As I wrote more than once about religion earlier this year, its role and impact on humanity, I was the beneficiary of some informative, thoughtful, analytical and logical feedback from many of you, literally around the world. I share with you selected points.
You can hate it, love it or be indifferent, but please read these comments with an open, inquisitive mind and reach your own conclusions. Please refrain from sitting in judgement of others. You, like me, do not know everything, in fact come to think of it we actually do not know much, so let us respect each other's freedom of thought and beliefs.
The paraphrased excerpts below include my views sprinkled throughout. They show how people's views of religion go all over the place, how no one will be convinced soon to give up or give in when it comes to beliefs. This fact of life is the main reason for the divisiveness, violence and danger our world has seen through history and will continue to experience until and unless we as the human race figure a way to live together on this earth with true and sincere peace and harmony.
Let us remember Albert Einstein's quote:
“Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.”
I think you'll find below coverage of religion as it is in our world challenging and provocative. Considering the Arab Spring of 2011, what's going on right now in the United States and elsewhere in the world, we must engage ourselves in such discussions, deliberations and debates so as to have religion assume its appropriate place in a state, any state.
Hussein
A Given Premise
Man/Woman is free to believe or not to believe, free to believe in any faith or not at all. Consequently, in the practice of such belief or in managing the daily affairs causing harm, disturbance or hardship of any kind to another being is strictly prohibited. Subsequently, any transgressions should be met with swift and definitive disbarment from humanity.
That is the premise by which all humans should live by, no ifs or buts. That is precisely the meaning behind the separation of religion from state.
A Nation
Any nation is made of people of varied beliefs. Such people at times go to war together and live in peaceful times together. They defend their country's honor together and have their blood mixed together on the battle field. They endure together periods in their history when they live under oppressive regimes and periods of freedom and prosperity.
Anyone, anyone at all, who declares his way of belief to be superior and that those in the same nation who believe differently are to be persecuted or banished, should be resisted and fought hard with only victory in mind. That is because such people will without a doubt destroy the nation, fragmenting it to oblivion, draining its resources and paralyzing the creative energies of its people, thus denying them for good the fulfillment of their dreams of the good life. Such people should be condemned and excommunicated from said nation.
Intellectual Honesty
Religionis gravely infected with intellectual dishonesty... Blind faith and theuncritical acceptance of texts on which a religion is based have left ustone-deaf on crucial life issues. We can no longer leave religious thoughtuncriticized: all sacred texts must be scrutinized in a scientific manner. Onlythen will we stop gazing back and only then will religion stop being an ambivalentjustification for anachronistic behaviors and political status quo.
We need frank, intelligent and intellectual discussion about religion. We need to be free to ask why God needs us to:
- go to church, mosque, synagogue.
- pray for him.
- prove to him our fear of him.
- do all of these rituals, such as keeping kosher, fasting.
I think that people always have been afraid of death, they had to look for the afterlife, the eternal life, hence religion, God, and Hell and Heaven.
Meaning of Religion
"Those whose religion doesn't entice them to be better humans, have no religion," is the famous quote from Prophet Mohamed.
I am very fond of the idea that different religions are but different languages in which each of us communicate with the one and only God. The new, and sad differentiation between 'God' and 'Allah' is nothing but lack of knowledge. And I believe that, as Egyptians, those who are over a specific age at least, this is not only an idea, but we LIVED it for all our lives before things got gravely confused, both in the East and in the West. We all lived together, respected each others' faith and even shared celebrating each others' religious holidays. So I believe that what we need to strive back to, is not lack of being religious, rather the understanding and practice, that if your being religious does not make you a better person to all people around you, than you are in fact not religious at all!
I think many people of religion think their religion is the best one for them, but any religion that makes someone a better (more loving) person is the right religion for them.
We all have an obligation to respect all people because we are all created by one God. Therefore no one can claim to be better or have any greater lineage than any other person. The concluding section of the Jewish worship service known as “in the beginning” is called the “Aleinu.” It acknowledges that all are created in God’s image and prays for the day when “Adonai will be one and God’s Name shall be one”. A very pluralistic message.
But by labeling the belief that all men have equal worth as a Jewish notion, you separate Jews from all others. People of all religious stripes believe that "humanity is one." It's a profound idea, a civilizing idea - but it's not exclusively Jewish. I believe that group identity of any kind - nationalism, tribalism, class-ism, religious affiliation - can be exploited by demagogues. Thoughtful people must always resist. Religious affiliation is not necessarily elitist, but the line is vague and easy to cross.
Those that do not hold such a belief may certainly maintain the “value of equality in all humankind.” That of course opens the question as to how one determines the values that will be followed in life – what is the source of the value, how does one gauge if it is a “good” value? This is where I believe (and I fully respect those who feel differently) a mature informed and educated religious belief comes into play.
