“It takes a lot of courage and a lot of wisdom to tell the truth and not offend people.”

 When it comes to matters of religion, race, and cultures, emotion and sentiment easily and quickly overwhelm us and we quickly lose conscience and thus, clear understanding.

In the wake of the gruesome Paris attack by the ISIS terrorists, France’s 9/11, that shook whole Europe and the world, it’s high time we debated on the matter of “terrorism” and “religion” since the terrorism gripping this world today is claiming religion as its source. So, why don’t we go to the roots of terrorism, understand what exactly is causing it and try to solve the cause, instead of dealing with the effects, so that we can get rid of this grave threat to human civilization for the long-term?

Religion, religious books, and even God are the creations of human minds. 5,000 years ago, none of the 5 major religions of today existed. We were humans before that and are humans today too. But unfortunately many people identify themselves with religion and race before ‘human’, thus forgetting we are all humans first. With due respect, the founders of the religions were all humans and the religious books were all written by humans. Simply to follow them with blind faith and without using one’s own conscience is, I think, to fail to be a complete human. As long as we regard religious teachings unquestionable and religious texts untouchable, we are bound to suffer this fate for long.

Today’s terrorism has much deeper roots than what we think. We are only dealing with the tip of iceberg. Any naivety is going to be costly to the modern world. We won’t be able to solve the problem of terrorism unless we go to its roots. Religion is such a serious matter to leave to any ambiguities, especially with regards to intolerance and violence. Hitler used “Jews” as perceived threats to German people and started the notorious Nazi violence in the name of “defensive violence” that eventually escalated into the war culminating into the great Holocaust.

People driven by wrong ideologies can be really dangerous. Religious and racial ideologies are even more dangerous than political ideologies. Marx’s radical communist ideology may have shaken the world for a century but radical religious ideology will shake the world even longer and with much more dangerous ramifications if not dealt timely with proper reform and education. When you give a person a hope of reward of afterlife, there’s nothing he’s prepared not to do. And, when violence even in defensive form is recommended as a means to seek that reward, what would be the result?

I can only wonder how world leaders can solve this problem only battling in the fields and searching on the streets. I believe there are few things that must be done to get rid of (religion based) terrorism for the long-term. First, all the nations, notably global and regional powers, must unite for this common cause setting aside the differences. The Middle Eastern powers, especially Saudi Arabia and Iran, must be brought on the table and heavily involved. Second, world leaders must cooperate on monitoring internet for terrorist activities.

Third, nothing must be off the table. Governments must monitor religious schools and preaches for any slightest form of radicalization. Fourth, world leaders must work together to cut off illegal funding for the terrorists even if it means pressuring heavily countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar to implement strict monitoring of financial activities. Fifth, rich nations including the oil rich Gulf nations must invest heavily in development and education of the Middle East, the fertile land for terrorism the more the delay, the more likely terrorism grows and the more conflicts with the world. Needless to say, the victims are mostly innocent humans, both Muslims and non-Muslims. There is an urgent need for a minimum agreement and understanding among all the world religions for ‘peaceful’ and ‘tolerant’ co-existence. And, it can only be ensured if we get rid of any form of ‘violence’ and ‘intolerance’ in religious teachings of all religions.

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