Vol.14 No.1

By Waleed Ahmed
why can’t all muslims be like this? LOL
‘Religion divides people’ – A refutation from a Muslim
I have heard numerous arguments
against religion. A friend of mine once
dismissed religion on the grounds that ‘it
divides people’. I’ve heard that argument
before and after that conversation I was
compelled to put some thought into it.
Following are some thoughts on that
argument.
Religion does divide people. That is true.
However, I prefer the word separate
rather than divide and you will see later
why. Religion does group people into
different sects. Jews, Christians, Muslims,
Hindus. These differences sometimes can
cause disagreements and hostility
between people of different religious
backgrounds. Wars have been waged in
the past and present in the name of
religion and often times the resentment
follows through generations to come.
But here’s the thing people tend to
overlook. Religion divides people; but so
does race, ethnicity, nationality, political
philosophies (democracy vs
communism), language (Quebec vs
English Canada) etc. Look at the wars
that have been waged in the past century.
At least 60 million people have died in
armed conflicts in the past 100 years.
How many of these wars were ‘religious’?
Did the Americans bomb Hiroshima for
religious reasons? Did Stalin massacre
thousands for religious reasons? Did the
genocide in Rwanda happen for religious
reasons?
The number of people that been killed in
so called ‘religious wars’ is miniscule
compared to those in secular wars. So the
point is, why insult religion and put down
its beauty by making it responsible for
our disunity? Look at all the hate that has
resulted because of democracy. I’ve never
heard any one ridicule democracy or
blame wars on it. Why the double
standard?
Here is what people need to understand.
Humans are inherently different from
one another. No matter what you do,
people will disagree over one matter or
another and will always have different
opinions. As humans we all have an
identity, a set of values or a philosophy
which suits our rational faculties. We
cling onto people who share this identity
and pledge allegiance to them. No matter
what one tries to do, this cannot be
changed and is in fact something that
God has programmed into us and is there
for a reason. God says in the Quran,
“If thy Lord had so willed, He could have
made mankind one people: but they will
not cease to dispute” (Quran 11:118)
“O mankind, indeed We have created you
from male and female and made you
nations and tribes, that you may know
one another” (Quran 49:13)
I gather three things from the above
verses. One the confirmation that we
have been purposely made different and
have been split into nations and tribes.
Second that disputation is also a part of
our nature and even if we were one
nation we’d continue to dispute over
religious matters. Lastly, the purpose
behind our divisions: to learn from each
other and not to despise one another.
Living in peace and learning to co-exist is
a divine trial and we as humans ought to
live up to it.
If anything, religion unites people that
are divided. Look at the history of the
Arabian Peninsula before and after Islam
for example. The Arabs had a strong
sense of tribalism and maintaining the
honour of their particular tribe was of
utmost importance to them. This
resulted in never ending wars where one
tribe was always trying to take revenge
and shedding blood in order to remain
‘honourable’. After the advent of Islam,
not only was the Arabian Peninsula
united but along with it were Eastern
Europe, North Africa, India and Western
China.
‘Okay fine, religion isn’t the only thing
that divides people and maybe it can
unite people sometimes too. But what
about hostility, hate and resentment
between people of different faiths?
Wouldn’t our world be more peaceful
without all this
religious bigotry? One
less reason to hate’
What people don’t
understand when they
ask the above question
is the following:
Religion isn’t the cause
of hate amongst
people; religion is the
justification for hate.
No religion inherently
preaches hate. No
religion inherently
teaches one to be
hateful to others; they
preach the opposite in fact. Yes, religious
people differ but differences don’t equal
hate. Theological disagreements don’t
usually amount to hate and deep rooted
resentment.
Hate is a human problem. It is a
manifestation of anger, pride, greed,
struggle for power and other human
flaws. The Palestinians don’t hate Israelis
because they are Jewish; they hate them
because they are oppressed by them.
Even in that case, religion is used as a
justification for hatred.
Some people argue that a world without
religion might not be perfect, but at least
better than what it is today. I argue that
we’d be in a position that is far worse as
the good that religious values bring far
out weight the divisions attributed to
religion. The divisions would remain the
same even if you remove religion. People
would find other excuses to justify hate
and oppression. Removing religion
would just rid the world of the good that
it brings about.
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