Growing perception is not the truth

THERE is a growing perception that ultimately all religions and faiths are much the same.

There is a series on American TV, Believer, that tries to showcase this idea. I have not watched it, but Azad Essa has, and he seems very upset about it (The Mercury, March 16).

He is angry with presenter Reza Asian, an Iranian-American Muslim. Asian “portrays Hinduism through the prism of a fringe group that numbers no more than 100 people” in the words of Essa.

I believe he has a point there. In the first episode the group, the Aghori, eat human brains, while Asian tucks in as well. This is clearly not mainstream Hinduism, and Essa’s anger, and ire of the US Hindu community who do not feel justly represented by this cannibalistic group, is more than understandable.

Why did Asian do it? “I have been studying religions for 20 years. And now I am going to live them” is how he explains his motivation. As if by partaking in the ceremonies and rituals of religions he will be able not only to do justice to them, but even “live” them. “I just can’t wrap my mind around the notion that there are people who, simply because of their birth or simply because they did something in their previous life, are then condemned to live life as an untouchable”, he says.

That’s an honest admission that I can understand coming from a Muslim and that I concur with as a Christian. Why would that be “condescending”, colonial, or “judgmental”, as Essa labels it? Likewise, I cannot wrap my mind around much of what the Qur’an says. Does that make me an Islamophobe? Or simply a Christian who believes the Bible is true, and not the Qur’an?

Perhaps the best outcome of this debate would be not to make programmes claiming we’re all worshiping the same God irrespective of our religion. There is another very good reason for that: it is simply not true. ROBERT DE NEEF Howick