69 million page views

religious conversion

Reader comment on item: "Muslim Group Targets Jewish Holidays"
in response to reader comment: Re: Fred Schlomka's comment on my comment

Submitted by Fred Schlomka (Israel), Jul 4, 2006 at 16:31

I think Mr. Hewlett, like many westerners, misses a critical distinction between the types of fluid religious faith common in the West, with religio/national identities more common in the Middle and Far East. For many in my part of the world, religious faith is inextricably tied to their ethnic and national identity. Their sense of peoplehood. It is not, as Mr. Hewlitt suggested, akin to a political belief. Far from it. Religious identity in traditional societies is less a matter of logic or choice, and more a matter of birth. In the Middle East, one is born a Christian, Muslim or Jew, and that identity defines one's place in society. It's as hard for me to shed my 'Jewishness' as it would be for you to shed your 'Americanness'. One can't be converted out of it. It's just a fact of life. Hitler understood this when he slaughtered my people.

That's also why Israel, like many other countries, defines nationality and citizenship as two distinct criteria, and wraps religion with nationality. Until recently our national identity cards had a line item for nationality. While all in Israel are citizens, nationality was defined as 'Jewish' or 'Muslim' or 'Russian', expressing Religious and ethnic background.

So while Americans may have shed their national identities, as is perhaps appropriate in a relatively new culture and country, other societies cherish their differences and don't take too kindly to folks from outside their countries coming in and telling them that they 'should' change their religion. The Missionary tradition is uniquely American and European. Jews or Muslims have never sent religious people around the world and coerced and slaughtered milions in the name of their G-d and conversion. However Western Christianity has done just that. Also milions of my people were recently used as furnace fuel in Christian Europe to satisfy the zenophobic culture there only sixty years ago. So you shouldn't be surprized when countries like Israel say no thanks when it comes to accepting foreign Western missionaries in our midst. You guys have a bad track record. Consider this:

What would the reaction of Christian Americans be if Israel demanded that you provide visas for a few thousand dedicated Jewish missionaries who would fan out over small town America and set up synagogues with the express purpose of converting as many Christians as possible. Would America sit back and say yes, let the marketplace of ideas allow each person to choose whether to convert to Judaism or not. Yet this is just what American Christian missionaries traditionally demand of other countries.

Submitting....

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

Submit a comment on this item

<< Previous Comment      Next Comment >>

Reader comments (17) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
crying foul ...always ! ! ! [93 words]Phil GreendMay 26, 2007 17:5794696
Don't fool yourself. [209 words]Cindy SaroyaAug 2, 2006 16:3551541
Lies, lies and more lies [230 words]WalterAug 2, 2006 22:4251541
Christians wanting to convert Jews are not anti-Semites [160 words]Ted HewlettJun 30, 2006 14:1848578
conversion in Israel [87 words]Fred SchlomkaJul 3, 2006 01:1348578
Re: Fred Schlomka's comment on my comment [227 words]Ted HewlettJul 3, 2006 16:1448578
religious conversion [427 words]Fred SchlomkaJul 4, 2006 16:3148578
Re Mr. Schlomka's comment on my comment on his comment [279 words]Ted HewlettJul 6, 2006 03:1448578
Dear Mr. Hewlett [232 words]Fred SchlomkaJul 7, 2006 00:5948578
to Fred Schlomka: on religious conversion [241 words]Anubhav SinghAug 3, 2006 09:4848578
I stand corrected [6 words]Fred SchlomkaAug 3, 2006 17:1348578
No one is perfect or Ideal except God [477 words]Kalyug EraAug 4, 2006 11:0948578
Seeking Parity vs. Vindictiveness [241 words]AhrimanJun 21, 2006 19:2848015
Common Sense [81 words]tianxiangJun 21, 2006 11:1847997
common sense [106 words]MuhammadJul 18, 2006 10:4047997
Beware [74 words]JaladhiJun 19, 2006 10:3247894
iran was anti genocide. [62 words]mehranJun 18, 2006 07:0647851

Follow Daniel Pipes

Facebook   Twitter   RSS   Join Mailing List

All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes

Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes

(The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998.

For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.)