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Through my eyes

Through my eyes

Author: Kasia Yoko
Date: 2019-04-26

'Sin seduces. It promises things easily and quickly, prosperity and success, but leaves behind only solitude and death. Sin is looking for life among the dead, for the meaning of life in things that pass away.'Pope St Francis

My heart breaks for the people of Sri Lanka. Having spent five weeks there in 2017, I consider this beautiful Island one of the most spectacular places on earth.

With 300 people dead and 500 seriously injured, I cannot believe the trauma the Sri Lankans are going through, as most of these God fearing people are peace loving and devout in whatever religion they follow.

I think its fair to say that terrorists have no religion and that Islam is religion of love and peace. Terrorists, wherever in the world they come from follow self-made religions, not sent by God. And while no religion is faultless, we cannot blame this cowardly act on religion.

What I am saying is that this is a problem of extremism, is not a problem of Islam. This can be quite easily demonstrated by pointing out that the vast majority of Muslims simply want to live their lives in peace. Yes, there are extremist Muslims and groups such as ISIS that are downright evil. But look at Ireland's recent terror attack, can we blame the Catholics for the IRA bombings

To understand religious terrorism, we need to clearly define what "religion" is. Religion can be generally described as an organization of beliefs and worldviews in relation to a supernatural being, but because it is an evolving concept, there is no precise and universally accepted definition of it.

Certainly this definitional imprecision is a constant impediment in the struggle to understand terrorism, in general. That challenge is extended further as we look to understand religious manifestations of political violence. Socially, religion often informs a person's understanding of who they are and their relationship to the "other." In other words, it can be personal and collective, defining the difference between both "me and you," as well as "us and them."

While all religious terrorist groups justify, legitimise, and even see their attacks as commanded by God, they should not be lumped together—not even groups emerging from a common religious tradition. For instance, the Taliban, al-Qa'ida and Hezbollah are all Islamic organizations, but their use of religion and belief systems are very different.

As a society we must be able to not only approach cases of religious terrorism from an informed, critical perspective, but also situate them within their proper cultural and historical contexts.

Sri Lanka two years ago was showing signs of religious division, we spoke to many people who openly blamed their Muslim community for all the evil that was taking place, from famine to infidelity. First hand we were shown that, the Muslim minority had no place in the deeply peaceful Buddhist state. This kind of separatist thinking will only spell trouble.

The world is mostly peaceful now except for fake religions that believe in a book of hate. Lets pray for the families of the victims of the Sri Lankan bombings, may they recover without hate and condemnation.