Sunday, March 8, 2009
Religion in Terror 4
I'm going to be completely honest with you. When I read Chapter 17 and Malcolm X explained of how people of all different cultures, ethnicities, and languages united and came together under Islam, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. In the chapter, Malcolm X was presented with incredible sympathy by people who he would consider "white" in America, and he was able to see how being the color "white" did not necessarily mean that people were racist. He was able to overcome his prejudice against whites through religion. This epiphany that Malcolm X had got me wondering what the world would be like if people all over the world could experience the sensation that Malcolm X went through. If you think about it, when one takes the time to reflect on all of the major crimes and atrocities committed over the past few years, the majority have their roots in religion. Whether it be the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Madrid bombings, or the more recent bombing of the Gaza strip by the Israelis, the ideas of causing harm to innocent civilians have stemmed from the radical interpretation of religion. I always fail to understand how extremists could use religion as an excuse for violence because as far as I am concerned, nothing in the New Testament, Old Testament, or Quran speak of violence as a good. It amazes me how people cannot understand the simple concept that violence can never be justified. To me, religion is not a very close aspect of life. Though I celebrate Christmas, I am not a churchgoer, and though I believe in heaven, I do not believe that a particular god rules it. In my opinion, I feel as if this is the best way to approach religion. Since I am not a strong advocate of any religion, I am able to accept the fact that people of different areas have different beliefs continuing from thousands of years of ago. I believe that problems stemming from religion occur in society when advocators of a certain religion begin to feel that the beliefs of the others are wrong. What is the point of religion if it only causes harm? I am going to wrap up this rant by providing you with a site from which one can obtain more information regarding the influence of religion in terrorism and crime: http://blog.oup.com/2008/06/terrorism-2/
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4 comments:
Hey,
I feel the same way. In no religion does it say that you should penalize others if they don't believe in the same thing. I'm sure that whoever did commit crimes like 9/11 felt they were doing it to help their religion. They probably didn't realize that the religion that they follow wouldn't want them to commit crimes to make a statement. No where does it say that you should kill other people for not believing in the same things. I really feel that it doesn't matter if you believe in God, Allah, or you don't believe at all. Religion is a personal thing you shouldn't be getting into fights over.
Religion, like you said, shouldn't be something that people should be utilizing to make excuses out of. However, from what I am aware of, many of the terrorists who in fact volunteer and sacrifice their lives, do it under manipulation. In Iraq for example, young men are persuaded into selling themselves for the use of others. People guarantee fame, financial aid for their families, and persuade them that through their acts their past mistakes and sins would be forgotten and forgiven for.
On the other hand, I come to differ from your belief that religion only causes harm. You asked, "What is the point of religion if it only causes harm?" Yes, daily we hear about the conflicts that arise from religious aspects of the relationship between two parties. For example, the coverage of the conflicts surrounding the Israelites and the Pakistanis. However, religion can also provide comfort. I myself am a Christian. So, repenting is a daily part of life. Whenever I attend church on Sundays, by repenting for my sins, I feel a bit better. It wouldn't change the effects the sins had, but it somewhat reduced the guilt that I held.
I personally feel the religion can bring much more benefit than good when it is utilized for the correct purposes. If religion is used to give you morals and make you a better person, it is being used for the correct purpose. But when it reaches a extremist point where people use the words of great men and twist them around (as is the case with extremist Islamic groups such as the Taliban), religion turns into an evil. I totally agree with you in stating that violence can NEVER be justified.
The blog on terrorism that you linked to is also very interesting. In this article, the author states, "Understanding others (even those who will your destruction) can make them more human". I think that Malcolm was inadvertently doing exactly this after he reflected on his pilgrimage to Mecca. Very nice blog post and article!
I thought it was very funny how after reading chapter 17 you felt warm and funny inside. I also agreed with you on your idea that Malcolm was able to accept Muslims with lighter skin than them. I thought it was a great advancement for him. I also think that I know that 9/11 was caused by radical Islamic extremists but we still shouldn't discriminate against them because most Muslims aren't like that. I also am not a strong believer in religion, however my family is. I don't understand the strong connection they have with it.
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