Renegades!

The Militant Imam of Northern Ireland

In the late 1950's, the labour movement amongst the poor of Northern Ireland was spreading. Like many trends from America, 'organized labour' had taken a while to reach the shores of the Eire's Rock. Hot on the heels of this godless phenom, were the ideals of equality and civil rights. If the influence of democratic socialism reached Northern Ireland, workers would focus on organizing in greater numbers against their employers, and for religious leaders on both sides of the North's great divide, that meant Protestants and Catholics joining together to put aside ancient grievances and start working productively. They may even turn away from that all encompassing and domineering mother that had a vice grip on their lives-the church. It was a pivotal crossroads for the Northern Irish: they could put down their weapons and realize their common enemies that kept them divided, or they could trod down the beaten path of armalites, direct rule, sedition, sectarian violence and barbed wire.

Sensing an opportunity to counteract the sea change, Reverand Ian Paisley stepped into the void and struck a new course for the Protestants of Northern Ireland. As the Guardian recently reported:

Dr Paisley began in politics in 1959 by forming the Ulster protestant association to prevent Belfast's dockworkers from being seduced by Gerry Fitt's Marxism.

Countering the socialist cause with appeals to loyalty to the country, God and King, Paisley started his march against the social changes that had overwhelmed the west. The church, while bringing in tourists and their dollars to France and all over Europe, had taken a beating by Camus, Satre and the war in general: How could God exist if he allowed World War 2? Paisley and the North, were insulated from this sentiment in some ways. The Irish had in fact been shamefully sympathetic to the Germans because of their shared animosity for the English, and had stayed neutral during the war. Other than bringing some conscripts to the action, the Irish had blissfully missed most of the action and fallout. As a result, they also missed out on the soul searching and introspection that most of Europe went through. For the Northern religious leaders, they could breathe a sigh of relief: If they could stem the tide of secularization from the continent, they could surely repel the civil rights movement and social change from the United States.

Paisley, sensing a momentum, found a guiding light and a pride in taking on this menace. Concentrating on proselytizing the most vulnerable group, at risk of falling to socialism: the working poor. In Northern Ireland today, the most militant areas on both sides of the religious divide are from the most dilapidated neighbourhoods. Like fundamentalist leaders in other countries fighting a similar battle, Paisley immunized the poor from the spreading liberalization by appealing to their mortality, their ignorance, their baser instincts, their god and their pride. If nothing else, they could be proud of their Protestantism. Why would they join up with Catholic workers? They worship a devil, and show reverance for the Pope. Or, as Paiseley put it, "I denounce you, Anti-Christ!" he screamed at the Pope during a session of the European Parliament during the Pope's address.

Paisley not only gave religious justification for violence against Catholics, he incited it. During the height of the civil war movement in Northern Ireland, an event (a precursor to the Bloody Sunday Massacre) involving Paisley came to pass. In 1968, in a Sharpton-esque speech that incited clear and present danger, Paisley convinced 500 Protestants to attack and loot Catholic homes. He justified his actions, explaining that:

"Catholic homes caught fire because they were loaded with petrol bombs; Catholic churches were attacked and burned because they were arsenals and priests handed out sub-machine guns to parishioners; and the massive discrimination in employment and shortage of houses for Catholics were simply because they breed like "rabbits" and multiply like "vermin".

Not coincidentally, memberships in the Catholic Irish Republican Army spiked during this period. Similarly, the loyalist Ulster Defense Association began its own operations, cashing in on the fear of Catholic equality and the fire and brimstone speeches from the pulpit by Paisley. In five year period in the early seventies, the UDA murdered 600 Catholics in cold blood. Freddie Parkinson, a leader of the UDA in later years, stated that Paisley was:

"a tarantula who spreads the venom of further conflict and has been a major contributor to our prolonged tragedy."

The inference here is that Catholics were only one of many victims of his hatred. The Protestant community itself was a major victim of this 'venom', to be sure. Reverand Paisley was a respected religious and secular leader who had taken advantage of a people's god fearing vulnerability and abused their trust to no end. Like any abusive relationship, the abuser suffers just as the abused does. Already at odds with a violent past and colonial misdeeds, the Protestant community already carries considerable baggage. They are ridden with guilt, debased by their actions, have suffered by Catholic retaliation, and driven by self-loathing.

Like religious leaders in all areas of the globe, Paisley has abused the fear of the afterlife to conquer his mortal enemies. The poor of Northern Ireland were divided and conquered on his watch and with his blessing. Like Cardinal Law, like priests and bishops of the residential schools, like Richelieu, like the Spanish Inquisition, like the Salem Witch trials, and not unlike several other historically tragic movements, Paisley is the latest incarnation of the charismatic leader who identifies an enemy to attack and to divert attention away from real problems. He offered bread and circuses, misdirection, and a cure-all for the Protestant Northern Ireland: Kill the Catholic leaders, invade their country and convert them. There is an earthly salvation for your present torment, and an outlet for your rage: use your frustration to acheive a noble religious goal. God will forgive your actions if they are in his service.

His message is eerily similar to the one found in the dark recesses of the Muslim world. A religious leader whispering into the ear of the poor and vulnerable: if they will only do his dirty work, they can be saved.

Certainly, Reverant Paisley is not the only responsible figure in Northern Ireland. As a wise man once said "Throw a rock in the air, you'll hit someone guilty." But certainly, his continued presence and influence is disturbing. This is the man that holds the talks for peace in his hands, with his large voting bloc of the loyalist DUP party in his grasp.

The silver lining has been that there has been an uneasy peace in the North for years, and with this peace Paisley's ability to incite violence grows weak. A generation may go by that never knew sectarian violence in the North, never knew an uncle that was killed by the British Government or an IRA henchman, and never knew the mob violence that destroyed their homes. The memories of these deeds will fade as long as the violence stays dorment. History, sectarian violence and lynch mobs may disappear from living memory, and a fresh chance to throw down the cross that all the Irish bare will present itself. It is at that moment of opportunity, they may have a sober look at the true cause of their painful shared experience.

For now, amongst the crumbling tenements and walls of West Belfast's poor, a brand new structure rises, soaring ten stories above the ghetto, boasting a glorious steeple that dominates the blood red sky. The houses below, are small and trembling before an ever present and watchful alter: their crutch, their father, their justification, their love, their guide, their hope, their lifeline, their drug and their curse.

posted by Shamrocks! @ 11:01 AM