Muhammadiyah

I read in today's Jakarta Post a second article concerning Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second largest Muslim organization, and its efforts to mobilize its millions of members to further the concept of moderation (al-wasatiyyah) in order to stem the tide of the religious extremism which has resulted in the rise of intolerance and hostility toward minorities. 

I like that. 

"It is time," said Chairman Haedar Nashir, "for major Islamic groups to 'pay' for their mistake by engaging the community more and instilling the values of religious moderation, which include fairness, kindness, mutual respect and tolerance." 

"We now need to disseminate a counter narrative," he continued, "showcasing the tolerant and peaceful aspect of Islam to fight against rampant hoaxes and hate speech." 

Sound familiar? Ring a bell? Well, it should--for we in America are also under attack by intolerant, hateful sects of so-called 'Christians'--the Christian right, the moral majority--spreading hostility and fanaticism in just the same way, infecting politics and civil discourse with bigotry and paranoia and just-plain-bad-religion at the expense of fairness, kindness, mutual respect and tolerance. 

Would that the Christian community in my own country could form such robust and focused opposition to the extremism that is an insult to faith itself.