My two cents on religions

Image religion

Roger-Luc Chayer (Image: Pixabay)

A few days ago, in a private conversation with one of my long-time readers, he remarked to me, while I was discussing the characteristics of Salafists, an extremist trend within Islam: “We all know you are super anti-Islam…” Excuse me?

It is a misunderstanding of me to make such a statement. But first of all, what is a Salafist, since that was the starting point of his comment? According to Wikipedia, Salafism is a religious movement within Sunni Islam advocating a return to the practices in effect in the Muslim community during the time of the Prophet Muhammad and his early disciples, known as the « pious ancestors, » as well as the « moral re-education » of this community. Salafists adopt a literal interpretation of Islamic texts, such as the Quran and the ahadith of the Sunna, and reject any religious innovations considered blameworthy. That’s a little trip back to the Middle Ages…

When I say that it is a misunderstanding of me to claim that I would be anti-Islam, it is because my opinion on religions is not so limited. I have the same antipathy towards all religions. A simple search on the Gay Globe website would suffice, if he had taken the trouble to do so, to see that I regularly denounce the unspeakable acts of the Catholic Church and its priests in robes who want to meddle in our private lives, the American preachers who incite anti-LGBTQ+ hatred in Africa, the ultra-fundamentalist Mormon pastors who indoctrinate their followers, the imams and other Islamists who hang us because we love each other, as well as the Jewish rabbis who still dress their wives like 19th-century dolls.

Religion in general, regardless of its name, should not exist, in my opinion, because it mainly serves to control people under various pretenses and to protect other robed individuals or preachers of all kinds from illegal and immoral acts, even according to their own rules.

Let’s take, for example, societies where religion is very little present or absent from the public scene. These secular countries or cultures are generally much more peaceful, oriented towards justice and collective well-being. I think of Switzerland, the Scandinavian countries, several East Asian countries like Japan and Vietnam, as well as Australia and New Zealand. One could even say that Quebec is an example of public secularism, especially since the Quiet Revolution, when, in the 1960s, Catholics were asked to leave our schools, our hospitals, and our civil institutions.

This is how I consider myself just and fair towards all religions, beliefs, sects, and others.

And for those who still confuse Arabs with Islam, it is a frequent mistake that needs to be demystified. Not all Arabs are Muslims, and not all Muslims are Arabs. People from Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia are Muslims, but they are absolutely not Arabs! The same goes for Iran, which is a Muslim country, but whose people are not Arab; they are Persians. And the opposite is also true: countries like Tunisia, Lebanon, or Jordan have Arab populations, but Islam occupies only a tiny part of society, and their laws are civil.

I thought it was important to clarify my opinion on religions and my editorial decisions on the subject! There you go!

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