(Please note that the image used in this post is not mine, it is gotten from Google)
Hello there! Don't be surprised about my title, I deliberately decided to use Religious Madness in place of Religious Violence. Religion today is being used as a weapon of war and an opportunity to carry out several unjust activities such as kidnapping, manslaughter/murder and vandalism amongst many others. Over the years, we have heard incidents where Religious buildings are being destroyed, christians being murdered for proclaiming their belief and so on. Well, I am not here to define what religious violence is, I'm pretty sure we know that already, especially if you stay in Nigeria. I will however be giving my own definition of religion, causes of Religious violence and how it can be curbed.
Religion according to me is defined as a tool through which man approaches divinity, it's a means of interaction between divinity, humanity and society. As it stands now, we have three major religions in Nigeria, Christianity, Islam and African Tradional Religion. Religion itself is peaceful, it's just that some people have decided to use the differences in religion for their own selfish and dark agendas.
As I proceed, I would love to ask a rhetorical question. Do you think it is possible for different Religions to live peaceably with one another, especially in Nigeria? Well for me I think it's not possible and I also think it's possible, please follow me. Of recent, the war has majorly been between Christians and Muslims, Christians however are mostly the victim's. War will persist amongst these two religions if we do not learn to set aside our differences and embrace our similarities. How can we do that? By first of all accepting each other as humans, humanity should be considered over the fight for religion.
The diffrences cannot be neglected, islam believes that Jesus is a prophet while Christianity belives that Jesus is the son of God, to Islam that's blasphemy but to Christianity that's the foundation of her faith.
The truth is, if we keep looking at the differences, we will never live in peace. The adherents of Islam are ever ready to kill for what they believe and while Christianity according to the mandate given will never stop proclaiming Christ as the son of God.
To answer the above question, I'll say, Religious violence will never come to an end if we don't accept ourselves as first of all humans but what can we say about Religious fanatics? Will they be able to accept other Religions?
It's not enough to accept ourselves as humans, Religion adherents must Know boundaries
If we are looking at ways to curb religious violence in Nigeria, one of the ways is to understand the other religions, understand their belief system, their pillars, their founder and things they hold in high esteem, figures they revere so much.
We know already that some adherents of Islam are very violent and it's not their fault, it's the way they have been programmed, the way they have been channeled, what they have been taught, it's now left to you as an adherent of another religion to act with wisdom. You can not be in a Muslim community and be moving around condemning islam, that's war. So know your boundaries.
The big question is, Why go to the extreme? It really is not wise to be in the midst of Muslims and be criticizing Islam or the Prophet? There is definitely going to be violence, the truth is a lot of people lack emotional intelligence, in this life, you need to add wisdom to everything you do.
So I feel a way to curb religious violence is to understand other religions and don't try to enforce your belief on adherents of other religions. I believe we can all live together amicably if we learn to understand and accept each other. If Hassan doesn't want to hear Paul, apologize and leave him alone! If Daniel claims Jesus is the son of God, Quadri leave him alone! And focus on other important things that connect you two!
If I am in a place talking about my religion and I notice it is making others uncomfortable, what do I do? I keep shut! And focus on something else.
In Conclusion, I strongly believe we can all live together peaceably because we actually need each other but without understanding, that would not be possible. We need to understand each other's beliefs and accept each other's stand, not trying to enforce our values or belief on others.
What do you think? Kindly comment on this post, I'll love to read from you and possibly continue this discussion with you😊😊😊
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