"YOU are Algerians and Muslims: you have nothing to fear. We're
looking for Christians, who kill our brothers in Mali and
Afghanistan and plunder our resources." The words of one of the
gunmen to a guard at the In Amenas gas field cannot be read without
a chilling of the blood. The association of Christianity with
Western aggression, and the murderous intent, are a world away from
the well-meaning and often successful attempts at interfaith
understanding. There is obviously a limit to what can be done to
turn a heavily armed ideological fanatic. All one can do is attempt
to limit the harm that such people can do, so that further
generations do not inherit their prejudices.
The brutal events in Algeria, along with the French intervention
in Mali, have coincided with two statesmanlike commentaries on the
response to terrorism that is inspired by religious or political
ideology. The Prime Minister was correct when he spoke in the
Commons on Monday of the need for patience in his reference to the
Algerian hostage crisis. "The building blocks of democracy - the
rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, the rights of
minorities, free media and association, and a proper place in
society for the army - which are a big part of the solution, all
take a long time to put in place."
Across the Atlantic, President Barack Obama was even more
specific in his inaugural address: "We will support democracy from
Asia to Africa, from the Americas to the Middle East, because our
interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those
who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor,
the sick, the marginalised, the victims of prejudice - not out of
mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant
advance of those principles that our common creed describes:
tolerance and opportunity, human dignity and justice."
Putting these principles into practice will be difficult for
both leaders, especially when they face such severe challenges in
domestic politics, and work for an electorate that is jealous of
its politicians' attention and suspicious of any overseas spending.
In such a situation, when pragmatism fails, religion can provide
the motivation to strive for international trust. But it must not
be a toothless religion, silent when corporate business
arrangements amount to the "plundering of resources" complained of
by the gunman; or inactive in the face of suffering, such as that
of the refugees from the Syrian conflict. The root cause of much of
the instability in Africa and the Middle East is injustice. Until
that troubles the moderates as much as it does the extremists,
there will be no progress towards peace.