Al Jazeera has reported on the protest rally in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, that organisers have called “The Long March.” Reports measure the crowd in the hundreds of thousands, consisting of supporters of Hefazat-e-Islam, a religious group supported by the country’s biggest political party, Jamaat-e-Islami.
The point of the protest is disturbing – calling for the death penalty for bloggers who insult Islam. It seems the specific target is atheist bloggers.
As with many countries there is a strong divide between secularists and more deeply devoted Islamic groups and those divisions are creating tension and violence. As a form of having a free voice available for all, blogging provides a potent form for various groups to voice their differences.
It seems to me that far too many people are too easily threatened by the expression of thoughts that differ from their own. Fundamentalist Islam is not the only guilty party in that regard though it is one of the most expressive and overt about its offenses at the moment.
Such times remind me of a situation in the Bible in Acts 5 where Peter and the Apostles were arrested by the religious and political leaders of their time in their community. After a bunch of interesting events they appeared before the Sanhedrin – a group furious at what they had to say. The Sanhedrin (religious and political leaders) wanted to have them put to death (v33) but a Pharisee named Gamaliel made an interesting point. Stating cases of others who thought they were somebody but had failed he said this:
“So I am telling you: Hands off these men! Let them alone. If this program or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it – and you better not be found fighting against God” (Acts 5:38-39. The Message)
I used to get all pent up when people disagreed with me and felt a compulsive need to respond and defend my perspective. If what I have is true, I don’t need to defend it all costs – I just need to live it out. Allowing freedom of perspective and others the ability to voice their thoughts gives us all the chance to test and challenge our own perspectives. That’s ok. Calling to have others killed because we don’t agree is not only abhorrent but it also expresses a lack of security in what it is that we believe. Gamaliel showed maturity and a sense of security.
My prayer is that people in a similar vein to Gamaliel, whether they be Islamic, secular, or of other perspectives, would be the prevailing voice of reason amidst Bangladesh’s divisions.
Image: Daily Prime News