Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Tolerance Leads to Peace and Security

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Tolerance Leads to Peace and Security

Being stereotyped with dogmatic beliefs and blind faith in subterranean rooms of Madrasahs and adopting fractious attitudes towards the public creed will sacrifice tolerance. An orthodox interpretation of religion and rigid understanding of faith will pave the ground for violence and bloodshed. Fundamentalism will sterilize the minds so as neither absorb nor tolerate the logical arguments of others. The current Islamic radicals, especially in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Nigeria reflect intolerance via violence and militancy in its true form. In short, tolerance will not grow in unfertilized minds of the religious extremists who smolder with overt partiality and prejudice. So as to practice tolerance, one’s mind should be emptied from bias and discrimination.

Lack of religious tolerance will precipitate violence in a society – as the Islamic world is experiencing it bitterly. As a result, a large number of Afghan ethnic and religious minorities lost their life for the sake of their faith and creed under the Taliban. The Taliban’s dogmatic faith and lack of tolerance led to national carnage across the country and yet Afghan citizens lose their lives in terrorist acts. Islamic militants claim importunely that only and only they practice the pure form of Islam and other Muslims’ preach and practices are wrong and unacceptable!

However, their ostentatious acts of cruelty blemish Islam. How paradoxical it is to see that those who claim to support Islam are the very violators of Islamic law. Hence, their bogus claim is no more than shedding crocodile tear for religion. The poor religion is being stabbed in the back by its so-called proponents. Isn’t it the story of the bear which killed its owner intending to repulse the stubborn fly disturbing him? 

Ill-fatedly, tolerance lacks a certain conception in our society the same as other social and political concepts. For instance, freedom, democracy and human rights are considered western products by traditionalists. In other words, some believe that democracy and human rights are not acceptable in our society in their modern terms rather we have Islamic democracy and Islamic human rights. Those certain terms are being distorted in our society. Freedom and human rights, which is established on the basis of one’s humanity irrespective of his/her race, color, gender, belief, etc, are defined clearly and disagreeing with them means agreeing with the opposite facts. The same is the case with tolerance, whoever denies it there is no other type of tolerance to practice upon.

The social and political tolerance will be practiced in a society where human rights are acceptable in their modern term and where all the sources of power will tolerate the citizens’ belief, including the religious beliefs of minority groups, patiently. Honoring the beliefs and values of others means respecting the inherent personality of mankind.

Moreover, tolerance will rule in a society where the state supports freedoms not the truths. Thinkers should be provided with the opportunities to analyze the truths, and this sphere has to be kept out of the realm of government’s intrusion. So, a society’s writers and thinkers are supposed to discuss about the right and wrong issues in a secure and peaceful atmosphere. However, if the government becomes involved in such issues and support a particular interpretation, whether the issues are religious, political or philosophical, a true tolerance will no more exist in such a society. Since government is a source of great power, it will impose its interpretations on the nation – no matter if those interpretations are right or wrong. Hence, it will lead to violence or at least to surreptitious skirmish or schism among the opponent and proponent groups.

Likewise, tolerance will exist in a society where the freedom of expression rules to the extent of analyzing and criticizing the majority’s religious and irreligious beliefs without a timorous feeling or falling under pressure. This issue is highly significant in a society where religion plays an integral role as in our society. To discuss about political-social tolerance in our society, we have to underline this issue. We will lack tolerance unless our thinkers and writers are allowed to talk critically of official and religious beliefs without any dilemma.

A religious society does not necessarily mean that the majority’s religious beliefs be part of government’s ideology and beyond any critiques. A religious society means that the citizens live as religious believers and arbitrators and to involve the updated religious values to political participation and those values be flexible to interpretations. In current age, democracy is the only popular form of government which leads to the growth and fertilization of religious values and experiences. Hence, political and social freedom and respecting human rights do not eventuate to the loss of religious values. A religious society can enjoy a democratic government.

We are supposed to tolerate all citizens, as they are, on the basis of being human irrespective of their beliefs, color, sex or creed. There live many people in our society with different religious and political mindsets and we live in a plural society and have to cherish pluralism via practicing tolerance in all aspects of our social life. Fundamentalism and dogmatic interpretations of religion, which close the door to tolerance, bore bitter fruit in Islamic world and in our society. Thus, to get rid of violence and terrorism, all citizens have to practice tolerance in social, political and religious spheres of life.

Hujjat Zia is the permanent writer of the Daily Outlook Afghanistan. He can be reached at zia_hujjat@yahoo.com

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