Kenneth Zammit Tabona
Religion and civilisation
Our Constitution renders any worries about rulings on crucifixes by the European Court of Human Rights a complete waste of time and energy, yet, despite this, many are those who still feel threatened. Please do not be. Malta is a virtual theocracy as long as our Constitution remains as it is. Although I found that Ian Refalo on last week's Bondiplus was unbelievably and exasperatingly vague and evasive about the subject, ordinary logic decrees that in Malta and Gozo it will take more than the Lisbon Treaty to undermine the Roman Catholic religion's time-honoured supremacy.
Having been assured that the Italian ruling regarding crucifixes is a non-issue I was appalled, to say the least, by what the Imam declared about Sharia law on the same programme. While I am sure that this Muslim cleric means well, I am afraid that there is no way that a supposedly civilised country like Malta is ever going to accept a code of laws that, among other things, happily severs body parts, hangs homosexuals and stones adulteresses while condoning honour killings.
Although I personally do not approve of a Roman Catholic theocracy and would rather live in a secular state, even the vaguest contemplation of introducing this barbarism in Malta would persuade me to give up all hope of ever introducing any social law that goes against the precepts of the Roman Catholic Church and I would be quite happy to continue allowing Archbishop Paul Cremona to call the shots as long as I am assured that there is no way that a code like Sharia can ever be introduced. This is precisely why people are so worried that our Christian symbols could be removed.
In this day and age, Christianity and Islam are at loggerheads. Why that is so is too complicated to explain in this limited column. Suffice it to say that all the aggression and antipathy that was generated by the Crusades a millennium ago has resurrected with a vengeance. Although many think otherwise, Christianity is light years more advanced than Islam. The deep and bitter divide between Shiite and Sunni is as violent as that between Huguenot and Catholic in France except that the massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve took place in the 16th and not the 21st century!
Declarations like that made by the Imam last week simply add fat to the fire. Traditionally, the average Maltese dislikes and distrusts Islam. One only had to take a cursory look at the various blogs to realise that many were those who jumped to the conclusion that the person or persons who instituted the crucifix case was Muslim. That it was a Finnish Agnostic and a woman to boot never entered their heads. With practically all the Middle East and North Africa being Muslim states, notoriously Saudi Arabia, is it at all surprising that the Imam is all for the establishment of an Islamic state here in Malta should the Roman Catholic faith fall by the wayside? Not at all. Malta could easily be considered as Islamic terra irredenta!
By and large ours is still a very tolerant country with a large mosque, a dedicated Islamic cemetery designed by Galizia and, on the whole, a pretty relaxed attitude to other religions.
However, and here lies the crunch, should our European civilisation be threatened in any way by influences and influxes that are diametrically and traditionally opposed to the ones we Maltese fought tooth and nail to preserve for centuries, then, yes, that goodwill and tolerance will find itself out of the window.
Crosses and rosaries are not talismans. They are not good luck charms. They do not ward off evil in themselves but are symbolic of a great western civilisation that predates Christianity itself. Other countries have seen fit to become secular in a bid to minimise fanaticism and religious rivalry and, hopefully, foster religious harmony by treating them all equally; an excellent thing per se but one that the rise of a militant Islam has, in turn, promoted fundamental Christianity for political and social reasons rather than because of the merits of the faith itself, which is why the brouhaha about the ECHR ruling is so vociferous if not hysterical.
I do fear that, like it was in the past, Christianity will be misused. Should the cross again be an In Hoc Signo Vinces in what looks like an inevitable showdown between it and the crescent? One would have thought that these were things that had long been buried and that, in this day and age, religions could and should co-exist quite serenely.
But no; since 9/11 our world has been under serious threat and, please note, not from the boatloads of black Africans but by infiltrations from Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia that fostered the murderously fanatical, religious fundamentalist Osama Bin Laden, a man, or phantom, who for almost a decade now has held the world to ransom.
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Jesmond Micallef
Nov 26th 2009, 00:07
A very good insight indeed. I do question the Roman Chatolic Church at times too. I have seen photos of Priests making the Nazi salute !!! Disgusting really, to say the least. The Vatican knew about what was happening to the Jews in Europe. What did it do ?? I still beleive though that we humans need our spiritualism. I cannot negate my soul the spirit it needs, the spirit to be human, to show compassion, to help those in need, to demand fairness and justice, to have faith in time of need, to share with others. How can a human being remain a human being just on consumption and competiveness - the capitalistic idea. Humans have become simply put "robots" - units of consumption !!!
The Spiritual element simply cannot be replaced. I dare to mention Japan, Kyoto the spiritual Capital of Japan. It was a target for one of the atomic bombs, but for this same reason, it was spared. Take the Sarin attack on Tokyo Underground Railways by Aum Shinrikyo !!! I have not read a single article about this type of extremism !!! Any contributions please ??
Gerry Cowie
Nov 24th 2009, 20:36
I see the usual humanist secularist apologists are out in force below!
M Attard choses to ignore the fact that this is the 21st Century and the Church has moved on!
Not surprisingly we see our Australian secularist apologist, William P Flynn dragging up anything he can to discredit the church he so abhors! His "contribution" is full of fallacies.
In the past he has accused the Pope, in these very blogs, of being personally responsible for all sorts of things. But he has not been able to offer concrete proof, nor has he volunteered personally to have the Pope charged with the offences in question and brought before a court!
