Source: The Guardian
Author: Andrew Brown
9/11 strengthened fundamentalism in every global faith – and in atheism too. But it has also led to backlashes against these doctrines wherever they have appeared.
In Islam there have been positive developments. The attacks were repeatedly and clearly condemned by Muslim leaders all over the world…
…Among Christians, too, there has been a growth of understanding and interest in Islam, and a simultaneous increase in its demonisation, which this year culminated in Anders Breivik’s terrorist attacks in Norway.
The mass killer was clearly influenced by a post-9/11 theology that sees Christian Europe under attack from Muslim immigration. Variants of this idea animate political parties in many European countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Italy. For them, Europe’s Christian identity has become a sacred value.