I wouldn’t want to be the guy opening UM professor Juan Cole’s mail these next few days, as his essay, “Christian Terrorist Rudolph Sentenced: What the Rightwing Press Will not Say”, winds its way though cyberspace and the fundamentalist mega-churches of America… Here’s how it begins:
Notorious Christian terrorist Eric Rudolph was sentenced to two life terms on Monday. The one-time fugitive had carried out four bombings that terrorized the southeastern areas of the United States. Among his crimes were the blowing up of an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed a policeman, and a bombing of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
As his sister-in-law made clear, Rudolph is driven by the ideology of the “Christian Identity” hate group. Terry Nichols of the Oklahoma City bombing was likewise connected to Christian Identity and their “Elohim City”.
Of course, you won’t see the headline above in American newspapers, even though any Muslim who acts as Rudolph did would be called an “Islamic terrorist” (a particularly objectionable term because “Islamic” means “having to do with the Muslim faith). It is like talking about “terrorism rooted in Christianity.”
Maybe I’ll drop Cole a letter later and see if he might be willing to share some of his hate-mail with us. I think we might find it interesting.
5 Comments
I read that headline and didn’t think a thing of it other than “Oh, yeah, the abortion clinic bomber.”
Makes perfect sense to me too, but I know that it’ll rub some people out there the wrong way.
I’m sure it will, but I don’t know why. I’m pretty sure he’s described himself as a Christian and he was a terrorist (not that he would consider himself that).
I prefer “Muslim Extremist” or “Christian Extremist” because that is what they are. Or nutcases….that’ll work too.
I just want to heartily agree with Kathleen. Nothing to add, just a ditto.
I just made myself a new t-shirt. It says, “Religious Extremists Suck Taint”. It’s pretty cool. Too bad that I’m an agoraphobic and that no one will ever see it.