I have known for some time now that what I think I know is often more important in determining how I will react in any given situation that what is actually true. Reality is what you perceive it to be. If 100 million human beings believe that I am the anti-Christ, then I have a real problem. If one billion Muslims believe that America’s goal is to weaken Islam while spreading Christianity, we have a serious issue that must be addressed.
From a low of 73 percent in Indonesia to a high of 92 percent in Egypt the Muslims believe that America’s goal is "to weaken and divide the Islamic world." Fairly assuming that these four countries’ populations represent worldwide Muslim views in Islamic countries, in other words, about 80 percent of the 1.4 billion Muslims or about a billion souls see America as hostile or an enemy to Islam.
Between 61 percent and 67 percent of the polled Muslims also thought that America’s goal was to spread Christianity in the Middle East. Given that Islam teaches that Muslim converts to other religions must be executed, this purported American objective is probably not well received.
If you are a Muslim, and you believe these things – that the U.S. is full of proselytizing Christians who are hostile to Islam, then you are only partially correct. Yes, a percentage of Americans probably fit that description. I am not one of them. I do not want to convert you to my belief system, although it would make me feel good if you voluntarily adopted some of my worldview as your own. I do not want to force you to live by my moral code, unless you are hurting or killing those around you in other than self-defense.
I am not alone in my lack of desire to force you to do anything particular in regards to your culture, religion or life in general. There are millions of Americans who believe as I do, that we have no right to dictate to other nations and peoples, except in self-defense. The problem with us Americans is that we have a hard time agreeing on what self-defense means. We have a hard time agreeing on what anything means. The wonderful thing about us Americans is that we get to decide for ourselves what to believe. This concept is known as free will. Some Americans believe free will is more important than religion.
Most Americans have little to no desire to force their religious viewpoints on anyone else. Anyone who tells you that such Americans are anything but a vocal minority is a liar. Most Americans also do not take kindly to being attacked by religious or other types of zealots.
Here are some scenarios in which Americans who share my mindset will defend ourselves:
- When someone or some group tries to force a religion on us
- When someone or some group tries to force a lifestyle on us
- When someone or some group tries to steal from us
- When someone or some group declares war on us
On September 11, 2001 and many times before that, people who claimed to represent Allah declared war on the West with various heinous acts. It is natural that after many attacks on the Western world committed in the name of Allah that the Western world has become concerned with the mindset of a typical Muslim.
The United States is, at least conceptually, and often also practically, a place where Jew, Christian, Muslim and even atheist can live side by side without forcing themselves one upon the other. If that is intolerable to you, then you are intolerable to me and those who think as I do. I want to live in a world that allows all rational and non-aggressive people to choose their own pathways in life, and I am willing to fight for such a world.
My general rule of thumb in life is keep your religious viewpoints to yourself unless I ask you. Following this rule is like keeping a machine well oiled – it makes things run more smoothly.