Open Doors comment on religious extremism

Saket

We often hear the phrase 'religion and politics don't mix'. Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell reinforced the suspicion with which many in Britain regard those who have faith when he said, "The public might have been less willing to give Tony Blair the triumph of three consecutive general election victories if they'd known the extent to which ethical values would overshadow pragmatism." Christian thinkers have come down on both sides: during the Reformation, John Calvin created a theocracy in Geneva, whereas his fellow reformer Martin Luther pioneered the separation of church and state in Germany only a few decades before.

Extremism is to be found in all belief systems. As Christians, we have the Crusades and the Inquisitions to repent of. Islamic extremism is well documented after 9/11 and other attacks. You can be a fanatical atheist, materialist, or anything else. Even Hinduism has its extremists. In a village in Madhya Pradesh, India, there is a group of high-caste extremists called the Bajrang Dal, which has harassed and threatened local Christians. There are about 40 Christians in the village who are poor, landless subsistence labourers with no political or social influence. Just last weekend, the Bajrang Dal beat the grandparents and aunt of a 15-year-old girl when her Christian family refused to allow the group to rape her.
Shouting anti-Christian slogans and curses and drunk from a religious festival, nine members of the group arrived at the home of Brij Gopal Saket in Bahera village, Rewa district, and demanded that he turn over his daughter Urmila so they could abuse her.
"I pleaded and reminded them that we are brothers from the same village and community," Saket said. "They told me that by becoming a Christian I am no more of their community."

Saket managed to lock himself, his wife and his daughter inside their home, but the intolerant Hindus - who have threatened to kill other members of the community unless they stop worshipping Christ - got hold of his parents and sister while they were still outside. They relentlessly beat Saket's mother Hirawa Saket, father Sant Lal Saket, and sister Michwa.

"They hit them with rods, sticks and stones," said eyewitness Ram Mani. "Villagers gathered together to stop this brutal carnage."

These villagers took the injured to Nai Garhi Primary Health Centre, about nine miles away. There doctors found that one of the stones had smashed the bone in the bridge of the nose of Saket's mother. More than 60 years old, she suffered other head and body injuries. Saket's sister also suffered severe head injury. His father, who had been seriously ill the past four months, sustained injuries on his left hand, including a possible fracture of the middle finger.

Villagers recruited and trained by local Hindu extremist leaders Shrikant Tomar and Subhash Gupta (both belonging to high castes), have threatened to kill area Christians unless they too join the Bajrang Dal, youth wing of the extremist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council). Area members of the Bajrang Dal have continually harassed Christian women and denied Christians access to water from a government-installed hand-pump, said local Christians.

How should we respond to a story like this? Not by hating Hindus, certainly; not by imitating such inhumane behaviour, or by saying "Because you are of a different religion, you are no longer part of our community." No, we should learn lessons from these stories and imitate the villagers, who gathered around to help, not the extremist minority. Jesus preached a gospel of radical - and difficult - love. He was angry at injustice, and stood up for the poor and the voiceless, and was not afraid to challenge political leaders or public opinion, and we should follow this example. However, he did not act with violence or hatred, but with self-sacrificial love. As people who bear the name of Christ, let's not be marked out by our hatred, our violence or our fear. Let's allow the Holy Spirit to work in us so that we are marked out by the love that Jesus showed - love that was fearless, dared the impossible, spoke the truth and healed the broken at his own expense. Now there's a challenge.

Source for story and picture: Compass