Connecting the Dots

Long have past the days when news was delivered by courier or a stranger who may be passing through the village. Long have past the days where religion was a tool of power less one religion. Seeing that news can now travel in an instant to anyplace and everyplace, eyes are being opened and conclusions are being drawn by people who still live under the punishment whip.

Without even saying the name of the religion you probably have already concluded what religion it is. And after a few moments of thought you realize even that you may not be of that religion, their harsh punishment for stepping out of line has effected us all. We are reminded of it at every security check point we pass.

Before the age of communication exploded we were limited to local news. Local news only showed us what we could see with our own eyes. Your life was basically the same as everyone you encountered. If punishment was being delved out regularly by religion, then it was the same for everyone. You were not aware that a few thousand miles away a different religion offered no such physical punishment, and the community prospered. There was no point of reference to make a comparison with, and as far as you were concerned life was like yours every single place you went.

At some point people simply got fed up with religion punishing people for non compliance. Even the United States was founded on the principal of the separation of religion and state. Catholics were not being flogged for wearing condoms, nor being branded to show infidelity. Other religions followed removing physical punishment as a form of control. The model the United States provided proved that we as humans have matured beyond the need of being beaten into submission by religion.

As people open their eyes and see others not being physically punished, it generates emotions and desires for freedom that are no different from any patriot of a free country. So the desire to remove the whip from the hand that beats them is strong, and continues to grow stronger each day. As this process continues, eventually the people that wield religious punishment to stay in power will fall to the will of the people.

The most extreme group the Taliban are already being attacked by the militaries of several countries because of their over assertion of their extreme religious beliefs on others. As time progresses the tolerance threshold will lower and less extreme use of religious punishment will no longer be tolerated by the people.

There are already such examples underway in places like Iran where the religious leaders have properly pissed the people off by using religion to justify their actions. In Malaysia there are examples of punishment that simply draw the attention of the global media because they are seen as extreme. A person should not get flogged because they decided to have a beer, nor be stoned to death as some punishments require for the more serious offence of having sex out of wedlock.

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Indonesia’s staunchly Muslim Aceh province is set to enforce a strict form of Islamic criminal law, including stoning to death married adulterers, a lawmaker said on Wednesday.

“Unmarried people who commit adultery will be caned one hundred times and married persons will be stoned to death,” Raihan Iskandar, a provincial lawmaker from the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party, told AFP.

The revolt continues and continues to be more visible, and eventually will win simply by the numbers. Although guns and other weapons are being used by the extreme religious groups, sooner or later the other side will get their hands on the same weapons and return fire. The numbers are already extremely skewed in favor of ending punishment, and it is just a simple matter of time before they win over the extremists.