REALITY______________________________________________________________________
Are We
Teaching
Religion
Correctly?
By Safiyyah Sujee
I’ ve been in the working environment for around 5 years
now and outside of a religious school for ten years. The
experience outside of that environment wasn’t always
entirely what I expected it to be. Coming from a protected
and controlled environment, into the world as we know it,
was quite a shock to my system. I very much was in a
protected little oyster, safe from most of the harms of the
world, the immorality and sinister elements that exist
within the world and the greater picture of things overall.
In my mind, most people were good, helping one another
out and Muslims around the world prayed salah,
conformed to laws which were taught to us and the road to
follow was simple and we all knew and followed the same
path, but it was anything like that. Ten years down the line,
you would think I would be accustomed to the world by
now, but I still struggle with sadness and major lows
because I cannot get myself to accept the degeneration of
humanity, the injustices, the disregard for respect and basic
rights. I often think to myself how much I don’t belong in
this world and how much I can’t wait to go to a place I
belong. Not that I am ungrateful for all that I have, but it is
difficult having to accept the ever-lowering standards of
morality and humanity. I think the day we become
accustomed and accepting of it, is the day there is really
cause for concern.
Larger parts of society aside, I always believed religion and people of the religion to be a safe, relatable and familiar aspect, but even
that is untrue. How often have I been told by colleagues when I refuse to partake in alcohol that it’s odd because I am the only
Muslim they Saknow of who doesn’t drink. How many times have I been the odd one out among Muslim peers because I don’t
believe in being intimate with someone whom I am not married to, I don’t find any reason or need to visit clubs or photograph
myself half clad for people to gawk at. I don’t mean that I am a human being of great stature or above anybody else, but for me, in
my mind, were just basic things Muslims should have adhered to and I shouldn’t have been nor should be the odd one out. As I
experienced and went through these years, I learnt more and more how each person has a different idea of Islam and morality I
learnt how each person interpreted according to his/her understanding, how sometimes, things were twisted to serve a purpose of
one or more people and how my own beliefs were questionable at times too. But so many people were leaving religion, or picking
parts of it to practice, so many left behind parts of it which didn’t make sense to them or that they were not comfortable with. So
many were finding religion pointless or senseless.
And then it struck me. Are we really teaching religion correctly? If you think of the very basic and essential part of religion being the
belief in God, many of us, including myself, have a negative connotation in this regard. Think about it, how do you picture God? What is
He like? Many of us will echo what we were taught in childhood or what we heard from a lecture etc. But have we ever really pondered
deeply as to who He is? Many of us will recall being taught that He is a punishing God. He is angry and gives you tons of rules and
makes you follow them and if you don’t, He will throw you into hell. This is the very first thing that is wrong and absurd with how we
teach religion. It drives people away rather than attracts them, it drains people of hope. The very foundation is corrupted and unstable.
The whole will and need submit is not secured. So how does every other facet of religion get secured? If you consider how Islam was
initially revealed, it taught the people who God was. It instilled love in their hearts for Him and only thereafter, did the rules and religious
injunctions come down to them and people obliged happily and willingly because they trusted God, they loved Him, they understood his
characteristics and who He is.
Now, it might seem slightly blasphemous for me to say the things that I am or perhaps trying to make religious seem airy fairy, but let
me clarify the logic I am putting to my comments. The thing is, we are teaching religion in a method that is fear based and rule based,
deprived of hope and warmth. And yes, I agree, we should trust God and there is such a thing as punishment and reward, and for some
people that is enough to submit and willingly do as they are told. But for a large proportion of people, it is not. Especially in the rocky
and unstable times we are living in. Where we are questioned and faced with the utter break down in morality, where people are
questioned regarding their beliefs and challenged and offered “better” alternatives, is it sufficient? Is it really how things should be?
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