Source/Credit: Post Crescent | Wisconsin
By Rachel Martens | January 27, 2011
On Jan. 4, Salmaan Taseer, governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, was shot to death by his own bodyguard, a response to Taseer's campaigns against Pakistan's blasphemy law.
The blasphemy law is a legal provision endorsed by the Pakistani government that allows persecution of anyone who speaks out against Islam or any aspect of Islam, deliberately targeting Christians in the country.
This law was used in November to sentence mother of four, Asia Bibi, a Christian who got into an argument with her Muslim neighbor, to death. Even if, by a miracle, Bibi's sentence is lightened, it's almost certain she will be gunned down by a vigilante.
Bibi's sentence, Taseer's assassination and the victimization of the hundreds of individuals charged with the blasphemy law since the 1980s all resulted from a lack of common ground on belief.
In Pakistan, it has been proven impossible to simply agree to disagree, which is what we must do if we want peace and justice.
Religion has always been a subject of controversy in our world and has many times over caused rifts between individuals, regions and nations.
Consider the Crusades, the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in England and Ireland, and the oppression of Christians in the Middle East. At first glance, these disagreements and all-out battles over religion may be seen as evidence that religion leads to religious dispute. However, religious disputes should be looked at as evidence of humanity's value of belief and the necessity in protecting that belief.
Religion should not be taboo. It should be something to respect and honor, whether or not you agree with the affiliation or simple act of belief.
Every day in the news, we see case after case of religious discrimination and intolerance. In Egypt, the church bombings and intolerance of Copts provide another gruesome example.
Even here in the United States we see anger toward anyone of the Islamic faith, despite the fact that they're worlds apart from extremists or terrorists.
Where is the justification for these acts? The only remotely tangible justification is that "they're different." However, what really makes the persecuted different from the persecutor? We all fall into each category at times.
We must begin to reach common ground, where we can all believe as we wish without fear of discrimination. There is no justification for trying to oppress any religion or lack of religion, for that matter.
A lack of religion is another aspect of the issue that needs addressing. There is nothing wrong with a lack of religion, just as there is nothing wrong with believing in any religion. The only wrong in the equation is the intolerance between belief systems.
In a perfect world, we would all have the freedom to believe as we wished or not at all, if that was our choice. To grow closer to that ideal, we have to make the first step and stop our discrimination of other beliefs, so they can grow in their tolerance of us in turn.
This wouldn't be easy, but it's vital. The religious must stop trying to prove that their belief is the only way, while the non-believers must stop trying to prove that religion is a lie.
Why is it so difficult for us to reach a common ground? Religion should be something worth respecting and valuing, not a tool for persecution.
Worldwide, we can see societies that use their various forms of religion as a way to judge believers in other religions and as a means of persecuting them. This is directly contrary to morality and simple humanity, ideas that should be endorsed by religious individuals.
In any case, we must take into account the fact that every religion or lack thereof worldwide can be seen as the persecutor and the persecuted depending on the situation.
How can we expect tolerance of our faith when we cannot be tolerant of the faith of others? Tolerance is a two-way street; we cannot expect to change or fix anything when all we do is demand respect for our views.
Religion can be a touchy subject, a taboo. However, the fact that it is taboo needs to be addressed.
Belief, whether in religion or science, is a concept that should be respected and admired in us as humans, not something used as a tool for persecution.
There should not be a taboo on belief. We must reach an understanding.
Rachel Martens is a junior at Hortonville High School. She can be reached at pcletters@postcrescent.com.
Read original post here: We need to respect each other's beliefs
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