You do not have to follow a religious belief or maintain a religious stripe to maintain that value of equality in all humankind.
I am agnostic, and for many reasons I do not practice/accept religion. However, I do consider myself a Jew because of my regard for its history and culture. I suppose that is a reflection of my desire to be part of something, a tribe if you will. There is a sense of belonging to something and perhaps a sense of uniqueness in associating with a particular group. I am not necessarily endorsing the idea, but I am also not self-contained enough to discard this association.
I think the notion that somehow religion holds the key to the so called “good values” is one of the reasons I am not favorable to religion. Once one calls into play the notion that God dictates the choices between what is good and what is not, the basis for conflict and extreme views is great. For if God dictates to one group what is good and what is bad, anyone disagreeing with that view must be a heretic, even an apostate, and subject to sanction of some kind. There is an arrogance, an assumption that a particular religion somehow must have the answer to a value issue. There are many ways to arrive at answers to value questions through the study of philosophy, law, psychology, sociology. I see no particular reason to think religion preempts the field and as I said before I believe through our history religion has been used all too often for bad purpose, to encourage extremism and as a means to separate us. Clearly I do not mean to suggest that all peoples who believe in and follow a particular religion are ill served. I have no doubt most people of faith are good and kind. But I also have no doubt that most who are not people of faith are also good and kind. So I suppose the keynote is not only tolerance but respect for differing approaches to dealing with issues of morality, with the need for a real effort by all to understand what others believe and a humility about our own beliefs.
Unfortunately more orthodox (small “o”) people are much less tolerant of other religious, philosophical, legal, psychological, sociological and ethical beliefs sometimes to the point of antagonism. I have great respect for the teachings of learned men and women, be they religious leaders, lawyers, philosophers etc. and believe each in their own way contribute to an individual’s examination of how to conduct one’s life. I do feel the study of Torah and interpretive text is beneficial but in my view no more beneficial than the study of other systems of thought. It is the notion that these texts are divinely inspired that causes me a problem.
I actually do believe in a certain spirituality in humans, just not from a divine origin.
One, anyone, should get out of her/his religion the key ethics, morals and principles and apply those to everyday life, nothing more, nothing less. You will be surprised how quickly we all will get along and have the basic and necessary love, trust and respect for one another. Hatred, violence, greed....will shrivel up and slowly disappear from our world, a fantasy I know, but one can never get hurt dreaming!
I do not despise religious believers despite the fact that I find them ridiculous and pathetic causing me to cringe when I hear them preaching the comforting fairy tales of children rather than the cruel hard facts of life and thus perpetuating their mental infantilism. Nor do I have any hatred for the man with his head to the ground, but I do have a fierce resolve never to collude with those who urge him to adopt this humiliating posture and keep him there. I am also very much aware of the need of adult attachment as well as attachment behavioral systems and styles. I cannot fault those who need a crutch, either metaphysical (in the name of Yahweh, God, Jesus, or Allah) or any other human being in order to bear their lot - as long as that is kept within the realm of private and personal conviction. I very much agree that the ravages of monotheism over the centuries, invigorating Christianity, Judaism, and Islam for their intolerance, their obsession with purity, their antipathy to reason and intelligence, and their stance against freedom, desire, sexuality, pleasure,and women in general. Regrettably, religion is being increasingly controlled by fundamentalists, who by their very intransigence threaten the future of the human race.
The challenge for all of us is to be certain that these fringe groups, the fanatics, do not influence the way we judge all others in the group, Jews, Muslims, Christians, non-religious, and so on.
The Communist Manifesto, the Quran, the Torah, the Constitution, The Book of Mormon, etc. People who are taught that these texts are infallible tend to develop a sense of outrage and righteousness that justifies inhumanity against those perceived as opposing their absolute truth.
When one is cured of a disease, when one successfully undergoes a major surgery, it's due to a combination of science, technology and human skills, it is not because one prayed to a certain God of a certain religion. Otherwise, if not cured, would this mean God does not like you, would it mean that God is not the omniscient, omnipotent and merciful one? It is also worthwhile to note that such cure, such surgery is available to all, agnostics, atheists, apathetics, indifferents, and religious people of all faiths. The doctor performing the surgery may be of a different faith than the patient, so if the patient is a Muslim and the doctor is a Christian, whose God helped the doctor on to success, and who needs to convert to whose religion to make it to Heaven.
Unanswerable Questions
- Why did God bestow his religions only in the Middle East, leaving Asia and the Americas in the dark?
- Why so many religions and not just one? This has created so much violence and miseries in the lives of mankind.
