How To Deal With Fundamentalism

After the recent Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, we pray for the healing of the families of the victims. The world is faced with a crucial question once again, how to deal with fundamentalism?

Fundamentalism, whilst not optimum to peace, on one hand isn’t dangerous. It often takes the form of freedom of speech and opinion. There are many fundamentalists who denounce all talk of God and or religion, many that denounce atheists and there are many fundamentalists that denounce all religions asides their own. These are all shadows of potential destructive energy, but it matter to me because it often ends at just words and is the time old classic of ‘my experience is more valid than yours’.

I can see beyond it and it certainly isn’t any reason for hatred. In one way that is how to deal with fundamentalism of sorts, you don’t rise to it.

Whilst both types of fundamentalism I’ve mentioned – materialism and religionism – show intellectual and spiritual immaturity – and often come coupled with intolerance and inconsideration of others – they are harmless to a point.

They do become dangerous when they turn to aggression, hatred, and violence however.

Time and time again in the world we see a destructive energy at work, call it the Devil or whatever you like, but it turns people against other people. And it always does so under the guise of ‘good’ and the doctrine of ‘difference’. The rationale is always the same, ‘we need to criticise you/fight you/eliminate you for the greater good because you are wrong, different, and we are correct.’

Charlie Hebdo thought they were acting for the greater good, and so did their attackers. Now those that use this as an excuse to denounce and attack Islam think they are acting for the greater good too, and so on. That destructive energy begins to feed off itself, with us as people the mere puppets to it’s parasitical nature.

I don’t agree with Charlie Hebdo’s approach from what I have seen, there is freedom of speech and values to protect, but that should be balanced too with a deep consideration of others and our differences. That way freedom of speech is constructive, not destructive. We should all should stand for peace, tolerance, unity, without being hypocritical with our own approach as we do so. However light hearted it may appear to be, intolerance of others is still intolerance.

Of course the victims did not deserve to die for their actions. And those that killed them need to be imprisoned for life. To kill anyone is against what any God would want. God is about construction, life, not destruction and death. The killers would have done far more for their religion, for God, by setting up their own publication preaching the truth of all religions – love, peace and unity and tackling the intolerance of Charlie Hebdo in a peaceful way.

So how to deal with fundamentalism in our day to day lives? Preach the truth and don’t become a fundamentalist yourself. Others are entitled to their own way, to be different. Past all the labels and apparent differences, humanity is one, under one God (or no God for some who have not yet found). We should never mock each other, want to destroy each other based on difference, for when we do we spread hatred, are destroying ourselves, and inviting war upon ourselves.

The actions of a minority never define the whole. The majority of westerners want peaceful co existence, and so do the majority of Muslims. The fringes and extremists who want war should not be listened to.

Beyond it all, beyond all differences, at the heart of all objective truth, all others are the same. We are all part of the creation, the one unified whole, split amongst the many.

We all came from the same creative force, and have it all within us. Our survival relies on the survival of each other, and ensuring the well being of all, no matter what religion, race or nationality.

This is not my opinion, but the factual reality backed by the rules of reality.

We must learn it, see it, experience it, and learn to live together in peaceful consideration of each others differences, or we shall destroy ourselves.