We’re all in the fight against fundamentalism

Here’s something to ponder: The adherents of all three of the world’s great religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam — all worship a God whom they believe exists outside space and time, who created every element that comprises the universe in a single instant, who sustains existence itself to this very moment by his will alone, who governs the observable universe by laws that humans are only now just beginning to understand … yet some believers think that same God is somehow diminished by the unbelief or mockery of one of his creations?

As ever, it seems the problem is not people who believe too much in their faith, but rather too little.

The murderous, terrorist attack Wednesday on the offices of French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo, which claimed 12 lives, is but the latest example of certain extremist fundamentalist Muslims carrying out what they believe is a command of their religion to execute those who insult the Prophet Muhammad. And that Charlie Hebdo certainly did, along with targeting other religions and political figures in France.

The usual reactions are running off presses and pouring out of TV sets: We must fight intolerance. We must remember that not all followers of Islam embrace violence and murder as an evangelical technique. We should take care to consider the feelings of people before publishing offensive writings or cartoons. And on and on.

It seems to me that religion — undoubtedly the motive for Wednesday’s butchery — is not in and of itself to blame. We do ourselves no favors by blaming religion alone for those who take seriously the notion that God commands his followers to kill blasphemers. Much better to call that kind of thinking what it is — mental illness.

Still, there are some who are expressing varying degrees of sympathy for the perpetrators of Wednesday’s attacks. Did not the editors and cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo bring this upon themselves by their intentionally provocative work? (And it was not just directed against Muslims; the cartoons could be quite racist and homophobic as well.) Was it strictly necessary to mock Islam, or Catholicism, or politics? Should we not respect the religious beliefs of all people?

This kind of thinking illustrates why living in a secular, constitutional republic is manifestly better than living in a theocracy: Here in America, people are free to believe whatever they wish, no matter how ridiculous, outlandish or illogical. They are even free to believe that those who insult the Prophet Muhammad deserve death, and to react with silent glee when insults are answered with blood.

But they are not free to impose those beliefs on the rest of us. At that moment, the idea of respecting someone’s religion — an inoffensive enough prospect as far as conviviality in polite society goes — must be tossed swiftly out the nearest window as we rise to the defense of modernity, secularism and democracy.

The most insidious outgrowth of obscenities such as the Charlie Hebdo murders — and the obvious, intended result — is to enslave the minds of nonbelievers with the religious ideals of fundamentalist zealots. We dare not speak, write or draw, lest we meet the sword. A more simple definition of totalitarian barbarism could scarcely be written. And we must — all of us — realize that surrender to that kind of mental prison creates a very real version of hell upon Earth.

In response to Wednesday’s murders, signs popped up around Paris declaring “Je Suis Charlie,” (“I am Charlie”). But the fact is, most of us are not Charlie. Most of us — whether out of fear, the liberal ideals of tolerance and cultural diversity, or even plain old good manners — are not willing to stand up for freedom with our very lives.

But we should be, because the alternative is to live under the dictates of an unchosen, perverse fundamentalist version of religion. That we should not, that we cannot, allow.

Instead, like Thomas Jefferson, we should take this opportunity to join together and swear “… upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” Now that’s a faith in which we can all robustly believe.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist who blogs at SlashPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or SSebelius@reviewjournal.com.