11AR16-01
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Apologia Report 16:1 (1,051)
January 12, 2011
Subject: ISLAM: The outrageous Pamela Geller
In this issue:
HINDUISM - new book chronicles the Vedic invasion of America
ISLAM - "the firebrand in chief" opposing Park51, aka the "ground zero mega-mosque" in New York City
OCCULTISM - a secular academic short history of the Occult
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HINDUISM
American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation - How Indian Spirituality Changed the West, by Philip Goldberg [1] -- Kirkus explains (Oct '10 #1) that Goldberg writes "Of gurus, maharajas, swamis and the other practitioners who have come to American shores bringing 'India's leading export' - Hinduism, that is.
"Practitioner Goldberg, ... one of many prominent 'Hinjus' (Jewish Hindus) who espouse the traditions of South Asia, opens by observing that his book is 'about Hinduism,' which, narrowly defined, is 'a specific set of precepts and practices derived from India's primary religion.' Given that Hinduism is the source of Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism, the other major indigenous faiths of the subcontinent, the concentration on Hinduism as a shortcut for Indian religion seems defensible, though still apt to provoke argument. The author blends scholarly interest with firsthand experience, but his insistence that America is thoroughly Veda-ized - since we all use words like guru, karma, yoga, mantra and maybe even namaste - already seems arguable as well, given the resurgence of fundamentalist Christianity. Still, Goldberg has a point, and he does a capable job of showing the influence Hinduism has had for at least the last century and a half, beginning with the Transcendentalists and winding through the sounds of just about any band that has ever used a sitar. The author also sets his sight on loftier exponents, such as T.S. Eliot, a close student of Sanskrit, and J.D. Salinger, whose texts he reads as Vedanta parables. And then there are the Beats, of course. The organization is a little haphazard and the puns ('Maharishi's little helpers,' 'the cart before the source,' 'living the vida veda') may be a little too frequent for some tastes, but Goldberg does yeoman service in chronicling the many ways India has influenced American - and, by extension, Western-culture, often very subtly.
"For budding mahatmas, a worthy and vigorous introduction, though less well-written than its closest Buddhist counterpart, Rick Fields's How the Swans Came to the Lake [2]."
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ISLAM
"Outraged, and Outrageous" by Anne Barnard and Alan Feuer -- profiles Pamela Geller, "52 and a single mother of four, [who] wakes each morning shortly after 7, switches on her laptop and wages a form of holy war through Atlas Shrugs [www.j.mp/LDZMs], a Web site that attacks Islam with a rhetoric venomous enough that PayPal at one point branded it a hate site. ...
"Ms. Geller has been writing since 2005, but this summer she skyrocketed to national prominence as the firebrand in chief opposing Park51 [formerly known as Cordoba House], the planned Muslim community center she denounces as 'the ground zero mega-mosque.' ...
"Her writings, rallies and television appearances have both offended and inspired, transforming Ms. Geller from an Internet obscurity, who once videotaped herself in a bikini as she denounced 'Islamofascism,' into a media commodity who has been profiled on 60 Minutes and whose phraseology has been adopted by Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin.
"For Ms. Geller, the battle against Park51 is only part of a much larger crusade in which she is joined by an influential if decentralized coalition that includes former generals, new-mediapolemicists, researchers and evangelicals who view Islam as a politically driven religion, barbaric at its core and expansionist by nature. Her closest partner is Robert Spencer, the proprietor of Jihadwatch.org" (with whom she authored The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America [3]).
"This loose-knit cadre's vision of Islam in an age of terror is not unlike a cold war view of Communism: a stealthy global threat creeping into nodes of power that must be opposed at all cost. ... "She has taken up arms against 'honor killings' as well as against a Disneyland employee who fought to wear a head scarf. She inspires laughs at sites like Loonwatch, but critics say her influence is serious: a spreading fear of Islam and a dehumanization of Muslims comparable to the sometimes-violent anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism of earlier eras. Even some of her former right-wing allies [such as blogger Charles Johnson, who heads up Little Green Footballs] say she has gone too far."
The authors note that Geller opposes Daniel Pipes of Middle East Forum, "whom she ultimately rejected because he believes in the existence of a moderate Islam." And, as they chronicle the growth of Geller's influence, they mention that "Ms. Geller, unlike some of her allies, favors abortion rights...." New York Times, Oct 10 '10, ppA27, A29. <www.j.mp/eV3CnZ>
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OCCULTISM
Western Esotericism: A Concise History, by Antoine Faivre -- it was our hope that this secular academic short history of the occult might help make sense of a very confusing field. Surely someone else can do better.
Faivre first came to our attention for his historical survey work in 1994. Now a Sorbonne professor emeritus, this small book provides a snapshot of his life's work.
Chicken or egg? Which came first: the occult, the mystical, or the esoteric? Faivre begins with the esoteric Hermes Trismegistus connection of the second and third centuries, yet he doesn't record occult origins until the mid-nineteenth century. In contrast, the Oxford English Dictionary traces the word origins of both "occult" and "mystical" to the early 1500s, but "esoteric" doesn't appear until the mid-1600s.
What are the differences in meaning for these words? First, Faivre acknowledges that they completely overlap in common use. However, his focus on the esoteric is divided into six meanings. These include 1) the "disparate grouping" seen in bookshops "to refer to almost everything that exudes a scent of mystery," 2) teachings/facts that are "secret because they are deliberately hidden;" 3) the mystery inherent in the nature of things; 4) a gnostic emphasis on the mythical or symbolic; 5) pertaining to the "quest for the 'primordial Tradition;'" and 6) Faivre's emphasis: "a group of specific historical currents."
Anyone who studies the kingdoms of the cults and the occult will witness the most bizarre of spiritual inventions - especially in the occult. (After all, in keeping with the word’s very definition, meanings may be deliberately hidden.) I'm inclined to think that a fair amount of the embarrassingly obscure is involved as well. For example, let's suppose that my eccentric uncle was so odd that almost nobody understood his strange habits when he was alive, and they understood (and cared) less about them after his death. The chance to really make sense of his life quickly disappeared after he died, and major segments of his work were lost forever, leaving others to reinterpret his experience as they liked.
Consequently, what I get from Faivre is the assurance that few have been inclined to record much about occult history, confirming the obscurity of its origins. Evangelicals may come away with the strong impression that the occult realm resembles a toxic spiritual oil slick. It breaks down as it spreads even as new pockets form and then eventually fade over time marking its perpetually furtive spiritual exploration, speculation, and reinterpretation.
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation - How Indian Spirituality Changed the West, by Philip Goldberg (Harmony, 2010, hardcover, 416 pages) <www.j.mp/eZurUr>
2 - How the Swans Came to the Lake, by Rick Fields (Shambhala; 3 Rev Upd edition, 1992, paperback, 480 pages) <www.j.mp/dQ2qDa>
3 - The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, by Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, and John Bolton (Threshold, 2010, hardcover, 400 pages) <www.j.mp/e3whvw>
4 - Western Esotericism: A Concise History, by Antoine Faivre (State Univ of New York Prs, 2010, paperback, 128 pages) <www.j.mp/dYE1fe>
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