Islam Failing?

From Fox News:

A Peaceful Koran?
by Father Jonathan Morris

The appearance yesterday of another tape of Usama bin Laden should make us rethink, for a moment, our stance on theology.

You probably remember it was always considered an easy “A” — a GPA booster par excellence. We knew there was no fudging in chemistry class; the table of elements loomed large. Accounting I, II, and III fit together like a giant jigsaw puzzle — miss a lesson or two and things just wouldn’t add up. History class had a little more wiggle room, but the best professors always asked for short answers — dates, names, and places — just to make sure.

But “theology?” The study of God? We doubted any professor could tell us for sure when we got it wrong. Yes, an easy “A!”

And yet some people still fail. When Usama calls all Muslims to go to Sudan and fight United Nations’ peacekeepers, as he did yesterday, he has failed. When he points his finger at the West and calls for indiscriminate violence, he has failed. When he promises heavenly rewards for the killing of the innocent, he has failed.

And sadly, Islam is failing with him.

The problem? Believe it or not, it’s a theological one.

To study God, we must first distinguish him from other beings. Animals may be smart, but they do not reason. They may be affectionate, but they do not love. Human beings reason and love, but they do both poorly. God does both perfectly. That’s what makes him God. He is perfect.

Muslim leaders like bin Laden have attached imperfect qualities to God. By doing so, they and their followers have become incapable of differentiating his perfection from man’s own misery. Their object of worship is not the perfect being that calls us to become more like our creator, but a grandiose image of their self-serving ego that values vice, not virtue.

Religion has a way of turning theology inside out. History is full of bad Catholics, Jews, Lutherans, Muslims, Hindus, and Evangelicals. Religion turns bad when we get in the way of God, when we attribute to him and his will our own good and bad wishes. Getting in the way of God is bad theology and it’s dangerous.

What’s even more dangerous is a religion that refuses to correct itself when some of its members error. Islam as a religion is failing alongside its most outspoken spokesmen, because nobody from within dares to wrestle with the idea of bad theology.

The Muslim tradition leaves no room for interpretation or theological development. The Koran is what it is. Those who dare to interpret are considered untrue Muslims, or Westerners in disguise. This tradition of cemented theology can almost work if all play by the rules. But they don’t. The radical imams of the ilk of bin Laden have a monopoly on theological interpretation. And their grip is tightening, on Islam and on the world.

Theological problems don’t vanish with good public relations, political dialogue, or military force. They are resolved with good theology. Healthy Muslim clerics, who love God and love their religion, have a choice to make — either remain quiet and prepare to witness a clash of civilizations of epic proportion, or be willing to wrestle with the bad theology of their boisterous spokesmen. Can you provide to your fellow Muslims a convincing interpretation of a peaceful and loving Koran? We hope you can.

Our prayers are with you.

God bless, Father Jonathan

Arianna On Bush’s Energy Policy

From The HuffPO:

The president may turn to God when it comes to shaping his foreign policy, but his energy policy is strictly courtesy of the Men Upstairs at Big Oil.

Which is why it is beyond comical to watch Moe, Curly, and Larry — sorry, I mean Bush, Hastert, and Frist — getting all blue in the face about skyrocketing gas prices, and calling on the Energy and Justice Departments to look into possible market manipulation by oil companies.

It’s the least believable call for an investigation since O.J. set out to find the real killers.

For those of you experiencing a sudden wave of déjà vu, yes, the GOP demand for a federal probe of potential oil industry price-gouging was a carbon copy of the demands Chuck Schumer made last week. Hey, maybe they just unconsciously “internalized” Schumer’s words.

If it wasn’t so despicable it would be laughable.

There was Frist on Good Morning America today, putting aside his video diagnostic skills to become one of the “Car Talk” guys. Among Frist’s helpful money saving tips for drivers forced to consider taking out a second mortgage in order to fill up their tanks: get a tuneup, drive slower, and carpool. Thanks, Dr. Goodwrench!

But Frist was just the gassy second banana. The clear headliner was Bush, who had them rolling in the aisles at a meeting of the Renewable Fuels Association, with zingers like his claim that “large cash flows” mean that “these energy companies don’t need unnecessary tax breaks”. A sentiment that didn’t stop the president from signing a GOP energy bill stuffed with some $14.5 billion in tax breaks, tax subsidies, and tax deductions for his cash-rich energy industry chums. I guess those tax breaks were “necessary.”

Bush also scored big with his impression of a guy who cares about conservation, highlighting the need to “promote greater fuel efficiency”: “And the easiest way to promote fuel efficiency,” said the president, “is to encourage drivers to purchase highly efficient hybrid or clean diesel vehicles.” As the proud owner of a pair of hybrids, I say “hear, hear.” As a sentient human being I say, "Isn't this the same guy whose administration hasn't increased fuel efficiency standards for passengers cars even a single m.p.g. in six years?” Maybe now that former GM-lobbyist (and fuel efficiency opponent) Andy Card has left the White House, Bush has finally allowed his inner-Prius owner to run free. Or maybe the lure of touting vehicles that can run on alternative energy sources to an alternative energy trade association was just too hard to resist.

How gullible do they think we are? Memo to the White House: it’s not working. Bush’s approval rating just dropped to 32% — a number at which both water and political clout freeze.

All this huffing and puffing about manipulated markets and record gas prices scream of a blatant attempt to inoculate Republicans from consumer rage over the massive earnings oil companies are scheduled to announce this week. Industry analysts predict that ExxonMobil will report first-quarter earnings of only $9.1 billion on Thursday — down from the record $10.7 billion posted in the fourth quarter of 2005. With profits like that, Lee Raymond’s $400 retirement package is starting to look a little stingy. Except to those paying through the nose at the pump.

The most honest comment on the gas price crisis came from Scott McClellan (freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose, eh, Scottie?) who said: “This is not something we got into overnight.” Exactly. These levels of oil company profits took years of careful lobbying and planning to orchestrate.

Our oil-man president may want us to think that he’s shocked, shocked by the “large cash flows” of the oil companies, and the sticker shock drivers are experiencing at the pump, but even before Team Bush was dreaming of toppling Saddam, it was laying the groundwork for the gargantuan windfall the oil industry is seeing — starting with Dick Cheney’s secret Energy Task Force.

It’s not a coincidence that the oil and gas industries donated over $25 million to Congressional campaigns in 2004 (with 80% of that money going into Republican coffers), and another $7.2 million so far in the 2006 cycle (with 84% going to the GOP). They also doled out over $4.5 million to Bush’s 2000 and 2004 presidential runs.

And what did they get for their largess? According to Public Citizen, the top five oil companies have pocketed over a quarter of trillion (that’s with a “T”) in profits since Bush took office. Talk about a return on investment. That’s a gusher!

So for American consumers, payback is a bitch. And three bucks a gallon at the gas pump. The Bush administration has turned the White House into a full service filling station for Big Oil. And we’re the ones being forced to pick up the tab.

So don’t let the empty rhetoric and the phony outrage pouring out of the White House and the Republican Congress fool you: America isn’t facing a shortage of fuel; it’s facing a shortage of leadership.