A timely and prophetic discussion from 5 years ago between Christopher Hitchens and Salman Rushdie. Again as now it was just before the UK election, discussions about cartoons in newspapers – then Jyllands Posten, now Charlie Hebdo, the whole #NotAllMuslims No True Scotsman fallacy, rise of China, Hitch predicts the mess in an Orthodox-powered Russia, and Hitch forecasting the whole slide into fascism and fear that seems to be prevalent now (the Yellow press bugler that is Katie Hopkins being one of the most recent and disturbing examples – no you will never be a ‘gay icon’ Katie because we have some fucking taste).
And Hitch talks about the young deluded men who want to go and fight for Al Qaeda and now ISIS…I hate to use the oft used word ‘radicalised’ for these men as there is nothing radical about dumb young men going off and fighting crusades for a religion and culture they actually barely know, lied to by older men who conveniently don’t risk their own bodies but still have blood on their hands. To reject such lies and stupidity of being lambs to the slaughter for the wars masterminded by older generations, or even worse tradition or church is actually radical (and yes this includes all faiths, cultures, countries, serving soldiers and wars). Anyway the mindset of fundamentalist groups is actually deeply conservative, in fact usually far-right and fascistic, and come from parts of the world where their beliefs are not radical it’s unfortunately the norm, so there is nothing radical about using disaffected youths seeking some exotic adventure holiday with added killing like some Abrahamic Call of Duty – religion has been herding those sheep for thousands of years.
One of the sad dissimilarities is that the revolutionary zeal in Iran, Egypt and other places has completely dissipated since 2010, destroyed by infighting, geopolitics and fundamentalism. Also interesting how the American audience don’t seem to understand how secular the UK is, that those with faith are politically regarded with suspicion, some with very good reason (see Lutfur Rahman whose strange initial invincibility via liberal hand-wringing, religious/ethnic support and being an Occupy cause célèbre gave way eventually to a complete downfall as the electoral and democratic process got twisted more and more).
I thought the response to Charlie Hebdo was better than Jyllands Posten, but even I have pulled back from posting the Danish cartoons on this blog, something I still feel bad about. There has to be eternal vigilance from those using fear to stop any comment on their religion, using blasphemy laws, allegations of racism, threats or actual violence.
As Hitch quotes the poem ‘Conscientious Objector’ from Edna St. Vincent Millay:
“I shall die, but
that is all that I shall do for Death.
I hear him leading his horse out of the stall;
I hear the clatter on the barn-floor.
He is in haste; he has business in Cuba,
business in the Balkans, many calls to make this morning.
But I will not hold the bridle
while he clinches the girth.
And he may mount by himself:
I will not give him a leg up.
Though he flick my shoulders with his whip,
I will not tell him which way the fox ran.
With his hoof on my breast, I will not tell him where
the black boy hides in the swamp.
I shall die, but that is all that I shall do for Death;
I am not on his pay-roll.
I will not tell him the whereabout of my friends
nor of my enemies either.
Though he promise me much,
I will not map him the route to any man’s door.
Am I a spy in the land of the living,
that I should deliver men to Death?
Brother, the password and the plans of our city
are safe with me; never through me Shall you be overcome.”
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