I would venture to suggest that many of us are prone to taking a small piece of information, interpreting it - or listening to the interpretation of others if we cannot think for ourselves - and not as a result seeing the whole picture.
History is something we are encouraged to learn about. It was in fact one of the (only) subjects I passed in my school exams and okay it was only just a pass but I would credit that to a dedicated history teacher who sparked my somewhat lazy academic mind into an interest that has subsequently stayed with me, as readers of this Blog will know.
Religion, as we read in history, has been the cause of many wars throughout the centuries. Be it Non-Believers and Christians, and Crusaders against the Moslems, or internally within the Catholic Church with the Inquisitions, and so on through to battles between the Catholic Church and the Protestants in Ireland, and in Islam between the Sunni and the Shia.
History, you would think, reveals to us what has gone on in the past. Actions that today you hope would never be condoned - and for which we are still apologise for the sins of our fathers. Death and destruction by the hand of people, and not by forces of nature over which we have no control, surely provide for us the necessary warnings that wandering around killing people is not something that generally leads to universal rejoicing. Indeed it more often invokes the response that "this must never happen again!" But inevitably it does.
Religions, on the other hand usually exhort people to be nice to each other; the opening words of the Quran read "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful..", in the Bible it is said "love your neighbour as you love yourself" - suggesting to me, anyway, that the idea of going around and killing people because you don't agree with their beliefs is not something you should be doing. But that said, in both holy books - written centuries ago and with only modern people to make interpretations - there are also, if taken in isolation more vicious streaks.
The recent incidents, a few weeks ago in New Zealand and over the weekend in Sri Lanka, where Moslems and then Christians were targeted - although in the case of Sri Lanka I am sure the indiscriminate nature of the attack caught up people from all faiths - highlight surely the senseless nature of terror crimes carried out in the name of religion. But is it going to stop? It's hard to see how.
Western leaders have been quick to condemn both sides for the attacks, and it seems to me that New Zealand's Prime Minister has really taken this head-on with a view to trying to make a difference. I hope she succeeds. Sadly, I think, leaders from elsewhere do not seem to have been quite so forward in their condemnation, although at least not through the media that I have seen.
That said there is one Middle Eastern leader who stands out for me for having summarised the issues succinctly. He wrote a scenario that is based on the simple notion that if you read something in isolation (in his case the Quran) and act upon the small piece you have read or interpreted in a certain way you will behave in a contrary fashion to the overall meaning that was originally intended. You therefore, he writes, need to keep the lights on and be awake to your surroundings.
I think this is really powerful and should be a message to everyone in following a way of life that would lead us to stability and peace - but it leads me on to developing a concern I have now.
The world has become a more dangerous place to live in. The people who shout the loudest are getting heard and getting action. I honestly do not entirely believe that Britain voting to leave the EU, albeit by a small margin and a low turnout, was all about EU laws, straight croissants and re-financing the National Health System - but it was as much about Nationalism and keeping jobs in Britain that are currently being done by people from other countries. "Making America Great Again" and Building Walls are other examples of Isolationism that if pursued will in the longer term not make the world a better place to be. Immigration by refugees with no hope, Climate Change (denied by some - embraced by many), strong leaders with selfish motives in mind are all combining into a perfect storm. You can see the signs - and there seems to be no "trip switch" to stop it happening.
Islamic State has been defeated; oh yeh? It may have lost its physical territory, and I was assured a couple of weeks ago that they are really no longer a credible threat. I don't know about you, but more than 310 people killed in Sri Lanka this week - and who knows how many next week somewhere else, sounds pretty credible to me. And if we pursue nationalist and isolationist goals it will mean people get disadvantaged, especially amongst the younger generations. And if the young have nothing better to do guess who will find them, and use them?
My late Mother, a WWII soldier, said a few years ago, "you know, we have been so lucky there have been no big wars for years but the way the world is going it is going to take another war to bring matters back to normal". For the sake of our children and the generations that follow I can only pray - to whoever - that she is wrong, but I'm not holding my breath.
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