The Issues
Scene 1:
Jewish Boy: Mother, you said Yahweh is the almighty and looks after and protects the world right?
Mother: Yes son, he is the superpower.
Jewish Boy: And you also said he brings peace upon the world and condemns cruelty?
Mother: Of course son. One should not indulge in any activities that can cause harm to any living being.
Jewish Boy: But then why did Yahweh induce the Ten Plagues on to the Egyptians?
Mother: You see son, Moses was leading his people to the land of Canaan and Pharaoh was not letting Israel go.
Jewish Boy: But mother, why did Yahweh kill all the firstborns of man and animal in Egypt. What had they done wrong?
Mother: Uh! ... Look son, Pharaoh had challenged Yahweh and to show Pharaoh the extents of his power, Yahweh applied the plagues.
Jewish Boy: So you mean Yahweh will kill all the people who challenge him just to show his powers? What happened to the message of 'Let peace dawn upon the world' that Yahweh himself doesn't abide to?
Mother: Uh ... Son ...
Jewish Boy: And what's the difference between Yahweh and a human then? Why do we worship Yahweh if he is just like us?
Mother: Enough son. No one questions the verdict of the almighty. He does what he thinks is right. And we should do what he asks us to do?
Jewish Boy: Ok.
Scene 2:
Hindu Boy: Maa, you always stop me from cheating right?
Mother: Yes beta, God is looking at what you do. If you do anything wrong, he'll punish you one day.
Hindu Boy: But Maa, Krishna also cheated by changing the day into night to help Arjuna kill Jaydrata.
Mother: Everything is fair in love and war beta.
Hindu Boy: The terrorists have posed wars in many countries. Do you mean what they are doing is fair?
Mother: No. They are not right.
Hindu Boy: But their God says it's right. And that is why they are doing what their god asks them to do?
Mother: God is watching them and he'll punish them one day.
Hindu Boy: Maa, do you think Krishna will be punished too for his cheating?
Mother: Shut up son. Sleep now. God is always right. He can do what he wants.
Hindu Boy: Ok.
Scene 3:
Mullah: The verse 8-56 in the holy book of Quran says "Those of them with whom thou madest a treaty, and then at every opportunity they break their treaty. If thou comest on them in the war, deal with them so as to strike fear in those who are behind them". Furthermore, the verse 8-60 say "Make ready for them all thou canst of force and of horses tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy."
Student: Maulana, I have read that this verse was followed by the verse 8-61, which says "And if they incline to peace, incline thou also to it". Aren't we in violation of this verse?
Mullah: Those are all incorrect interpretations made by people who could not completely understand Allah's message. They who don't abide to the message of Allah have sinned, and need to be severely punished.
Student: Ok Maulana.
Mullah: The verse 4-56 says "Lo! Those who disbelieve our revelations, we shall expose them to the fire. As often as their skins are consumed we shall exchange them for fresh skins that they may taste the torment. Lo! Allah is ever mighty, wise."
Student: Sorry to interrupt you again Maulana, but there is another verse that has been omitted here, verse 4-57 says "And as for those who believe and do good works, we shall make them enter the Gardens underneath which rivers flow - to dwell therein for ever." This means that WE is referring to Allah, and he will punish the disbelievers in afterlife. By punishing them ourselves we would violate the Fitna in three ways, viz. To judge instead of God, To punish instead of God and to do so before the allotted deadline. You see, every warning in the Quran is followed by good tidings.
Mullah: Don't you challenge my knowledge. I have been reading the Quran for 60 years now and this is the message that has been sent across through generations, which came from Allah to the Prophet Mohammed, then to our ancestors, upon to me and now I am passing it to you. This is the real message and if you are a follower of Islam, you need to believe it to make a place for yourself in Jannat.
Student: Ok Maulana. If you say so.
The Aftermath
Scene 1:
Jewish Boy: Mother, you said Yahweh is the almighty and looks after and protects the world right?
Mother: Yes son, he is the superpower.
Jewish Boy: And you also said he brings peace upon the world and condemns cruelty?
Mother: Of course son. One should not indulge in any activities that can cause harm to any living being.
