--- open letter
---
To my Muslim friends on a complex anniversary
Lepanto.
On October 7, Catholics celebrate the feastday of Our Lady
of the Rosary. It marks the day in 1571 when Catholics beat the crap out of
Muslims in a naval battle for control of the Mediterranean. Two years after the
battle, the pope established October 7 as a feastday in honor of Mary,
attributing the victory at Lepanto to praying the Rosary.
If you want to remember fights between Christians and
Muslims, it’s easy; there have been a lot of them. The Spanish national epic, “El
Cid,” is about fighting Muslims. The French national epic, “Le Chanson de Roland,”
is about fighting Muslims. Lepanto, oddly, is often a British celebration. A
truly great Catholic writer, G.K. Chesterton, wrote a powerful English poem
about the battle; 1,357 words, and I can recite it for you from memory if you
would like; please provide a solid surface to pound my fist on at critical
moments. The English weren’t at the battle, and in fact they are deeply proud
that they witnessed the destruction (by God) of the Spanish armada that had fought
and won at Lepanto. So it’s odd that the British (British Catholics) celebrate
this feastday, but such is the power of poetry.
It’s easy to remember the fights. And fun! But maybe we can
do better.
Here’s another oddity that may help. Shakespeare’s fans
really love Henry V, about a young king who shook off his youthful habits of
debauchery, and became a proud king – “proud” meaning, he was a warrior. Kenneth
Branagh’s 1989 version of the play is gorgeous. One scene is right after the
Battle of Agincourt, when the English had established themselves as rulers of
France. Henry insists that God provided the victory, and everyone sings “Not to
us, Lord, but to your name, give glory” (in Latin). BUT: every single person I
know who loves that scene (historical fiction) also loves the story of Joan of Arc
(history). Joan of Arc was a teenage peasant girl who said she had visions of
various saints, who told her to throw the English out and put the Dauphin back
on his rightful throne, reversing the work of Henry V. So she did (did I say
she was a peasant teenage girl?), and then got burned at the stake, and then
got canonized. (The book that Mark Twain considered his best was historical
fiction – his re-telling of the story of Joan of Arc.) So: God gave victory to
the English over the French, and then gave victory to the French over the
English. And both stories are thrilling! Humans are weird!
So I can pound my fist and recite “Lepanto,” and then turn
around and sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” about a peaceful town protected under
Ottoman rule.
There are people who think the Rosary is – in part, in
history – about defeating a dreaded enemy, Muslims. But in the 20th
century, two of the greatest nonviolent movements – Solidarity in Poland and
the Filipino Revolution – were also products of the Rosary. The Rosary is tied
to war in the past: inescapable historical fact. It’s tied to nonviolence in
the present: inescapable sociological fact.
Fifty years ago, the pope and bishops of the Catholic Church
finished up a Council, the Second Vatican Council. It had lasted three years,
and transformed the Church – not changing any fundamental teaching, but
transforming the way we interact with others. One of the documents of that
Council was “Nostra Aetate,” and it expresses – among other things – our
determination to put the wars of the past behind, and to work for mutual
understanding. I understand that there are a lot of Catholics who didn’t get
the memo; it’s only been 50 years. But
let me quote the thing, because it has changed the way faithful Catholics (I
can’t answer for the troglodytes) view Islam:
“The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore
the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the
Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit
wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the
faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they
do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor
Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In
addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to
all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral
life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.”
It continues: “Since in the course of centuries not a few
quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this
sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual
understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of
all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and
freedom.” (Nostra Aetate, #3)
Salaam.