To Glenn Beck and his ilk, “Shariah” has become the latest word to send waves of terror across the nation.

The word – quite en vogue with America’s most vocal conservative pundits – has become the hottest scare-word of 2010.

Amidst the hoopla surrounding the Ground Zero mosque, Beck has warned that providing any kind of support to the Islamic faith within our borders would inevitably lead to the introduction of Shariah law in the U.S.

NIKONOVICH-KAHN

To these conservatives, Shariah is synonymous with Islam. The very word implies something wholly nefarious.

In the mind of conservatives, Shariah conjures up an image of an America that is an ideological slave to the beliefs of Islam —  women are subjugated by Islam, the middle class is enslaved by Islam and every American is subjected to the terrors of jihadist-minded Muslims.

Beck and his peers urge us to protect the sanctity of this Christian nation. They push Christian principles upon a pedestal while vilifying Islam in its entirety.

To put it in terms that even Sarah Palin could understand (maybe), Christianity is good for America, Islam is bad.

But a closer examination of the history of Christianity (and of America) reveals that Christianity is no better for America than is the supposed terror of Shariah.

Conservatives warn us that Shariah would enslave Americans to the power of Islam.

But didn’t Americans use the Bible to justify slavery in the 19th century? Didn’t students and graduates of this very University refer to Holy Scripture to explain why slavery was an acceptable institution?

Conservatives warn that an America under Shariah rule would mercilessly subjugate women.

But haven’t Christians used the Bible to subjugate women for centuries?

The most holy words of Christianity have been used to keep women out of American universities, jury rooms, town halls and voting booths.

Don’t worry Glenn Beck, we don’t need Shariah here in the good ol’ U.S. of A. to subjugate our women —  we Christian-Americans have done an excellent job of doing that ourselves.

Christians in America continue to use the Bible today to oppress and marginalize their fellow citizens.

Many Christians in America (though certainly not all) refer to words in the Holy Scripture to explain why gay Americans should be denied basic civil liberties.

Do you get it yet, Glenn Beck? We don’t need the evils of the Quran to enslave and subjugate our own.

We’ve already done it for ourselves, thanks to the great words in the Bible.

— Zach Nikonovich-Kahn is an alumnus from Atlanta