Comparison between Bouyeri’s and Goldstein’s acts of violence
Religion can be both good and evil depending on how it is used. The many cases of religious abuse arise from individuals who follow fundamentalist religious thinking as seen in the case of Bouyeri and Goldstein. Muhammed Bouyeri was 26 years of age when he became a murderer who was interested in political Islam. He became active in radical Islamic groups with beliefs in Salafi radical Islamic sect whose members must separate themselves from a nonbeliever society and attempt to destroy it. Bouyeri's religious and political beliefs reflected his determination in committing murder, believing that his end is near and that Allah would provide him a garden in heaven. For example, when he was captured and sentenced to life in prison, he claimed to ultimately take responsibility for his actions, saying he acted in the name of his religion and would do the same if found in the same situation. Bouyeri's actions were accompanied with no remorse for the families of victims because of believing they were nonbelievers. Therefore, Bouyeri killed Theo Van Gogh out of conviction and not hatred, because he felt his victim belonged to another large-group religious identity.
Benjamin Baruch Goldstein is another example of individuals killing due to religious fanaticism. Goldstein was a believer of Jewish law and a follower of a religious movement known as Kahanism. He shot several Muslim worshippers in the Ibrahimi mosque and injured several others before getting shot. A conviction drove his motive to kill that Muslims were the enemy of their religion and therefore deserved to die. Bouyeri and Goldstein present cases of individuals who kill in the name of religion whether Muslims are killing Christians or Christians massacring Muslims in the name of religion. These two events showed a people willing and devoted to die for their faith. Both of them had the same idea against separating from nonbelievers and even destroying them to maintain the separateness. Individuals who follow fundamentalist religious thinking tend to share similarities despite belonging to different religions. For Bouyeri and Goldstein, their minds reflected the thinking of many others belonging to some extreme religious organizations.
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However, these heinous acts do not qualify to be authentic religion. Authenticity can be defined as a degree to which one is true to their personality spirit or character. In mythology, authenticity is when someone is right to their religion and follows the teachings of their faith. Authenticity carriers with it its own set of moral obligations, but it is not described with a conviction to wage aggressive war in God’s name as this entails annihilating innocent people.
Religion and violence
Religion is often associated with violence and unspeakable tragedies though it does not necessarily cause destruction. Religion is related to the disorder because it motivates belligerent humans to fight over it even among people of the same country ( Omer & Springs, 2013) . Most of the historical conflicts have featured religious beliefs and emerging conflicts. For example, most Islamic state militant groups use violence to defend their religion. Many other violence and wars in India, Israel and all around the Middle East feature religion as a culprit.
However, I do not agree that religion is the cause of all wars and violence experienced around the world. Instead, people use religion as a means to an end, for example, to mark territory, gain political power or gain wealth. Additionally, this concept of religiousness is highly prevalent among psychiatric patients who exhibit religious delusions and hallucinations. Therefore, most religious associated wars and violence have a second motive behind it, whether to cope with internal mental conflicts or who cling to fundamentalist religion that affects their thinking. This is why many other battles have happened without religion being involved. During the cold war, nationalism and religion did not play any role in the conflicts as the conflicts came from a class of ideologies and political ambitions ( Omer, 2012) .
Nationalism and religion
Nationalist movements and religion are intrinsically connected in the sense that they all entail fanaticism and loyalty. While religion is defined as the allegiance to God, nationalism is the allegiance to the nation. Several ways show the intrinsic relation between these two concepts. They both transformed from pre-modern traditions that saw religion getting nationalized into modern times. Today, prayer has been made part of national identity, where several religious histories are tailored to fit a tale of national unity.
Additionally, religion is a factor that can be used to create or strengthen nationalism. Most countries claim religious superiority. For example, nationalist leaders often invoke faith for support and may work in hand with religious leaders to persuade people into agreeing to a particular doctrine. In other instances, religion is used to further the agendas of nationalism where it plays a dominant role in national movements. There are several cases where belief has assisted prominent national campaigns as a cohesive element, which results in the effects of religious nationalism in determining the development of a nation-state ( Omer & Springs, 2013) .
Resources for peacebuilding and reconciliation
Religion can also be a powerful tool in peacebuilding and reconciliation within the different religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism. Since it is often used as an agent to spur conflict and violence, religion can also be used to bring peace to the world. This is made possible when religious institutions are used in resolving disputes and build social relations. Through such peacebuilding initiatives, religion can be used to manage conflicts through religious human rights activists and legal advocates, thus helping to strengthen a culture of tolerance and nonviolence. Most religions believe in having a meek a forgiving God and teach its followers the importance of maintaining peace and living in harmony. As a result, they all have a significant role in peacebuilding and reconciliation initiatives in the quest for social justice. Several religious peacemakers who are representatives of different faith-based organizations can help in resolving conflicts and building peace ( Omer, 2012).
Provocations
Is the rise of militant forms of religious fundamentalism an emerging threat to peace?
Is lone terrorism a psychiatric condition or a religious driven motive
Dreaming in the contact zone
Zulu people are a Bantu-ethnic group of South Africa who stayed within a contact zone during the 19th century. A contact zone is referred to a location where unequal power relations shape intercultural engagements. This zone was characterized by spiritual dynamics resulting from indigenous dreams of the Zulu people that were connected to the ongoing ritual relations of genetic exchange ( Chidester, 2008). A n interpretation of these dreams observed the relationship between summer with pleasant thoughts and winter with bad ideas. According to the Zulu culture, the description of these dreams required offering a propitiatory sacrifice to the ancestors that allow the living to communicate with the dead. As a result, the people used these dreams as a medium of communication.
These dreams explain the origin of religion animism as developed by E.B Taylor. The thoughts were associated with animist because phantoms used to visit the dreamer and communicate to him continually. However, the dreamer initially claimed that the spirits were visiting trying to kill him rather than talk to him. Henry Callaway conducted an anthropological study focusing on Zulu culture and their religious life, including dreams and divination. He explained that these were in the form of extraordinary visions which were associated with a brain sensation in the body of a person.
However, his research was dismissed with arguments that dreaming in the contact zone can't be adequately explained as a mentality. As such, the theory of animism that related dreams to religion was preserved. E.B Tailor who constructed the theory of animism erased intercultural exchanges and abstracted a concept of ancient religion from its living contexts to use in the history of the human culture, starting with primitive animism. Taylor’s method thus saw animism as one of the earliest religions of the world ( Chidester, 2008).
Provocations
What is the origin of animism religion?
What makes animism a religion
References
Chidester, D. (2008). Dreaming in the contact zone: Zulu dreams, visions, and religion in nineteenth-century South Africa. Journal of the American Academy of Religion , 76 (1), 27-53.
Omer, A. (2012). Religious peacebuilding: The exotic, the good, and the theatrical. Practical Matters , 5 , 1-31.
Omer, A., & Springs, J. A. (2013). Religious Nationalism: A Reference Handbook . Abc-Clio.
