A while back I was watching a so-called "documentary" entitled "Religion- The Root of all Evil?" I only watched part of the first episode simply as I'm not patient enough to take the sort of insults that were being thrown at religion by the presenter, Richard Dawkins. It's a flaw- I'll work on it.
Perhaps the biggest criticism I had of the program was that Dawkins was simply unable to distinguish between religion and the personal choices made by humans. For example, one of the most prominent arguments that stood out against religion in the program was that it is the cause of many conflicts. And yet there was I, a Muslim, and Hannah, a Christian, able to sit next to each other in peace watching TV. It isn't religion that is the cause of conflict; it's the people themselves, and blaming religion is simply shifting the blame onto something else. Therefore the program had no basis whatsoever. In my opinion, the root of evil is not the essence of religion, but rather its misinterpretation followed by incorporating said misinterpretations into peoples lives- WHICH IS NOT ESSENTIALLY THE RELIGION ITSELF.
And here comes the biggy: If it is the people who cause conflict, it is the people, and only the people, who can stop it. I know it's naive to wish that the world can return to that time where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in harmony with each other after all that has happened; yet it is a hope that I still harbour. Regardless of all the suffering that both sides have faced, if we don't forgive each other now, then we'll be stuck in this circle of revenge forever.
http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/can_you_believe_it/debates/rootofevil1.html
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5 comments:
Comment was originally left on 19th January 2006:
Amen to that sister! It's a really good point, and one I absolutely agree with. It is entirely our choice to create these barriers between ourselves and blame it on religion...it would be wonderful if people could concentrate more on what unites us than what divides.
Comment was originally left on 20th January 2006:
also agreed-Richard Dawkins has infuriated me since AS levels though hehe
Comment was originally left on 27th January 2006:
Mashallah! Thank you for saying what I have always wanted to say ....but never could put into words...
Its ppl like Dawkins who are actually sometimes the root of all evil....putting ill thoughts into ppl's heads....instead of saying that religion is NOT the barrier...but its US..our minds....that is behind all the trouble...he could actually have reduced religious hate crimes....well maybe attempted at reducing them...
1) You didn't watch the whole documentary, or the second part of it.
2) Religeon is a personal choice made by humans. You either choose to find the truth, or delude yourself with a prepacked belief system
3) Religeon is the cause of many conflicts - do you even read the news? The reason you and your friends dont have any conflicts is because either/or:
a) You dont know enough in-depth about your religion
b) You've cherry-picked the beliefs/traditions you practice from your respective religions
4)Religeon causes conflict. People who are religious actually believe what they are doing is "right" even though this it is not a universal truth. The human is the hardware and religeon is the virus.
5) Religeon is too dangerous to exist and have multiple interpretations
6) It isnot the root of evil (the title of the program was not chosen by Dawkins)
7) There has never been a moment in history when Muslims, Christians and Jews have lived in harmony. Read some history.
8)'Forgiveness' does not change holy books and traditions.
9) Educate your mind, question everything and find the truth, life's too short to believe everything at face value.
Anonymous: I shall reply to each of your comments as you have numbered them:
1. Indeed I didn't watch the whole documentary, as I admitted myself. My comments are only a response to the part that I saw, nothing more.
2. I totally agree that religion is personal choice. As it says in the Qur'an: "there is no compulsion in religion," (Surah 2, ayat 256.) The quest for truth, whether it be via religion or not is nonetheless a quest for truth.
3. I disagree that religion is the root of conflicts, and my entire post is a reflection of why I believe that. Now, as for your comment that my friends and I may not know our religion in depth, or may "cherry pick" then I must say, that if what we do know about our religion results in peaceful relations between ourselves then what's the problem?
Let me put it like this (and I don't mean to patronize you): Religion is from God; Man is from God. Why then would God want conflicts between men that He has created? No Creator wants to see Their creation destroy themselves. It is logical that the God who created us would also create religions that aim to maintain peaceful relations. If religion is the root to God, than the journey must be a peaceful one. The news reports of violent relations between different religions or sects are mostly due to political circumstances and so forth. There's much more that can be said on this, but I hope what I've said is sufficient.
4. I believe my answer to your third statement overlaps into your forth statement. You fail to recognise the positive outcomes of religion, and for that I urge YOU to read some history. For example, I am currently writing a dissertation on Islam's contribution to medicine, and have found that after the emergence of the Islamic empire (which was very much founded on religion,) medicine witnessed a dramatic change. Admittedly the Muslims carried on the works established by the Greeks, but the Arabs- a nation so corrupt during pre-Islamic days, to have suddenly revolutionised learning, in particular in the field of medicine, is ground-breaking. (Remember, before Islam Arabs were called "jahils" or "ignorant." Question what the RELIGION of Islam brought that influenced these types of people so much so, that their advancements in the field of medicine, mathematics, astronomy, art, architecture, geography and so forth was unprecedented.)Religions has contributed positive elements to society, and right now, it is the people who cause conflicts- the religion is unchanged; but the people have changed.
5. I don't believe religion is too dangerous to exist at all. But I do agree that it has multiple interpretations due to many reasons, one of which is the tendency for man to manipulate it to suit their wants (not needs.) I can only speak for myself, but I believe that when it comes to Islam and the multiple interpretations, that we need to look at the Qur'an (the Muslim Holy Book, which we believe to be the complete unchanged WORD of God;) and Sunnah (example of the Prophet. The Sunnah is regarded highly by all Muslims as the Prophet Muhammad was called "the walking Qur'an." His example is an illustration to all Muslims on how the Qur'an should ideally be implemented.) A constant failure by those following a religion to look at its sources can result in the multiple interpretations that you speak of. At the same time, I have learnt that sometimes (in terms of Islamic law,) that different interpretations of a text just reflect diversity in meanings. Personally, I think interpretation depends on a lot of factors.
6. OK
7. Again, I urge you to "read some history." Muslims, Christians and Jews have indeed lived harmoniously during the "Golden Era." BUT, let's say for arguments sake that we haven't- There is nothing wrong as far as I can see for praying for a peaceful society where we do all live side-by-side. I personally have no problems living alongside any person from any faith, nationality etc as long as they respect mine, and I MUST in return respect theirs.
8. I don't understand this statement. Please elaborate.
9. I agree. We must all "educate (our) minds, question everything and find the truth."
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