UN body OKs call to curb religious criticism
The U.N.’s top human-rights body approved a proposal by Muslims nations Thursday urging passage of laws around the world to protect religion from criticism.

The proposal put forward by Pakistan on behalf of Islamic countries — with the backing of Belarus and Venezuela — had drawn strong criticism from free-speech campaigners and liberal democracies.

A simple majority of 23 members of the 47-nation Human Rights Council voted in favor of the resolution. Eleven nations, mostly Western, opposed the resolution, and 13 countries abstained.

The resolution urges states to provide “protection against acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of religions and incitement to religious hatred in general.”

A religion is a set of tenets and practices, often centered upon specific supernatural and moral claims about reality, the cosmos, and human nature, and often codified as prayer, ritual, or religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience. The term “religion” refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.

Featured religions and beliefs

Atheism The ideas and views of people who don’t believe in God.
Baha’i One of the youngest of the world’s major religions.
Buddhism A way of living based on the teachings of Siddartha Gautama.
Candomblé A religion based on African beliefs, originating in Brazil.
Christianity The world’s biggest faith, based on the teaching of Jesus Christ.
Hinduism A group of faiths rooted in the religious ideas of India.
Islam Revealed in its final form by the Prophet Muhammad.
Jainism An ancient philosophy and ethical teaching that originated in India.
Jehovah’s Witnesses A Christian-based evangelistic religious movement.
Judaism Based around the Jewish people’s covenant relationship with God.
Mormon The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Paganism Contemporary religions usually based on reverence for nature.
Rastafari A young religion founded in Jamaica in the 1930s.
Santeria Afro-Caribbean syncretic religion originating in Cuba.
Shinto Japanese folk tradition and ritual with no founder or single sacred scripture.
Sikhism The religion founded by Guru Nanak in India in the 15th Century CE.
Taoism An ancient tradition of philosophy and belief rooted in Chinese worldview.
Unitarianism An open-minded and individualistic approach to religion.
Zoroastrianism One of the oldest monotheistic faiths, founded by the prophet Zoroaster.

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Wikipedia
BBC

British Poll: Religion More Harm than Good
More people in Britain think religion causes harm than believe it does good, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today. It shows that an overwhelming majority see religion as a cause of division and tension – greatly outnumbering the smaller majority who also believe that it can be a force for good.

The poll also reveals that non-believers outnumber believers in Britain by almost two to one. It paints a picture of a sceptical nation with massive doubts about the effect religion has on society: 82% of those questioned say they see religion as a cause of division and tension between people. Only 16% disagree. The findings are at odds with attempts by some religious leaders to define the country as one made up of many faith communities.
Religion: loved and hated

I think British’s sceptical attitude towards religion represents the larger picture of developed country in general and Western Europe in particular. And it’s understandable; interestingly it’s not the case in the US. So, if similar survey is conducted in a developing country, say Indonesia, the result will be altogether different.

On grass-root level, some, if not most, people regard religion like a would-be-divorce couple who desperately need a psychologist to sort their problem out. It’s only needed when your mental strength is weakening to the extent that you cannot rely partly or mostly to your own brain. And hence you need a higher Being, whatever it might and could be, to depend and trust upon. This might explain why even the most backward people in the stone era still followed a kind of ’religion’ of their own. Hence, to some agnostic thinkers, religion is like a temporary escape from reality and religious believers are considered to be attaching to ’unscientific’ attitude and mindset.

People in the developed country feel ’powerful’ enough mentally to not rely on other Being, despite there’re some tendencies in the West or to any agnostic people in this matter, who revert to religion in their later life when their strong independent mind evaporate by ages. John Naisbitt in Megatrend 2000 told some interesting facts in which even during the golden era of Soviet Union, many Atheists in the country invite the priests to pray for them in their deathbed.

