⬅️ Book: Jesus and John Wayne - Kristin Kobes Du Mez · Previous: Chapter 12 · Next: Chapter 14 · Source: PDF pp. 215–227 (file not included in this release)
Chapter 13: Why We Want to Kill You
Chapter Objective
Du Mez explains how Islam replaced communism as conservative evangelicalism’s defining enemy after September 11. Through Christian publishing, fraudulent “ex-terrorist” testimony, political pressure, and military command, fear became a source of authority: leaders magnified an Islamic threat, offered masculine protection, and connected Christian nationalism to preemptive war, torture, and weakened democratic restraint.
Islam as the New “Evil Empire”
- Christian Zionism, concern for persecuted Christians, and defense of “Christian America” converged after 9/11. Although President George W. Bush distinguished extremist violence from Islam, Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, Dobson, and Haggard characterized Islam broadly as evil, violent, and expansionist. PDF p. 215 (file not included in this release)
- In 2002, 77 percent of surveyed evangelical leaders viewed Islam unfavorably; 70 percent called it a religion of violence and two-thirds believed it sought world domination.
- Christian bookstores surrounded devotional materials with prophecy, invasion, and “Islamofascist” crisis books. Fiction and ostensibly factual testimony made preemptive military action seem both urgent and righteous. PDF p. 216 (file not included in this release)
The Caner Brothers and Marketable Testimony
- Ergun and Emir Caner’s Unveiling Islam sold an insider story of Islam as inherently warlike. Paige Patterson’s sponsorship, Liberty University appointments, churches, schools, broadcasters, law enforcement, and military audiences transformed their testimony into institutional expertise.
- Critics identified factual and interpretive errors early, but the account confirmed what audiences expected. Ergun Caner increasingly embellished his biography—Turkey, jihadist training, debates, and even an accent—although records showed a Swedish birth and Ohio upbringing. PDF p. 218 (file not included in this release)
- Liberty initially reduced the controversy to theological acceptability and later demoted Caner only after sustained pressure. Focus on the Family rebroadcast disputed material, illustrating how ideological usefulness could outrank verification.
The “Ex-Terrorist” Circuit and a Politics of Fear
- Walid Shoebat, Zachariah Anani, and Kamal Saleem circulated dramatic stories of terrorism, killing, PLO recruitment, and miraculous conversion. Independent checks found basic claims unsupported or impossible. PDF p. 219 (file not included in this release)
- Even organizations that privately doubted these men were reluctant to disclose concerns. They continued to receive access to churches, colleges, prophecy conferences, media, prestigious universities, and the Air Force Academy.
- Graphic tales made Muslims an undifferentiated violent other and American Christians imagined victims. Sales, fees, and celebrity rewarded speakers, while sponsors gained a crisis that made their promised protection indispensable.
- Du Mez’s causal question is central: did a new threat produce militant faith, or did militant leaders heighten perceived threat to justify aggression and expand their power? PDF p. 221 (file not included in this release)
Dissent, Torture, and Movement Discipline
- Nearly three hundred Christian leaders signed the 2007 “Yale Letter” advocating Muslim-Christian cooperation. Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Richard Cizik, and other prominent evangelicals showed that anti-Muslim militancy was contested within evangelicalism.
- Al Mohler and Focus on the Family opposed the letter. Pressure helped remove Cizik from the NAE after his dialogue work, environmental activism, and support for civil unions crossed conservative boundaries. PDF p. 222 (file not included in this release)
- A 2009 survey found 62 percent of white evangelicals said torture could often or sometimes be justified—higher than mainline Protestants or religiously unaffiliated respondents. The result exposes the ethical consequences of a faith organized around protection and enemy defeat.
Jerry Boykin and Sacred Command
- Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin joined special-operations prestige, evangelical spiritual warfare, and extraordinary executive power. As a Pentagon intelligence official, he helped pursue operations beyond ordinary CIA and congressional restrictions.
- In uniform before Christian audiences, Boykin described the War on Terror as a battle against Satan, President Bush as appointed by God, and the military as a spiritual army. His self-understanding placed biblical mission above ordinary legal restraint. PDF p. 224 (file not included in this release)
- Boykin participated in importing coercive Guantanamo interrogation practices to Abu Ghraib. Lower-ranking military police absorbed public blame after photographs emerged, while he remained in office until 2007.
- After retirement he created Kingdom Warriors, joined the Family Research Council, opposed women’s military integration, and coauthored a book with the discredited Kamal Saleem. Evangelical institutions sustained his authority despite repeated warning signs. PDF p. 225 (file not included in this release)
Neoconservatism, Perpetual War, and Democratic Restraint
- Neoconservative intellectuals promoted American power, military virtue, and war as a source of moral clarity. Their agenda meshed with evangelical militarism after 9/11 and helped turn Bush into a warrior president.
- Idealizing military virtue required overlooking misconduct and abuse. When civilians become the strongest militarists and defer moral judgment to warriors, Du Mez argues, civilian control loses substance. PDF p. 226 (file not included in this release)
- As Iraq casualties mounted, white evangelical support for the war and Bush declined, especially among younger adults. The loss of a compelling warrior leader left Christian Right organizers anxious about 2008.
Key Concepts
- Politics of fear: Leadership that produces solidarity and obedience by magnifying external danger and promising protection.
- Testimonial authority: Credibility based on a dramatic conversion or insider identity, sometimes insulated from ordinary factual scrutiny.
- Pornography of violence: Graphic, titillating representations of an enemy’s cruelty that dehumanize outsiders and license retaliatory violence.
- Protection bargain: The exchange in which followers grant power to leaders who claim that only exceptional strength can keep them safe.
- Sacred chain of command: A hierarchy that treats political and military leaders as divinely appointed and therefore less accountable to law or oversight.
- Civilian militarism: Civilian celebration of force so intense that it weakens critical supervision of the military.
Questions for Reflection
- Why did demonstrably unreliable “ex-terrorist” stories retain institutional support after their claims were challenged?
- How did the Christian publishing and speaking economy convert fear into money and authority?
- What does the Yale Letter controversy reveal about the limits of evangelical pluralism?
- How did Boykin’s religious worldview affect the relationship between military mission, law, and oversight?
- What evidence would distinguish a proportionate response to danger from the manufacture of threat for political power?
Citations and References
Author’s complete endnotes
Chapter 13 endnotes 1–29: notes beginning on PDF p. 318 (file not included in this release) · notes ending on PDF p. 319 (file not included in this release).
- Post-9/11 evangelical views of Islam (notes 1–3): NAE polling and leaders’ statements; Christian publishing and culture-war materials.
- Caner and “ex-terrorist” claims (notes 4–14): the Caners’ publications; Liberty University records; contemporary reporting; Doug Howard’s investigation; and institutional programs.
- Evangelical dissent and torture (notes 15–17): the Yale Letter, evangelical responses, Pew polling, and surveys on torture.
- Boykin, covert operations, and Abu Ghraib (notes 18–24): military reporting and investigations; Seymour Hersh; Boykin’s publications and speeches.
- Neoconservatism, Iraq, and public opinion (notes 25–29): political history, polling, presidential rhetoric, and analysis of civil-military relations.