I am posting this to be fair to a comment I put on Facebook and bring a point that no religion should be above criticism sorry if I am being too blunt here…. I posted this as comment on a friend’s post where he shared Richard Dawkin’s “explanation to peshawar attack” and since it is controversial, I think it will be unfair if I do not post it on my blog and share on FB and that I do not use someone else’s place to make a controversial comment.

So my response or comment was to people who commented that while discussing Peshawar attack we should not bring in religion…. and it is insensitive and here was my comment in its full form (removing any unwanted pleasantries)

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We should use the world religion and if needed even use the word islam….. because no religion is beyond question… and that is the right way to do it…….. the sad part is that people say that since it is a sensitive issue one should not talk about it. Yes Peshawar incident was a very sad one, we all have felt for it. It is our darkest fear as parents…. we don’t care what religion the kids were, they were kids, they were victims, but be very well do care what religion the perpetrators were and what makes that group do this… this is not the first time they did it, they (talibani) have been doing heinous crimes in the name of religion for along time… they stand on the graves of innocents….. and here they have gone a step further and thrown the tattered bodies of children into the laps of mothers…..

And why should Richard or us stop talking… why…… ? People can ask Richard to shut up. but Richard has to talk…. we all need to talk… and we all need to make people comfortable to point fingers at religion, any religion….. the very statement Richard makes “Religion is dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism.” is the root problem…. Keeping something beyond criticism is bad for humanity…..

The problem with peshawar attack is that the religious people (especially muslims) in order to keep faith intact will find a way to show that Taliban is something outside Islam. But it is not and that is a fact and should not be allowed…. unless people accept Taliban is very much inside Islam and then try to change that part of the religion Islam that makes Talibanis to emerge; nothing will change…. Taliban is an islamic problem (even if one wraps it in international socio-econo-political shrouds) and it should be addressed by people of Muslim faith coming forward with such a strong and committed mind that the Talibanis are crushed to extinction in the power of their faith…. That is what we should all ask for or demand for…. that commitment from the people of faith….

But the sad part is that there are so many hypocrites (outside Islam) who will amidst all this put out a statement that “Islam is a religion of peace” … what I never seem to understand is how come people outside Islam understands that Islam is a religion of peace when people in Taliban has completely got it wrong… I am not saying Islam is violent or it is peaceful, I do not know enough to comment either way… but When people outside islam come and say “Islam is peaceful, I call it hypocritical diplomacy.

As a generation, honestly we are done with hypocritical diplomacy…. we should realize that religion is doing more harm than good, but that is a hard fact and people need to just swallow…… whether they like it or not… Sorry, I went a bit over my usual stuff when I read people asking you to mellow down…. you, me, Richard… none of us need be apologetic…. no need.. not today, not tomorrow……

I can’t write more as I might lose my sense of wordsmithing decency…. and Please feel to delete the comment if you feel diplomats in your circle feel offended that I used the word religion and specifically the word Islam…. “The oh my God… he used that word” look, I can see it I would have done the same if it was a hindu or christian group which had done it…. simply I don’t consider Islam above hinduism or christianity….. nor should anyone else…….

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-Vinod-

Categories: Articles, Articles & Opinions

Tags: Peshawar, Religion