Religion, the tool
29th May, 2013, 3:28
Areeba Kamal
When a religious scholar asks you not to vote for a party because he thinks it is a Jewish lobby, and the only proof he is able to offer is his own righteousness, you know you live in a society where religion has become a tool.
From extremists up north claiming democracy is unislamic to political leaders issuing decrees as per their will, we are past the time where we felt the need to back religious instructions with concrete proof from the Quran or Ahadith. It angers me that a religion best understood through study of scripture is used as collateral by people who do not reference any ayat or hadith when preaching and imposing their version of Islam. Instead, they leave the bewildered, terrified awaam more confused, passing fatwas left and right without verifying where Islam and their personal opinions diverge.
As for us, the believers, we find it hard to distinguish between Islamic laws and statements made by people that may have no religious base.
We live in a society where women do not understand that they have the right to inherit property or ask for divorce in an unhappy marriage, because our religious leaders may say otherwise. They back it up by calling their opinion the will of Islam.
http://beta.dawn.com/news/1014704/religion-the-tool