- Why was there never any mention of the meteorites that made all species extinct, followed by ice ages millions of years later?
- Where's the proof that Moses existed? He's not mentioned in the hieroglyphics nor in the Roman historical documents! Read Ahmad Osman's "Out of Egypt", also Shlomo Sands' books on the origins of Jews.
- How come Muftis, with the use of fatwas, are telling us how to live, love, eat, drink, and sit, when by and large they know little of science and technology, and have never been in professions that would afford them such knowledge.
Religious Holidays
The holidays of many world religions share thematic elements, such as peace, thankfulness, forgiveness and caring for others. Focusing on such themes and then celebrating holidays to explore how people of diverse faiths and cultures understand and practice shared values can be useful to some extent. Yes, religious holidays can evoke our better selves and bring us together, but they can also divide us at the core. As members of the human race, we really need no ideology, cause, or religion to unite us. More likely religion can make our world more dangerous, mainly because it breeds tribalism, and we well know that tribalism can never live in peace with universalism. Tribalism and universalism are opposing categories just like oil and water.
The "Eid al-Adha" holiday, the Sacrifice holiday, commemorates God’s ordering Abraham to sacrifice his son Ismail. To this day Muslims believe that Ismail was the one to be sacrificed. The other half of the people of the Book believes it was Isaac, as stated in the Jewish and Christian scriptures. How should one reconcile that! Are we saying Muslims have been celebrating an event in history that Christians and Jews believe happened to the other brother and they are not even celebrating? Never mind that 4.5 billion people around the world are looking at this Ismail-Isaac controversy with that Mona Lisa smile, while celebrating all kinds of holidays and festivals of their own.
Egypt's 25 January Revolution and Religious Extremists
One of the main objectives of the revolution was to allow freedom of speech and expression. People took to the streets to overcome 60 years of being subjected to a suppressive regime, never having the opportunity to have open discussions and to argue policies, issues and traditions. However, standing in their way are the religious extremists, the zealots and fanatics.
Zealots and fanatics have little to offer those of us who want and need to do some living. They have nothing tangible to contribute, they belittle everything around us, education, science, industry, psychology, economy, laws, democracy, etc. They readily discount the role of women in society save for housework and producing kids. This is mainly because they are largely unqualified, unprepared, uninformed and possess little skills in any and all these important aspects of our life. That is why they encourage giving up on life, to be satisfied with the simple, primitive and uninspired life and guide whoever listen to them to the afterlife, promising in the process an eternal life full of everything they could not have during their lives. It's hard for me to understand why worldly possessions would suddenly be desirable at one's death.
Zealots and fanatics have fear of logic, act emotionally, disregard objectivity, are loud and aggressive, are poor listeners, and because they believe what they want to believe they are biased and generalize and rationalize events to fit their beliefs.
Coptics in Egypt
All these people, Christians, Jews...are really Muslims, they only need to acknowledge it. That is the whole idea of Islam, it came last to tell everyone that they are Muslims and here's what they have to do to practice Islam, no ifs, ands or buts.
If Copts in Egypt do not convert to Islam, then they must accept the fate and treatment that they deserve, that is become second-class citizens, enjoy lesser rights and be subjected to periodic violence and destruction of their properties. Basically submit to the will of the majority, meaning forget about democracy, it is not and never will be in the cards.
Country and Religion
For how long will the Islamists in Egypt insist on ideological rhetoric, which fragments and does not unite, is divisive and not inclusive? When are they going to distinguish between a religious sermon and a political speech? When are they going to work for the glory of Egypt and its progress and prosperity, and transition it to a modern state, serving in the process the Egyptian nation and with it the greater Islamic nation? When would all Egyptians, particularly Muslim Egyptians, feel that they are first and foremost Egyptians and after that Muslims?
All religious people everywhere, extremists or not, should understand once and for all that their allegiance is first to the nation they are citizens of, their faith is for them and it comes after that.
Egypt, a Modern Constitution and Religion
If Egypt had developed and maintained a constitution like the modern, newly developed or EU countries, you would be having peace with the following characteristics:
- For no reason whatsoever, Egypt would not have identity crises...twice a day…deciding whether it is country, a tribe or agent state, or an unknown thing.
- Every time you have a leadership election or debate, you would not have to think how Islam would endorse such action and how Saudis, Iranian, and Azhar would see you.
- When you have a crisis, like security absence for no reason, you would not have to make up excuses, shut off the country, and freeze its economy, and its citizens and workers.
- When you call for general elections, it would not cause creating most complex formulas to follow. A simple riding boundaries and voters' list would do.
- Avoid that every time a new Fatwa is introduced you have to re-write the constitution; renegotiate bank and trade agreements; and re-think foreign and defence policies.
