(Translated from Bengali into English by Abul Kasem)

During my childhood I noticed an important phenomenon. Whenever someone refused to supply drinking water for whatever reason (he might be busy with some affair), people would say: “Is this person a kafir (infidel, non-Muslim)?”

This means whenever we call someone kafir, openly or secretly, that person (the kafir) is a separate entity, not belonging to humanity. Whoever is unable to supply drinking water is a kafir, this is the custom of our religion (Islam).

Let us ponder on this: a newly born baby with perfect eyes, hands, and legs has no idea about his/her religion. As the baby grows, gradually, he learns that he is a Muslim, or a Hindu or Christian… Today, we note with horror the terror, the anarchism, the destructive arms rivalry to prove the superiority of one nation over the other. Are not these evil designs rooted in the religious apartheid? Is not it true that, we, the humans, with our own devise, has created such faiths that have rendered us blind? Are we ourselves not responsible for such blindness?

Let us read one example from the Koran:

002.221
YUSUFALI: Do not marry unbelieving women (idolaters), until they believe: A slave woman who believes is better than an unbelieving woman, even though she allures you. Nor marry (your girls) to unbelievers until they believe: A man slave who believes is better than an unbeliever, even though he allures you. Unbelievers do (but) beckon you to the Fire. But Allah beckons by His Grace to the Garden (of bliss) and forgiveness, and makes His Signs clear to mankind: That they may celebrate His praise.

This is from the most sacred Book of the Muslims. Needless to say, such verses are present abundantly in the scriptures of the Hindus and the Christians.

This amounts to saying that to spread the religion, any means, such as land invasion, inter-continental rivalry, inter-religious friction…etc. are fully justified. In other words, it is ‘might is right’, just plain imperialism—religious imperialism, to say it bluntly.

Many opportunistic political parties are based on religion. Using religion as the potent weapon, fooling the mass, casting the fear of the dreadful worldly life and enticing the rabble with exquisite afterlife—these opportunistic people are doing a roaring business. Many soldiers, including the Americans, the British soldiers are dying in Iraq just to establish the so-called ‘democratic’ system.

Let me go back to the previous topic. History demonstrates the primary causes of the most vicious wars were religion and racism.