I mentioned that mixing up a book on the history of oil with a book on why Muslims feel disgruntled with the world as it exists today was interesting...
Interesting, because you switch from a very geopolitical, grand strategy, business mindset to one that is more about...
Religion. Meaning. Pursuit of an ideal community.
I have to admit, I am projecting a bit of my own Catholic upbringing on to what I was reading about Islam. I don't claim I actually understand Islam, but I think I have a better grasp of the appeal than a strictly secular look.
First - what I consider a fairly significant difference. See, I spent 11 of my first 12 years in school at Catholic institutions. I am pretty familiar with concepts like the "Kingdom of Heaven", the "Church as the Body of Christ", etc. But early Christians thought that Jesus would bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth in their lifetime, and when that didn't happen our concept evolved to a more spiritual understanding. The Kingdom of Heaven is what we will find in the afterlife. And the whole "Church as the Body of Christ", for me at least, was tied in with what we were taught about the Reformation. That is, the Catholic Church grew materialistic and corrupt...leading eventual to the Protestant movements and the Reformation to help make some much needed changes. So my Catholic upbringing talked about how Catholic believers form a community, the 'body of Christ', and that there is a back and forth discussion between these believers and the official leaders of our church.
Islam is, in many ways, different. There's no Pope, no formal institution for making clergy. But there are similarities, as well. Ways that the religion recognizing who is legitimate and who isn't. A belief in the community, etc.
So what stood out to me as perhaps the most significant (and new, even though I've studied this topic for years) difference was the notion that Muslims are seeking to create the ideal community in the world. I immediately thought of it as the "Kingdom of Heaven", but I admit I'm throwing Christian concepts at it. They're pursuing this not in the mystical, spiritual fashion we Christians have developed...but in a much more real, earthly way. Part of the benefits of having your founder live and lead for a significant period of time, instead of dying early.
The appeal of the caliphate is the appeal of building that Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. And whoo-boy!!! What an appeal! You go tell Christians today that you're building a Kingdom of Heaven, and see just how many perk up and take notice. (They may be skeptical, and may not join, but most will at least want enough of an understanding to decide if they should believe it or not.)
It actually reminded me more of the founding of the United States of America. If you read about our early history, there was this notion that we were embarking on a grand experiment. Building a new and better society. This place where "We the People...in order to form a more perfect union..." (Though we, in the United States today, are beset by a feeling that we've lost that. The rich and powerful have taken over, the union is not so much about "We the People" as it is about the 1%...etc. etc. etc.)
Mixing up a book like Destiny Disrupted with a book like The Prize brings home some of the complaints I've heard about our culture. INTERNAL complaints, mind you. Complaints I heard growing up, surrounded by that Catholic upbringing. Complaints that we're superficial. Materialistic. Focused on status. Forgetting that there are more important things in life than money.
To a certain extent, I dismiss those complaints because of that upbringing. Because I know that there are many, many Americans that are concerned with living a good life. That there are sound reasons for separating our public and private lives, but that if I went and talked to any American about religion or spirituality or whatnot that there would be plenty to talk about. (Though NOT, thank God, all of them agreeing with the views of Christian Conservatives. So many of them give religion a bad name. I probably am influenced, again, by that Catholic upbringing and teachings like Matthew 6:5. I'm basically skeptical of anyone making too public a display of their faith, because it seems more like they're trying to show off to everyone else how faithful they are...and the truly pious keep it more private. They live a good life, without any fuss or need to publicize how good they are.)
Yet the book on oil sort of brings the complaints back, because they show how much we compartmentalize our lives. John D Rockefeller was a Christian. Yet the decisions he made as a good businessman were not necessarily the decisions of a good Christian. (Though given that I only know what I've heard in history, and nobody knows someone in and out, I will not presume to say that he was or wasn't a good Christian. I just want to say that the decisions he made as a businessman could have been very different from the decisions he made as a Christian.)
Our modern life is more...isolating. Alienating. People don't feel like there's as much meaning to it. The fights over class and wealth are tied into this superficially...because when you're barely getting by on your income it's hard to feel like doing a good job matters. If you do a good job, all you're really doing is putting more money in the pockets of those who already have plenty...and even if you're working two jobs, you will probably never get to that level of comfort and security.
The fight against terrorism isn't just about fighting a horrible misinterpretation of religion. It's about providing a competing alternative, one where people can get that meaning and fulfillment, that sense of community so many of us need.
One that shows you can build a 'Kingdom of Heaven' that isn't harsh and controlling, that reminds us all that God's also about mercy and compassion. (Though allegedly ISIS does that internally, what with providing healthcare and other goods for their community. Still...from what I hear you don't want to face the punishment for breaking their rules.)
I could talk plenty about my own (competing, alternative) interpretation of what such a society would be like...but that's sort of personal and I don't think anyone else is very interested in it. It's the sort of thing best done as a discussion over coffee, or late at night. All that would be a digression.
Main point is - the appeal of the caliphate and anti-Western attitudes goes back to some very real gaps in our society. Gaps that we, living here, know we can fill in a variety of ways...but in ways that do not necessarily show in the public sphere.
