The greatest threat to religion

A word on religious zealots

Religion has been here since the very beginning, and it is safe to say that it’s not going anywhere any time soon. The greatest threat to religion has always been religious fanatics themselves. They continue to be so, but in the coming years the challenge is likely to be at its steepest. That’s because ‘It’s the followers and not the religion that is at fault’ excuse is not going to convince many intelligent people any more (for the most part it has already worn itself out). If religion has an important part to play, as I believe it has, it needs to be saved from religious zealots.

For a mob to brutally and mercilessly kill an unarmed man – the least bellicose of the group, instead of helping the victim, preferring to preserve the incident on their mobile phones – is tragic enough. But to do it all in the name of religion!

What’s even more sickening is the emphasis, on the part of media and public alike, on the religious nature of writings on the walls of Mashal’s room; and not on blatant lawlessness perpetrated in broad day light. (What if his walls were not adorned by those writings?) With few exceptions, most public figures were careful enough to ensure Mashal was a ‘good Muslim’ before condemning his horrendous murder. It’s not an isolated case either: Salman Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti, and many others over the years have met the same fate as Mashal did, followed by very similar reactions from the public.

There are other types of religious fanatics – less violent, thankfully – but genuine irritants nevertheless. Rewind to the end of the third ODI in Dambulla back in 2014. Ahmed Shehzad, finding himself walking back to the dressing room with Tillakaratne Dilshan, recognises the possibility of a quick tableeghi session. This dialogue follows:

Shehzad: ‘If you are a non-Muslim and you turn Muslim, no matter whatever [sic] you do in your life, (you will go) straight to Heaven.’

Dilshan: ‘I don’t want to go to Heaven.’

Shehzad: ‘Then be ready for the fire.’

These religious zealots then are either trying to win magnificent battles for their religion (mostly by ‘converting’ people), or are keen on sending people to Paradise (or Hell, for that matter). By no means are all as blunt as Shehzad; some camouflage their real mission in a cloak of concern for the other party, a concern that is sadly conspicuous by its absence when it comes to the latter’s worldly welfare. It is as if the man is saying, I don’t care how you fare here (provided you don’t have too much fun), but I will ensure you end up in Paradise, whether you like it or not.

I recall the infamous 2012 debate between Pervez Hoodbhoy and Hamza Tzortzis at LUMS. Being a Muslim, I should have sympathised with the theist side, for despite my immense respect for Hoodbhoy’s writing and courage of conviction, I don’t agree with him on matters religious. As it turned out however, the arrogant, win-at-all-cost way Hamza behaved was too nauseating for me – the cockiness on display would have been enough to repel any decent listener – and this was all in the name of religion! Arrogance is by no means the monopoly of religious folks, but is especially insufferable coming from religious quarters.

‘Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake,’ Napoleon Bonaparte is supposed to have said, an advice his enemies heeded rather religiously. If this is true, the enemies of religion don’t need to do a thing. Religious folks – especially the more vocal and noisy segments – are hell bent on driving people away from religion in droves – intelligent people at any rate. My sympathies in this matter are squarely on the side of religion, for I believe religion to be indispensable as it exclusively deals with an important aspect of humanity that cannot be covered by anything else.

Religion has braved many a storm over the millennia. Despite much resurgence, some of them very recent, it is going to face its toughest challenge very soon, even if it is not doing so already. And this is not owing to the efforts of atheists or agnostics, but because more and more people, on the inside as well as outside, have started questioning the shenanigans of the more fanatical religious folks. Religion will survive this storm too, but how badly battered and bruised it will come out of it is anybody’s guess.