Religious credibility wanes as terrorism proliferates

Benny Susetyo, Malang

Over the last decade, religion has lost its full force to contribute to the settlement of various problems of humanity. One of the reasons now widely mentioned is that the concentration of religion on the empowerment of believers and upholding of humanistic values has been distracted by the big issue of terrorism.

Owing to terrorism, religion has also lost its charisma as one of the main pillars of more progressive and positive social change. It is in the name of religion that acts of terrorism are committed with sheer hatred. And the wave of terrorism has not yet abated, although the world's peace-loving community has utilized the black Sept. 11 attack in New York to wage a war on terrorism. Slowly but surely, terrorism is finding new areas to create mayhem.

Any new method devised to counter terrorism is always challenged by a fresh mode of operation, putting the two sides in a race to stay one step ahead of the other, often for mutual destruction. Peace-loving people are thus frequently victimized, leaving those unharmed haunted by the fear of having the same fate. In this way, terrorism has managed to turn peace plans into anxieties. The bombings and attempted bombings in London recently have spread fear, not only among local citizens, but also among many of the world's nations.

On the other hand, the war against terrorism is no less terrifying. In the name of peace, those waging this war sometimes act indiscriminately and even go beyond limits of humanistic values. The fight against terrorism is often alleged to be another form of terrorism depending on which side on stands on, especially when methods of discrediting others and making others scapegoats are applied. The secret to fighting terrorism by discovering its cause is not fully understood yet, nor are the roots of terrorism and ways of seeking peaceful solutions sufficiently understood.

With this major quandary confronting the world today, religion, while losing its charm still has to remain an indispensable part of antiterrorism endeavors. Religion and believers find it difficult to read, map and solve the actual problem being faced. Poverty worsens, political power increasingly exploits religion to serve its interests, economic strength turns religion into a commodity, the rich-poor gap continues to widen, and so forth.

Terrorists have succeeded in hijacking religious and pluralist spirits for the purpose of destroying humanity. They turn the physical products of human culture into targets of destruction.

When religion is hijacked for the sake of violence and violence itself is legalized in the name of religion, religion tends to become a means of justification of all behavior that goes beyond logical human reasoning. Terrorists have turned religious though into something devoid of reason, as well as a source of violence.

All religious systems, in their most basic form, have the potential for violence. Religion will be a source of violence if the verses in relevant scriptures are not carefully read according to their contexts. This will make religion look like a monster to men or its followers, despite the awareness that the descent of religion is meant as an instrument to achieve divine aims and the fundamental call of religion is to cultivate human civilization.

In reality, religion has frequently been trapped in ritual dimensions, while overlooking its fundamental call of devotion to the interests of humanity. This challenges religion to have the courage to be introspective about the extent of its role in creating a new world order with greater justice.

However, it should be realized that the issue of terrorism has not only arisen from the extreme reactionary attitude of people who misinterpret scriptural texts. It is more due to the world order that remains unfair and lacks justice. That injustice definitely causes religious extremism to thrive. Militancy grows because of injustice that leads to poverty. It is poverty that makes men desperate and deprives them of common sense in religious practice.

In this manner, extremism can be seen as an escape from the frustration of life as a result of socio-economic pressures. This factor is particularly conducive to the growth of militancy among poor nations.

In this context, religious dialogs should not only reach the level of mutual understanding or acceptance of differences. More fundamentally, they should find the means by which religion is capable of adhering to its call: preserving the dignity of humanity.

The culture of consumerism in society also further widens the gap between the rich and the poor. Those in a stronger bargaining position can manipulate public policies so those policies no longer benefit the poor. The economy is managed without regard to ethics. Maximum profit is the only goal. All this makes life devoid of solidarity, in which men are preoccupied by personal interests without looking at surrounding realities.

Lastly, it should again be realized that terrorism is not merely a case of religion, but also a problem of the whole mankind in various aspects. A common point of view should be sought together to reformulate how the world is to be restructured. This heavy task, which demands that present-day religious leaders give serious thought to carrying this out, also becomes an inseparable part of the other components in society.

The writer is a Catholic priest and a cultural observer