By
James Ogunjimi
"It
is possible that mankind is on the threshold of a golden age; but if so, it
will be necessary first to slay the dragon that guards the door, and this
dragon is religion." – Bertrand Russel
Before
I pop the religion question, which is sure to elicit different reactions from
different folks, let me say that my column, "IF THIS IS MY LAST" is a
year old today.
Around this time last year, I started the column as a means to
treat difficult topics that cannot and should not be left untreated. I started
it as an answer to pressing issues that society has programmed us to shy away
from and which over the years, we have allowed to 'fly'.
"IF
THIS IS MY LAST" is a column designed with the intention of thrashing out
issues without caring who likes it or not, without giving a damn (apologies to
President Lucky Jo) whose ox is gored and with the unwavering focus of a man
conscious that the words he writes might as well be his last.
Ok...The
picture of the Jordanian pilot roasted by ISIS is enough to make anyone with
functional brain think hard and long about religion and how far it has gotten
us.
And
please, don't start that crap about "ISIS is not Islamic; Islam is a
religion of peace"; It's stale. It is one of the reasons why we remain
stuck. Those ISIS fighters, Al-queda, Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, is it
encyclopedia they read before starting their wars?
Is it inside the
encyclopedia that they find promises of 72 virgins in paradise for killing
infidels? Is it encyclopedia that orders the killing of infidels? Stop that
shit about they not being Muslims, really, just stop!
Start
by admitting that they are Muslims, but they are bad Muslims. Maybe then, we
will have taken a giant stride in defeating these fish-brained morons.
Christianity,
Islam practised and advertised PUBLICLY has done more harm than good for us. To
say that the Bible and Quran supports peaceful co-existence of both religions
is to live in outright denial.
Read your Bible, read your Quran. God in the
Bible ordered the 'utter destruction' of people and nations that serve any
other god aside theirs. In the Quran, non-Muslims are called infidels and
whoever kills 'enough' infidels has reward of 72 virgins in paradise.
Now,
this generation of religious leaders have been unable to 're-invent' their holy
books to fit into modern-day practice. In Uganda, Joseph Kony wasted thousands
of lives in his bid to forcefully rule people with the laws of Moses.
Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, ISIS, etc have wasted their share of lives in their mad
craze for their imaginary 72 virgins in paradise.
Listen,
nobody is asking you not to be a Christian or Muslim. We are just saying we
have had enough of it in the public. Let religion be private; no need to start
wearing Hijjabs on the road; wear it in your house. No need to start carrying
Bibles and boring us to death in public transport; do your preaching in church.
If
we are ever going to get close to defeating the religious sociopaths roaming
our streets, we must take away the 'hold' that religion has over people. Until
you can walk into a company for an interview without anyone caring about your
religious affiliation, we will remain far from freedom. Until you can aspire to
a position without people caring what religion you practice, we will remain far
from home.
Until our schools do what they are paid to do and not see it as an
obligation to sing Christian songs on the 'assembly ground' on Monday to
Wednesday and Islamic songs on Thursdays and Fridays, we will remain far far
from home. Until we successfully separate 'church from state', we will remain
far from home.
Your
belief is your belief. If I choose not to believe, I am old enough not to. I do
not need you to come and knock on my door time and again in the name of
evangelism. If at my age I don't agree with your religion, it is because I
don't want to. If I am in my house when it's your hour of prayer, I do not need
to be disturbed IN MY ROOM by your 'call to prayer'. If your members don't know
the hours of prayer by now, it is their problem and I shouldn't be made to pay
for that.
Nations
that care about the general welfare of their people (religious or not) need to
take initiative if their people are ever going to stand a chance against the
morons determined to implement archaic commandments in the 21st century.
They
should start with limiting the powers of these religions, their utterances and
the power they are allowed to wield over the people. Invitations based on
religious standing should be cancelled out; if you are a pastor as well as a
professor, you are invited to participate in national discuss AS A PROFESSOR
that has something to offer and not as a pastor of any denomination.
As such,
it will be an insult to me if you start your talk by saying "Praise the
Lord" or "Let us pray". Keep your religion at home and let's see
the real you without the weight of religion bearing down on you.
Nations
that have the interest of their people at heart need to relegate the place of
religion to the background by being accountable to their people and by being
committed to their overall betterment. It is when people have no access to a
good health care system that they will have to go to church and be told to fast
and pray for 21 days because of ulcer.
It is hopelessness that drives people to
have total and dogmatic faith in religion. It is when people have nowhere else
to turn that they turn to religion and bask in its promises. When governments
are committed to the betterment and improvement of their people, the blind
faith and willingness to fight religion's timeless battles fade away naturally.
Evangelism,
placing speakers in front of your church or mosque and preaching to the whole
street should not just be banned; it should be criminalized. The place of
common sense should be popularized; if I am in my room and your noise is
disturbing me, I should be able to go to the police station, make complaints
and come back with no-nonsense officers who will haul the pastor or Imam's ass
to the station where he will be made to spend 2 days behind bars.
While
the freedom to practice religion should not be tampered with, it should be
emphasized time and again that it is a private affair. If you are my employee
and you come to work with long 'dabole' Hijjab, I should be able to serve you
nice query without being made to look bad. Abi when did your long Hijjab become
'corporate' wear?
If you're my employee and I catch you reading Bible or
praying during office hours or I catch you preaching in my workplace, I should
be able to sama you nice query without being made to look bad. If you have
talent for preaching, go to a church.
Religion
should not take away common sense and a sense of what needs to be done. Right
is right, whether or not religion calls it so. Wrong is wrong no matter what
religion says about it; we don't need religion to define the concept of right
or wrong.
If I kill my neighbor, it is wrong; that a religion tries to justify
it doesn't make it right. I marry my friend, it's cool, I don't need religion
to tell me that it is an 'unequal yoke' because she does not practice the same
religion.
The
year is still young; this year, we must be determined to listen less to
religion and its dictates and listen more to the inner voice within us. Too
many people have murdered their inner voice and natural intuition because of
their over-dependence on religion and what religion says.
Too many people have
unknowingly given up their ability to think straight because they have left the
controls of their lives to religion to maneuvre. When they are faced with
challenges, rather than think and ask themselves what to do, they ask,
"what will religion have me do?"
Too many brains have been allowed to
rust because their owners have abandoned them and have 'empowered' their
religious leaders to think on their behalf. This year, that brain must regain
its usefulness; it is meant for thinking, use it.
Finally,
religion is a private affair; keeping it private is key to subduing the powers
of psychopaths bent on fighting religion's battles. Nations must be actively
involved in the 'debriefing' process.
Religious ideological houses like, 'Ile
Keu' and 'Sunday school', where children of religious folks spend their
formative years must be monitored closely. Dangerous ideologies must be
'screened' out of their lessons. Sanctions must be imposed and heavy reprimand
must be handed to religious leaders who teach or propagate hate messages.
Religion
accounts for 97% of terror attacks; until we 'trivialise' religion as yardstick
for anything at all, it will continue so. Our world can be terror-free, but we
need to make necessary inputs too.
Follow
me on Twitter: @hullerj; Google +: James Ogunjimi; Email: ogunjimijamestaiwo@gmail.com
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