KARACHI:
Bad things transpire when the pace of change exceeds our ability of deciphering it. It is only then that we lose the control of our lives. Anxiety creates fear, fear gives way to anger, anger breeds violence and violence when combined with the weapons of mass destruction cause millions to lose their lives. It such a situation the idea of religion is mutilated, twisted and used as an ideological tool for justifying violence.
This is exactly how religious militants and their organisations are formed. They prey on the weak and vulnerable, selling them a seemingly luxurious idea of faith, belief and reward while pushing them into a gruesome reality. Technology and the spread of information has aided the spread of such ideologies and we see extremists now springing up in the most unlikely of places. Terrorist attacks such as the one that transpired at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019 is an indictment of the ever-growing intolerance that is prevalent in societies across the world. In the face of such a crisis, diversity and difference plays a rather significant role. We need to initiate counter-rhetoric that are “open”, empathic and free rather than myopic and dogmatic. We need to encourage people to open themselves up to the estranged and make themselves vulnerable by accepting the other.
Such an atmosphere can only be created if by inculcating in the youth the crucial principle of humanity that is to respect the people of other faiths. The youth must be provided with ways to set aside the personal differences and be willing to hear others.
Muhammad Tayyab
Rawalpindi
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2021.
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