7 July 2010 missionary boiled dinner

7 July 2010 missionary boiled dinner


Kenya's constitutional vote on sharia courts pits Muslims against Christians

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/06/AR2010070605449.html?hpid=moreheadlines

“The U.S. ambassador to Kenya has publicly urged Kenyans to vote in favor of the proposed constitution, including the kadhis courts, arguing that passage is key to keeping Kenya stable. But on Web sites and in opinion pieces, conservative U.S. Christian groups have denounced the proposed constitution. They are opposed to the kadhis courts provision, and they see other aspects of the constitution as being pro-abortion. Some have organized petition drives against the courts.

The American Center for Law and Justice, founded by evangelical Pat Robertson, opened an office in Nairobi this year to oppose the new constitution. On its Web site, the group says that the "high number of Muslims in the slums and a significant increase in the number of Somalis" have brought the kadhis courts issue into "sharp focus."

"There are those who believe there is an overall Islamic agenda geared towards the Islamisation of the country," the group says. “

I generally don't care for religious courts functioning within a governmental judicial system. But I also don't care for missionaries meddling in the affairs of other nations or within our national policies. I've said before that protecting the lives of American citizens in foreign lands justifies military action. In Robertson's case, I retract that statement. If he chooses to interfere in Kenyan affairs, I hope he gets a taste of Sharia law.

The stereo-typical cartoon featuring missionary boiled dinner actually referred to dietary habits in the South Pacific rather than Kenya. If Kenya wishes to serve such a dinner, I'm sure we can fly in the cooking vessel as our contribution to diversity.

It amuses me to hear complaints about,” an overall Islamic agenda geared towards the Islamisation of the country," pouring from the mouths of evangelical Christians who have immense budgets dedicated to the conversion of everyone they can reach. There is a centuries-long history of indigenous native populations who lost their homelands and their existence as a people; but who were forcibly converted at sword, spear, or gunpoint before being enslaved for “god and king.” We should also recall the Inquisition and the Crusades. All those elements of fundamentalist Islam, which I find highly objectionable, had precursors and precedents in Christianity. And the Christian agenda still exists. At least, no Moslem, Buddhist, Hindu, or Jew is pounding on my door with a handful of pamphlets and the determination to pray me into becoming a Christian. Keeping them outside the door is critical, but in most states it is no longer legal to set dogs upon them in defense of one’s home and sanity.

If it were possible, perhaps the no-fly lists should include missionaries. While there is no denying that some of them do offer education and healthcare to local populations, those benefits still come with a price. In recent history that price has included epidemic diseases, loss of native culture, and extinction. No religious organization has the right to inflict such harm on any other people.

I’d be all for restricting Robertson’s audience if I could. He has no right to meddle in the affairs of other states because he objects to their religious practices. But he’s done sufficient harm here that I would rather he meet his martyrdom in some ignoble manner, discovering how his version of Taliban differs only in language from that of Islamic fanatics.