I was planning to write my blog this week on a different topic, but then I attended a luncheon talk that changed my mind.
The talk was billed as a presentation by Leslie S. Lebl on the topic “Radical Islam in Europe.” It was sponsored by the Louisville Committee on Foreign Relations. Ms. Lebl was identified as a former foreign service worker and a “non-resident Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council of the United States.” Because I do interfaith work and because there undoubtedly is a problem related to radical Islam in Europe, I was looking forward to what Ms. Lebl had to say. The speakers who make presentations as part of the Louisville Committee on Foreign Relations luncheon series are almost always well informed, incisive and fair in their presentation of information.
That was not the case with today’s speaker. I monitor news about Islam and I think I am fairly well informed. What Ms. Lebl had to say was filled with half-truths and distortions. I listened carefully and came to the conclusion that her talk was a thinly veiled depiction of Islam as the enemy of Western culture. In her talk, Ms. Lebl made reference in an approving way to someone who had spoken of Islam as a religion of violence. I know many Muslims, both in this country and in other parts of the world. I know them to be law abiding citizens who embrace peaceful solutions to the world’s problems. It is true that there are radicals within Islam who embrace violent solutions and use terrorism. But the same can be said of other religions. Timothy McVeigh who blew up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, did so, at least in part, out of a twisted notion of what it means to be a Christian.
I think we all need to be careful not to paint the practitioners of any religion with the tar of the worst acts committed by their fellow religionists.
When Ms. Lebl’s talk concluded she took questions from the audience. I waited for someone to take issue with her distorted portrayal of Islam. I waited, but no one challenged her. Finally, I did.
And I have to admit that I hesitated before I said something. Because I am almost universally positive in my outlook on things, I jokingly refer to myself as the king of warm fuzzy.
But there was nothing warm and fuzzy about what was happening in that room. Those attending were being fed a line that seemed to be designed to inflame people.
I didn’t know if it was proper for me to speak up. I could feel my blood pressure rising, and I felt myself trembling. I’m not sure what I was afraid of, but I finally overcame my hesitation and raised my hand. When Ms. Lebl called on me I said, “I’ve been waiting for someone to take issue with what you have said. No one has, so I will. I am the head of an interfaith organization here in Louisville. I want people to know that what they have heard from you is filled with half-truths and distortions about Islam.”
Ms. Lebl listened politely. She didn’t challenge what I said. She invited people to check out the facts themselves. This is one point on which we agreed. We should check the facts for ourselves. Ms. Lebl invited people to visit her web site. I would suggest instead that we all look closely at the news about Islam, and make sure that the news we get comes from a variety of sources and can be factually corroborated.
As I heard someone say recently, “We need more light and less heat.”