By Mallick Mnela, Jihad Journalist

Most people are blatantly sentimental and naive when we debate religious matters. The reason is often bias or spiritual superiority complex, or both. We tend to embrace our own views more than those of the next person, from another religion or right in ours.

 
I am not an exception. This is the very reason I avoided the bill board issue; but after being asked to wear the robes of the Jihadi Journalist and write about it, I felt duty bound.

Religion is, by it’s very nature, controversial. There, we find salvation, hope, healing and solace. But sometimes, religion could be home to self-centredness, confusion, intolerance, stigma and discrimination. The latter is not about religion itself but those elements professing it and wanting to monopolise their beliefs and impose onto all.

History has so much evidence of the wars fought on account of religion – the Christian versus Muslim Crusades or the Muslim versus Christian jihad. Such wars have taken many shapes and forms: at nation level, at regional level, at denominational level or even at household level.
In religion, there is a knack of rejecting existence of any belief that contradicts ours. This is alright, but there should be a caveat: be rational!
And being rational on matters of religion is challenging.

Most of us act like a race horse whose view to the outside world is blocked by eye guards. We pursue Heaven and see others as dwellers of Hell, unless they abandon their ways and follow us.

Being rational on religious matters is challenging. For example, to say “Jesus is God”, is very much in line with the Holy Doctrine of the Trinity. However, by it’s very nature, it is contradictory to the Muslim pillar of belief that touts the Oneness of God (Tawheed) that states “… there is no any other deity worthy of worship except #one Allah”.

Likewise, to say Muhammad is the last messenger of Allah (Arabic for God) is not believed by those outside the fold of Islam just like the Jews did not believe in Jesus Christ

By it’s very nature, religion is highly contentious and even intra-religion differences in beliefs can be very much pronounced (Catholic versus Protestant Christians or Sunni versus Shia Muslims). 

You would be surprised that even those that don’t believe there is a superior Deity – whether called Allah, Yahwe or Jehovah also claim to profess a religion of sorts: they believe God does not exist! Then there are Hindus, Buddhists, Zoroastan and many others with their beliefs that create a web of more complex chaos on the idea of one true God and one true religion.

Let me now zero in on the “controversial bill board”. The bill board invites those that have read the Old and New Testaments to read the Quran, described as the seal of all Testaments. The bill board also claims the Qur’an is a “miracle”.

Not so surprisingly for reasons described above, some faith groups found this to be provocative and demeaning to some belief systems.

The beautiful invitation to read the Qur’an was desecrated as seen below.
Of course, I know many Christian friends that have laughed off the reaction as irrational and an action prompted by confirmation bias and religious extremism. There are others in support.

Without prejudice, I feel describing the bill board as an epitome of intolerance is opting to view religion as a streamlined vocation. Why am I saying this?

If someone states that “Jesus is God” in public, should that person be taken off the street for violating the beliefs of those who believe “there is no other god except one God” as Muslims do? 

Obviously, there are beliefs of the Christian faith that run counter to those of other religions/faiths.

While Christians believe in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, it should be left to them to profess and propagate it as widely and as openly as possible. In a free democratic and secular Malawi, Christians should also talk as much as they should about the Bible, whichever Testament they prefer.

Likewise, Muslims should be free to talk about their doctrine of Tawheed (Oneness of God) and propagate the Qur’an and Muhammad as seals of scriptures and Prophethood, respectively.

Some Christians may feel insecure because they see the billboard as painting the previous Holy Books in bad light. That is incorrect. 
For the avoidance of confusion, Islam is categorised in the Abrahamic faiths and is, thus, very much entitled to Testaments before the Qur’an.  These include the Injeel (The Gospel of Jesus – New Testament) and many other Prophets before him (see: Taurat, Zabur etc … Islam also reveres Jesus Christ and his mother, Mary (Marium) to the highest level of piety, just not the level of a deity! The other prophets known in the Christian (and Jewish) faith are also accorded the much respect.

Honestly, heeding an invitation to the bill board would have saved us a great deal of explanation if not for the bias and superiority complex of our own faith and beliefs.

Perhaps intending to monopolise through invitation to the belief system is an exception we should embrace. An attempt to suppress religious views that run counter to ours is known to have dire consequences.

We are in a Constitutional democracy. Malawi is neither a Christian nor a Muslim state. No one – a Muslim or Christian – should attempt to create an environment that suppresses the religious views of others. 

As shown above, religious sentiments should be handled with a higher degree of sobriety, lest we plunge into a never ending debate and wave of religious violence, bigotry or veiled hatred. 

The diversity of our beliefs cannot be addressed by demonstrating an air of supremacy or hardline approach, suppressing dissenting religious views. It needs deep reflection and an understanding that there will always be those whose perception of God is different from ours – misguided or not.

It is my singular prayer that preachers of religion should preach tolerance for all, not only those that think or believe like them.

#Addendum:
Ironically, as I wound up writing this post, Reverend Chimwemwe Mhango’s song was introduced on a national radio. It blasts: _Opanda Yesu, Yesu, Opanda Yesu Sakalowaaaa…_(The lyrics condemn those who have not received Jesus as Lord and Saviour to Hell. Of course, the song mildly puts it by avoiding the mention of Hell. Since we are told that there are two options: Hell or Heaven, by my own analysis, if not Heaven,  then Hell it is!).

I for one would not advocate that the song, and many other such songs, be put off-air. Doing so would be a violation of the rights of those who believe in the assertions.

And trust me, listening to such views should make me more inquisitive to explore my belief, its doctrines and find solace in professing my own faith from an informed point of view.

If it irritates me deeply, I have the right to switch off. But I (like many others) have grown accustomed to such music and it offers me the opportunity to reflect on my chosen religious path.

I repeat: I very much know that I have my own beliefs that are or could be received with mixed reactions – sometimes outright disapproval, mostly without being asked to justify or clarify. That’s the power of confirmation bias!

We need to pray to whoever we pray to to bind us together in our divergent beliefs; grant us the serenity to acknowledge the common good in our faiths and neglect the seeds of divisiveness that may emanate from the religiosity we fervently demonstrate to the violation of that of our neighbor.

Let’s also pray for all suffering from COVID-19. Whether as patients or victims of economic ravaging as a result of the pandemic. Perhaps we are focusing so much on turf than stuff that really matters!
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