Religion: An Extremist Opiate for the Dispossessed Masses

Hi everyone!

It is always disappointing when religious-inspired violence mars religious holidays. While sitting in my post-Christmas dinner food coma last night, I was upset when I turned on the BBC and saw that a Catholic church in Madala, a suburb of the Nigerian capital Abuja, was bombed as the faithful filed out after Christmas Mass. According to the New York Times, at least 25 people were confirmed killed while many others were wounded or unidentified. An Al-Qaeda affiliated insurgent group, Boko Haram ("Western education forbidden") claimed responsibility for the attack which comes on the heels of a series of lesser bombings and skirmishes in the area over the past few days.

According to various reports, Boko Haram have typically limited their terrorist activities to the northern, Muslim-dominated, area of Nigeria while focusing their attacks on local government headquarters and the police with the reported aim of imposing a stricter form of Shariah law on the country.  In August, however, they claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja, which killed at least 23 people. The Christmas bombing marks the first time Boko Haram have specifically targeted a Christian institution, and the fact that they chose Christmas Day, one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar, is particularly disturbing in that it indicates a decision to deliberately aggravate Christian-Muslim tension in the area.

I feel particularly disappointed in these events because for the past year I have been cheering on the Arab Spring movement and have been heartened by the fact that fundamentalist Islam has remained more-or-less out of it. And while I know that at its heart Islam is a peaceful religion that has been hijacked by a relatively small minority of its adherents, I continue to be sickened by the tenacity of those who corrupt Islam to serve their nefarious means.  In the grand scheme of history, Islam is a new-ish religion, at least when compared to its Judeo-Christian counterparts. Christianity has its own history of violence, particularly upon Muslims during the dark days of the Crusades. An argument can be made--and I have heard this--that Islam is merely going through its Dark Ages and that every religion must endure a period of growth and development that puts it in conflict with, well, the rest of the world. Perhaps this is what we are witnessing now?

Meanwhile, Gaza-based Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya embarked yesterday on a two-week mission throughout the Arab World to raise money and support for Hamas. While Hamas has been labeled a terrorist organization by the US and other Western governments, one cannot deny its role in Gaza as a humanitarian organization. Many Palestinians have greatly benefited from Hamas's efforts to help those who have been affected by the Israeli blockade. It is no wonder that it enjoys the support that it does. While I certainly do not condone Palestinian terrorist activities, I understand their frustration as that of the powerless. I believe that the majority of Palestinians (and Israelis for that matter) support a peaceful resolution to their ongoing conflict. Unfortunately, each side is hijacked by extremists--Arab and Israeli--who use religion as their most lethal weapon.

While organized religion of any ilk has the capacity to be a source of comfort and genuine good, I fear that it has an equal--and perhaps more powerful--capacity as an extremist opiate for the dispossessed masses. I want to believe in its positive and life-affirming elements but am continually disappointed by what I am seeing perpetrated in the world, all under the guise of organized religion, regardless of whether it's done in the name of Christ, Moses, or Mohammed. I fear I am going to be disappointed for a long time.

Ciao.