A response to Mumbai attacks

I received the following a short time ago. What the writer expresses is
important in not only these days after the terrorist attack in Mumbai, but
every day.

It is high time for all the religions and their leaders to evaluate
themselves whether they are contributing into this violence directly or
indirectly.

The Islamic extremists are behind this -The question is why?
The word Islam derives from salam which means primarily peace but in a
secondary sense surrender. Islam is not the only religion believes in it,
every religion is founded on these kinds of ideas. But, instead of getting
these ideas driven into the mind of people and change their attitude to love
and peace, every religion is seeking force to defeat violence. Every one is
resisting evil with force rather than resist no evil (Matthew 5:38-39). I
know many people will disregard this as a radical idea but I got this idea
from Christ.

When Christ was advocating love and peace the then orthodox wisdom resisted
it and crucified him. Caiaphas saw in him a source of danger not for
himself, but for the whole people, and there fore he said: It is better for
one man to die, that the whole people perish not. Caiaphas never thought he
was doing a wrong and violent thing. He was simply protecting the interest
of his community and doing a favor to God. When Peter drew his sword and
resisted by force, he was simply trying to protect his master, Jesus, who
was preaching resist no evil. Christ at once reproved him for this saying
that he who takes up the sword shall perish by the sword.

Jesus probably must have told Peter, I never told you that resist evil with
force, but I said, resist no evil. Instead of correcting the mistakes of
their followers and make them, love their enemy many leaders promote the
violence and secure their positions. This hidden idea is prevalent in every
religion including their leaders. I don't know this is because of the
ignorance of the leaders or a mysterious idea to protect the leader's
comfortable positions in the society. Perhaps, they leaders cannot do any
thing because it is already founded on wrong conceptions.

Condemning the violence is not going to have any impact in what is happening
around the world. But, if leaders are willing to recognize the difference
between resist evil with force and resist no evil and make it understand
their followers, every religion will find its meaning.

G. Puthenkurishe

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