Is it really the Libyans and Egyptians, or Religion that's to blame?

“Disturbances in society are never more fearful than when those who are stirring up the trouble can use the pretext of religion to mask their true designs.” – Denis Diderot

“The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion.” -- Diderot

In light of the recent attacks on the embassy and consular staffs in Cairo and Benghazi, the truth of these statements is made loud and clear. While it would be wrong to blame Islam for the actions of it’s adherents, it is completely accurate to blame the clerics and religious leaders – as well as some heads of state – for the rabid anti-American fanaticism which has infected much of the Muslim world. The firebrand interpretations of the Quran and the ignorant trend of blaming the west for all the woes of Islam are the tools of the dangerous madmen Diderot warned about in the 18th century.

Sam Bacile, reported to be an Israeli-born American citizen, practiced his right to freedom of expression and speech in writing, producing and directing the two hour movie in which Mohammed, the revered prophet of Islam, is depicted as a fraud, a womanizer and a madman. While Bacile has gone into hiding to avoid reprisals, the clerics and leaders of the Muslim world have used this opportunity to whip it’s followers into a rabid hate-fueled frenzy that has culminated in the death of 4 American citizens in Benghazi. Instead of directing their wrath at the perpetrator of the insult, they have seized upon this incident to further their religious and fanatical attacks against the west. That having been said, Mr. Bacile may have had the right to produce his hate-filled movie, but having the right to do something doesn’t necessarily make your actions or behaviors “right.” By carelessly exercising his freedoms, Bacile has provided a few psychotic and delusional clerics and leaders of Islam an excuse to incite their followers into attacks on citizens of a sovereign nation – citizens who were as innocent of offense as the occupants of the World Trade Centers and Pentagon were on the morning of 9/11.

Extreme fundamentalism has led to innumerable human atrocities committed in the name of Allah, Mohammed, Jesus, Mary, Jehovah, Vishnu, Buddha or Joseph. Throughout history, every religious movement has committed heinous acts of violence against those whom have been deemed heretics or heathens. Whether we’re talking about the Jewish conquests in Canaan,  the Crusades, the Huguenot purges, the Spanish Inquisition, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the Holocaust, the ethnic cleansings in Serbia, the 9/11 attacks, or this latest series of attacks in Libya and Egypt, one common thread runs through them all: the crimes have all been committed by people who have been duped into believing that their particular brand of social delusion is superior to another’s preferred mass hysteria.

Every religion seems to claim that their god is a “god of love,” and yet, as Blaise Pascal said, “men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” It seems to me that it isn’t so much an issue of god or gods, as an issue of religion and the madness it inspires in people who allow others to do their thinking for them.

Before we, as Americans, get all indignant towards Muslims, we should carefully consider our own beliefs and the unethical and questionable behaviors which have been carried out by the practitioners and followers of our many religions, and ask ourselves if we are really different? All religious movements are guilty of the same types of crimes – every last one of them. These recent attacks were wrong, and as a sovereign nation, we should respond decisively to them. The radicalized Muslims who committed these crimes should be hunted down and brought to justice – and so should every religious practitioner and cleric – of whatever stripe – who uses religion to inspire violence and intolerance towards another human being.

Religion is pabulum for a weak mind. Instead of asking yourself, “What Would Jesus Do?” or Jehovah, or Allah, or (*insert your favorite god here), perhaps the question all of us should be asking is this: “Is this how I should be treating another human being?” Until we, as a society, can successfully eliminate religion – not FAITH, but religion – we’ll never see the kind of world or society religion deceptively promises.