Violence in Christianity and Islam
by Ian Paul, Psephizo:
Following the atrocities in London and Manchester in recent weeks, many commentators have been quick to say ‘This violence has nothing to do with Islam.’ When that is claimed by a leader within the Muslim community, then it appears to mean something particular: ‘This violence is nothing to do with Islamic beliefs as I understand and teach them’. But when claimed by a ‘neutral’ commentator, it seems naive and implausible. How can someone wielding a knife and crying out ‘This is for Allah!’ have ‘nothing’ to do with Islam?
Perhaps the most important comment on this question came last week from the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby when he was interviewed on Today on Radio 4. It is a long interview, of just under 10 minutes, and worth listening to in full. The Archbishop quickly sweeps away the nonsensical idea that religiously motivated violence has no connection with the religious traditions in which that violence is embedded, but he is also quite careful to note that, historically, there are few religious traditions which have never been touched by this. What is crucial in making sense of such violence is not just political and social but religious understanding.
There is a theology… and we need to counter that within our own tradition, and to stand up and say why it’s not acceptable… I think one of the problems in this country is a very high level of lack of religious literacy by those who have to take responsibility for countering these things… They often don’t understand the very basic doctrines of the faith they’re dealing with… They’re often people who are unable to put themselves in the shoes of religious believers and understand a way of looking at the world that says that this defines your whole life, every single aspect of who you are and what you are.
We have to say that if something is happening within our own faith tradition we must take responsibility for being very, very clear in countering it.
As the introduction to the interview makes clear, Welby is here reiterating something that he has said before, specifically in an address on a future vision for Europe, delivered in November 2016 at the Catholic Institute of Paris.
See also: Churches “need better protection from terrorists”, by Olivia Rudgard, Telegraph
Christian violence is a figment of Welby’s imagination, by Jules Gomes, The Conservative Woman
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