Recently I saw a post on FB that went something like “I am
gonna miss you Ramadan.” Immediately the question popped and I had to restrain
myself from commenting….”What for?” Did you/your husband lose any weight,
learned any lesson or did anything for the humanity, society or the planet you
live in? Anything?
The same way another friend related some Quran verses about
the differences between mumin & munafiq. As I was reading the verse, I couldn’t help but think…I
thought religion teaches you to be merciful, tolerant, and compassionate. But here
is the word of God (Allah) himself saying how the believer will mock &
laugh at the non-believer or the overtly devout.
So I guess when it’s another race/religion/gender it is OK
to do so?
Religion is a tool. First and foremost, it is a tool to feel
good about yourself. It is so easy to say something like Ramadan teaches you
how the poor feels not being able to eat vs. actually feeling their pain &
suffering. I wonder which one is more genuine.
It is a tool to
validate your thoughts/ideas/opinion against others without any factual
backing. Ever notice how every single conversation/debate ends with ‘you just have
to believe.’
Religion is also a tool to control an individual or a mass. Lazy
but effective. What better & easier ways than saying ‘God says so’ to your
wife, children or the whole damn country?
