The conflict in the Middle East is increasingly chaotic, with multiple factions claiming legitimacy in a wide variety of inter-related and overlapping issues. Recently, the conflict has seen spillover into Europe, with attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris as well as the more recent shootings that occurred in Copenhagen. While the West has framed these attacks in the context of anti-terrorism and the freedom of speech, it may be worthwhile to question the fundamental assumptions that lie beneath this narrative.
Namely,

1. Is “religion vs. the freedom of speech” really the correct narrative? Furthermore, if the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech were to come into conflict, which should take precedence?
2. Do groups such as ISIS carry any redeeming qualities? What is their claim to righteousness that the West has such trouble understanding?

 
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 4 from “The Laws of Salvation: The Conditions for a Religious Nation” (1/4/2009, Chiba Central Temple)

The Background Behind the Middle East Conflict

From late-2008 to early-2009, Israel attacked the Gaza strip after Hamas shelled Israeli towns. We summoned the spirits that are at the root of this conflict to hear their thoughts.

First, Muhammad, who is on the side that’s being attacked, said, “Starting from the conclusion, I want to get rid of Israel. It’s at the center of what’s causing the chaos. As long as that nation exists, conflict will continue forever.” To begin with, this conflict began because God failed to deliver on His promise. When Moses escaped Egypt, the “Promised Land” already had occupants. It’s the same with Israel today. From the point of view of the Arabs, “the West basically took their land by force”. When asked “who is providing aid to Israel”, Muhammad responded, “it’s (Archangel) Michael”. Next, when asked “are you involved, at least in part, in the terrorist attacks against the West?” he answered “I am”, but then added, “The Karma has been piling up since the Crusades, so this isn’t something that started yesterday.”

Next, I summoned Jesus, and asked “Are you involved in the conflict as well?” to which Jesus gave a clear answer, “I don’t carry such feelings of violence and conflict. While Michael is fighting, I haven’t issued any orders telling him to ‘fight against Islam'”.

When I looked further into why Muhammad and Michael, who are both high level spirits, are in conflict, I found that the roots go deeper than the Crusades. During the third century, before Islam was born, Mani founded Mani-ism in Persia. At one point, Mani-ism flourished to the point where it can be called a world-religion, but was later crushed by Christianity. Mani is a 9th-dimentional spirit, and has a history of being born as Zoroaster. Zoroastrianism also saw its founding in Persia, but with the spread of Christianity, it eventually disappeared into history.

The God of Love is very deep, and has delivered many “Spiritual Leaders” to the world. However, due to the number of these leaders, many religions were founded, which resulted in clashes. Furthermore, after the founders passed away, the followers were unsure how to tackle new problems. As a result, they tended to rigidly protect the original teachings, which made it difficult to find common ground with each other.

Religion was originally pluralistic, and the question of “whether Monotheism is correct” still persists today. When Monotheistic religions clash, they fight until one side is defeated. At one point, during the middle ages, Islam was favored due to the advancements it made in the areas of science and scholarship. However, the Protestant Reformation brought about reform in Christianity, and the West recovered lost ground. However, with the decline of the United States, the religious and security situation around the world is becoming increasingly complex.

Choosing Freedom over Equality will Result in Greater Happiness

I asked Muhammad, “What kind of teaching do you wish to spread?” to which he answered, “I want to spread equality. ‘In Monotheism, God alone is sacred, and men are all equal. So keep your arrogance in check’. That’s the idea of the equality of men that I wish to spread”.

I do think Islam should exist. I’ve emphasized the importance of “the equality of opportunity”, if the results show differences that are too large, that may require some adjustments. However, if asked, “which would you choose; freedom or equality?” I would say that choosing freedom will result in greater happiness. This may be an extreme example, but criminals inside a prison are all equal as well. But they aren’t happy. At times, when given freedom, the results may not be what we want to expect. But even so, I still believe freedom to be preferable over equality.

Most Muslim nations are poor. In Islam, “everything is under the guidance of Allah”, so there’s a side of Islam that denies effort and self-help. We need to inject an ideology of self-help into this side of Islam.

I asked Muhammad, “who do you think Allah is?” He answered, “Allah is El Cantare. But at the moment, I’m in conflict with Michael, which makes it difficult to back down.” Therefore, I think there’s a need for a more advanced religion to act as a go-between to foster understanding. (By interjecting Japanese influence into the Islamic world), we can slowly spread the teachings of Happy Science to make sure that the conflict between Christianity and Islam won’t turn into Armageddon. I would like to slowly build a religion for a new era. And the central theme of that religion should be the Japanese thought of “holding onto one’s faith while accepting the plurality of values.”

Heaven has many spirits of different levels of enlightenment. Therefore, claims that “there is only one God, and everything else is fake” is a fundamentally mistaken view. However, it’s also true that there are differences in enlightenment between Gods, and that El Cantare is the supreme God of Earth. On the whole, it’s preferable for religions to get along and focus on their respective developments and prosperity.