By Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi

In today's column, I wish to take the 'great religions to task' and ask the basic question of why religion presently is so divisive, stubborn and arrogant and in the future could become an agenda for political change in society towards its own demise and degradation.

Before that, I must proclaim that I am a 'religious man'. I believe in a God, an afterlife, accountability in the hereafter and I perform daily rituals as my faith dictates.

The difference between me and most of the religious adherents of my faith, however, seems to be miles and miles apart. I believe in politeness and humility while others of my faith believe in arrogance and even vulgarism in the name of God. I believe in simplicity and tolerance while others depend and even use extremism to get their way. I believe in the scientific and rationality of the mind while others quote Verses of the Holy Book without regard to any sense of clear and critical thinking within the context of each situation. Can I assume that the great religions have the same mind set about a simple and honest faith against an intolerant and an extremist one?

We have witnessed several incidents that happened which professed a question of faith as a simple and personal construct of being to one that implies arrogance and grandiose stature of the pronouncer, however ridiculous and unintelligent it seems.

The first case that came to my mind was the Thaipusam celebration at Batu Cave. At that time, there was already an alert on the coronavirus threat but the organiser went ahead with one important leader saying that their great idol or God would look after them. The second event was the Tabligh Ijtimak or gathering of 14,000 Muslims at the Seri Petaling Mosque where it became the mass epicentre of the COVID-19 infection with a staggering 190 cases in a single day and that was because 4,000 more were untested.

When asked why the event was still held, again clerics and religious leaders claim that God would protect them and so what if we die, are we afraid of a virus or of God?

Piety and faith, it seems, have no scientific sense or even any rational ones. Another question that begs to be asked was why the authorities did not just forbid the gathering? Perhaps they were too busy watching the unfolding drama at Sheraton Hotel acted by some scheming Malay politicians. I did not know about the gathering or else I would have written a strong media statement against it. Then we had another event that gathered 20,000 Hindus at various temples for a religious celebration, again defying the cease-to-hold-gathering order. After that, another 10,000 strong Tabligh Ijtimak was set to take place in the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Muslims from various countries came to hear their religious leaders brave the pandemic and challenge the law of the country. God's law was greater than the police or Ministry of Health. There was also the incident of 20,000 Bangladeshis convening at a mass prayer to ask God to protect them against the disease. In another part of the world, thousands of Iraqis thronged a shrine of their saints, also defying orders and sense but in the name of God, faith triumph while logic fails.

My simple question was why such arrogance against proven scientific rationale? It seems that religion outranks science and rational thinking even by those educated at universities. Admittedly some religious clerics never received a day of instruction in science and logic but why are those that went to tertiary education followed such directives. Apa sudah jadi?

While attending an event at my university recently, I came to a kind of epiphany. The event was themed Love and Religious Harmony. Seven religious leaders were invited to speak. I sat through all the short speeches of the 'great religions' and then came the turn of the Tok Batin who spoke about his Orang Asli faith. He spoke Malay as he knew no English. He spoke something as follows," Our concept of Love is simple. We live side by side with nature and the environment. When we pick pucuk ubi to eat, we make sure some are left to rejuvenate the Mother Earth. And when an outsider does wrong to one of us we do not allow that person to take any personal vengeance or vendetta. The community will sit, deliberate and handle the matter in an amicable manner. This is the simplicity of our faith."

After I went home, I thought back about what the Tok Batin said. Why did my religion become so arrogant and extreme while another seem so simple and natural? In man's civilization many of the 'great religions' carved history with the sword spilling blood everywhere under the cries of God is Great and the like.

As I searched my own faith, I came to a simple conclusion. The religion of nature worship of the Orang Asli had never become an empire. It had never been framed in a political, economic and nationalistic construct. The other 'great religions' had gone to war, had established great institutions, constructed massive houses of worship and built nations. In sum, faith is used to build and control empires. If we were to look at the early beginnings of the 'great religions', their message was as simple and as natural as that of the Orang Asli, no more, no less.

I am, therefore, with the conclusion that the divisiveness of our religious conflict is simply a reframing of simple messages within the complex and personal constructs of petty politics, power grabbing parliamentarians and vain agendas of religious, national and even community leaders. The followers of religion, who do not read or think critically about the origins and simple message of their faith, listened and believed lock, stock and barrel to this narrative of religion as an empire. The faithful forget or does not know that there is a whole empire of faith that can transcend racial and nationalistic concerns and embrace all man into a single brotherhood of humility and acceptance of all.

If religion is to play a significant role in our modern and democratic society, it must return to its natural and simple state of faith and jettison its 'empirish' trait brought about by the writings of religious and political historians bent on an axe to grind. If we fail, we will never know peace and harmonious existence or worse, the coronavirus will ensure we pay the price up front and in full.

(Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor at a local university.)