August was a bad month for followers of God.
Ten medical aid workers who were part of the Christian humanitarian group International Assistance Mission were killed on August 5 by the Taliban, which claimed responsibility and validated the killings by saying that the seven men and three women in question were being spies and spreading Christianity.
“Our faith motivates and inspires us — but we do not proselytize,” IAM’s executive director, Dirk Frans, said in a statement shortly after the attack. According to NPR, Frans discounted the Taliban’s claim that the 10 workers in question were spreading Christianity and told reporters that he believes it was an “opportunistic ambush” by Pakistan-based militants.
A week and a half later on Aug. 14, seven Baha’i leaders were sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Iranian judiciary. The five men and two women who were sentenced are all religious leaders in the Baha’i community and were harshly sentenced, even by Iranian standards, for spying for foreigners, spreading corruption on Earth and cooperating with Israel. The seven have not been given legal counsel.
“Freedom of religion is the birthright of people of all faiths and beliefs in all places,” said Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. “The United States is committed to defending religious freedom around the world, and we have not forgotten the Baha’i community in Iran. We will continue to speak out against injustice and call on the Iranian government to respect the fundamental rights of all its citizens in accordance with its international obligations.”
According to NPR, the number of attacks on religiously propelled groups (even humanitarian organizations that do not preach their religions) has risen since 2006, predominantly in Muslim nations like Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia and Pakistan.
It’s important to remember not to judge all followers of Islam by the acts of radical extremists and that doing so would basically counteract your standpoint and almost certainly clash with your religious ideologies. It’s a touchy subject, and followers of every religion surely feel strongly about the issue, but getting upset with Muslims isn’t the answer; after all, there are certainly an innumerable amount of them who deplore these actions and shouldn’t be criticized because of radical believers who are nothing like them.
But that isn’t to say that we should all simply avert our eyes from what’s happening in Islamic countries.
“What happens if someone asks them to see a Bible or asks them about Christianity, or they are in a group and they fall into a religious discussion? Are the Christians going to remain silent?” said David Smock, who studies conflict resolution and religion at the U.S. Institute of Peace in an interview with NPR. “Those are gray areas that different groups would handle differently.”
So what can we do as college students? Some of you may not believe it, but we can make an impact. Many universities, including UH, tout classes that educate students on religions and how they work. It would be in the best interest of everyone to take at least a few of these classes and learn about their fellow man. UH is, after all, one of the most diverse campuses in the nation. And if we can attend classes together, study together and even hang out together, we could show the world that diversity shouldn’t be fought tooth and nail; it should be embraced and even coveted.
Now, chances are that our actions on-campus won’t affect the actions of the Iranian judiciary, the Taliban or anyone else who doesn’t respect freedom of religion, but it’s still a start. The least we can do about this is be aware of what’s happening and pray for those involved as well as their families.
Standing up for or even trying to define religious freedoms in your home country is an exercise in futility if there is no personal freedom and protections, not unlike standing up for your own principles in a country where you are not allowed to have any.
Unlike many other countries, we have religious freedom in the United States, and it’s something that we should all be grateful for. And especially at UH, we should strive to show the rest of the world and country how people of all races, ethnicities, genders and religion can come together peacefully to learn, both about their chosen fields of study and one another.
And stateside, to ensure that such acts never happen here, we can focus on learning about each others’ beliefs, tolerating and understanding dissenting religious opinions and strengthening our own views while respecting others’.
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Yeah, and these classes should be mandatory for jackasses and tea baggers like alan smythe.
You don't have to be a "tea bagger" to not like religious groups. Let me remind you of the many lefties that are Agnostic or Atheist or simply do not wish for prayer to be allowed in school. If you're going to throw stones at someone why not throw a few at yourself first before you go running your grotty trap.
it's nice when people show you their ignorance upfront
actually the original tea party movement was started by the libertarians. ron paul has come out supporting the right to build the community center in question because we have a constitutional right to both freedom of religion and property (among many others). what's aggravating is that the tea party movement has been hijacked by the so-called grass-roots republicans who are nothing but intolerant of people who don't share their same beliefs. bastards.