COMMENT Religion is a sensitive subject to begin with. History shows that many have died for these beliefs; many were killed in the name of religion; many continue to live in animosity because of religion.

Of particular importance to this discourse are those who take advantage of religious strife and animosity for political and selfish gains. They are called the ‘manipulators’. Such destabilising elements are seen and grow only in communities and societies that promote hatred and extremism.  

NONE In our society, the recent finding of a pig head in a mosque, the parading of a cow head and the desecration of the cross, the missionaries in white robes remark, etc, are all part of this sandiwara , perpetuated by those who continue to try their luck to (mis)use religion for their political and communal interest.

It is nothing but a calculated conspiracy to win over the losing ground through stirring the sentiments of people by using religion and God.

Having carefully considered those actions and words, one can’t resist coming to the conclusion that it’s all about a tactic to incite the sentiments of religious communities. It is to unite ‘some’ by pelting stones at the ‘other’.

The recurrent bashing, blatant prejudice and indoctrination targeted against particular communities are to pit one community against the ‘other’.

The speakers or doers of such acts have an inherent hatred for other religions and their way of life. It appears to be part of a continuing political episode, spewing hatred in consistent intervals, waiting for its grand finale to appear.

But hardly do ‘manipulators’, i.e. the speakers/doers of such school of thought, recognise that by defaming the ‘other’ again and again, they prove to the rest of the world that they belong to the world of ignorance, for the more one tries to disprove and defame the ‘other’, the more they disprove and discredit his/her own religion, God and faith in the marketplace.

In their attempt to be the sole champion for God, they miserably fail to understand that God is a defender of people and not of religions.     

If we try to mix God, faith, hatred, animosity, political interests and package and market it under the name ‘religion’, we are trading our self-made god for our selfish agenda. The religious pundits or community leaders of such distorted spirituality would ultimately derail the faith journey of any community or society.

The task of religion is to lead people to God

One should not use his/her religious beliefs to lead the community to politicians as vote banks or to use to achieve their vested interests.

The task of religion is to lead people to God and to respect and take care of God’s creation, which includes the ‘other’ in all their religious or racial diversity. Hence we should not be afraid to engage our religion with the ‘other’ or be afraid to pray with the ‘other’.

Our suspicions and hatred are but the inevitable consequence of a deformed spiritual upbringing and a sense of insecurity in our own faith. It calls for renewed efforts to think about the way in which our society is being groomed for even as there is much discourses centred around God and religion in all our society, more hatred is spewed by people who are supposed to be more responsible and who consider themselves as defenders of God and champions of their religion.

NONE In this context, two questions need to be asked: Are we producing religious fanatics through our religions and belief systems and practices? Or are we producing a more inclusive community which respects the space and freedom of the ‘other’?

It  could be that we, in the past, did not care to put down roots of tolerance and understanding in the multi religious or vernacular linguistic cultures of the country. For many years, we have taken diversity for granted.

Everyone else thought that someone else was doing it for the common good of all. But nobody did it while the ‘manipulators’ took advantage of such ignorance of the common people. Many who spoke about tolerance to the outside world subtly built their communal kingdom for political gains.

It is unlikely that those who have benefitted from such policies will favour changes for a more inclusive community life in any society. As a result, many religionists still live in the past, with communal attitudes within their religion and maintain the suspicion of the ‘other’ and restrict interactions between various religious communities. This is achieved by projecting themselves as ‘the absolute good' and the rest as ‘pagan’.

The attempt to demean and discredit the ‘other’ in any society is a necessary tactic of the ‘manipulators’ and a last-ditch effort by the proponents and/or benefactors of any dying system, structure, ideology or a regime. It is aimed to resist transformations that are taking place in societies, religions and communities.

Gradually consumed by its own tactics

Such religious fundamentalism which rejects change in religion or its structures or its approach to the ‘other’ will gradually be consumed by its own tactics to isolate itself from the ‘other’ and in the long run would tend to produce an exclusive religious community centred on its own self-righteousness, and eventually its own self-interest will be closed off from the surrounding society.

If left unchecked, such outdated schools of thought within our own religion would still continue to produce communally-oriented fundamentalists who spew their religious and racist venom on society by claiming themselves to be defenders of God, religion or the community they belong to.

Let us not be defenders of God but utilise our time more meaningfully, and inform the nation how we want to build up this nation in God’s justice, equality and truth rather than trying to play with the sentiments of religious followers.

Let us stop dragging God into the marketplace as a commodity and let us stop bragging about our own religion in the marketplace for our selfish political or religious agenda.

Malaysians and the world need to know that we are a nation for peace, justice and equality, not a nation talking too much about God and spending time defending God and religion by demeaning the ‘other’.

Let us use our position to positively engage with the ‘other’ who is also created by God. Let us not falsely assume that our set of boundaries is an ‘absolute good’.

Let us not see ourselves as ever against the ‘other’ but live along with the ‘other’ for as someone remarked, “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.”

REV THOMAS GEORGE is a priest of the Mar Thoma Church and is an activist of the interfaith network in Malaysia.