Terrorism, Religion, and Humanism<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

What follows is a shortened and adapted version of the speech given by Levi Fragell, President of IHEU, at the inauguration of the Radical Humanist Centre, Inkollu, Andhra Pradesh, on 17 January 2003.

 

In some circles it is politically incorrect to say that the growth of terrorism is due to conflicts between religions. Among these well-meaning people, it is looked upon as improper to point at religions as a reason for any kind of misbehaviour and violent conduct. This is partly because they are afraid of creating and fostering discrimination and hatred between ethnic groups, and partly because, in a Marxist-influenced tradition, they want to see all social conflicts as part of a struggle between rich and poor, the haves and the have nots.

 

All my life I have rebelled against the unjust division of goods and privileges. I come from a labour background. I had to pay for my education by working nights and weekends, and on the first of May I put on my best suit and demonstrate for social justice. But I think it is a dangerous mistake to explain September 11th and similar well-organized acts of terrorism as part of a poor people’s war against the rich world. Of course there are elements of social revolt in this kind of violence, as there was among Hitler’s followers and Stalin’s soldiers, but the worst form of terror throughout history has been that based on irrational beliefs and emotional dedication to dogmas – political, philosophical, or religious. These forces are often interrelated, as in Nazism.

 

Today there is a special reason to focus on the influence of religion on terrorism. Hatred between religions has caused regional wars and occupation of enemies’ land for as long as religions have existed. But today’s globalization means that the infrastructures of the world religions are no longer limited to regions, countries, or even continents. There are more Christian churches in Nigeria than in Germany; in every city in Great Britain there is a mosque; and the followers of Krishna shout their message in the streets of Moscow. All over the world there are religious networks that can be mobilized for any cause, good or bad. And “holy” wars are usually no longer intended to occupy the enemy’s territory; they are meant to destroy it.

 

The German author Günther Grass gave an interview recently to the Indian magazine Outlook in which he, like many others, explains terrorist actions as the rage and hatred of the Third World against the affluence of the First. There is no doubt that the First World’s ugly display of financial superiority has caused violent reactions. But no fatwa has ever been declared against people for being richer than others.

 

Salman Rushdie was not forced into hiding because he earned a lot of money from writing books, but because of what he wrote about the Prophet and his family. The author Taslima Nasrin had to flee from Bangadesh because of remarks about religion, not because she was rich. Thousands of Pakistanis live very affluent lives within a poor society. Yet a simple local doctor, Younnis Shaikh, was the one who was attacked by the mob in Islamabad, jailed, and sentenced to death, because he uttered a few words about religion the believers did not like.

 

Religious intolerance does not automatically vanish with higher standards of living. It loses its power only where secularism develops. We must be aware that even if there is a correlation between economic growth and secularism, it is not automatic or self- evident. Some Arab countries have a very high standard of living, but at the same time the tolerance level is among the lowest in the world when it comes to other people’s beliefs and lifestyles. And even in the urbanized and open societies in the West, you can be sure that when you find individuals or groups with the most extreme views on society, it will be among religious people. The killing of doctors who perform abortions in the USA is but one example.

 

The Norwegian scholar Torkel Brekke, in his book Religion and Violence, warned against the indifference with which politicians and social scientists handle the violent ideas in all world religions, including those looked upon as the most peaceful – Hinduism and Buddhism. He shows that the holy books of even of these traditions glorify warriors and the slaying of enemies. The Biblical and Koranic texts are even more grotesque in their instructions on dealing with heathens and apostates; no punishment is too cruel for those who do not submit to the one and only god. When such ideas can be looked upon as “holy”, there can be no limit to the cruelty of actions in the name of religion.

 

Levi Fragell