Saturday, June 27, 2009

"No shared view of God or man"

In his book Den of Lions Terry Anderson describes his captors as "hamsters." Tom Sutherland, a former professor at Colorado State University, was chained with Anderson for several years. The "hamsters" thought Sutherland was a spy, since they found in his briefcase a speech explaining the basic concepts of Islam. "Very academic, totally harmless," was Anderson's description of the document he finally got to read. Anderson and David Jacobson (another hostage, who later became the hospital administrator in Durango, Colorado when I lived there) were concerned that the rough treatment the hamsters were giving to their suspected spy, Sutherland, would be too much for Sutherland to take. Anderson offered to be taken down to the "horse stall" with Sutherland. The result was that Sutherland was brought in the room with Jacobson and Anderson, along with Father Jenko and Ben Weir. Five mattresses jammed into one 10 by 12 room, but "we need each other badly. At least I need them. Anything to keep my mind going, to keep me away from myself."

Terry writes this description of America versus the radical Islamists: "The logic is too different; mental language untranslatable. There is no shared view of God or man. Oppressor and oppressed, each sees the other a victim bound and blind."

Terry's faith in God was difficult to sustain. There was one occasion when he felt touched by God's love. But Terry realized his abduction and captivity were the work of men, not God. The hardest part, though, was accepting God's love, God's help, and to work out some way of understanding what was happening to himself; coming to terms with God, coming to terms with himself, "knowing what we expect of each other."

It was Madeleine's writing that evoked the most tears from me (almost every time she wrote). Terry had written her a letter in November, 1985. It was a wonderful love letter. He urged her to read the Song of Solomon Chapter 4, verses 1-15, and 7, 1-5. "They were written for you," he wrote to Madeleine.

Madeleine wrote, "The year ended with me in bed, with my daughter in my arms and only my tears protecting us from the loneliness surrounding us."

1 comment:

Terri Wagner said...

I think Terry's insight is invaluable in our present and future dealings with the Middle East. It's time to accept the fact, they don't think like us. There simply is no common ground. I wanted there to be; I had hoped so. But if you listen to soldiers over there in Iraq right now they will tell you what Terry said.