“It may be that Allah will bring about love between you and those of them with whom you are now at enmity… Allah forbids you not respecting those who have not fought against you on account of your religion, and who have not driven you out from you homes, that you be kind to them and deal equitably with them; surely, Allah loves those who are equitable.” Al-Qur’an.
Religion intends to guide mankind to the right path, to instill moral values in us, to quench one’s spiritual thirst for virtue, and to uproot cruelty and violence from human society. Whenever human societies were deep in vice, violence and immorality, and shrouded in the darkness of crime and corruption, the holy messengers of God emerged with a set of moral codes and religious compass to humanize the society and to guide human beings towards righteousness.
Ill-fatedly as we all are, we struggle to extinguish the sparkles of moral values, to be blind to the core of religious teachings. In spite of religion, we perform illegal activities under the aegis of religion. We have closed the door to deliverance and truths, and live in the darkness of our own world, which is empty of knowledge. It is ridiculous to impose our own ideas on religion rather than changing our life according to religious guidelines.
Further, as far as our radicals are concerned, the time for changes in their lives is over. Religious extremists are stuck in a time warp, inflicting violence upon innocent people. Neither modernity nor democracy can change their traditional frames of mind
Taliban militants make no bones about their despicable acts of terror. They will find a mention in history as the religious villain of the century. Current events show that they are empty of moral and religious virtue.
One is surprised to see that both, the attackers and the victims, were uttering the same words of prayer and piety, when the terrorists attacked the Shia worshippers in a mosque in Quetta Pakistan. My mind was numbed more by the militant’s religious ideology than by the tragedy of the incident. Whenever the incident flashes through my mind and I hear the sincere shouts of the victims’ prayers and the frightening screech of the attackers; I get frozen with fear and confusion.
It seems that the religious-political hardliners are so deeply brainwashed during their schooling in madrassas, that their minds hardly ever penetrate the truth. Their minds are poisoned by religious fundamentalism and this infectious mindset may continue for decades.
Religious radicalism is a hazardous that will lead to great human catastrophe. In the history of Islam, after the sad demise of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), a group of religious extremists emerged. This caused a big disunity among Muslims. Finally, they were eliminated by one of the Muslim Caliphs. Of course, in spite of their profound beliefs and lengthy prayers, they were considered dangerous for the rest of society. Didn’t they pray to God or cherish religious faith?
Of course, they did. They used to prostrate in worshiping God, for long hours, however, their dogmatism and religious deviation made them deserve death. Islam was not practiced the way it was preached in their social life. They labeled themselves pure Muslims, referring to others as infidel.
Religious extremists are the cancer affecting the body and soul of society. The mental impact is that they will spoil the minds of some groups of younger citizens who come from a poor and deprived background. The second impact is that they will make our people suffer grievously. Many may lose their lives to terrorism. How long should our bleeding nation suffer?
The tearful eyes of the victims’ families are enough to melt hearts of stone. The pictures of elderly mothers sobbing over the dead bodies of their children, the sisters weeping in deep grief at the loss of a family member! The injured howling with amputated limbs amid the thick smoke of explosions and the nauseating smell of the burnt human parts in the debris left by suicide bombings are the daily nightmares haunting the minds of Afghan people.
By now, the Taliban militants have become addicted to violence and bloodshed. Their thirst will be quenched only by shedding the blood of innocent people. Cruelty runs in their blood and they find solace in the soulful sobs and cries of the victims’ families. This is their totally inhuman face.
While Holy Qur’an says, “The taking of one innocent life is like taking all of Mankind… and the saving of one life is like saving all of Mankind.”
They justify their inhuman acts under the guise and support of religion. Moreover, it is surprising how they rationalize and find excuses about sexual abuse of students at their madrassas. They have been found guilty of planting explosives inside copies of Holy Qur’an. Despite all such irreligious practices, they are convinced that they deserve going to heaven. Should they not leave such judgment to God?
Their life is bereft of moral codes and religious values. Shedding the blood of humans and trampling upon their rights are strongly prohibited by all religions. But here, religious laws have been turned upside down and selectively used according to their own fancy. They see no limitations for their illegal activities in the realm of religion. However, according to their beliefs, whatever they do is religious and whatever others do is irreligious. How long will they ignore morality, humanity and common decency?
I would like to conclude with a quotation aptly said by Rabindranath Tagore, “Our desires limit the scope of self-realization, hinder our extension of consciousness, and give rise to sin, which is the innermost barrier that keeps us apart from God. For sin is not merely one action, it is an attitude to life which takes for granted that we are not all essentially One, but exist each for his own separate individual existence.”