Can we find peace in Religion?

Dr. Dilara Begum : On December 21, 2019, Pakistan sentenced Junaid Hafeez, a thirty-three-year-old a lecturer at Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan, to death. He was accused of insulting the prophet Muhammad and the Qur’an in 2013 and of insulting Islam while he was delivering a lecture as a guest speaker. This verdict is in violation of Islamic law. The blasphemy law is man-made. For Pakistan, this verdict is ironic. In 1971, during the liberation period, 3 million Bangladeshi were killed by Pakistani soldiers. They also killed many intellectuals in Bangladesh, which was not a combat zone. The Pakistani soldiers forced them from their homes and killed them; 200,000 women were raped. Is this acceptable and allowed in Islam? Were the soldiers who committed these crimes accused and sentenced to death? I do not support the verdict of Junaid Hafeez. I, as a Bangladeshi, strongly call for justice in punishing the Pakistani soldiers committed these crimes against the people of Bangladesh. I also implore all philanthropists to raise their voices for justice in the case against the soldiers who violated the law of Islam and raise their voices against the blasphemy law. 

In South Asia, the British Government launched the blasphemy law in the Indian Penal Code Act XLV of 1860. Section 295 stated that ruining, damaging, or interrupting with other objectionable materials in worship places would be considered an insult. The accused should be punished for violating the rules, (Mazna, 2017). The main concern of the blasphemy law is the humiliation of God and religion. The fundamentalists strictly adhere to religious dogma. No one can prove which religion is best. To me, humanity is the greatest religion.   A group of Pakistani fundamentalists is saluting this villainous verdict. Based on the point of view of the fundamentalists, the human being was created by God, or Allah, or Bhagavan. The philosophy of Hinduism is that all living creatures have a soul, and the soul of human beings are supreme. The fundamentalists intend that people must follow the rules of the religion. Ironically, the fundamentalist is the greatest hypocrite, although most of them have a good understanding of the religious law while enjoying all the benefits of science.  By using their improper religion thoughts some of them are breaching the grace of humanity. 

By religious faith, life begins and is controlled by a supernatural power. Some people have a strong faith in destiny, such as birth and death; success or failure in life; sudden death by an accident; fire hazard etc. They also believe that the ability to give birth is up to God such that some people have 10 children; some people do not have any. Scientists proved that it is up to the people’s choice; if they wish they can create their progeny if they don’t wish they do not. They can have as many children as they want. If anyone has a biological barrier to giving birth, they can do it with another person. Two men or two women can marry (same-sex marriages). And these provisions are acceptable in some of the countries around the world. So why can people not express their opinions if they have their arguments against man-made religious rules or laws.

Scientists explain how people can protect themselves from natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and tornados by using their brains, knowledge, and scientific findings. Before discovering vaccinations for malaria, PPD, and chickenpox, many people died every day from these diseases. What was the role of fundamentalists to annihilate those epidemics? Due to the application of the scientific method the incidence of these diseases is now close to zero. If the fundamentalists believe that God or Allah created everything, why they are fighting with different religious thoughts. Religion should be the same for all human beings. In my view, the death sentence is not destiny and does not follow the religious faith at all. If the fundamentalists have faith in God, Allah, or Bhagavan they should not enact the blasphemy law. People should find peace in religion. (Writer : Dr. Dilara Begum, Psychologist.)