Build Bridges, not burn them

February 22, 2013

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/617105

by R. Nadeswaran

EXTREMISM in any form – religious, political, cultural or even literary – has its pitfalls. The one-upmanship, the brinkmanship and the rhetoric that come with it are most of the time viewed as comic relief by right-thinking people.

But when religious zealots and political bigots join the fray provoking ordinary folk into supporting their narrow and obtrusive ideology and thoughts, the majority has to stand up and unequivocally make their position known.

Religiously-inspired actors (including politicians) add oil to the fire. Religion is intricately tied up with questions of identity and value systems. In instances where religious identities are threatened or where conflict parties adhere to different value systems, it will be harder to resolve than simple interest-based conflicts.

However, when such threats are merely perceived and are creations of one’s imagination, society has a role and must make a concerted effort to dismiss such notions even if they have to incur the wrath of the minority.

As much as right-thinking Malaysians stepped up and condemned the call to burn Bibles, a similar stand must be taken against religious bigots who launched a boycott of halal-slaughtered meat and demanded that shops clear their stocks of halal food by April.

Fortunately, no one in their right frame of mind would think the latter happened in our blessed country, but in Sri Lanka, thousands of people led by hundreds of monks of the Bodu Bala Sena, or Buddhist Force, staged a rally on Sunday demanding the government order Islamic authorities to stop issuing halal certification.

What is the justification for such a call? If madness and insanity are not the factors, then it could be psychosis or lunacy which led Buddhist monk Kirama Wimala Jothi to say: “More than 90% of the population is Buddhists, Hindus and Christian and therefore there is no justification to force them to eat halal products.” Utter bunkum!

The fact that values form the basis of every religion and that some of these values have evolved into law can and will never be challenged. Religious leaders are supposed to inculcate these values and spread the message to their flock.

Religious leaders, past and present have been in the forefront of solving conflicts instead of promoting them. In South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu (pic with Nelson Mandela)played a prominent role as chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. According to Owen Frazer, of the Center for Security Studies in Zurich, the commission was inspired by Christian notions of forgiveness and reconciliation and the approach gained widespread acceptance because of the prevalence of Christian beliefs across the whole of South African society.

The roles of other religious leaders are well documented in international journals. Kenyan peace activist Dekha Ibrahim Abdi, tragically killed in a car accident two years ago, was a well-known and successful mediator and conflict resolution expert. She explicitly acknowledged the role of her Muslim faith as a motivator of her efforts and in her work she consciously combined Islamic values and approaches to conflict resolution with traditional and other approaches.

In Cambodia, the Buddhist Monk Maha Ghosananda (left), famous for his annual peace marches was a key figure in the post-communist era who helped to revive Cambodian Buddhism (which the Khmer Rouge had done their best to eradicate) and rebuild the nation state.

Why then have the leaders suddenly seen as abdicating their roles and fanning the fire? Are they doing it for materialistic gain or for political expediency? Are they saying it from their hearts or for five minutes of fame?

In every part of the world, we have seen their roles in a different light. From banning girls from going to school in Pakistan to compelling women to adorn the burkha in France, we have heard of them all.

Religious leaders are supposed to be building bridges – not burning them. Therefore, as those who have been brought up on the value-system, we have the right and must stand up to extremism of any form, failing which; we will be subjected to accepting fanatical, obsessive and fixated views. Accepted values will disintegrate and society will be subjected to mob-rule.

R. Nadeswaran continues to believe that all countries should embrace the call by the Dalai Lama for a global ethical code which would be beneficial to everyone, including people who don’t follow any particular religion. Comments: citizen-nades@thesundaily.com