21st Century Conflict between Science and Religion

According to science, a citizen’s identity is determined by the Blood Group. Not by individual’s caste, race, region or religion. There is no specific blood group that separates Tamils from Sinhlas, Marathas and Biharis, Muslims and Hindus, Jews and the Palestinians. Concerned scientists in 21st Century Space Age Manifesto had, therefore, observed that no race, region, religion, or, caste, class or creed is free from wrong doings against humanity. To argue that ‘terrorism is the recourse of deprived minorities who turn to fundamentalist doctrines in order to retaliate against ethnic or communal majorities’ is rather a fallacious political reasoning. For, the poverty and discrimination are not race or religious specific. There are no innocent followers of any Faith, race, region or religion that have not violated human rights. But Professor Samuel Huntington had called the present crisis

’the Conflict of Civilizations’. I think it is the conflict between Science and the cultural belief systems. The neo—conservatives of all colours - the bin-Ladens, George Bushes, Prabhakarans, or Raj Thakres - are inspired by non-scientific exclusive identity paradigm.

If Raj Takhares playing the killing fields in the name of defending poverty of Marathas, the Vaikos and LTTE Prabhakarans were using women suicide bombers to defend the Tamilian race by killing innocent man, women and children in Sri Lanka. Similarly, long-lasting violence prevalent in the Muslim world – Shia and Sunnies-themselves had no justification in 21st century. Self-suffering Muslims had , in India and abroad, argued that Jihadi movement is only a defensive reaction of millions of Muslims who had been deprived of their homeland in Kashmir and in Palestine. One Jewish state of Israel was created in Palestine. But two Islamic states- Pakistan and Bangladesh were carved out of the Indian territories. During my visits to Kashmir, I have met many ‘Kashmiri Freedom Fighters’. They were shouting ’Hans-ke liya hai Pakistan, lad-ke lenge Hindustan.’ (We got Pakistan by laughing, by fighting we will capture India.).

In Afghanistan -monuments of creative expressions of earlier human settlements were ancient Bamian Buddha statues which had posed no threat to any religion. The five story tall mountain images (murtis ) were destroyed by a well armed and powerful majority Islamic government in Afghanistan.

Science and Culture:

Historical and religious nature of the present conflict notwithstanding, it is not confined to India alone. Those who committed the Beslan (Russian village school) massacre of three hundred unarmed women and children, were not homeless or uprooted Palestinians or Kashmiris. Young girls were killed for appearing before Afghan TV camera. A film director in the Netherlands was murdered for making a film on the women’s struggle for equal rights in an African Muslim society. The terrorists who attacked Indian Parliament and killers of Bangladesh President Dr. Mujibur Rehman and his family were not deprived ‘minority’ poor children. Those who gave Fatwa against Salman Rushdie and attacked Taslima Nasreen were not discriminated minority poor citizens.

Recently, Mrs. Malalai Kakar, 40s, a high profile muslim policewoman officer in Afghanistan was shot dead in front of her house and her son was badly wounded. A mother of six children Malalai was the first woman to enroll in Police Force of Kandhar in 2001. She was investigating crimes against women and children in majority muslim society. Another muslim woman head of the women’s affairs department was killed in Kandhar two years ago. In Heart province too a female police officer was killed. ‘ we killed Malalai Kakar. She was our target and we successfully eliminated our target,’ boasted a Taliban spokesman.

The Hindutva votaries were inspired by the same anti-science chauvinism that had been fueling Islamist violence. Raping a young Nun and brning alive Christian missionary along with his two children in the name of defending ancient Hindu civilisation should have made the Shankaracharyas cry of curses. But no Hindu saint, no head of Hindu matha or Asharm condemned the crimes against humanity. In ancient Holy Books there is no sanction for rapes and killing of helpless citizens. Innocent. But Mr. Hassan Butt, an active member of a radical Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun. for ten years, confirmed that the jihadis were ‘fighting for the creation of a revolutionary state that would eventually bring Islamic justice (shariat) to the world.’ Born in Britain (Luton) in 1980, of parents originally from Gujranwala (Pakistan).

Educated in Britain, Hassan Butt had critically examined the Islamist political paradigm. According to the Islamic reasoning since the Land of War (Dar-ul-Harb) situation existed between the Muslims and the non-Muslim world, following the Islamic Law (Harb), he argued, anything was justified in the War Games, ‘including the treachery and cowardice of attacking (innocent unarmed) civilians.’ But Mr. Butt observed that historically unprecedented scale of religious freedom had been enjoyed by Muslims in democratic countries, like India and the United Kingdom, that have allowed them to assert their religious identity through dress-code (burqa), the construction of mosques, the building of exclusive cemeteries and equal rights in law. But being ‘born here (in a democratic Britain ), raised here, schooled here, we work here and we live here’ where the Muslims had been allowed to maintain their distinct identity. Since the Muslims enjoy equal civil rights of living in democratic countries, the Koranic instruction of ‘killing unbelievers’ (infidels) or the non-muslims has no validity in the 21st century global world order.

Mr. Hassan Butt, though under threat, had expressed his doubts that the co-existence with the Islamists could be achieved through dialogue. Because the liberal-secularist Muslims around the world were ‘refusing to challenge centuries –old theological arguments, the tensions between Islamic theory and the modern world ( most likely to ) grow larger every day,’ insists Butt. He had publicly stated ( in the Guardian, London) that the cause for Islamic violence is ‘Not Western foreign policy.’ It is in fact rooted in the Islamic ideology. He admits that to blame foreign policy of the West, or India, ‘helped to draw away any critical (self) examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.’ According to Mr. Butt the Islamic theology does not allow modern political theory of separation of State and Religion and therefore secularism and democracy cannot co-exist with Islamic world order. This is historically is the conflict between Science and Religion.

Paradoxically, regionalism and religious exclusive identity politics had appeared in the garb of democratic political power politics. Demanding economic well-being notwithstanding, struggle against backwardness, poverty and civil rights is common to all humanity irrespective of caste, creed, region or religion.

Our secular social fabric had strengthened the scientific democratic structure of India which must be defended against all regional and religious politics.

(Dhirendra Sharma, “Nirmal-Nilay†, Dehradun 248009. www.psaindia.org (0135) 2735 627.