Killing in the Name of Religion

I don't get it. I really don't. When I was a kid, I had a teddy bear that I used to sit at the head of my bed when I slept. I didn't really need it for comfort or to 'protect' me as I slept but I just always had one. I gave him a name that was rather innocuous and thought nothing more of it. Ask any kid who has ever had a teddy bear and they will likely tell you a name that relates to something that they know and are familiar with. All of the kids I've ever met have given their bears names like, 'Bobo' or 'Teddy', not necessarily the most creative but apparently a lot safer than naming a bear Muhammad.

For those who hadn't heard the news in a while, there is a British woman currently in the Sudan who worked at a prestigious Sudanese private school (populated by predominantly wealthy Sudanese Muslim children) who is in trouble for allowing her students to name a bear Muhammad. Now if you didn't know that, perhaps you also weren't aware that Muhammad is the name of the most revered prophet in Islam and in so allowing her students to name a bear Muhammad, she has blasphemed against their religion and has been arrested, tried, and convicted. If she gets the sentence that is currently on the table, she will spend up to six months in prison, receive 40 lashes with a whip and be deported from the Sudan for good. Apparently that isn't enough though. Many Sudanese are demanding that she be executed for her crimes. Now perhaps this group is in the minority and the press is making a bigger deal out of it but who knows.

Religion is a crazy thing. I think after politics, it's the one topic most people attempt to avoid if they are certain that the people they are talking to have different points of view compared to someone else. I myself have very neutral points as far as religion is concerned. However, one thing I've noticed when it comes to the media and public in general is that when it comes to a religion that doesn't mesh with theirs, they immediately decry it and declare it to be a foolish and dumb thing. For example, when news of this new protest for the execution of the teacher, Gillian Gibbons, hit the internet, the comments section of much of these sections was plagued with vile comments regarding the religion of Islam. Now granted most of the people making these comments are idiots who have no real basis for making statements against this or any other religion but I couldn't help but notice that the common theme was that either Islam should be banned from the United States or that Islam should be condemned as a religion. Funny. Isn't that sort of what the Sudanese are protesting about too?

The Sudanese are protesting for an implied slight against their religion and calling for the execution the offending party while protestors here are calling for the end of the religion itself. I find it ironic given that most every religion in the world has some form of tolerance or peace in their messages. It's a shame to see that these messages are conveniently 'forgotten' or 'ignored' when someone's viewpoint doesn't match with yours. I think religion will ultimately lead to the downfall of our society because despite all the efforts of a few to ensure that all religions do their best to be balanced and tolerant, the majority who are simply going with the flow are the problem that can't really be stemmed. No religion in the world can claim to be free of some form of extremism at all. All religions have had problems of this sort in one form or another and in the case of Islam, the religion has gotten a bad rap due in large part to the misguided interpretations of a few influential people.

Groups like those protesting in the Sudan or in other parts of Africa and the Middle East where Islam is predominant are oftenn villified but are their views any different than those of someone who proclaims that their version of religion is better than anyone elses? I mean some religions have so many different factions of their same religion that it begs to question whether there is even one truly correct answer. I don't believe there is. I will never claim that my religious beliefs are better than anyone elses because I believe that my beliefs are just that; mine. I can yell and scream and demand deaths till I'm blue in the face but it won't mean that someone not of my opinion will bend to my beliefs. It won't be a true belief because it's been forced upon them. Religion has been doing that to our society for generations and it will likely continue on to infinity simply because we are so steadfast to being right all the time that finding tolerance is easier said than done.