Religion Amongst Blacks - Essay Example

?Religion amongst Blacks By critically analyzing the history of the world at large, it becomes crystal clear that an overwhelming majority of the followers of different religious groups and communities have always exploited the teachings, prescribed by their faith, for their personal benefit, and they still stick to the same policy of taking advantage out of the miseries and problems of others in the sacred name of religion. It is particularly the case with the European Christians and Asian Muslims, which have inflicted various kinds of atrocities and cruelties upon the poor, defenseless and downtrodden Africans during their rule on the African countries on the one hand, and while enslaving and bringing the black people to the Asian and European countries on the other. Thus, the religion, synonymous with peace, tolerance and justice, has been the root cause of polarization, hatred, ethno-racial discrimination and exploitation of the deprived strata at the hands of the powerful ones, because of the malpractices observed and adopted by the followers of different religious beliefs. History is replete with the evidences of the existence of traditionalism in the African continent. Consequently, a large proportion of the population used to worship different gods. The division of deities in Africa had been established on the foundation of the location and region, and the individuals belonging to divergent areas and places worshipped the deity belonging to their own region without denying the truthfulness of the gods worshipped in other areas. Consequently, they indirectly admitted to the fact of existence of multiple deities in the universe. Somehow, when Christianity started being introduced in different parts of the African deserts during first century A.D., a very small proportion of the Africans embraced the new religion that claimed to observe the noble principles including humility, equality, justice, fraternity, compassion and kindness to all and sundry without any discrimination of caste, class, clan, community, ethnicity, race, gender or socioeconomic status. Consequently, St. Perpetua, St. Fecilitas, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Ambrose and several others had to tolerate severe trials inflicted upon them by the pagans, who had been in majority in Africa and had turned strictly against Christianity and left no stone unturned to condemn and punish the individuals reverted to Christianity. Though by dint of the efforts the saints and preachers made and sacrifices they offered during the course of time a considerable proportion converted to the Christian faith eventually. These Christians were orthodox in belief and modest in performing their religious obligations and led a chaste, virtuous and graceful life, as Augustine observes: “Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.” (Volume VIII: Chapter XII) Somehow, the future generations of the Christians applied power to convert the local population, which created harassment among the local community. It is particularly the case with the post medieval era, when the European nations including the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, British, German and French invaded Africa and enslaved the indigenous population. Since the native people really scared the atrocities inflicted upon them by the invaders, a large number of them turned Christian out of sheer apprehensions lest the invaders might attack on their life and honor or enslave them for their personal services, they relinquished their ancestral religion and embraced the faith followed by the American and European invaders. Thus, rapid spread of Christianity in Africa was undoubtedly the outcome of the European scramble for Africa during seventeenth century onward. The European imposed their cultural traits upon the Africans for their personal economic gains instead of making sincere efforts for their socioeconomic, moral and spiritual uplift. “With this mental disposition it was easy for Westerners to convince themselves that their primary duty to God was to spread the gospel among non-European peoples in all parts of the world, whom they called heathens or pagans. But the propagation of the gospel was, in fact, the diffusion of European culture. (Adjei, 2008: 189) Almost the same was the case with the Muslims’ invasion in the continent. Although the Christianity had witnessed imperative popularity in African continent, yet an overwhelming majority of the people living in different African countries was still traditionalist by faith. However, advent of monotheist religious belief of Islam got them oriented with the Oneness of God, where there could not be any possibilities of plurality of the deity altogether. It was not only the turning point in the life of African traditionalists, but also they sought relief and peace by learning the noble principles of Islamic teachings on the basis of the sacred verses of the Holy Qur’an as well as the golden sayings of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). Thus in the beginning, the indigenous population was vehemently fascinated by the noble teachings of the newly arrived Arabian religion. Somehow, the future hypocrites and characterless Muslims started displaying utter abhorrence towards the blacks by considering them as the inferior and penniless racial group having least apparent beauty and physical charms. Consequently, the blacks were sold like cows, buffalos and sheep with the status of slaves, where they were subjugated and maltreated by their Asian masters, and every type of atrocity and injustice inflicted upon them was considered to be ‘just and fair’ in the eyes of society. The opportunist Muslim caliphs of Baghdad intended to subjugate vast areas under their sway. It is therefore they left no stone unturned to misuse the name of religion for their purpose. They sent militants in the guise of preachers in order to preach Islam. Thus, instead of conveying nobility, sacrifice, meekness and chastity, these condemnable militants forced them to surrender from their old ways of worship. The invaders made their women their maids, and got involved into slave trade, which was actually strictly opposite to the true spirit of the Islamic mythology. Thus, the cutting edge of the Muslim opposition consisted of the Arabised militants. They campaigned for the reassertion of the Arabic heritage of Islam and the setting up of political structures according to the written sources of the so called 'pious' Abbasid caliphate of Baghdad. (Sanneh, 1983:231) To conclude, it becomes evident that both Christians and Muslims applied unjust power to convert the indigenous African population towards their respective religions. They attacked on the life and honor of the blacks just to increase the volume of their trade and commerce on the one hand, and for quenching their inferiority complexes by enslaving the Africans on the other. Thus, they obtained access to the poor Africans to get slaves without pay in their service. Hence the Christian strife to civilize and Christianize Africa was mere lip service, and there was nefarious game of vested interests of the purported super powers of that era. (Azevedo, 1993:395) Had they any fear of the wrath of God, they could not have gathered any courage to enslave the defenseless and innocent black men, women, elderly and children in order to use and misuse them for their professional, domestic, military and carnal purposes at large. REFERENCES Adjei, Ako (2008) Imperialism and Spiritual Freedom: An African View The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 50, No. 3, (Nov., 1944) University of Chicago Press Augustine, St. (397) The Confessions. Translated by Outler, Albert C. (2007) Retrieved from http://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confessions.html Azevedo, Mario (1993) Religion in Africa African Studies Sanneh, Lamin (1983) West African Christianity: The Religious Impact C. Hurst & Company Publisher London Read More