Garissa killings show need to expose extremist religious beliefs.
by Rev Fr Wilybard Lagho
How long shall Kenyan religious leaders call attacks of places of worship the work of criminals and merely apportion blame to security laxity? Is this not a simplistic response to a complex problem whereby religious leaders too have directly or indirectly failed to prevent such horrendous incidents of violence?
This is the question I ask myself as I read the various statements made by political, Christian and Muslim leaders following the slaughter that left seventeen Christian worshippers dead and another forty-seven seriously injured. As religious leaders we must consider a new way of dealing with religious extremists and discover another approach to enhance peace in Kenya
There are two reasons why religious leaders in Kenya are reluctant to address the religious mind set of armed gangs who kill people they demonize as unbelievers. The first is the leaders’ fear of heightening tensions between Christians and Muslims and the second fear is that the same leaders might be viewed by fellow believers as sowing seeds of disunity within their religious community.
Analysing the religious notions that provoke a person or group of people to kill requires first and foremost a shift of attitude on the part of the analysts from searching for security out of fear of the religious-other to searching for security out of confidence that good will always conquer evil in society.
Needless to say Christianity and Islam as religions do not justify killing in the name of God. However we all know that both religions have religious extremists who at different times have attempted to spread their sectarian beliefs by violent means including attempts to suppress worshipers whose beliefs and practices are different. Are we afraid to identify and isolate religious extremist within our respective religious communities in Mombasa , Garissa and elsewhere?
Could it be that some ethnic and religious values require all those who belong to the same community to provide each other with mutual support and protection at all times even when some of them commit criminal acts?
To illustrate by way of an example, if security agents in pursuit of dangerous people end up in sacred places like Kaya’s, Mosques and Churches, who should be blamed for desecrating the sacred places: the security agents who flush them our or those who in the first place provided safety in the sacred places to people with violent agendas? How long can you associate with people with such destructive beliefs without jeopardizing the credibility of the entire religious community?
I believe the most urgent task for religious leaders today is to begin identifying and isolating religious mercenaries who either misuse religion to justify killing of innocent worshipers or accumulate personal wealth through commercializing religion. Time has come for religious leaders to begin the long task of realigning errant believers especially teachers within our flocks back to orthodox beliefs before they turn our places of worship into recruitment bases for religious extremists.
Let us apply the wisdom behind the Swahili saying which says: kikulacho kimo nguoni mwako. individuals with extremist religious beliefs within our religious communities today are the terrorists of tomorrow. The extremist’s mission is one, to violently spread their self righteous version of religious beliefs through whatever means. History has however shown that violent suppression of people who have different religious beliefs and practices only serves to propagate the same beliefs and practices. It behoves religious leaders then to play their responsible part in house cleaning rather than simplistically and always blaming security forces.
Rev Fr Wilybard Lagho is the Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa and serves as consulter for the pontifical council of interreligious dialogue ( Rome ) He is the current chairman of the coast interfaith council for clerics (CICC) Mombasa
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