Saturday 23 December 2006

Mazhab Nahi Sikhaata Aapas Mein Bair Rakhna?

I came across a certain video a couple of months ago, and it was extremely horrifying in what it showed. However, when I tried to get it recently to embed in this blog, the video had been removed. But the video was available as a segment in another video, which I've embedded below.




The relevant part occurs somewhere in the middle, where it shows a little girl giving a short interview. Those of you who can see the video, please ignore the Islam-bashing in the first half. It is not the point of this post.

For those who cannot see the video due to bandwidth problems, I'll describe it in short. It features a 3-and-half year old girl - as innocent and cute as a child that age can be - giving an interview to a journalist. The journo, among other things, asks her for her opinion on Jews. To which the girl replies by saying that she does not like them and goes further to call them dogs.

The intent of this post is not to question Muslims alone, but indeed, all theists.

My first reaction to this post was, keep the kids away from your f***ing theocratic hatred shit!

Is it not disturbing that children are being pumped - and I mean pumped - with such hatred at such a young age? Is it not a given that this girl, when she grows up, may become yet another of those fanatics, or that she will impart the same "values" to her children, if she lives long enough to have them?


The line from one of our most famous patriotic songs goes, "mazhab nahi sikhaata, aapas mein bair rakhna", (religion does not teach you to fight)

But is that really true? I dont see any evidence of that in this video. All it is teaching to this girl is hatred. Chances are that she might not know what she is saying. It is unlikely she would ever have even met a Jew. And yet she has a hatred for them, because it has been drilled into her.

The most common apologistic answer is, "it is a misinterpretation. Religion does not teach hatred." And that is something that is even more intriguing. If religion does not teach hatred, why do so many theists not doubt for a moment, that their belief requires them to hate and kill people of other religions? Why do they believe that to preserve their religion they must burn shops, burn missionaries and their kids, and blow themselves up?

Why do so many theists, as part of their "religious instruction" of their children, teach them such hatred?

If we cut out the pussyfooting and sanctimonious defences, what will emerge, is that,
"mazhab yahi sikhaata, aapas mein bair rakhna", (religion does teach you to fight)


That might appear extreme, but it unfortunately appears to be the truth. Dont religions say they are the only true path? Dont they say that all others are false?

Is this lack or respect for other religions not the root cause for religious conflicts anywhere in the world?

Come to think of it, Why should any religion or its followers concern themselves about whether the other religion is true or not?

It should be none of my business to prove that another religion is false. Yet that is what a lot of theists go around doing. This extends even to issues of basic human rights.

Which is why some Hindus vacillate over Gujarat and invoke Godhra each time the riots are mentioned

Which is why some Muslims cry themselves hoarse about Gujarat but remain silent over the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits

At the same time, theistic organisations and their sympathisers are extremely reluctant to criticise their religion

Sample this:
The Ulema have a lot to say on subjects like sex and the skirts of female tennis players, but nothing against Osama bin Laden.

The Pope has a lot to say about Harry Potter and Da Vinci Code but nothing much to say against George W Bush and paedophilia.

Shiv Sena has a lot to say on Valentine's Day, but nothing to say against Khairlanji (or nothing substantial)

So its natural if atheists question the apparently skewed priorities of theists. Theists (or religions) bother more about "decency" and stuff like that instead of basic survival issues.

Is there any wonder why religion is being seen by some as the Root of all Evil?

Unlike Richard Dawkins, I will not advocate an abolition of religion. It certainly has positives
and they should remain. But what needs to be expunged is the blind faith, and the feeling that "only my path is right, all others are false."

If theism wants to prove itself as humane (and it definitely needs to do so now) then it must undergo reform. I mean all religions.

If that does not happen, Samuel P Huntington's theory on the Clash of Civilizations will come true, sooner or later.