When conflicts become religious

As the Bible says, on the sixth day, God created man, and on the seventh day, God rested. And on the day that God rested man, out of boredom and with nothing else to do, created religions. And when God woke up on Monday he discovered man fighting over his name.

NO HOLDS BARRED 

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34 KJV).

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34 NIV)

Wars are easier to comprehend when it involves greed. It could either be greed for power or greed for wealth. When we say greed for power it would involve greed to dominate others, normally those weaker than us, and greed for wealth would involve greed for territory and natural resources.

And that, basically, is what colonisation is all about.

But when wars are fought in the name of religion this becomes a bit more complicating. This is not a war for worldly gains but a metaphysical war. It is not a war between peoples of different nations but a war between forces of light and forces of darkness.

It is a war in which both sides believe that God is on their side.

In this kind of war, butchers become soldiers of God. It justifies the most brutal and wanton killings plus utter destruction and turns them into acts of virtue, and death as noble sacrifices. Morality, justice and compassion have no place in a war commanded by God because these are virtues that God does not allow against His enemies.

In such a war there is only good and bad. We are good and you are bad. There is no middle ground. So everyone has to choose a side. If you are not with us then you are with them. So that means you are the enemy.

There can be no two ways about this. If we are on the side of good, and if there is no middle ground, then that can only mean you are on the side of bad. It cannot be any other way. So the blood of those not with us becomes kosher or halal.

In such a war there are no winners or losers. It is a war that no one wins. There are no compromises. There is no negotiation. Retreat or surrender cannot be considered or accepted. This is not the way of God.

Jews, Christians and Muslims say that their religion is the religion of peace. Their message is the message of love, tolerance and compassion. But none of their Holy Books demonstrate this. Their Holy Books talk about punishing and exterminating those perceived as enemies of God.

For more than 2,000 years we have been fed the fallacy that the message from God is the message of peace and love. But for more than 2,000 years since God’s message first came down to humankind the history of the world is a history of war, death and destruction.

If it is true that Satan refused to bow down to man because Satan believed that man is the most destructive and cruellest of God’s creations, then Satan was right beyond any shadow of doubt.

The ongoing tussle in Malaysia regarding the right of use of the Allah name is an extension of this war in the name of God. It is just that this war has thus far been a war of words. But that is how it always starts. Wars start with words and end up as physical.

And in this case, of course, it would be more metaphysical than physical since it is a war between good and bad with nothing in between.

When people fight over power and wealth it is a war that is easy to comprehend, that is if wars are even comprehensible in the first place. But when it is a war of beliefs then it is beyond human comprehension since God and not man is the guiding light.

Religion is not about logic. Religion is about belief and the faith you hold to believe so. How does one measure faith? Faith is immeasurable. Faith cannot be explained. Faith is in the mind and in the heart. Hence a war based on faith and belief is something only God can fathom if, in the first place, this faith and belief did come from God.

So how do we understand the tug-of-war over the Allah name? We cannot. This tug-of-war is non-understandable. It is not something tangible. It is about what lurks in the hearts of humankind and which humankind believes to be true for reasons no one but only that person can comprehend.

So how is the Allah word issue going to end? I do not know how it is going to end but I can probably forecast how it is going to be played out. One side must win and one side must lose. There is no meeting in the middle in this type of situation.

Either the Allah name is exclusive to Muslims or it is not. If it is then the Muslims win and the Christian lose. And if it is not then the Christians win and the Muslims lose.

A compromise would mean sharing and coexisting. But how do you share and coexist when there is only one name and both want to use it? So only one can have it and the other cannot. And if the name is shared then one loses while the other side wins.

In this type of struggle the one that gives in would be admitting defeat. And the word defeat is not in God’s vocabulary. God does not tolerate compromise because God does not accept defeat.

Compromising and admitting defeat is a gross violation of God’s rules.

As the Bible says, on the sixth day, God created man, and on the seventh day, God rested. And on the day that God rested man, out of boredom and with nothing else to do, created religions. And when God woke up on Monday he discovered man fighting over his name.

And that was when God gave up and decided to go back to sleep.