Fighting only extremism – to what end?

Via Hilath.com

I know some Maldivian bloggers who anonymously and not so anonymously like to directly attack Islam per se.

I personally believe that it is unfair to single out a certain religion for criticism because it will serve no purpose and it will only serve to aggravate the believers of that certain religion.

Because I am still a skeptic when it comes to the question of how this Universe came out of nothing (what I mean is that I don’t think in my short life I will ever find the Eternal Answers I am seeking), I feel a kind of sympathy for believers of all religions because I believe that they are also trying to find the truth in their own way.

So, perhaps, this is the right time to put things into perspective again: distinguish between Organized Religion and Personal Religion.

Organized Religion (whether it’s Judaism, Christianity or Islam) is a corrupted form of these great religions. Organized Religion tries to claim that it is an absolute truth above “all other truths” and tries to narrow down the way you can live your life fully on this earth and tries to “silence” (even through murder and genocide) believers of faiths they see as “inferior” to them. In contrast, Personal Religion is always open to your interpretation and skepticism is encouraged so that you can put your God-given brains to good use (rather than parroting after Ilyas) and figure out for yourself how you can live your own personal life to the full without harming other humans, living things and the environment.

All religions, when they came about, were Personal Religions, and therefore, personal in nature, as MDP MP Mariya Ahmed Didi once pointed out. Religion, therefore, was originally meant to be only a matter between you and God, with no interference or dictation by the state, government or even the self-proclaimed religious “scholars”.

It is only later that a class of Rabbi began to monopolize Moses’ religion. It is only later that a class of Priests began to monopolize Jesus’ religion. Likewise, it is only later that a class of Sheikhs began to monopolize Mohamed’s great religion, and the result? Now you are only allowed to even cut your fingernails according to the way dictated by a rising class of Maldivian sheikhs who include Fareed et al.

The issue, therefore, is not really about fighting extremism.

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Posted in: Politics / Religion,Society