Blaming religion, the easy way out
- 24020241 Hammad Ahmed
- Nov 23, 2023
- 1 min read
In multiple courses I have read in Lums’ social sciences and education department, religions are, in one way or the other taken to be an easy target. Be it the definition of religion forming primordial causes of ethnic cleansing, or any individual crime, religion is deemed as an easy target which may be much more easily targeted than any other aspect or cause.
In a recent lecture, I came across a quote by Steven Weinberg which read “With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil – that takes religion”. For me, it is a very loose contention which makes grammatical rhythm and sense but that is it! Consider the Sikh murderers of Mahatama Gandhi, consider the genocide of Sikhs in India after and before death of Indira Gandhi, consider the terrorists involved in 9/11 attacks, or those responsible for 2008’s Mumbai attacks. Were they good people doing bad because of religion? Or were they too naive that they simply got exploited?
Why do we not consider the aspects of hidden truths, the idea of other benefits being reaped out of conflict? Zar, Zameen and Zan (Money, Land and Woman) are 3 major attractions towards any conflict in the world, which drags people in all sorts of low and high scale conflict. Blaming religion for instigating or sustaining any form of violence, is much more loosely connected than any of these aspects.