Some of us have long complained about the cult of “balance,” the insistence on portraying both parties as equally wrong and equally at fault on any issue, never mind the facts. I joked long ago that if one party declared that the earth was flat, the headlines would read “Views Differ on Shape of Planet.”
["The Centrist Cop-Out" by Paul Krugman, NYT, 28 July]Krugman is speaking about the debate over the deficit, and I think he's right on that one: the fault is more with the Reps than the Dems.
This "cult of centrism" exists everywhere, particularly amongst the left-wing fishies amongst whom Krugman swims. It is also known as "cultural equivalence".
In the case of religion, it takes the form of "all religions are basically the same", ie, equally bad, or equally violent, or equally good, or worshipping equally the one god. Each is a manifestation like each other.
But that's no more true of religions than it is of political parties. There are Nationalists; and there are Socialists. Then there are the National Socialists. Who would claim all these are the same?
Islam is unique in many ways:
- It is the only religion in which the core document -- the Koran -- is the "uncreated" (in the sense that Man did not create it), inviolate and uncorrectable, Word of God.
- It is the only on in which its prophet is a warlord.
- It is the only one without the golden rule -- do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
- It is the only one with a documented political system central to its tenets (Sharia).
What is the religious equivalent to Krugman's "Views Differ on Shape of Planet"? It is leaders in Islam quoting their inviolate texts to call for Islam to "Rule the world", for their votaries in the west to call for "Behead those who insult the prophet", and the headline reads: "Islam: the Religion of Peace and Tolerance".
