Hassan Mohaddesi on the Necessity of Coexistence Among Followers of Religions and Sects

Some time ago I wrote about the distinction between the positive and negative effects of ethnocentrism, which fortunately attracted the attention of many readers, and even today I learned that the Arman newspaper has also published a part of it (selectively, of course). I thank these friends for their kind consideration. One of the very negative functions of religion is that, on many occasions throughout the history of societies, it has been a factor of division, conflict, and sometimes even war. Unfortunately, some sociology professors and students in Iran usually do not pay attention to this very negative and inhumane function of religions and merely parrot Durkheim's words about the cohesive function of religion, forgetting that religion has repeatedly been a factor of separation, rupture, antagonism, and strife in the history of societies. One can also present a particularistic interpretation of religions, according to which only a specific group is considered worthy of salvation and the rest are deemed hell-bound or infidels and the like, and consequently, their rights are violated in various ways through negative religious labels. In the history of religions, all kinds of religious labels have been produced to brand a group of human beings and violate their rights and dignity. We must find the courage to critique religion and expose religious discriminations and stigmas just like ethnic, gender, and racial discriminations. Some intellectuals in Iran, including some sociologists of religion, are very capable of critiquing the religion of others, but when it comes to critiquing their own religion, they speak only in praise, ignoring many of the oppressions, crimes, and discriminations that have occurred in the name of religion in the history of Islamic societies. They see the fault only in the practice of Muslims and often do not deem it necessary to critique Islamic interpretations and readings, or if they occasionally critique these Islamic interpretations and readings, they lack the courage to critique Islamic texts. They shy away from addressing the destructive part of the Islamic heritage from which phenomena like Talibanism and Daeshism feed. Such a task requires boldness, courage, and intellectual freedom, qualities that many Muslim thinkers—both Shia and Sunni—lack. They often eulogistically and defensively praise all the errors and mistakes that have occurred in Islamic history and are recorded in the Islamic heritage, sanctifying many deviations from Quranic culture as Islamic heritage and Islamic history. Interestingly, the followers of every denomination—whether Shia, Sunni, or other Islamic sects and denominations—are busy glorifying the problematic Islamic history and heritage. Each group has fabricated saints, and when you have fabricated a multitude of saints, you turn into a docile creature who will never find the boldness and courage to live with critical thinking. Alas, only a few human beings find the courage to step out from under the roof of belief, take a step under the roof of the sky, breathe in a new and fresh air, dwell there, and ascend to the station of a seeker!

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PDF file of the text (The Necessity of Coexistence Among Followers of Religions and Sects)

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The Necessity of Coexistence Among Followers of Religions and Sects

Hassan Mohaddesi Gilvaei / 22 December 2016

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