- When for no reason whatsoever, you find that all your leaders are not leaders, rather an aging frozen-in-time cast, and belong to an era refuted by history, humanity and people - turn to experts and youths, and keep the future in mind.
- Press the 'Start' button to turn Egypt's civilization onwards, and leave the old centuries that provided a past, not a future. That button is called Justice.
Who Goes to Heaven
The Quran clearly states in all relevant verses that those who believe and do good are the ones who will enter Heaven. We will find nothing about long beards, short galabeyas (gown), veils and burkas. We will find no mention of Salafists or Muslim Brothers or who votes for who or for which constitution, nothing about all of that as the way to enter Heaven. In fact, the Quran did not mention that a Muslim, a Christian or a Jew will enter Heaven, all it mentions is that the individual who believes and does good, does good for the sake of society, for humanity with fidelity and sincerity, the individual whose goal is good and useful deeds that will harm no one. Religion is easy, clear and simple, it is love, cooperation, service and respect for others' rights.
Competition for Heaven
- Born again Christians believe that you have to let Jesus Christ into your life if you do not wish to be left at the gates of Heaven.
- Catholics believe that the way to Heaven is through Christ.
- Muslims believe that their religion is the last message from God (Allah). Therefore, while Islam completely acknowledge Judaism and Christianity, it is absolutely clear that all have to become Muslims in order to make it to Heaven.
Impact of Religion
I just read a Washington Post story of a father in Iran sentenced to hang because he converted to Christianity and refuses to recant. His crime? Apostasy. So an entire nation can reach the state where the majority practicing a given religion can and will deprive those of same nation but of other religions of their humanity.
I personally believe that if one looks down upon other religions and their followers, one is only drastically narrowing his own scope of vision. This means that his vision, views and conclusions would be adversely affected, if not deficient or totally impaired. As one's thoughts and views are produced by the brain which concocts them from the ingredients available to it, namely the innumerable countless succession of impressions and images it stores and feeds on all the time, if the images are out of focus or incomplete, the conclusions based on them would naturally be deficient, defective, blurred, and inaccurate at best or totally lopsided. Thus, in the best of cases they would be at least seriously misleading. If one's behavior is guided by his thinking, and his thinking is misguided by defective impressions, how balanced and wise could his actions be? This leads one to conclude that a limited field of vision eventually leads to defective reactions and behavior, which in turn produces negative, and even hostile impressions on others. The main problem lies in the fact that the person himself would not realize that such haughty or rather hostile behavior reflects on him alone, but the grave danger lies in the fact that in most cases it is attributed to the teachings of the Islamic religion as such ...so they throw all the blame on Islam...!!!!!! I DO feel that Islam in most cases is under heavy fire as a result of either some misrepresented and therefore misinterpreted behavior on our part, or to our impulsive miscalculated unwise reactions in certain cases. We should strive to give the best impression of Islam by trying to be respectful of others' faiths. This I find helps to induce reciprocity in behavior.
In any case, religion, all religions, no exception, has been the source of the vast majority of miseries in the world. The problem has never been what religion means or is trying to achieve, it is the way it has been practiced with all kind of baloney and shenanigans attached to it, practiced as a World Cup competition where one nation out of 32 emerges as the winner with the other 31 nations go home having to lick their wounds and explain their failure. Only with religion, the winner never is satisfied by the victory, the winner goes after the losers, taunting, ridiculing, threatening at times, killing at times, etc.
Conclusion
If you were to believe that your belonging to a particular faith supersedes your belonging to humanity, you have embarked on a dangerous journey, one mired in bigotry and fraught with violence. The nature of religion is that it is not a point of view, it is an exclusive belief, one that does not admit the validity of other religions. It starts with the person believing that her/his religion is the only correct understanding of faith, and that the followers of other religions have a misguided view, since their respective religion is false, distorted or on a basic level did not descend from heaven. This contempt for other religions will necessarily lead you to belittle its followers' business. Therefore the beliefs of people of other faiths, in your view, are but illusions and idle talk, while you're the only one who believes in the true religion. Consequently, there can be no equality between you and those erring ones when it comes to human rights. Little by little such thinking will lead you to try hard to deprive those of other religions of their humanity.
Let me conclude with this funny:
"A Muslim extremist is talking to a Coptic, telling him that he, and Muslims like him, believe that he the Coptic is an infidel, will go to hell and should leave Egypt; to which the Coptic replied, that's funny, we the Copts thoroughly believe that Muslims are infidels, they will go to hell and they should leave Egypt, then the Coptic continued saying, so why don't we all just get along and go on with our lives in peace and harmony."
© Dr Hussein A Amin 2011
