Has the religion failed to attain what it purports to do?

Let’s get the record straight here, I am not an atheist, I am a Muslim and believe in one God. But I felt the urgency to ask this question to me and my audience, has the religion failed to bring harmony in the troubled 21^st century world? Or is that the preacher who fails to pursue us kindness?

Many may argue that religion is a blessing and but then why 6 million Jews were killed during the Second World War in the most barbaric form? Hitler was a fascist, no doubt about that but religion came as a double-edged sword, well the critics may argue. It wasn’t for the first time people sacrificed their life for religion, both Muslims and Jews were killed by Russian empire for their religions. What does it say to us? Yes, of course, the brutal dictators and fascists were behind the killings but they were driven by the same common force, kindness for agreement and murder for disagreement. We can’t just blame Abrahamic monotheistic faiths then. The ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas is another example. Did someone just whisper Buddhism is for inner and global peace? Former military regime used this bloody conflict as an instrument to portray that they are the savior of Buddhism in Burma, so does Nobel laureate Suu Kyi. The Gujarat riot back 2002 killed more than one thousand people altogether from both Muslim and Hindu faith. Suicide bombers blowing up everyday all around to world in the hope of getting heaven. Is there peace for the existence of religion? Has it uplifted our ethics? What went wrong?

It’s hard to define and I am not a religious scholar but I think cultural differences mixed up with neo-liberalism and modern democracy has made some fragile parts of the day to day rituals of religion more malfunctioning. Neo-liberalism itself is the new religion where money is the living god. And then on top of it the advancement of technology has made the challenge more painstaking. I haven’t gone through every detail of the Bible or the Quran but I am sure they are for peace. But has the message been delivered rightly by the priest or Mollah? Is he well educated and articulate enough to cater for the 21^st century generation? Christianity plays a vital role in US election, either national or state, so does Islam in many Asian and African countries. We can never underestimate the monopoly of global politics in the last decade surrounding religions that has rocked the ideology and day to day life every common man and woman right across the world. The big corporations using their powerful media have shown us that religions are instigators for the disturbed and troubled world. Our politicians are making a mockery out of it, our illiterate corrupt religious buffoons are subjects to their corporate masters and making trade out of religions every now and then. So what’s the solution? Well, as I said before, I am not a religious scholar. But here is my take on this matter. We need to be more human, we need to find the commonality rather differences, we need to appreciate the current globalization and advancement of technology, we need to challenge our politicians and at the same time we need to be critical regarding our priests and Mollahs. We need to educate ourselves to be decent, kind and generous. We need to champion the idea that you can keep both your cultural identity and religion. To a peaceful world!