By Anshul Gupta:
Do all paths lead to one? Are all faiths true?
I had met a few people – one of them was watching a video of Zakir Naik and the person sitting next to him asked with curiosity, “Is he really propagating terrorism?”
I don’t believe that he is. But when that conversation turned into a debate with the follower of Naik, I was able to see what Naik could plant in them. That tiny seed of bigotry which Naik had planted, became a full-fledged tree with the fruits of hatred, jealousy and eagerness to convert someone into something. If he/she opposes a particular mindset that person will become your enemy. You automatically generate a feeling of hatred towards them. And the worst part is, Naik seems to be a person who is not forcing anyone. He pretends to be a preacher but he is only responsible for planting that seed.
Muhammad said that Allah will be merciful to those who will be merciful to others.
I was born and brought up in Meerut with lots of friends belonging to different communities. I have read verses from the Holy Quran, the Bhagwad Gita, the Holy Bible, Guru Granth Sahib, Tripitaka, etc.
What I found was that those are the books which just teach us how to live our life more efficiently and lead us into greater paths of happiness.
Can’t we pick what is good for humanity and leave out what is not? What is the need of going through every word that could be misleading when there is a good chance that the real meaning will always be hidden and you may interpreting it into something else.
Don’t allow a feeling of bigotry into your hearts. Look around there are many Sikh people distributing free food to every individual. there are many Muslims and many Hindus serving selflessly to humanity.
Follow your religion with pride but generate a respect for others and their religions.