Religious Extremists: Part, Not the Whole

Last week the FBI conducted raids in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana in order to detain members of the Hutaree (Christian Warrior), a Christian militia group, on criminal charges. Nine main members of the group, eight men and one woman, were arrested. The aim of the group seems to be bringing about the second coming of Christ and Judgment Day by inciting the antichrist, “evil Jews and Muslims”, to the final showdown:

Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment. The only thing on earth to save the testimony and those who follow it, are the members of the testimony, til the return of Christ in the clouds. We, the Hutaree, are prepared to defend all those who belong to Christ and save those who aren't. We will still spread the word, and fight to keep it, up to the time of the great coming ... The Hutaree will one day see its enemy and meet him on the battlefield if so God wills it. We will reach out to those who are yet blind in the last days of the kingdoms of men and bring them to life in Christ.

Their tactics include plans to kill law enforcement officials and then kill the officers who show up to the funerals of the initial victims. The group has posted videos of their training exercises online and the leader of this extremist group has allegedly researched how to make IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices) and has passed on the knowledge to other Hutaree followers with the intent that said IED’s be used on law enforcement officials.

            Kenneth S. Stern, the American Jewish Committee's director on anti-Semitism and extremism, notes that although no broad conclusions can be made over this incident, the combination of a militaristic stance and anti-governmental ideals that has been emerging in the militia groups of today is troublesome.

            Another interesting pattern to note that seems to be an ancient trend, not merely a modern development, is using God (gods, higher powers) as an excuse for violence and brutality; starting with the crusades, maybe even before then, right into modern day movements such as the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) which wishes to create a separate Boer state in South Africa where blacks are only allowed to stay as “guest workers”. The leader of this group, Eugène Terre'Blanche, became a “born again Christian” after spending several years in jail, and reemerged with a renewed conviction to promote the racist views of his party. This just goes to show that every religion, be it Christian, Muslim or even FSM, has extremist factions, but these factions can in no way be made representatives of the whole.

References to Biblical Passages on US Guns in Iraq and Afghanistan

Literally, the guns of Jesus. It turns out that the gun sight supplier, Trijicon, has encoded references to the New Testament on US Military sights being used in Iraq and Afghanistan. To the civilians in these countries, this undermines the credibility of the US's statement: the US is not at war with Islam, and never will be. The rifles with these sights are being referred to by some soldiers as "Jesus Rifles".

This has created a lot of controversy. Some Christians are proud of this, others are, I'm sure, offended. Soldiers in these countries are forbidden to proselytize, and this seems to undermine that. The order is actually referred to as "Order #1". The US Military's Religious Freedom Foundation is outraged saying that many of the soldiers are disgusted, and that it allows the enemies our soldiers are fighting to claim that this is a "crusade" of sorts against Islam.

Well, yes, this annoys me, and I think most people would be offended. This, to me, seems like an undermining of the separation of church and state. I am proud to say, however, that I am not a crazy conspiracy theorist that thinks this is evidence for an actual "crusade". I think it likely that the government's plea of ignorance is true. Whether or not I agree with current wars abroad, this undermines them. In Iraq and Afghanistan this information will probably be used as propaganda for the US's opponent's cause. I hope that the Biblical references on these scopes will be removed soon.