When I moved to Las Vegas in 2016 I was happy to find a thriving humanist community that has strong connections with the local interfaith community. I understood since living in Orlando that non-Christian groups often banded together to be able to stand against Christian Nationalist or Christian Right groups from stomping all over the public rights of non-Christians. In 2017 I attended a panel presentation hosted by the interfaith community during which four members of local muslim communities shared their different approaches to their faith (and probably how the just introduced tRump travel ban is racist). But this, sadly, was the first time I had the chance to hear members of the muslim community share their stories without it being filtered through the media or as part of some tragic news story. 

It’s so sad that this huge world religion has been reduced to images of patriarchal rich oil sheiks in their robes and camels or black hooded terrorists with AK-47s beheading anyone who is not part of their specific sect. I would venture that the lived experience of most who practice Islam is no where near those stereotypes. I found it interesting that the Ms. Marvel TV-series (on Disney+) set its protagonist as a young female member of the muslim community in Jersey City. That probably pissed off a lot of America-Firsters and folks alarmed by all of the stories featuring female lead characters that seem to be cropping up. It is so hard to break through the stereotypes, especially if you don’t personally know anyone who is a practicing muslim. 

And now we have Israel and Iran trying to start World War III, with our president on record saying that anyone dropping bombs is a sign of weakness and failure to secure negotiations leading to peace, that a vote for the Dems would lead us to WWIII. Then, of course, after watching Fox “News” wall-to-wall coverage of the Israeli strikes on Iran that they promoted as being a huge success, the candidate-for-peace wanted to claim that he was responsible for that “victory” and thus decided to send over our guys this past weekend to drop bombs on Iran. All of this because the radical Zionists currently running Israel claim that their god gave them the land and the radical Islamist believe that it’s their duty to Allah to kill anyone threatening their existence. While the vast majority of both faiths (and we can through in most Christians too), just want to be left alone to live in peace, raise their families and practice their faith, intending no harm on anyone else. It’s tragic on a biblical level that the faithful of all of these groups are being misrepresented and thus being harmed by their own extremists. 

This is why endeavors like Crash Course Religions is so important, whatever your faith or non-faith may be. If you care about humanity, this is all part of what it means to be human. Our creative spirit, our desire for personal and community expression leads us to reinterpret and reimagine the stories of old; to the point where there has never been just “one way” to express or live or do anything. We’ve always been this mix of expressions and interpretations. And we’ve forever been fighting against those who would pretend that there is only “one way” that happens to be their way. Not so much. Learn, enjoy, and appreciate that we are many and one. 

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Tags: Crash Course Religions, from many one, in bad faith, meditations on, video Tuesdays

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