A World of Religions
Due to the many accounts of terriorist attacks taking place around the world and their affiliation to the Muslim religion, it now has a very negative connotation to the name. Unlike the Christian religion who still has the over all positive connotation as still being holly, we often seem to forget the fact of this religion having a large part in the creation of slavery. No to say that Christianity is the only religion that can be tagged with a negative connotation, it is just an example of how all religions have their flaws, but why is it that the Muslim religion will forever be tagged as being ‘terrorist?’
In ‘Acts of Faith,’ by Eboo Patel, he brings the lives of the London bombers to our attention, making us realize how young and innocent they once were. Rather than the total blame being on themselves and their terrorist leader, he acknowledges the fact of how things could have been different if we were to have gotten to them first (Patel, 6). Although the terrorist of 9-11 may have not been as young or inexperienced, they too were making decisions based of the belief of the order coming from their god. In many ways such a practice could have a very positive and influential impact on ones mind, better yet on a child’s mind, so what went wrong?
Paul Harris, a religious scientist began a study on the lives of the London Bombers and in more detail of their childhood. They all came from families in which their religion was a very important priority, but it wasn’t until very much later in their lives did they come across their terrorist leader. “By implication, children’s trust in testimony does not simply amplify the range of empirical data to which they have access, it also leads them to believe in a set of far-reaching but ultimately nonempirical propositions (Harris, 2).” This meaning, as religion is often drilled into a child’s mind in hope that it will always allow them to make the right decisions, but in reality a mind is ever changing and even at a very young age are they capable of picking out the unreachable.
What if different religions from our own were not so shunned by all, would terrorist attacks like these never occur? The answer may not be ‘never,’ but attacks in relation to religion would be highly unlikely as it is taking place on the boundaries of inequalities. Like Patel says, it would also mean people escaping their little bubbles, racist slurs to children in schools, and presidents simply pronouncing a name of a country correctly, in order for such hate to end. It would also mean befor one to assume a negative connotation on another to first look at their own and realize if the same thing could be defined with their own.
Resources
Harris, Paul. Koeing, Melissa. “Trust in Testimony: How Children Learn About Science and Religion” Child Development, May/June 2006, Volume 77, Number 3, Pages 505 – 524
Patel, Eboo. “Acts of Faith.” Beacon Press. Boston, MA. 2007. pgs 1-76.
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I do not think that it is possible to completely end terrorism simply by creating religious tolerance in America, although it is a start. Many other changes must be made in the political, social, and educational arenas world-wide, and still, racism, and intolerance are likely to exist.
ReplyDeleteI realize that many of the religions that come off as violent and aggressive don't necessarily derive from religious people, but from radical religious people. As you mentioned that there are many religions that have been involved with negative actions and thus have been tagged or stamped with the view that a specific religion itself is violent.
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