“There is only one difference between humans; one who does good deeds are good and the other who does bad deeds are bad and no other difference”
Day in and day out we keep watching and/or reading news with a cup of coffee on issues that are focussed either to terrorist attacks, murders, rape or political scandals played on the name of religion. But have we ever questioned ourselves on what basis we set our perceptions, attitude and love for such people? Do we ever reason why there have been constant violent incidents all over the world? I am confident none of us give it a thought. On the contrary we just blame it on an elusive identity- religion.
This article will prove that a human being is not known by his or her religion, but by deeds.
“My Name is Khan” - An ordinary individual makes an extraordinary journey for the love of his life. Is it just a mere message or is there something more to it? There is no doubt whatsoever that those are not just mere words, but the zeal of healing one’s religion; to prove it is not just an elusive identity. History has presented us with atrocious tensions built due to religion which probably we do not bother to research because all of us have narrowed our focus only on one religion – Islam.
Plunging into the depths of our violent historical background, a religion, a caste, a sect changed the perceptions of our thoughts from being permissive to astringent. It was Islam and its followers, Musalmans (Muslims). We never embarked over the thought, in this process of hatred we were dividing something larger than just a nation we were dividing love. In years to follow that decision the world has come to such a point where we started to create a difference based on a group of incidents. The world experienced the term militants, enemy combats and finally terrorists. This article feels that sometimes we overlook the fact that we live in the 21st century.
There was a line in the movie MNIK, we always knew that time was divided into AD and BC, but after the incident of the World Trade Centre (WTC) there was a third dimension 9/11. But I beg differ to this statement, it was not time that was experiencing a partition, it was humanity, human perceptions that was undergoing a drastic change. Terrorism did not evolve from 9/11, it evolved years before. People at the Boston Tea Party were also terrorists, but they died for their country so they were called martyrs. Islam does not preach terrorism or jihad, nor is not a violent or damaging religion. It is just another pure religion like any other. If we imbibe personal perceptions into a thought, we change the thought. Similarly, there are such “We’s” present within the Muslim teaching community who imbibe “their” principles and perceptions into other Muslim habitants. Islam means love and the path of Allah (God) is not to sacrifice others or yourself in the name of religion, instead save and protect others from doing so.
Every year we celebrate Diwali, Holi and also Eid. If we have so much hatred against Muslims, why do we celebrate Eid? Why do groups of pilgrims go to the Darga Sharif? Why do we forget that we are God’s subjects and when he doesn’t make a difference between people, do we have the rights to make one? The answer lies in our deeds that we present which makes this difference more emphatic. After the 9/11 incident, US invaded Afghanistan and then went on to attack Iraq. What did it achieve from it? Has it bought back those victims from the 9/11 to life, or has it proved a valid point by doing so. According to this article, it does not find any answer to the above questions. But, it has a statement to make; an eye for an eye makes the world go blind. So many US soldiers lost their lives in this enemy combat. So many families were just left behind without no hope but only tears and grief.
Now, instead of an exchange policy it has become a violent and senseless take-take policy. One sect attacks which results in the loss of many and this continues. Islam preaches the loss of a single human result in the death of the entire humanity. 26/11 the Mumbai Massacre, were a result of the ongoing atrocities being made on innocent Muslims from the 9/11 incident. We all have taken a stance on our perceptions towards Muslims and its community. In the conscious or sub-conscious mind we have created a synonym between Muslim and terrorist. When there are riots happening all over the world, it has been observed that the government will not take a moment to think but make religion the first reason for it. Yet again, it is not the difference in human beings we are focussing at based on religion instead of deeds.
The above issue was discussed from a political perspective. This article will now discuss the issue from a cultural perspective. Entertainment and sports have been two important vehicles to bridge the existing dilemma between any religions; in this case, the Hindus and Muslims. Highlighting the recent debate on welcoming Pakistani cricketers to play for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) has been taken very seriously. This critique fails to comprehend why politicians have to pick up on every point from a political outlook. Politicians are to an extent failing to understand that they should be enhancing relationships with neighbouring countries, instead of taking an escapist route.
On a whole it is quite sad and disheartening to comprehend that living in the 21st century all that has changed is the dimension of time, not the dimension of respect and insight towards religion. If we have to see a change in this world from a religious perspective we have to be that change. This article feels that documentaries like MNIK should be kept on being made since, it makes an effort in spreading a thought that we might not receive from any other school or academic institution. Therefore people do not divide people on religion, divide them on the deeds that they do on the name of religion. In this manner we all might make a difference to the human world.
