Secularism vs. totalitarianism

Given a choice between epithets to describe the West as "Christian" or
"secular," most people would choose the latter. After all, for the past
300 years, from the time of the Renaissance, there has been a transition
from a religious/Christian-oriented to a secular organization of the state,
concurrent with the development of democracy, science and the middle
class. Even though from a Jewish point of view the West is still
predominantly Christian, nevertheless, the degree of mixing of ethnic
groups and religions (particularly Catholic and Protestant) in the West has
accelerated this trend.
The Muslim world, consisting of some 45 countries and 1.3 billion people,
has lagged behind the West in this respect. Given that the organization of
states is ultimately independent of the original culture from which they
derive, since the nature of democracy, human rights, science, etc. are
universal values. As Pres. Bush and PM Blair have emphasized, these
values are applicable to Muslim countries just as well as to those that were
originally Christian.
In the wake of the recent war between Israel, a liberal democracy, and
Hizbollah, a fundamentalist Shia Muslim organization, there is no doubt that
the stakes are high. This conflict, perhaps distinct from the Palestinian
conflict that has been used for propaganda purposes, must be seen as part of
the wider conflict between fundamentalist Islam and Western secularism, that
is ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in the general war on Islamic
terrorism.
I have been struck by a kind of defeatist ennui expressed by many liberal and
leftist Israelis and Europeans, as well as some N. Americans, that takes the
view that the bloodshed is too much, that this is a never-ending conflict,
that whenever a leader of a terrorist group is killed another takes his place,
so what's the point of bothering. The alternative is too terrible to
consider. Recently I had a chat with a well educated Brit, who questioned
whether democracy was worth fighting for, especially if one had to cause
civilian casualties in the process. I suggested he read some books I have
been reading lately about the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Khomeini regime
in Iran. In both cases "liberals" were simply executed, where liberal in this
context means anyone who disagreed with the strict interpretation of Islam.
Yes, the regime of the Shah of Iran was repressive, but it was not nearly on a
par with the Khomeinists, who have murdered at least ten times as many people.
For some details see "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi. As you know,
in Taliban Afghanistan, women who were deemed to have transgressed the laws
of the Koran were executed publicly at soccer matches every week. Women
were flogged for merely having their hair showing, or wearing lipstick or nail
gloss.
These repressive regimes have a great deal in common with Soviet Communism
and Nazi Fascism. In the "Bookseller of Kabul," Asne Seirstad describes how a
bookseller in Kabul had his books burned first by the mujahideen, then by the
Communists and then again by the Taliban. He managed to save books each time
by various subterfuges (generally the book burners could not read), and now he
continues to sell books openly without censorship under the new government of
Afghanistan.
Make no mistake, Hizbollah is in the same corner as Iran. One could say that
the recent war in Lebanon was a different kind than all the previous ones
fought by Israel. In the past it was all about Israel's independence and the
national cause of the Palestinians. In this case it was a part of the war of
Western liberal democracy against fundamentalist Islam, similar to those that
were fought by the West against Nazi Germany and Soviet Communism. The
Muslim extremists are fanatics who are prepared to die for their cause, just
as the Nazis and Communists were, and they are motivated by hatred of the
West.
If the liberals who throw up their hands in despair and say that they have had
enough, if they accept the Arab propaganda position that Israel is merely a
cruel regime that deliberately inflicts casualties on civilians, which is the
opposite of the truth, then indeed we have a hard time ahead. If you want to
trust the likes of Hizbollah and al Qaeda (whatever the differences between
them), then stop the security at airports, and see how long it takes for some
planes to be blown out of the sky.