By Stanley Seshie


When the news broke out that a Ghanaian university student and then a girl joined ISIS, the usual Ghanaian spontaneous responses flooded the media.
In addition, the apologists of the holy books kept telling us that the underlying belief of these wicked groups like ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda are gross misinterpretation to misunderstanding to misrepresentation of the holy book. Since then, some few questions keep knocking my mind as far as the convictions of extremists are concerned with respect to yours in the context of the holy books and its supposedly divine course and message.
1. Can you sacrifice your life; that is, be willing to be killed for a supposedly higher divine course?
2. Did Jesus misinterpreted, misunderstood and misrepresented the holy book he read and was convinced that he must sacrifice his life; meaning be willing to be killed, as a sure sign of showing love and loyalty to a divine course and humanity?
3. Did your multitudes of martyrs misinterpreted, misunderstood and misrepresented the holy books they read and were convinced to willingly sacrifice their lives (for reward in the hereafter) as a sure sign of showing love and loyalty to a supposedly higher divine and humanity?
4. Hmmm, how different is the conviction of today's extremists from that of your founder, leader and martyrs as far as showing love and loyalty to a supposedly divine course and humanity is concerned?

These questions are conspicuously revealing to any unclouded mind that there are teachings that are potential if not practical breeding grounds for extremism from these Mideast twin holy books that, unfortunately, control the mind of as many as you can imagine in the world. Even the teachings of Jesus per the bible equally encourage believers to willingly lay down their lives for their conviction (with the corollary that the divine being will reward them in the hereafter) without a scintilla of entertaining doubt, that, they might probably be wrong. These implicitly dangerous teachings embraced sycophantically are the ideological substratum of martyrdom which spread the Judeo-Islamic-Christian religion in the world. Today it is spreading extremism that is endangering all of us.

Admittedly, in our world today, extremism certainly has a myriad of intricate precipitating factors that ranges from social via to political and religious ideologies. So the claims of Muslims all around the world that ISIS, AL-QEADA, BOKO HARAM are gross misrepresentation of Islam, underlined by subtle misinterpretation of the holy book is "understandable". Yet they refuse to initiate the necessary pragmatic and futuristic steps to avoid the misrepresentation by expunging the traces of teachings that once encouraged martyrdom. This is because, despite the intricacy of the myriad causes, underlying the necessity of the action of extremism is the conviction in the belief that the perpetrator is showing love and loyalty to a group of people as well as to a supposedly higher divine course beyond comprehension by others tagged as outsiders. It is this juicy cocktail of ignorance and brainwashing that evolved into arrogance and certainty of the perpetrators that were once canonized as martyrs. And no religion produces and praises martyrs than the Judeo-Islamic-Christian religion, as the bloody nature of their holy books and evolving history are replete with so many examples.

They are indoctrinated to believe that the HIGHEST MEDIUM of showing love and loyalty to a group or course is by spilling one's own blood or that of others. In fact the typical convinced Christian believed that the highest medium via which Jehovah deity showed love and loyalty to humanity is by spilling the blood of his son or the son willingly laid down his own life. That is the extremist ideological conviction too. That is the terrorist ideological conviction as well. When we see nothing ridiculous and superstitious about such teaching, why won't some people imitate and replicate them? The only difference is that in lieu of doing so via crucifixion, swords as well as arrows and bows which were common then, they now have access to sophisticated means and weapons to carry out same conviction.

It is time we take note of teachings that are ideological breeding grounds for extremism. A fundamental teaching that only ends up driving a wedge of hatred for division than love for unity within the human race in a world already oppressed and suppressed economically and politically. And one clear example of such teaching is sacrificing your life; killing yourself or be willing to be killed, as a sure sign of showing love and loyalty to a group and a supposedly higher divine course.

Let the believers of these holy books who think and believed that the holy books are indeed misinterpreted, misunderstood and misrepresented stop the justification of martyrdom. You cannot continue teaching your people that the highest medium as sure sign of love and loyalty to higher divine course, and always using Jesus Christ, Mohammed and other martyrs as an example and how the Deities were respectively pleased with them is sacrificing one's life; killing oneself or be willing to be killed, and when it is being executed out there today via sophisticated means and weapons, you turn around and tell us it is misinterpretation, misunderstanding and misrepresentation by ISIS, BOKO HARAM and AL-QEADA. Was it same by your leaders and founders and martyrs too?

The belief enshrined in those holy books is clearly the problem. In other words the main issue might not necessarily be the misinterpretation, misunderstanding and misrepresentation but the much protected fundamental belief in spiritual value of the human blood of the sacrificing his/her life and its corollary of hereafter reward in those holy books.

Accordingly, if the belief in showing love and loyalty to a group and a supposedly divine course by sacrificing one's life; meaning killing oneself or be willing to be killed, is not neutralized and made impotent via proper intensive education, humanity has no hope of ending extremism and for that matter its associated dangers in the world. The teachings are clearly in those Judeo-Islamic-Christian holy books like a "ghost" and as such moving some people. You can deny it but denials only shift source of causes. I hope you can see the danger in your belief in those holy books, especially if you are the convinced type willing to practice everything therein.

Email; seshiehanku@gmail.com
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