Inside the mind of a Zealot

Title heading: Why Islam is Not the Problem

Modalities Researcher: Rev Gerard Seow

Subject: Inside the Mind of the Zealot

Executive Summary : Some of you have read a 74-paged document, “The Great Replacement” that purports to examine the motives of the Christchurch shooter (Brenton Tarrant) through the eyes of the killer himself. Like a suicide note, it purports to state a reasoned argument for the use of violence against his victims that presumes guilt on the greater part of the government system and the Islamic faith in particular. This opine seeks to debunk the methodology of using the primary document as evidence in cases of radicalised killers and provides an alternative reading of the motivation behind last week’s active shooting inside two mosques in New Zealand.

Inside the mind of a Zealot – the Christchurch shootings (Mar 2019)

The homicide note may give some insight into the states of mind of a killer but cannot be admissible other than as an acknowledgement of responsibility for the crimes committed. As in the case of suicide notes, certain facts may be concluded but certainly not the truth of the matter. Likewise, in the case of the Christchurch active shooter or indeed any maniacal act of criminality such as suicide-bombing, plane or truck hijacking, tunnel-diggers, electrical grid-hackers, etc. Any advanced justification given by perpetrators should not be admissible or published to the general public. These documents should not be used as tools of radicalism in the hands of the psychologically unstable-minded to disturb the peace, or cause the breakdown of harmony and good order in society.

It is my contention that the Christchurch active shooter was misled to believe that he was somehow responsible to act on behalf of Christendom as its messianic herald and in a deranged and unilateral way to justify his action by writing a pseudo-academic thesis that, in my opinion is not worth the paper. So efficient was his “manifesto” in charming audiences, especially white male supremists into triggering anti-Islamic sentiment to provoke multi-ethnic societies into separate (moslem vs christian) camps, when in fact the killing had nothing to do with immigration policies or governance issues such as gun laws, etc and everything to do with the evil motivations of the heart maligned by roots of bitterness and a false sense zealotism.

There were many minor arguments along the way but the gist was that New Zealand and, by and large many other Western nations, have been overrun by Islamists and that his unilateral actions would be understood for what it is (in the zealot’s mind) as an act of self-defence or, at best, a heroic defiance against a religion that is (portrayed by the zealot) as illegitimately playing by, and enforcing its own rules over, host countries where Islam has hitherto been planted. Like a cancerous growth, the religion needed to be excised from the body and undergo severe correctional action to teach them a lesson through the use of the very violence that the zealot sought to condemn.

As a Christian minister, I seek to discover the real reasons, based on biblical grounds and my research into modalities – why I think it is a serious mistake to take the claims of the zealot using only his own interpretation of events, albeit written down for the internet reader. For example, a person who commits suicide may leave behind a suicide note that gives assumed reasons why he acted in the way he or she did but are those reasons true and valid? If he blames for example, his abusive father or “the System” for negative outcomes should these reasons be upheld as a justification for his or her actions? In other words, are these the only explanation of the facts? These may be the facts of what is written in the suicide note but it is certainly not the truth, or even near to the truth.

Let’s say a man decides to do harm to his brother out of envy, to lift his hand to strike him down, or set his attack dog against this relative, and publishes a (homicide) note to the effect, does this note justify his illegal and immoral use of violence against his flesh and blood?

Let’s say a pregnant Mother, writes a 74-paged page treatise on why she could not bring to full term her child in the womb, does her thesis, filled with bold and cogent definitions of her personal limitations and short-comings in any way justify the killing of the unborn through abortion?

Suppose, you decide unilaterally to bring down the electrical grid in a city through deviant means, or poison your neighbour’s water supply, and publish a well-written argument as to why you think this action is a necessity for the safety of the rest of society, would that in any way relieve you of responsibility for crimes committed? The answer is no, obviously.

Likewise, it is inadmissible testimony to receive the statements of the Christchurch zealot published online or broadcast over social media as justification for the crimes he has committed against members of the public in an Islamic building where worshippers where gathered for prayer. It was indeed a “manifesto” but a manifesto of darkness and evil and should never have been made public in the first place.

It is my contention that one of the most powerful and yet most misunderstood archetype is that of the eleemosynary proclivity to show mercy and meet immediate needs. Think of Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Corrie Ten Boom who saved Jews during the Holocaust, or of Desmond Doss of Hacksaw Ridge fame. How can such a good gift given by heaven turn into such a deplorable act of violence against the innocent victims of Christchurch?

