La Bible tuera l'Église et l'homme tuera Dieu

(TITLE TRANSLATION: The Bible will kill the Church and mankind will kill God)

I take my title from the lyrics of a wonderful French-Canadian musical called Notre Dame de Paris (Hunback of Notre Dame) inspired by the famous novel by Victor Hugo. In this scene, Frollo (the priest) and Gringoire (the poet), discuss discoveries in science and technology--albeit based on 15th century Florence--such as the printing press and the rumours of round planet! *GASP!* They speculate that the world is about to change forever as all the new technologies will come to destroy the traditions and science will come to destroy faith.

In this day and age --assumed that I speak from a point of privilege as a white, bilingual, middle class (?) female in Canada-- religion has become a taboo. Especially in the French Quebecois society, but still very much all thoughout Canada. Attitudes are increasingly negative towards religion in any way, regardless of which religion. While I understand the concept of "secular" government, I often find myself wondering if I really want a secular government or if I want an inclusive government. The difference being, do I want a government which regulates the state to eliminate religion, or do I want a government that regulates the state but leaves religious practices alone. France's ban on Burqas quickly followed by similar laws in Quebec in public buildings, makes me wonder: do I want the government to tell me how I can or cannot practice my faith? Provided Quebec regulated with concerns for security, which I understand but France's ban of the Hijab also came with the ban of any other visible religious symbols and I have a problem with that! I have a problem with my government telling me that I cannot show my devotion. Just like I would have had a problem if my government told me I could no longer have a pride flag patch on my backpack! Get out of my wardrobe!

Security, in all aspects of life, should trump religious belief (i.e. I cannot kill, beat or otherwise abuse anyone based on my religious beliefs). As my father used to say "your right to swing your fist around ends where another person's nose begins"; my rights should not infringe on anyone else's rights. I've already made my feelings clear about the war on Christmas. Arguments to remove religion from our lives so as to "respect others" frustrate and angers me to no end.

Some might argue that this is in the political sphere. On the personal end, however, religion is not affected... Wrong! I had a chat a while back with my then-15-years-old cousin, who told me how difficult it was for her to find a boy who would understsand her devotion and deeply Catholic values. I was a little shook up by that: I was raised in a good Catholic home but my values as a teenager were far from being deeply Catholic or even devoted in any way. I was dragged to Church and that's why I was there, that's it! I found it touching and beautiful that a yound woman like my cousin would value religion so soon in her life, but saddening that she is part of the minority.

More recently, I started posting about my Hijabs, and my spiritual journey. This has encourage many of my friends to "come out" to me with their own spiritual understanding, many of whom have said "I never tell people that I'm [Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Greek Pagan, etc]." The reasons why so many people have such strong feelings AGAINST religion is because of the actions of the institutions and the people. Let us not forget that religion is not God but people, and, therefore, religion is, like people, failible. The Catholic Church is a prime example of abuses of power "in the name of God". more recently, Muslim extremist are doing the same. These abuses have turned our society into a bitter generation that equates religion with God and are in turn turning away from abuse by turning away from God. I can't say that I don't understand them!

I think that a good look at ourselves as believers or non-believers to see how we can make more pleasant the life's journey of others, is primordial for a just, loving world. Taking the institution out of religion and allowing individuals to chose their own path without judgement, without expectations and with true love is the only way to reconcile ourselves with God.

On Saturday, I officially became a Muslim. Of my friends present, many belief system were represented: Catholicism, Hinduism, Greek Paganism, Atheism, Agnosticism, and Islam! I am ever grateful that people of different faiths or beliefs could come together to wish me luck on my personal journey even though it may differ tremendously from their own.

From what I see, the Church may kill the Bible more than the other way around, and if nothing else, people are the ones who will bring God to life! We just need to start the process, together, regardless of our faiths, towards a just, loving, peaceful world by bringign acceptance of others into our own hearts!

Losin' my religion...

Over the years, I have come to build a relationship with not only God, but also with Catholicism. My mother being as practicing as she was and adamant about learning about Catholicism, I managed to learn a lot have grew close to my religion. However, as a child, I questioned my religion (never my faith) on topics such as homosexuality, the worship of Jesus as a "2nd God", priests' unability to marry and the hierarchy of the church. In my late teenage years, I abandonned religion almost entirely, appalled by those discrepencies between the message of God and the interpretation (or misinterpretation) of the people. However, my faith remained strong in God and His message and while I did not share my faith, I would often pray to myself when no one was looking.