Religion, Conflict and Violence

The sceptical opinion of the British towards religion could be driven also by the fact that many conflicts currently occurred in our world are emanated from religion or have a religious flavour in it: terrorism, civil wars, inter-religious proselytization, etc. A BA political science student once asked me: why is so many violence and conflict in the name of religion? I gave her a rather cliche answer:

The fact of the matter is it’s not religion that has caused many conflicts along history lane. Religion is quiet symbolized by its quiet holy books. It’s the religious followers, or to be exact the religious leaders or non-religous leaders claiming to be ones, who mix their greedy-lustful ego with religous flavor.

Religion is holy, pure and peaceful. Any religion: be it Islam, Christianity, Judaism, etc. Ironically, it’s because of its purity and holiness that many rogue people feel safely hiding behind it. And that’s exactly what’s happening and prevalent in todays world.

Make no mistake, when I say inter-religious conflict, it’s not only confined to violent physical conflict, it includes also the conflict which comes from blind religous-driven or money-driven ego of particular writers and/or bloggers who spread inter-religous hatred in their writings, elegantly or harshly. To some extent, these people are more dangerous because they drive your mind toward the same feeling or at least inter-religous misunderstanding. Sound people will rubbish such kind of writings or blogs. It’ll lead you nowhere.

A good Muslim will never attack their brothers and sisters of other faiths. Likewise, for a good Christian and Judaism. A good Christian will most likely be a good friend of good Muslim and Judaism and so forth. The main purpose of any religion is to purify your heart from any evil feeling: hatred, domination, and conflict. Any evil acts carried out by any particular religious followers in the form of physical or non-physical violence (like writing a hatred piece) in the name of religion is self-contradictiory in itself

The word “Islam” itself means “Submission to Allah.” The religion of Islam is not named after a person as in the case of “Christianity” which was named after Jesus Christ, “Buddhism” after Gutama Buddha , “Marxism” after Karl Marx, and “Confucianism” after Confucius.

Similarly, Islam is not named after a tribe like “Judaism” after the tribe of Judah and “Hinduism” after the Hindus. The Arabic word “Islam” means the submission or surrender of one’s will to the will of the only true god worthy of worship, “Allah” (known as God “the Father” in Christianity).

The Qur’an states that all Muslims must believe in God, his revelations, his angels, his messengers, and in the “Day of Judgment”.

Five Pillars of Islam

1. The shahadah, which is the basic creed or tenet of Islam: “‘ašhadu ‘al-l? il?ha ill?-ll?hu wa ‘ašhadu ‘anna mu?ammadan ras?lu-ll?h”, or “I testify that there is none worthy of worship except God and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” This testament is a foundation for all other beliefs and practices in Islam. Muslims must repeat the shahadah in prayer, and non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam are required to recite the creed.

2. Salah, or ritual prayer, which must be performed five times a day. Each salah is done facing towards the Kaaba in Mecca. Salah is intended to focus the mind on God, and is seen as a personal communication with him that expresses gratitude and worship. Salah is compulsory but flexibility in the specifics is allowed depending on circumstances. In many Muslim countries, reminders called Adhan (call to prayer) are broadcast publicly from local mosques at the appropriate times. The prayers are recited in the Arabic language, and consist of verses from the Qur’an.

3. Zakat, or alms-giving. This is the practice of giving based on accumulated wealth, and is obligatory for all Muslims who can afford it. The zakat is considered a religious obligation (as opposed to voluntary charity) that the well-off owe to the needy because their wealth is seen as a “trust from God’s bounty”.

3. Sawm, or fasting during the month of Ramadan. Muslims must not eat or drink (among other things) from dawn to dusk during this month, and must be mindful of other sins.

4. Sawm is not obligatory for several groups for whom it would constitute an undue burden. For others, flexibility is allowed depending on circumstances, but missed fasts usually must be made up quickly.

5. The Hajj, which is the pilgrimage during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the city of Mecca. Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it must make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his or her lifetime.

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Footnote:
Islamia.com
Wikipedia.org
ibid