This is not about me.  It’s about George W. Bush, and one important example of the negative impact his actions have had.

I teach a class for 7th and 8th grade students at our local Unitarian/Universalist church called “Neighboring Faiths.”  We expose the kids to all varieties of religious belief and discuss commonalities, differences and just about anything else a middle schooler will ask.  Recently we visited an Islamic masjid  (mosque) and were given a tour by a Muslim woman, Sister Insharah.  During question and answer, I asked, “In Islam, is there any concept of the separation of Church and State, or does Islam hold that the Government is subject to Islam and Allah?”

It’s a pretty straightforward question that I thought I already knew the answer to.  The Koran explicitly states that all power in civil government flows from the Koran and Allah. (I will research the Suras… if you have references (or contradictions) please enlighten me.)

But when Sister Insharah replied, she said, “Give me a break, like there’s separation of Church and State here with George Bush?”  I was taken aback, but the truth is upon me.

1.  Days after 9/11 Bush referred to our response as a necesary Crusade… Not good.
2.  Any attempt to discuss the concept of secular governance will be met with this type of “Why should we separate faith from government… look how you’re doing it here.”

We are headed down a very dangerous road, upon which we will lose our freedom of speech and separation of Church and State… at the hands of the unlikely collaboration of Muslim and Christian theocrats.