Jewish Boy: But then why did Yahweh induce the Ten Plagues on to the Egyptians?
Mother: You see son, Moses was leading his people to the land of Canaan and Pharaoh was not letting Israel go.
Jewish Boy: But mother, why did Yahweh kill all the firstborns of man and animal in Egypt. What had they done wrong?
Mother: Uh! ... Look son, Pharaoh had challenged Yahweh and to show Pharaoh the extents of his power, Yahweh applied the plagues.
Jewish Boy: So you mean Yahweh will kill all the people who challenge him just to show his powers? What happened to the message of 'Let peace dawn upon the world' that Yahweh himself doesn't abide to?
Mother: Uh ... Son ...
Jewish Boy: And what's the difference between Yahweh and a human then? Why do we worship Yahweh if he is just like us?
Mother: Enough son. No one questions the verdict of the almighty. He does what he thinks is right. And we should do what he asks us to do?
Jewish Boy: Ok.
Scene 2:
Hindu Boy: Maa, you always stop me from cheating right?
Mother: Yes beta, God is looking at what you do. If you do anything wrong, he'll punish you one day.
Hindu Boy: But Maa, Krishna also cheated by changing the day into night to help Arjuna kill Jaydrata.
Mother: Everything is fair in love and war beta.
Hindu Boy: The terrorists have posed wars in many countries. Do you mean what they are doing is fair?
Mother: No. They are not right.
Hindu Boy: But their God says it's right. And that is why they are doing what their god asks them to do?
Mother: God is watching them and he'll punish them one day.
Hindu Boy: Maa, do you think Krishna will be punished too for his cheating?
Mother: Shut up son. Sleep now. God is always right. He can do what he wants.
Hindu Boy: Ok.
Scene 3:
Mullah: The verse 8-56 in the holy book of Quran says "Those of them with whom thou madest a treaty, and then at every opportunity they break their treaty. If thou comest on them in the war, deal with them so as to strike fear in those who are behind them". Furthermore, the verse 8-60 say "Make ready for them all thou canst of force and of horses tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy."
Student: Maulana, I have read that this verse was followed by the verse 8-61, which says "And if they incline to peace, incline thou also to it". Aren't we in violation of this verse?
Mullah: Those are all incorrect interpretations made by people who could not completely understand Allah's message. They who don't abide to the message of Allah have sinned, and need to be severely punished.
Student: Ok Maulana.
Mullah: The verse 4-56 says "Lo! Those who disbelieve our revelations, we shall expose them to the fire. As often as their skins are consumed we shall exchange them for fresh skins that they may taste the torment. Lo! Allah is ever mighty, wise."
Student: Sorry to interrupt you again Maulana, but there is another verse that has been omitted here, verse 4-57 says "And as for those who believe and do good works, we shall make them enter the Gardens underneath which rivers flow - to dwell therein for ever." This means that WE is referring to Allah, and he will punish the disbelievers in afterlife. By punishing them ourselves we would violate the Fitna in three ways, viz. To judge instead of God, To punish instead of God and to do so before the allotted deadline. You see, every warning in the Quran is followed by good tidings.
Mullah: Don't you challenge my knowledge. I have been reading the Quran for 60 years now and this is the message that has been sent across through generations, which came from Allah to the Prophet Mohammed, then to our ancestors, upon to me and now I am passing it to you. This is the real message and if you are a follower of Islam, you need to believe it to make a place for yourself in Jannat.
Student: Ok Maulana. If you say so.
The Aftermath
- The German Holocaust, the largest genocide in the history of the world, killing over six million European Jews.
- The Arab-Israeli Conflict that spans over a century now, and is still unresolved (leading to the current Battle of Gaza).
- The 1992 Babri Masjid Demolition by the Kar Sevaks.
- The 1992 Mumbai riots and 1993 Mumbai Blasts.
- The 2002 Godhra Kaand, when Sabarmati Express carrying hundreds of Kar Sevaks was set ablaze.
- The 9/11 attacks on the US by Al-Qaeda which still feels as if it happens just yesterday.
- The 11/26 attacks on the historical Taj hotel and other famous places in Mumbai by LeT gang members.
