Wednesday, December 28, 2005

My Plan to End Religious Terror by IZ


During the past couple of moths we were taken inside the minds of the best examples of religious extremists that have been known for mankind. We had the opportunity to see behind the attacks, and inside that masters and creators of events that had the power to shake every single cell of the human body. From McVeigh and the Oklahoma bombing to the well known attack on September 11th, 2001. How the acts or the attackers had damage and impacted society is a hard think to measure but something is true, the violence must end. The final stop of the course is to explain what will be my plan to end religious violence and achieve lasting peace. I must said that even before the book and the class came into my life this has been one question that I personally asked many times. Perhaps Mark Juergensmeyer (MJ) presented part of what my point of view is; ‘the cure for religious violence may ultimately lie in a renewed appreciation for religion itself.’ (M. Juergensmeyer, pg.249).
During the course of the reading it was learned that religious itself was used to justify acts of death. The killing of innocents, the death of those who dared opposed to others believes. Whether those believe were the right ones or not does not matter, the only thing important was to defend them. Martyrs even heroes were the names used to call the person who risk everything to fulfill the so call ‘religious duty’.
Create a plan to end violence must involve first and most importantly the re-evaluation of values, not just religious values but also moral values. Today’s society is one that forgets everything about limits and moral standards. If someone kills another human being the act is defended base in the idea that the person that was killed maybe deserved. But who is the judge, people had forgotten that they are not judges that we are just and only pieces of a bigger plan created by a bigger entity. In my particular position that being is called God, for others different names are chose.
People, followers, extremists must understand that there are others way to defend those things in which they believe. Violence is not the answer to anything, violence only calls for more violence. Our society is full of it and no extra is needed. To stop religious violence people must understand that religious laws exist. Followers must see that is within their “supreme rulers, heavenly rulers’ hands” that the answer resides.
MJ proposed at the end of his study four possible scenarios to end it all; four possible scenarios that could be the representation of our own future. In my very particular point of view only a good and balance use of the four can add to a real and good future. But we must be realistic. Our society will hardly reach a peaceful future. Violence is wining over this world. Plans can be created, politics can be separated from religion, maybe extremists can be scare for a while, or perhaps some of them will redeem themselves but at the end violence will return. Violence had been used not only to defend religious point of view but for many others things, even to scare others countries and avoid attacks. Many have been the ones that tried to stop violence but had their plans worked? No is the answer.
If we took MJ final line of thongs a made it the base of my plan I had to admit that it will fail even before I started. The ideas and believes of those that consider themselves fighters of their religion is way to strong. ‘“It is my job,…, as a Muslim,…, to go wherever there is oppression and injustice and fight it”’ (MJ, pg.67). That was said by Abouhalima during his interview with MJ and was asked why he was willing to risk his life for his cause. When you see that this people truly see their religious values as the way of life is not wonder that whether it involve the death of other or they own they are there to take the stand.
There is so much violence in the world, so many internal and global wars that not only a plan to stop religious violence must be created but also an independent one to achieve peace must be ideate too, and if at the end one of the tow is accomplish society must feel happy and complete.
My plan is to reach society, whether is my group of friends or my family an show them that maybe if at least one good deed is done by any of them once per week perhaps we will get close to that so desired peace. My plan is to try to understand others believe and made others understand that the world s big enough to accept us whether some is Muslim, Christian, Catholic, no matter what you are we are in here to grow and learn. My plan is to learn and teach others that we must be mature enough as to be able to accept that what made us big is the diversity. My plan is to show the world that the only way of really follow the true teachings of any religion what must be done is not kill others but respect them and live your life to your best being as happy as you can and letting the others being as happy as they want.

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