Religion
and the Presidents
By Dr. Gary Scott Smith
The Center for Vision & Values
Grove City College
US
Few question that religious issues have played
a prominent role in the presidency of George W.
Bush. Some even accuse Bush of being a Christian
zealot who wants to remake America according to
his religious views. Although Bush’s faith
has helped shape his electoral strategy, political
agenda, and relationships at home and abroad,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, has
urged Bush to reevaluate his Middle East policies
in light of his religious convictions. The US
president may want to ask his Iranian counterpart
to reassess his own policies in light of the letter
he recently sent Bush.
Ironically, many Iranians worry that their president
is a religious fanatic who wants to take their
nation’s Islamic theocracy to a more radical
level. Ahmadinejad anticipates the return of the
Shiite messiah, the 12th imam, who will lead the
exploited to revolt against their oppressors.
And he has alarmed many Westerners by his inflammatory
claim that “Israel should be wiped off the
map.”
In his letter 18-page epistle on religion, philosophy
and history, Ahmadinejad asked Bush how his actions
in the Middle East could be reconciled with his
claim to “be a follower of Jesus Christ,”
“the great Messenger of God,” the
herald “of peace and forgiveness.”
Could a disciple of Jesus attack other countries
and destroy entire villages “on the slight
chance” of capturing a few criminals? If
the billions of dollars the US spent on security
and military campaigns were instead used to improve
health services and education, create jobs, alleviate
poverty, mediate between disputing states, and
extinguish “the flames of racial, ethnic
and other conflicts,” the Iranian president
asked, would the world not be a much better place?
If such prophets as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael,
or Jesus Christ “were with us today,”
how would they judge America’s priorities?
Ahmadinejad rejoiced that hundreds of millions
of Christians and Muslims and millions of Jews
throughout the world share a “belief in
a single God.” He insisted that the holy
scriptures command everyone to “worship
one God” who “is above all powers
in the world” and to “follow the teachings
of divine prophets.” “Do you not think,”
Ahmadinejad asked Bush, that if all people accept
and abide by the principles of “monotheism,
worship of God, justice, respect for the dignity
of man, [and] belief in the Last Day, we can overcome
the present problems of the world — that
are the result of disobedience to the Almighty
and the teachings of prophets? Do you not think
that belief in these principles promotes and guarantees
peace, friendship and justice?”
Although Bush will probably not respond to Ahmadinejad’s
missive, he does share many of his convictions
about God and the importance of faith and justice.
Bush has argued that Jews, Christians, and Muslims
all seek to create “a kind, just, tolerant
society” and emphasize the “universal
call to love your neighbor.” He has frequently
insisted that Islam’s “teachings are
good and peaceful.” Bush hosted the first-ever
White House dinner to recognize the beginning
of Ramadan, has met frequently with American Muslim
leaders, and praised Islam for inspiring “countless
individuals to lead lives of honesty, integrity,
and morality.” Like Ahmadinejad, Bush has
often emphasized God’s control of the universe.
In his 2003 State of the Union Address, the president
declared, for example, “Behind all of life
and all of history, there’s a … purpose,
set by the hand of a just and faithful God.”
Both presidents are inspired by their faith and
seek to determine God’s will for their administrations
and countries. Both want the Middle East to become
a just, stable, and prosperous region.
Unlike Ahmandinejad, however, Bush has never claimed
that he definitely knows God’s will for
particular situations.
American leaders quickly dismissed Ahmadinejad’s
“rambling” correspondence as irrelevant
because it contained no proposals to resolve the
crisis over Iran’s nuclear program. At a
deeper level, however, his letter calls attention
to the crucial issues of America’s global
priorities and whether religious communities,
especially Islam, can help promote justice, the
rule of law, and toleration.
Given the many ideological, ethnic, and political
divisions in our world and the Middle East’s
repressive governments, let us hope that Islam
can play a role in establishing republican governments
with broad political participation, equal justice,
and civil liberties in this region. Perhaps Bush
should challenge Ahmadinejad and other Middle
Eastern leaders to foster the principles the Iranian
president delineates.
(Dr. Gary Scott Smith is a professor of history
at Grove City College and author of Faith and
the Presidency from George Washington to George
W. Bush (Oxford University Press, August 2006).
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