I am not a Muslim. I am a Christian. Thus – for obvious reasons – I do not know the intimate details about having a religious affiliation to Islam as I do as to Christianity. However, I do have an education in the study of religion and I do read the newspapers and follow steadily in the news. And I do see the different profiles we, talking from a Danish point of view, are fed up with about Islam and how we are being told how to think about Muslims.
I find that society today tends to point a little too much on the Muslims as terrorists, radicals and dangerous. So, when Pope Francis stood up and refused to point his finger at fellow Muslims in relation to the murder of a Roman Catholic Priest in June, I find that he pointed towards a general flaw in our society. I found his comments relevant. Because, I know some politicians wants me to believe that everyone who affiliate with Islam is dangerous, because Islam is a violent religion – but the thing is, I have met a lot of muslims that acted and believed in peaceful co-existens between Muslims and Jews in Israels-Palestine. So why is it we cannot have the same main idea in Europe? Why is it that Muslims should be to blame for a violent culture, when Europe was the one that have destroyed tribes and cultures in the Middle East and Africa historically? What about all the crusades that took it to be their mission to take back Jerusalem? Then, haven’t Christianity been a violent religion too?
I do not believe that religion is to blame for war. I believe we as selfish, discriminating human beings are to blame – and I believe we sometimes use religion as a way to authorise war. But I also think that we sometimes use religion to authorise a certain view on a group of people who doesn’t necessarily have a violent world view. Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if this view that the media and the politicians often feeds us with is the very reason that some Muslims do implement a violent world view as the only way to make us respect them.
But don’t we all have the right to be respected as we are beyond violence?
