David McCreary

Do we want to worship the God of Holy War? As entertaining and informative as Resurrection Ertugrul is, the theology of Islamic tradition underlying it seems to have evolved little from that time to the present. Ancient Islamic precedent teaches us about a God who spreads the faith by the sword, not a God who spreads faith solely by its inherent attractiveness. Buddhism seems to have spread through China and Japan by monks who went from village to village peacefully teaching and caring. Can't Muslims do the same? In RE, it is clear this option was never considered. But today, it should be considered, if only to keep Muslim values from being hijacked by jihadists that even some Muslim scholars refuse to call martyrs. With an atom bomb in hand, I fear these reactionaries taking over Pakistan and justifying a nuclear holocaust by ancient precedent. Glorifying violent conquest in the name of a universalizing religion is as dangerous as any ultra-nationalism--itself a secular kind of holy war. Yet, Pakistanis follow Ertugrul passionately and old concepts of God still resonate there. Where will that lead? Those of us outside the Muslim faith will probably not be heard, even with the best of constructive intent. So I would suggest the writings of the Muslim scholar, Sir Mohammad Iqbal, especially "The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam." Tradition does not have to have a heavy hand, if we are willing to add our own living water to it. That demands faithfully rethinking our religious traditions for our own time.

I would choose a Mohawk steelworker to be a contestant. They built the skyscrapers in New York over many generations.