An alarming conversation was held by the Nitijela in the week before last. The Nitijela is the Marshallese legislative body, like a parliament or senate. Elected senators make the laws. But they decided to have a conversation about religion.
Trying to define what religion is can be really tricky. There are so many different views on spirituality. If we try to capture “religion” in a few sentences, something is bound to get left out. Therefore, defining religion is arguably a slippery slope that can lead to the erosion of liberty. We certainly need rules in society, but the name by which we call our deity seems to be subjective to me.
The conversation in the Nitijela about religion was especially alarming because of its tone. Religious leaders from the almost universally Christian nation were invited to speak to the Nitijela. Comments quoted in the Marshall Islands Journal accused Islam in particular of being a dangerous religion that should be banned from the country. Senators actually in some cases agreed, such that the session was about bashing Islam rather than defining religion.
I wrote the following letter to the editor, which was published in the September 20th edition. My tone is more measured in the letter because I’m still figuring out how wise it is to criticize my elders. In Canada, the Prime Minister can be pied in the face and we mostly have a good laugh because he deserved it (true story). But not every country is like that.
Letter to the Editor of the Marshall Islands Journal
I am writing in response to the articles I read in the September 14th issue of the Journal. When I initially learned that the Nitijela was going to discuss the question, “What is religion?” I admired our leaders’ foresight, because I thought they were trying to anticipate possible problems with terrorists in the future. Every country in the world has had to cope with feelings of insecurity since September the 11th, 2001. If there are more people of a different faith entering your region, it is important to be aware of the implications to your society. But hearing our elders generalize about a “specific religion” (see Nitijela attacks Islam) that is a “threat to the Marshall Islands” (see Religious leaders debate hot topic), I was greatly disturbed. There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world. Like most Christians, they are peaceful and educated people. We must not allow ourselves to generalize an entire civilization based on the actions of the violent ones, just as we shouldn’t judge one person by another.
September 16, 2007
Steven Courchesne
Trying to define what religion is can be really tricky. There are so many different views on spirituality. If we try to capture “religion” in a few sentences, something is bound to get left out. Therefore, defining religion is arguably a slippery slope that can lead to the erosion of liberty. We certainly need rules in society, but the name by which we call our deity seems to be subjective to me.
The conversation in the Nitijela about religion was especially alarming because of its tone. Religious leaders from the almost universally Christian nation were invited to speak to the Nitijela. Comments quoted in the Marshall Islands Journal accused Islam in particular of being a dangerous religion that should be banned from the country. Senators actually in some cases agreed, such that the session was about bashing Islam rather than defining religion.
I wrote the following letter to the editor, which was published in the September 20th edition. My tone is more measured in the letter because I’m still figuring out how wise it is to criticize my elders. In Canada, the Prime Minister can be pied in the face and we mostly have a good laugh because he deserved it (true story). But not every country is like that.
Letter to the Editor of the Marshall Islands Journal
I am writing in response to the articles I read in the September 14th issue of the Journal. When I initially learned that the Nitijela was going to discuss the question, “What is religion?” I admired our leaders’ foresight, because I thought they were trying to anticipate possible problems with terrorists in the future. Every country in the world has had to cope with feelings of insecurity since September the 11th, 2001. If there are more people of a different faith entering your region, it is important to be aware of the implications to your society. But hearing our elders generalize about a “specific religion” (see Nitijela attacks Islam) that is a “threat to the Marshall Islands” (see Religious leaders debate hot topic), I was greatly disturbed. There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world. Like most Christians, they are peaceful and educated people. We must not allow ourselves to generalize an entire civilization based on the actions of the violent ones, just as we shouldn’t judge one person by another.
September 16, 2007
Steven Courchesne
1 comment:
Goood for you Steve !!
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