Sharifa Alkhateeb, president of the Washington-based Muslim Education Council.

Alkhateeb, a consultant for textbook companies and school systems across the country, doesn't like "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" because it excludes other minority religions. But she finds "Judeo-Christian" as outdated as calling pluralism and multiculturalism "just having blacks and whites together."

Every time she meets public officials, whether Secretary of State Colin Powell or a small-town legislator, she asks them to include Muslim names and places in their speeches.

"It's exactly in those little things that people gain recognition as human beings or lose it," said Alkhateeb, who is also the founder of the North American Council for Muslim Women. "The Jewish movement in this country made people allergic to mention even a single word that could possibly be construed as anti-Jewish, and people don't even think about such words, much less speak them, now.

"How did that happen? One inch at a time, exactly as Muslims are trying to change the language now."

Osama Siblani, an influential voice among American Muslims and publisher of the Arab-American News in Dearborn, Mich., takes an even broader view.

"I believe we should call this the United States of America, made up of Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Jews and others," said Siblani. "This stuff about language has to stop. We are all just Americans."

(Mark O'Keefe can be contacted at mark.okeefe@newhouse.com)

Not for commercial use.  For educational and discussion purposes only.

[Incorrigible]

"The Jewish movement in this country made people allergic to mention even a single word that could possibly be construed as anti-Jewish, and people don't even think about such words, much less speak them, now."

Unless you're a member of the Nation of Islam or the Democratic Party.

 

[w_over_w]

Leading Muslim organizations say it's time for Americans to stop using the phrase "Judeo-Christian" when describing the values and character that define the United States.

Yeah . . . well we'll just see about that.

Lucifer has always been lurking and operating in our nation under one true God . . . the enemy's presence is just more prevalent with Islam.

[TLBSHOW]

Agha Saeed, founder and chairman of the American Muslim Alliance, a political group headquartered in Fremont, Calif.

Other national Muslim groups supporting a change include the Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR], the Muslim American Society and the American Muslim Council.

The budding movement is largely unformed, and religion watchers question whether it will succeed. Still, the call for new terms shows that words carry huge symbolic importance for Muslims trying to find their role in America after Sept. 11 and the Iraq war.

"These are not just let's-make-you-feel-good words," Saeed said. "These are words that define how we're related to each other."

Others take offense, arguing that to alter the phrase "Judeo-Christian" is political correctness and revisionist history at its worst.

.......
Agha Saeed = Hillary's outreach and terrorist front groups


The American Muslim Alliance's June fund-raiser for Senate candidate Hillary Clinton was simply a culmination of her outreach to militant Islamic groups. Beyond its anti-Israeli postings on its Web site, the AMA's head, Agha Saeed, has openly sanctioned the use of "armed resistance" against Israel and declared that the "Zionist occupiers of Palestine can be beaten back." At its 1997 annual convention, the AMA distributed an article by S.A. Ahsani, head of the AMA's Texas chapter, denying the existence of "Auschwitz, Birkenau and Majdanek." At AMA national conferences in 1997, 1998 and 2000, numerous speakers numerous speakers condemned the "Jewish and Zionist" lobbies and their "control" of the United States.

In the end, the issue is whether Mrs. Clinton has unwittingly enabled these groups to gain legitimacy. Clearly she is aware of the danger attending to associations with extremists. In January of this year, Mrs. Clinton's campaign criticized New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani--then a prospective Senate opponent--for sharing a dais in New York with Joerg Haider, the far-right Austrian head of the Freedom Party. In March, the Clinton campaign manager attacked the mayor for hiring fund-raiser Richard Viguerie--who Clinton aides pointedly noted, had raised money for Patrick Buchanan and had once praised David Duke.

Later, when Rick Lazio said he would be willing to accept an endorsement from the New York branch of the Reform Party, whose presidential candidate is Mr. Buchanan, Mrs. Clinton blasted Mr. Lazio: "I think his [Buchanan's] record--anti-Semitic comments, his record of intolerant and prejudicial remarks--are ones that I don't want to be associated with."

These are noble sentiments. If Mrs. Clinton is willing to denounce Messrs. Haider and Buchanan, why has she associated with groups that have espoused anti-Semitism and supported terrorism?
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1100/emerson.asp

[keithtoo]

The Moon god - Allah, has nothing in common with Yahweh, the God of Jews and Christians.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Allah is not the God of Abraham.

[goodnesswins]

Is this Affirmative Action for Muslims????? THIS country was based, NO FOUNDED, on Christian ideals....when they take that away from us, we are lost.

[Lee Heggy]

"why has she associated with groups that have espoused anti-Semitism and supported terrorism?"

Because this 'woman' will do ANYTHING' to satisfy her ambitions for power, control and self-gratification.

[RLK]

Has the United States Become Judeo-Christian-Islamic? ------------------

The United States has become nuts.

[Incorrigible]

"Islamic values are not only compatible with American values, they're almost identical. I personally believe the most Islamic country in the world is America, where we believe in freedom of religion, freedom of the press and equality of all."

I had to check and see if that quote was attributed to Baghdad Bob!

[Grand Old Partisan]

The phrase "Abrahamic" implies an acceptance of Islam as true.

[Sender]

"What we call Western culture is in fact based on Muslim Middle East culture, but the average American doesn't know that"

Some of it, yes. Chopping off limbs and requiring hefty bags on women, no. Blowing ourselves up to take out our enemies, definitely not. Ameriku akbar!

[Gritty]

Part of the Islamic creed is lying is OK to promote Islam.

Why should what is said by Isamics in this article be any different than their usual pack of lies?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Not exactly the "values and chararter that define the United States."

[Bikers4Bush]

The leading muslim organizations can go back to wherever it is they've come from and fix those places instead of trying to corrupt ours.

This country has been doing just fine without them and will continue to do so.

[pkjeff]

Why I Can Never Be a Muslim - message by Dr. Robert Reymond

Part 1 http://www.coralridge.org/BroadcastArchives.asp#585

Part 2 http://www.coralridge.org/BroadcastArchives.asp#586

[jscd3]

"What we call Western culture is in fact based on Muslim Middle East culture, but the average American doesn't know that"

I think that you picked out the single stupidest sentence in this entire article. You have a future as an editor...

[ChadGore]

That image makes me wretch in horror that muslims are still useing 911 to prostilitize their fair in the country while standing on the dead burned bodies of those who fell on 911.

[LiteKeeper]

Rememer the truth of the following:

"Islam is a religion in which [their] god requires you to send your son to die for him."

"Christianity is a faith in which God sent His Son to die for you."

[pkjeff]

My links were supposed to be to the May 15 and May 16 "Truths That Transform" radio broadcast.

Also note the book Secrets Of The Koran by Don Richardson.

[gcruse]

The Moon god - Allah, has nothing in common with Yahweh, the God of Jews and Christians.

Does it matter, though?  If five million people in the US believe it,
at minimum the same size group as the Jewish, then it is as worthy
of recognition as Judaism in describing American religious culture.
Whether the religion is 'true' has little to do with its viability and worth.
The only difference between a cult and denomination is size, isn't it?