Brethren, Peace and Good be with you today this day of Jesus Christ’s first manifestation to the gentiles, or Epiphany.
I read this guest piece by Dean Obeidullah published in CNN, titled Santorum wants to impose 'Judeo-Christian Sharia'. At first I thought it was a serious piece but then, upon further inspection of the author’s vitae I realized that Obeidullah’s credentials as a student of comparative religion are, well, comical since his primary profession is being a comedian. Thus, he has the same authority as, say, Harry Bellafonte, to speak on serious issues.
I like humor as anyone, I am no sourpuss. However, Mr. Obeidullah’s joke is lost on me. To compare Catholic Social Doctrine – which candidate Santorum avows to honor, yet that’s up for debate also – to shari’a isn’t funny at all. In fact, it is over the top, as a simple reading of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church would demonstrate very quickly. For example, a lesson we learned from experience is that killing religious dissenters and malcontents by turning them to the state for punishment, including capital punishment, was inconsistent with the Gospel and judged harshly by the Gospel’s Lord. Whereas in shari’a, strictly applied, non-Muslims are to be kept in dhimmitude and Muslim who convert to another religion are to be killed, with the blessing of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate.
Anyone who holds a posture consistent with Catholic Social Doctrine holds a posture ultimately rational and humanistic, because it is based upon the truth about the human person, his nature, call, and end. I hope for the day where serious discussion could flow through that channel, and not through the unfunny caricatures put forth by Mr. Obeidullah. A serious conversation to be had, even with serious comedians with no chutzpah.