Christmas: God comes to heal the ISIS and China syndromes
Rome (AsiaNews) – A cruel light has descended upon Christmas this year, overshadowed by recent acts of violence. Last month, some self-styled extremist “Islamist” groups carried out deadly attacks in the French capital, and that of Mali (Bamako), and tried to kill a PIME missionary in Dinajpur (Bangladesh).
For Christians in Syria and Iraq, life is punctuated by attacks, restrictions and wretchedness. Elsewhere in Asia, things are not much better. No country is safe from regional tensions, civil war, or, as Pope Francis put it, a developing ‘piecemeal Third World War’.
In the West, violence has been met by a lockdown. As a result of statements by government and political leaders, amplified that much more by media, a tragic scenario is developing. Global terrorism is at war. Muslim fundamentalists are leading this war against the West and Christians.
Quickly, a syndrome of war and siege has spread, leading to massive bombing by Russian, French, US, and British planes against the Islamic State (IS) group, as well as tighter border controls, and special emergency measures.
For ordinary people, this has meant greater vigilance in the subway, but also greater suspicions towards one’s Muslim neighbours or neighbours in general. For migrants, it has meant greater intolerance.
Against a nihilistic terrorist project, the answer has been equally destructive. Although the aim was to ensure that no one interferes without our right to enjoy our freedoms, it is clear that is short-sighted.
Indeed, what is the point of bombing IS, when no one is doing anything to help build greater inclusiveness among Sunnis, Shias, and Christians in Syrian and Iraqi societies?
What is the point of bombing entire cities to strike at an enemy that is armed with tools of death provided by the West or its friendly states, like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey?
What is the point of protecting oneself from migrants in the West experiencing a demographic winter, where children have become a variable pleasure as part of one’s freedom and autonomy, rather than the fruit of love and a gift to society?
If we do not have something to do, understand, and share, blaming the Islamic State group can lead us to remain stuck in our turf of self-satisfaction and indifference.
I was struck by one fact: the terrorists who attacked France were French and Belgian nationals who had lived in the so-called homeland of freedom, an experienced that resulted in a vacuum of ideals, filled by uncouth imams and teachers of hate. Yet the French government did not ask itself about the values it offers to its youth. In its place, various Western governments have taken to ban Christmas symbols "to preserve harmony" in society.
It seems to me that by (only) depicting Islam as terrorism that must be fought, and by stifling Christian symbols (so as not to "provoke"), one is trying to eliminate everything religious, which is the only thing that can stitch together our broken societies. One might calls this a form of the "China Syndrome".
In China, the authorities remain relentless in their fight against "Islamic terrorism," but violently deny the Uighurs their rights. Likewise, to prevent "religious terrorism,” it controls Buddhists, Taoists and Christians.
In Zhejiang, the campaign against crosses and churches is designed to reassert the Communist Party’s power and subordinate all religions to it. "Who's in charge here? The cross or the party?" Wenzhou’s Communist Party secretary supposedly said.
Ultimately, the Islamic State and the China syndromes share the same goal, namely, eliminating religion as a reference in people's lives, so that people silently submit to power, consumerism, terrorism, or totalitarianism.
In his Peace Message for 2016, Pope Francis pointed out with great accuracy the real problem of today’s world, when he referred to the "indifference to God" (n. 3), which leads to indifference toward other human beings, as well as violence and destruction, and to all creation, including abuse and poison.
For us, there is no question of losing hope. For us, celebrating Christmas means, "God is not indifferent," that for God "humanity counts," that he won’t abandon us. The presence of his witnesses is a source of courage to begin anew to build our common home, one with room for Christians and Muslims, for Westerners and Chinese.
Merry Christmas.
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