It is all hot air aimed at knocking the Church, which Malta can see clearly.
The claws of secularism will never be able to take Europe in a stranglehold. Mr Flynn and those of his ilk will not succeed in changing either Europe or Malta into what they wish it to be!
Where is firm evidence of claims made? Where is the real proof? The answer is that there is none!
Kenneth Zammit Tabona at least gives a sensible and balanced view of the situation.
E.Muscat
Nov 24th 2009, 16:43
@Attard and Flynn:What have vietnam,south africa,rwanda,and the second world war to do with christianity?9/11 was the muslim thanks for helping them get rid of the russians in afghanistan and bombarding fellow christians in Yugoslavia(courtesy clinton and thanks from bin laden!):what does this teaches us? Never do any favours to your enemy because he will think you are weak! So continue to denigate your christian heritage and give pleasure to your enemy who will take away your freedom and then you might realise where stupidity takes you.
Kenneth Zammit Tabona
Nov 24th 2009, 14:45
Just seen a very interesting item on France 24 about the Muslim party in the UK which wishes to introduce Sharia law in the UK and the brouhaha when the Archbishop of Canterbury argued that they have a point!!!???If you think it impossible that Sahria could be introduced in a EU country its about time Mr Flynn you watched some 'foreign' news.
There is no way that I will jeopardise the loss of what we have gained in Western Civilzation over the last 1000 years by allowing the decline of one traditional religion to make place for another that is mired in Medieval times and for which the Crusades is an event that happened only yesterday. It is too dangerous.
The Catholic Church may be antagonistic to many of today's needs and wants but the most important thing is that it does not hang us, hack off our hands and stone us to death!
I am indeed sorry to have disillusioned you Mr Flynn. I am not my cousin Edward de Bono and provide smart solutions to everything; especially thorny subjects like this one.
Mr Galea; EU and ECHR are separate entities
MSciberras
Nov 24th 2009, 13:52
@William P Flynn
It is not very smart, in my humble opinion, to be unable to distinguish between persons who call themselves Catholics and who perpetrate evil acts and Catholicism or Christianity. Perhaps instead of reading so much, you should reflect on what you read
Franco Farrugia
Nov 24th 2009, 13:16
All religions were intolerant in the past, because they were considered 'established' religions. That is why there has to be an ocean between the State and Religion and that the State should NOT grant an official status to any one religion. That having been said, M.Attard will have to give me more, much more information and reasons as to why he considers the Catholic religion to be the most intolerant. He has to be much more persuasive than he hasn't already!
M attard
Nov 24th 2009, 11:19
History tells us that the most intolerant of Religions has always been the Catholic Religion. We would do well to remember that, before we seek to take up arms again to defend the undefendable. Surely the way to enlighten those who still live in the dark ages is by word and deed and not by the bloodthirsty sword of the new crusade.
Our World changed with 9/11, and nothing can justify the atrocity of that particular tragedy,but we should ask why that happened and as tragic why we went to war in Iraq.As I write the British are put ting the men who led them on trial,although they have a more diplomatic title for it. Let us clean our conscience before we attempt to clean others.
Perhaps we are barking up the wrong tree.It may be that the fault is with a group of so called leaders on both sides of the divide who think they have the answer and a populace that shouts freedom and liberty but in reality is willing and secretly likes to be led. If communism did not work,then it could be said that neither does Capitalism,and in that include Religion and our leaders.
Kenneth Cassar
Nov 24th 2009, 10:57
"Other countries have seen fit to become secular in a bid to minimise fanaticism and religious rivalry and, hopefully, foster religious harmony by treating them all equally".
Not exactly. Secular states become so primarily for two reasons:
1. Religious observance should be optional.
2. Democracy is unworkable when the people who dictate the law are unelected by the people (like all religious leaders are.
lgalea
Nov 24th 2009, 10:54
Agreed that it is in our Constitution and we have a derogation from the European Convention on Human Rights, but with the lisbon treaty all national laws will be subject to the supremacy of eu law and our Constitution is still a national law. Therefore eu law will also override our Constitution. If someone initiates a case similar to that initiated at the European Court of Human Rights before a local court and the matter has not already been decided by the eu ECJ, then the local court has to refer to the ECJ for guidance on how to interpret the eu law on the subject. Therefore if the ECJ decides like the European Court of Human Rights, that decision will be binding because the derogation is from the European Convention on Human Rights of the Council of Europe not from eu law and the ECJ. Furthermore, the eu Charter specifically provides for the application of the European Convention including its negative aspects and for its enforcement. Such a decision will be taken by the ECJ and not by the ECHR and therefore applicable and enforceable in Malta. This is something that many people are completely missing.
William P Flynn
Nov 24th 2009, 10:36
The list of logical fallacies in this piece is too long to even contemplate explaining in 200 words.
KZT! To think I used to think you're smart. The damage done by Catholicism didn't stop on the 16th century.
Have you not heard of Rwanda in the 1980's, the apartheid and rapacious policies of Catholics fleeing the North and invading Buddhist South Vietnam, and the savage murders by fascists of Jews and Orthodox Christians during the Second World War?
These are but 3 events which any regular contributor to any modern paper should have come across in his reading.
Sharia law is never going to take hold in Europe; but neither will the claws of the Catholic religion be allowed to clutch Europe’s throat again.