The Dangers of Religious Moderates

It’s been a while since I’ve written something controversial, or politically incorrect as some would say. It’s funny, the psychology of society; I haven’t even started and I already know it’s going to be controversial. Interesting, isn’t it? So what exactly drove me to write what I’m about to? Two things, basically, not really interconnected but not mutually exclusive either.

First, I recently read an article by Shahrukh Khan, which talks about being a Khan. I should mention here, to my discredit, that the article is more than a year old. Yes, I’m capable of finding rocks to live under for extended periods. It’s written beautifully of course, he’s a genius, and it’s a different matter that he has a tendency to go into goat mode on screen. Anyway, all of you who know me are aware how much I adore this man. As I said, the article is written very well, and I truly believe that he’s being honest about it. However, I must still disagree with the core point that he’s trying to make. Which brings us to our second point.

I recently saw a debate where Sam Harris was speaking on religious moderates and the implications of religious moderation if left unchecked. That got me thinking. Now, I’m not the sort of person who goes the extra mile to be politically correct. More often than not, one can find me speaking my mind. It’s a gift and a curse at the same time. But after listening to Harris, I realized I’m also a part of this moderate tribe in some ways. Saying it, but not really saying it, watching carefully, treading with caution. I said “some ways” because there are a few things I’ve always been clear on. Like the statement “all religions teach peace” or “all religions are essentially the same”. No, and you don’t even have to read the holy books to realize that. A mere glance at history should tell you that there are inherent and irreconcilable differences between religions, in both the teaching as well as the delivery. 

Christianity already had its field day with all the crusades, the inquisitions, the witch hunts and what not. However, there is a silver lining here—despite the violent past, Christianity revived itself. It has been a pretty modern and peaceful religion in the recent past. I mean, we even have the Pope and several high level clergymen willing to discuss things like pre-marital sex, homosexuality etc. Yes, there are some fringe elements who still employ coercive and/or exploitative conversion etc. and engage in random terrorism in North Eastern India, Northern Ireland etc. but otherwise, there’s not much to complain about, not on global level. But how did this happen? That is the bigger question. There’s not too much of a difference between the basic principles (ones that are of concern) of both Christianity and Islam. Both monotheistic, both totalitarian in nature, both condoning and sometimes even commanding slavery, torture and murder, and both based on messianic prophecies. Islam is much more strict and extreme of course. Apostasy means death and several other shenanigans. Christopher Hitchens often used to joke about this when people asked for his views on the persecution of Jews throughout history. He said, “When you reject 2 versions of the messiah in a row, you’re bound to have trouble”.

But I digress, back to the point. So what exactly happened that Christianity evolved? It’s pretty simple actually. The world went on, proper education systems happened, democracies came into existence, bilateral relations between countries prospered, free trade zones happened etc. People finally realized that God’s word does not make the world a better place. People realized that inclusion and tolerance are better than dogma. They realized it’s better to listen to good people around you than to blindly believe in ancient texts. People started questioning, a new wave of scientists, atheists, agnostics and skeptics came to the forefront. 

Nothing seems to be doing the trick when it comes to Islamic extremism though. That silver lining seems to grow darker paler every passing day. It’s pretty clear, something much more sinister is at work here. Sure, the crusaders attacked and killed in medieval times, but the modern Jihadi’s are ready to blow themselves up! When they aren’t doing that, they’re beheading little children and holding their heads as trophies. What is it exactly that commands such devotion? What kind of mind thinks this is holy? Do they really believe it to be the word of God? Does it have something to do with how they’re brought up? Does it have something to do with Madrasa teachings? I don’t know, but what I’m trying to say is that asking these questions shouldn’t be taboo.

Al Qaeda is planning the final Jihad, starting with India. ISIS has been doing things that make my blood curdle, then I go into fits of rage, and cry some times. It doesn’t take a particularly weak man to cry looking at the picture of a 4 year old little girl’s headless body. You pick any part of the world, and you won’t find it difficult to find examples of nutcase Islamic outfits. It’s been happening for quite a while now, and it shows no signs of stopping. A cartoon gets published and the whole world cowers in fear, an author writes a book and the whole world cowers in fear again. Bookstores get bombed, heads of state issue fatwas, one of the most modern societies of our times (Denmark) is forced to ignore its own constitution, Supreme Court judgements are overturned, Parliament gets attacked, trains and buses are bombed, markets are bombed, consulates are bombed, temples are bombed, churches are bombed, Red Cross offices are bombed…goes on and on and on. I’m sure, it’ll probably take the whole week if I continue with the examples of utter savagery. 

So what are the moderates saying about this? Well, the usual, but now they have two versions of it. First, it was “All religions teach peace”, now a significant number of them say “All religions are bad”. In a nutshell, first they played the 3 monkeys of Mahatma Gandhi, and now they’ve based their reasoning on a logical fallacy – because two things are more similar than dissimilar, therefore both are the same. See, this might look like a very noble stand to take, however, please note that the net result is still a big fat ZERO. Just sitting there and parroting the same lines ad nauseam is not only dishonest, it amounts to abetting violence in my opinion. This is possibly what a Jihadi thinks when he listens to all the moderates –“Hmm…so all these learned people feel we aren’t really any worse than anything out there. Oh well, that isn’t so bad, carry on brothers”. What you’re doing is providing an escape route to the extremist, when you really should have been the loudest and fiercest critic. Saying “oh they’re just mad men” doesn’t mean anything, and it accomplishes nothing. It is you, with your cowardly reason and pseudo-morality who is responsible for the terrorist stereotype in the first place. 

If good Muslims, and well-wishers from other groups don’t start tackling this issue head on, then I fear we’re doomed. If you really think these people are simply misled, well then the onus to bring them back to the civilized world lies with you, whether you’re a Muslim moderate or just generally a moderate. So Mr. Khan, I’m a big fan, and I know you’re not a terrorist, but I do have a suggestion. I take this as my first step towards shedding the extra kilos of “moderate” in me. You’re such a big personality, you’re media savvy, you’re pretty tech savvy as well, and your communication skills have always been above par when it comes to Bollywood. You’ve made a lot of noises in the last two decades; business, film-making and even social issues. Why is it that you cannot make a noise for something that clearly affects you much more than anything else? Trust me, you make the right noises and you’ll see some change at least. You make the same noises and you thrust everyone back into a self-pitying state powered by victim-hood syndrome that does more harm than good. More than that, it abets skipping of vital introspection.

P.S.—Please make Don 3 as soon as possible.

P.P.S.--As I post this, Arnab Goswami is rattling my eardrums about how deeply hurt he is about something idiotic Mohan Bhagwat said...again. Someone somewhere is harping about how all of this is a big fat conspiracy to malign a religion of peace. Facebook warriors are more interested in playing Sherlock Holmes to identify the funding channels (hint..it's the big bad USA). What next, Global Warming messing up their heads?