It is my contention that a proper understanding of the psychological makeup of the zealot will shed important light into the real debate that should be waged, ie, against the tyranny of the collapsed self-will that we see in any society of the radicalised whether Islamic or Christian, of whatever specific agenda, religious or otherwise, where violence is called upon to justify hurt or pain on innocent bystanders. This is a universal truth that the gifts God has given to do good, may sometimes, in the hands of the deranged maniacal few, be twisted into a perverted sense of justice through vigilantism – whether in a Jewish grocery store in Paris, a Lindt chocolate cafe in Sydney, or in a mosque as what has just happened in Christchurch.

But unless students of human behaviour are sufficiently equipped to identify, isolate and call out such impulses, the lessons learned from this week will revert back into medieval quarrels between Turks and Crusaders, of Catholics during the Inquisition, of Protestants in the days of Calvin, of the witch hunts of the 17th century in Salem, etc.

In other words, Islam is not the problem rather, an unmitigated and unbridled sense of such zealots deceived into thinking that they are “the chosen ones” born to rescue the righteous from the infidel, vermin or swine. Such zealotism is self-justified and has serious repercussion for law and order. The eleemosynary gift, it must be said, when rightfully employed brings much good to society – think of hospise care given to our elderly, to those with special needs, to the handicapped or intellectually disabled. The eleemosynary genius is the one who rescues the team from defeat through intercessory wildcard heroism, the “Joker” that is played at a precise moment in the poker game for the big win. Indeed, the killer thought himself as such a do-gooder, helping Jesus, the State and western civilisation in general by his evil misdeeds.

Decoding the mindset of the zealot requires us to understand the way in which humans have been created, in the image of God. Part of that creation is the gift of the EL-EE-OS – namely, the call of the rescuer, the one who delivers on promises made to meet the immediate need of a sufferer or victim of some sort of real or perceived trauma. Put simply, the eleemosynary gift used in its correct and intended use, is to bring about resolution to a long standing issue, to act as go-between and peace-maker – zeal with knowledge.

In the case of the Christchurch active shooter, while intentions may have had immediate repercussions in terms of justifying a very small minority of the weak-minded radicalised class of white supremists, the overall impact has been one of condemnation by the greater part of Christianity of the use of violence that stands in direct opposition to the command of Christ – zeal without knowledge.

We are sent as sheep among wolves and are not to engage in acts of terror that turns our freedoms into an excuse to engage in wolf-like behaviour that preys on innocent bystanders and victims that have nothing to do with jihad or the other claims or causes of Islamic militants such as the IS or MB in the middle-east.

Again the purpose of this paper, is to categorically state that Islam is not the problem, no where near the problem. Rather my aim is to prove that this killer had reasons his head knew not of. A zealot enthralled in a “mercy-killing complex” completely misunderstands the true beauty and unique purpose of his gift to society – one that seeks to ameliorate, alleviate and remove hurt in one part of the body by giving visibility and practical aid to the poor and needy. Think, the Good Samaritan.

The pure and sincere genius of the EL-EE-OS is the bringing of awareness of the true situational desperation of the voiceless, the trafficked victim, the abused or battered wife, the enslaved, the victim of war or of natural disasters, etc and in the rallying of support of other more fortunate parts of the body to call them into charitable action, social action and good works.

Clearly, the motives for the Christchurch zealot was not acting on behalf of anyone other than himself or perhaps a small radicalised group limited only to those with a twisted interest to destabilise the populace by using the very means of violence that he himself was in protest against, vindicating his criminal brutality by means of a perceived quarrel between the bible and the koran and the adherents of both religions when in fact the shooter was in direct contravention of the tenants of Jesus who requires us to love our enemies and to turn the other cheek.

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[About the author (Gerard Seow), an adult Singaporean TCK who having studied in 6 different schools on 4 continents before the age of 16 and who remembers always being the odd one out in his travels to the Christian West including the United States, United Kingdom (Scotland), Geneva, Switzerland, Canberra, Australia. Gerard says: “Our Geylang based organisation has been studying the effects of trauma on foreign domestic house-helpers for the past 25 years coming out with creative solutions how to recycle labour by upgrading the knowledge base of the OFW for the benefit of the home barrios they represent. When our church was shifted into Geylang, we have been focusing on social structure change projects involving direct assistance packages to victims of trafficking in the backlane and alley ways of Geylang. This has been an important mission focus for the last 10 years since we got our keys to our property at Lorong 3 in Geylang.”

Together with his wife Lianne, a curriculum developer in a free community college for second-halfers in career or life-transition, the author currently serves as modalities researcher with Life Impact Coaching that specialises on helping pastors discover genius through discovery diagnostics.]