Introduction
From the Maitatsine riots of 1980 to the insurgency of Bokoharam since 2009 till date, religious fanaticism has been a catalyst for bloodshed in Nigeria. Some scholars define religion as a relationship between a man and a mundane being which he considers supreme, where the man worships and pays allegiance to such Supreme Being and believes in its total existence and potency.
Other scholars, however see religion as a system of symbols which create powerful and deeply seated moods in in man to believe in the existence of an almighty being, by formulating conceptions to prove that this is true, and by clothing such conceptions with so much believable facts that they seem uniquely realistic.
Whichever way one chooses to twist his own definition, religious people have one thing in common: superiority complex and the tendency to elevate their religious leaders to the place of a god.
Essentially, religion fanaticism is brainwash. It is a violent and unreasoning enthusiasm. It is an overzealous, uncritical and obsessive devotion to a religion.
A fanatic is someone who is convinced that just believing in God and living a normal life is simply not enough. The fanatic feels compelled to violently demonstrate his faith. The fanatic is brainwashed and follows his religious leader blindly.
Brainwash and fanaticism amongst Christians
In the Christendom, it is very common to see people following “men of God” blindly. As long as the pastor can work miracles and give prophecies, they automatically get followers who turn to their mental slaves.
These people throw away every manner of rational thinking to follow the dictates of their prophets; paying their tithes and “sowing seeds” from their poor pockets to enrich the pockets of the pulpit hustlers who have held them spell bound. The poor people in the church are hoodwinked into paying for the luxurious lifestyle of their Bentley-driving and private jet-flying pastors; and these same poor and brainwashed followers are always the first to scream “touch not my anointed” each time anyone raises an inquisitive eyebrow at the lifestyle of the pastors.
In South Africa, recently, a controversial pastor was reported to have asked his followers to masturbate inside the church, claiming that it was an instruction from the spirit of God to sanitize the church; and they obeyed! This same pastor was sometime reported to have asked his members to chew grasses like animals, and they also obeyed. Despite the backlash from social media and the world around them, worshippers still troop into the man’s church, all because he can perform miracles.
There have been cases of deaths in churches, most notably the collapse of a guest house which belongs to Prophet T. B. Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, in Lagos state Nigeria, which left over one hundred worshippers dead; and most recently, the collapse of a church building in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state, belonging to Bishop Akan Weeks, which also left scores of worshippers dead.
In all of these, the men of God who erected those buildings without proper architectural checks were neither arrested nor charged with man-slaughter via negligence, all because religious leaders are now in a deeply rooted romance with politicians, so much that they themselves have become untouchable; after all, “touch not my anointed”.
Fanaticism and Brainwash in Islam
Amongst Muslims, fanaticism has grown to become the driving force behind Islamic faith. Islam has been the bedrock of brainwash from time immemorial. While Christian fanatics are eagerly running after their miracle-working pastors, the Muslims are more interested in killing perceived unbelievers.
With the fatwa of Osama bin Laden in 1998, radical Islamic jihad has become a thing of increasing international concern, its main aim being to fight the western world and Islamize the world.
Despite the fact that most Muslims reject violence, the extremist Muslims use the texts of the holy Quran to defend their actions.
They insist that their central claim- God’s desire for Islam’s triumph- requires no interpretation, and should be pursued by all true Muslims by dissimulation, civil coercion, terrorism and killing of all who are not “true Muslims”.
This diehard Islamic fanaticism has been a catalyst to several killings in the world, notably, the destruction of the world trade center on September 11, 2001 by Talibans, which left hundreds of people dead, the recent killings in Paris, and so many other attacks carried out by Islamic terror groups such as Al-qaeda, Al-shabab, ISIS, Hezbolah and Hamas, etc.
Back home in Nigeria, Bokoharam insurgency is in the forefront of religious fanaticism. Thousands of Nigerians have lost their lives, several towns and villages have been reduced to desolate places. These terrorists have been brainwashed by the Quran to believe that if one kills an unbeliever, he would be rewarded with seven virgins when he dies and goes to heaven. This singular act of religious brain wash is the reason why suicide bombers readily blow themselves up, killing many others with him, just to get to heaven and get the “multi-virgins reward”.
Conclusion
Religious fanaticism has come to stay. People’s mindset has already been entwined around religion, but for mankind to survive, for lives and properties to be protected, it is necessary for religious people to learn to respect the beliefs of others, and live side by side with them. It is necessary for people to love humanity and realize that it is evil to spill the blood of another because of religion.
Governments at all levels, especially the Nigerian government needs to give a comprehensive reinterpretation of the Nigeria’s secular state, to make all parties see Nigeria as a multi-religious nation where no religion is superior to the other. It needs to make laws that would prohibit aggressive evangelism or extremism of any sort. The press also needs to practice objectivity and not subjectivity in reporting religious conflicts, as sensationalizing headlines can fuel religious conflicts.
References
Over 100 persons die in church hostel collapse in Nigeria