There are many other incidents that will take hundreds of pages to be listed here. These all incidents have been outbursts caused due to religious provoking, or to show whose God is more powerful and whose God's definition is the most truthful. I have not seen anything good done in the world by following a certain religion, rather I have just seen destruction. Then what's the use of such a belief that has proved time and again as a stigma to the world?
The Root Cause
The problem here lies at various levels, starting from the grass root to the peak. The people behind these incidents are blind followers as described in the first section of this post. They had the ability to pose questions such as Why do we do this? and Why don't we do this? but they were suppressed right from their childhood. When questioned by a young chap, the elder fear of losing what they have achieved over the years, the thing they call the enlightened soul. This fear of losing their God, losing their religion, losing their rock-solid beliefs, leading to losing their own identity and self respect, is the root cause behind today's chaos.
It upsets, or rather angers me when I see a mother from today's generation asking a young kid, who has not even learned to understand languages yet, to bow to the almighty or join hands to pray to God. What does the kid know about God? Why is he doing what his mother told him to? He will never get the answers to these questions as by the time he starts understanding, these small things would have already been a daily chores.
Moreover, the child grows up within the closed boundaries of the religion, not open to other religions or the people from other religions. No one taught us to judge people by their names, but then as the child grows in the society, this sense inadvertently starts building up. Have you ever felt an unintentional wince or a recoil of your muscles when you meet a person from another religion? This is because with the name one judges the religion, with the religion one judges the past history about that religion, and with that past history (something that happened over a hundred years ago and could be nowhere related to this person) we judge the person. It's quite unsettling and sad.
I am not against any religion nor do I believe in any religion. I believe every human being has certain fears within him/her and to face those fears, one needs something or someone to rely on. Some people call it God, some call it the spirits, some call it the vibes, some call it the influence of magnetic fields generated by each human being. It's up to every person to have the right to what he wants to believe in. What I am against is this right being violated by thrusting your decision on a new born child. You seal his fate the moment the young one enters this world.
These children then grow up and face the same questions about their religion. And what you see today is the result of their fears and frustration about not knowing the answers to those questions. And to hide these fears, people turn to offensive strategies rather than defensive, and choose dominance over confronting. Believe me majority of the arguments in the world, be it an argument with your wife, your friend, your boss or the arguments between governments and countries end with suppression of one of the parties involved and by dominance of the other.
Solution
There are several solutions to this. I can not say which one is the most effective, but I believe any one can make a huge difference to this world for the future generations.
A. Let the child grow up, build up his own understanding about each religion (and also the evolution theory) and then either choose a religion or choose to be an atheist. It is by doing this we can make people more resistant to sensitive questions on the religion, since by then they would already have the answers to those questions, or would research more to get to the core of their religion.
B. Stop racial profiling. This is the most difficult part as it runs through our blood. However, by allowing your child to make his own decision about religion and ethnicity, the effect would gradually reduce. I was glad to see that the US SSN application form has the ethnicity field, but has made it optional. In a similar way, I think the parents need to give this option to their young ones.
C. Rather than fighting over religions, try to find a common solution, align all the religions (including the evolution theory, Big Bang theory. After all, no religion can deny evolution today. Don't Dis Darwin!) to form a common understanding about the God and the Universe. There are already many similarities between Christianity and Islam, Islam and Judaism, Christianity and Hinduism. It's just that the stories have changed and interpreted in different ways over the centuries. The problem with religious scriptures is that they cannot evolve. Once written down, they cannot be changed. If we broaden our horizon, accept the criticism and be open to improvements, many of the crisis that the world faces today would get resolved.
Disclaimer
All the facts mentioned here are based on what I have read, seen, interpreted and understood. It's just my perspective towards the world today and the plague that's affecting the humankind. My beliefs are open to criticism in the same way as I have been saying throughout this post.
I also know it's not fair to blame the religions completely for the conflicts today. It's more about politics and power. However, these powerful people and politicians fire the guns from the shoulders of religions. My question is, Why are our religions so sensitive that even a spark can cause massive fires and destruction? There must be definitely something wrong in the religious teachings, don't you think so?
Posts
