'Harry Potter' now a plot to spread Christianity
September 11, 2003 at 11:43 PM ET
grae
The Leaky Cauldron (via Daniel W. Drezner)
Just when you thought it was safe to convert to Islam, here comes that rascal Harry Potter to ruin everything. While he's been busy leading the kiddies to Hell, it would seem that Harry has also been moonlighting as a missionary, plotting to spread Christianity
to the Islamic parts of the world, as reported by Daniel W. Drezner.
Lashkar-e-Taiba is an Islamic fundamentalist group based in Pakistan responsible for multiple terrorist attacks against India over the past ten years.
[Zerb-e-Taiba, Lashkar-e-Taiba's flagship publication] has an article arguing that the Harry Potter series is really part of a missionary plot to spread Christianity to the Islamic parts of the world.
Drezner also offers his theory of why the Harry Potter books are a target for so many religious fundamentalists:
Fundamentalist groups have an exaggerated fear of uncertainty, and any phenomenon beyond their control represents a threat to their world. Harry Potter may be harmless, but the books are beyond their control. They inject new and unwanted ideas into the heads of young children. God forbid that Muslim girls should read about a strong female character like Hermione Granger, or that young Christian children read stories that suggest not all authority figues are omniscient or pure of heart.
Worse than any of these specifics, of course, is the central strength of the Harry Potter series -- the sheer inventiveness of Rowling's imagination. Reading the books teaches children that fantasies are fun, that it's a worthwhile endeavor to explore one's own imagination. This is the first step down the road towards independent thought -- the bane of all religious extremists.