Responsibility and the Syrian Refugee Crisis

Recently, the governor elect of Kentucky went on record saying that he opposes the relatively uncontrolled resettlement of Syrian refugees. This of course was stated in response to the news that one of the people responsible for the terrorist attack in France over the weekend posed as a Syrian refugee. Bevin’s statement was countered by the sitting governor who stated something to the effect that the “Christian thing to do” is to accept the resettlement of Syrian refugees.

 

In some ways, this banter between Bevin and Beshear anticipated some of the contours of the debate, at least within the general populace. For instance, I saw numerous people invoking an appeal to national security in opposition to any resettlement. Then I saw many espouse some type of Christian responsibility in support of the resettlement of Syrian refugees.

As I pondered these battle lines and opinions on this geo-political crisis, I came down on a few pillars that should frame everyone’s opinion on the matter.

First, let’s not trivialize this crisis by suggesting that there is some easy solution. This is one of the most complex geo-political situations in my lifetime (perhaps the most complicated) and it has been festering for years. Furthermore, I am a Christian, and please don’t try and simplistically tell me that it is my Christian duty to support the resettlement of Syrian refuges.

Second, ISIS represents a particular tradition within the larger Islam, and as such, they do not represent the whole of the religion. Anyone who suggests that they do is either misinformed or disingenuous. However, it is also clear that ISIS exploits elements of the larger Islamic religion as well as prevailing Western sentiments in order to accomplish their agenda.

 

Therefore, and this is the third pillar, if the federal government does not have a proper vetting system for these refugees, then everyone should be cautious of any attempt to resettle Syrian refugees in mass. This is not “fear mongering” or “Islamaphobia.” Rather, it is common sense in response to an established modus operandi.  

In the end, I find it ironic that the federal government does not to want ask people about their religious convictions but sees little problem with what are essentially mass-level spy programs. So, we will drop in on conversations, put people on watch-lists for a variety of reasons, but balk at asking them if they feel that the morals of Western society embody and perpetuate the moral decay of humanity.

Look, I don’t know what the answer is. I certainly don’t think that the global community should sit by and close their doors as a particular group wages a brutal war. The lives of the innocent are in the blast zone. Yet if we do not take seriously the way that they wage their war, and we do not take steps to combat their tactics, including their clandestine tactics, then we may be risking another attack on American soil.