The chaos that true believers can cause, when fuelled by sectarian grievances, is disproportionate to their numbers. As we have seen in recent years, it only takes a few religious fundamentalists – or just one ‘lone wolf’ operator – to precipitate murder and mayhem. And even when the dust has settled – after yet another bomb blast – the aftershocks continue to reverberate. Though politicians vow “not to let the terrorists win”, their responses tell a different story. Vigilance comes at a price, and any attempt to restrict the free movement of terrorists also imposes restrictions on ourselves. In our attempts to make ourselves safe and bullet-proof, we become more fearful, insular and paranoid. Instead of welcoming strangers in our midst, we are more likely to view them with suspicion.
Religious intolerance is like one of those trick candles which, even after being blown out, can spontaneously re-ignite. With superstition coming back into fashion, irrationality may burst back into life at any moment. However well-intentioned, our silence in the face of religious sectarianism may simply be adding fuel to the fire. Even those who don’t believe every word of a holy book to be undeniably and demonstrably true are probably sharing their lives with people who do. We only have to look across the Atlantic, or to any region where Islam prevails, to see the damage being wrought by religious fundamentalism.
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