Violence in God’s name

At a time when Islamic extremist attacks were being carried out in various parts of the world, Pope Francis made a statement denouncing all religiously inspired violence during his visit to Rome’s main synagogue a few days ago.

An Associated Press report said the Pope’s visit in a Jewish place of worship was a gesture of interfaith friendship. He made the visit amid a spate of Islamic extremist attacks in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere—“violence which Francis has repeatedly condemned as anathema to religion, particularly given that Christians and religious minorities have often been the target.”

Indonesia, our Southeast Asian neighbor, is among the latest targets, as well as Burkina Faso in West Africa where a terrorist attack last Friday killed more than 30 people and wounded dozens. The North African affiliate of al-Qaida has claimed responsibility.

Among the dead was Leila Alaoui, 33, a French-Moroccan photographer. She was hit when gunmen opened fire at a hotel and at the Cappuccino Cafe in Ouagadougou, the country’s capital. She died from injuries three days later.

Alaoui’s photographs have been described as “hauntingly beautiful.” They “explored themes of migration, cultural identity and displacement,” and have been displayed in exhibits around the world. She herself has been described as one of the most promising photographers of her generation. At the time of her death, she was on an Amnesty International assignment to focus on women’s rights.

In a news report, Jean-Luc Monterosso, director of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, was quoted as saying: “There was an internal light that illuminated both her and her work. There is a documentary rigor in her work, but also a rare artistic sensibility.”

I looked up Alaoui’s work on the Internet and found that they are beautiful indeed, and devoid of exoticism which she had said she wanted to avoid.

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Pope Francis’ words on religion-inspired violence: “Violence of man against man is in contradiction to every religion that merits the name. Every human, as a creature of God, is our brother regardless of his origins or religious belief.”

Rome’s chief Rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, replied: “After two centuries of disasters, produced by nationalism and ideologies, violence has come back and it is fed and justified by fanatic visions inspired by religion. A meeting of peace between different religious communities, as the one that is taking place today here in Rome, is a very strong sign against the invasion and abuse of religious violence.”

Just now I recall the words that controversial theologian Hans Kung said decades ago, words I quoted sometime back when I had to give a talk to Asean journalists on reporting on issues related to religion: “There can be no peace between nations if there is no peace between religions.”

The subtext of this is that it is ironic that religion, in fact all religions, preach peace, and yet they can be a factor in the unpeace. As a journalist, I know that conflict is news. But peace, elusive peace, is now also news.

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Late last year I wrote a piece titled “Koran’s 47: 4,”  about a verse which says: “Strike the necks of those who do not believe.” In my Ballantine version, it says: “When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads till ye have made a great slaughter among them, and of the rest make fast the fetters.”

That phrase has been hijacked and often used to justify cruelty, and by those who intend to build an Islamic caliphate that will dominate the world. I received varied feedback, some saying that, indeed, it is the intent of the phrase, that I might be naive to think that it is not the case.

Now is a good time to share feedback that may help put things in context. From Nash Maulana, Inquirer correspondent for Maguindanao and Cotabato City:

“As a Muslim, I love your column on Koran’s 47:4.

“Here is a similar verse (12:8): ‘When thy Lord inspired the angels, [saying]: I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then smite the necks and smite of them each finger.’ In other English translations, the word ‘fear’ is replaced with the word ‘terror.’

“It may interest you as a Christian, and many Muslims as well, to find out that contrary to popular belief, the phrase, ‘those who disbelieve’ as used here refers to knights wearing metal vest and metal head cover among Prophet Muhammad’s enemies, under Abu Jah’l, his own uncle, who took the side of his nemesis Abu Sufian, the governor of Syria, in the Battle of Bad’r. The combined forces of Abu Sufian and Abu Jah’l ambushed the Prophet and his companions, about 400 of them, and their ratio to the enemy strength was about 1:10.

“In his commentary, Abdullah Yusuf Ali (translation, 1935 Edition) pointed to the metal vest as the reason for the Divine Decree to hit or ‘smite the necks and smite each finger.’

“In a research project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, I was working with the five provincial muftis of ARMM in 2007, and we happened to take up these verses. Sulu Mufti Aberin said the Abu Sayyaf liked the verses very much, but actually God was referring to coaching the angels [in saying ‘When thy Lord inspired the angels’] on how to engage in a battle [by hitting the armored knights in those open points), when they rescued the Prophet Muhammad and his companions at the height of the Battle of Bad’r.

“Similarly, the verse you cite (47:4) was revealed in Mecca where there was neither Christian resident nor members of the forces fighting the Prophet. His enemies in Mecca were mostly headed by his own relatives.”

So much for hijacked verses to justify terrorist violence committed in God’s name.

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