Inshallah

On Friday, 50 Muslims were murdered It increasingly appears to have been a lone gunman, armed with two semi-automatics and a shotgun. He livestreamed his rampage for the world to see, including him shooting someone right after being greeted as "Brother." It was odd to watch him carefully use his turn signal as he drove to the first mosque. This atrocity occurred, not here in the US, but in faraway New Zealand. The town, ironically enough, is called Christchurch. Since this shooting, there have been attempts to blame the Internet, Donald Trump and a rise in white nationalism. What this really about is hatred, the face of evil. In this case, it was in the form of Islamaphobia. Not too long ago, here in the US, it was hatred of Jews. Eleven of them were killed in prayer at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

What makes us like this?

Instead of giving you the answers the right and left will provide nonstop over the next few weeks, I want to talk about something else. It's something I've seen on the evil Internet. It's a Turkish television series called Ertugrul, which I have been binge-watching on Netflix. It's the most popular program in Turkey, but is also appreciated by Muslims in the West. For once, they are portrayed as the good guys. What I like most about the show is the decency and yes, tolerance, displayed by many of the characters.

Called a Turkish Game of Thrones, the program is set in 13th century Turkey. It involves a small tribe of nomads who are squeezed on one side by the Knights Templar and on the other by Mongols. The lead character is Ertrugrul. He would father Osman, founder of the Ottoman Empire.

It's historical fiction, but several things about the program defy the stereotypical view of Muslims. In this admittedly idealized version of history, I have been struck by their basic decency and compassion.

It includes a spiritual mentor, Ibn Arabi, a mystic who actually existed. I have sought out some of his work. He has said intolerant things like this:

Beware of confining yourself to a particular belief and denying all else, for much good would elude you - indeed, the knowledge of reality would elude you. Be in yourself a matter for all forms of belief, for God is too vast and tremendous to be restricted to one belief rather than another.

And this:

Do not praise your own faith exclusively so that you disbelieve all the rest. If you do this you will miss much good. Nay, you will miss the whole truth of the matter. God, the Omniscient and the Omnipresent, cannot be confined to any one creed, for He says in the Quran, wheresoever ye turn, there is the face of Allah.

What also strikes me about the show is the deep spirituality of many of these nomads. The phrase "Inshallah" (if God wills) is repeated more than any other.

This program is a stark contrast to the common Western images of Muslims as homicidal maniacs who slice off heads the way I peel an orange. This has become ingrained in our culture.

Obviously, there are evil Muslims just as there are evil persons in any religious group. To take the actions of a few misfits, however, and brand an entire religion, is illogical.

The real problem is not Donald Trump, the Internet or whatever side of the gun debate you endorse. The real problem is us. Intolerance, whether from the right or the left, makes people ugly. We must do better.

Inshallah.