My mother's faith in God has always remained unchanging, infaillible. She prayed the Catholic way and attended Catholic churches. She never missed mass and would join with others to study the Bible or to have prayer nights. For her sake, in my late teens, I would attend mass for Christmas and Easter. It became a symbol of my love for God but almost predominently my love for my mother, and my family: my love of traditions.

Now, here I am, becoming a Muslim in the months to come. My parents are both aware of, accept and support my decision to chose Islam as my faith. To me, chosing Islam was more of a logical next step to my already existing belief in God and Jesus as his prophet. Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) only re-itterated the teachings already instilled in me as part of my Catholic upbringing and clarified some confused ideas corrupted over time by the institution that the Catholic Church has become. However, on explaining to my parents why I chose Islam, my father asked "Can I still buy your Christmas gifts?" I laughed because my father is a self-declared agnostic and doesn't celebrate Christmas for religious reasons. I told him that of course he could buy me Christmas gift and that I would even return the favour. "It's not religious as much as it is tradition" I told him.

My mother asked "...but will you be able to come to Christmas mass with me?" I don't know. I honestly don't know. Would I feel like I am turning my back on Islam if I attended Roman Catholic Christmas mass? I told her that we would see, what my comfort level would be. I could hardly attend mass in a hijab, but would I be able to part from my Muslim identity to be with my mother and celebrate with her our belief in God? She doesn't agree with everything happening in the Catholic Church, she worships Jesus as the son of God, not as God Himself, she believes priests should be able to marry and women should be allowed to become priests, she beleives anyone and everyone should have the right to attend Church, regardless of faith, as long as the sanctity of the Church is not compromised. Yet she attends Church every day and worships the Roman Catholic way.

If her belief in God and his prophets and Jesus supercedes the establishment, the organization that has become the Catholic Church, can't mine? Can't I pray to God wherever I am, to myself without feeling compromised because I am not surrounded by others who share the same faith? Islam is one path to God amongst so many paths to Him. He knows what is in my heart and He understands that I do not walk away from Him because I walk into a Church, a Synagogue or a Prayer hall... just like my faith does not fail because I walk into a bar, the home of a handsome man or a breakfast joint. Where I am has little to do with my faith. So yes, I might join my mother for Christmas mass, I will exchange gifts with her, my father and my friends. I am not losing my religion, I am finding my faith, my unchanging, infalible faith in God!

A Qu'ran on the Highest Shelf

I learned a little while back, the respect Muslims held for their holy book, The Noble Qu'ran. No one would dare putting the Qu'ran on the ground or even under a pile of books. They often position their Qu'ran on the top of their library, some even place them on its on tablet. Now THAT is respect!

My books don't get much respect. After four years of university studies, they basically are gathering dust wherever space can still be found. So when I decided to acquire a Quran, I was warned that it shouldn't just go in one of my piles of books.

This got me thinking about respect for religion and its rules. So many believers, Christians, Muslims, or otherwise, have a "take some, leave some" attitude towards religion, but in their ways of "taking and loosing" make incredibly strange choices. For example, Christians celebrate lent, the fourty days Jesus spent in the desert before Easter. The tradition upheld that one should only eat water and unlevaned bread for fourty days. As Christianity progressed, most started eating other foods, and so it was said that we should not eat meat during lent. Meat started becoming more widely available, and people started eating more. The tradition held that there should be no meat consumption on Fridays, something that was particularly true during lent. Nowadays, lent is barely the fast it used to be: people give up "one thing" for forty days, and much like new years resolutions, they often break their vow within the first few days. That's only one of the way tradition was changed. We have lost tracked of the true meaning of lent which was the deprivation from human desires.

What about the story of Marie-Magdeleine: "he who hath not sinned shall cast the first stone"? This story shows that God alone has the power to judge. Humans are inherently sinful; therefore, should not judge one another.

Similarly, Muslims have five pillars: 1-To believe in only one God and Muhammed as God's prophet, 2-To pray five times daily, 3-To give charity, 4-To go on pilgrimmage, 5-To fast during the month of Ramadan. Number 1 is inherently true for most Muslims, 2 & 5 are the ones you will hear of most often, and to perform 4 gives you a saintly status within the community... but what about 3? What about Charity!? This pillar is too often forgotten or is given very little value.

We need to start looking back at our religion and see the simpler rules and put the rules that benefit our world before those that benifit ourselves. We need to build a better world for others so that we can truly be worthy of God's world and promise. Maybe we need to put others on the highest shelf!

Holier than thou...

I cannot even begin to explain how much I hate when arguments arise about the legitimacy of one religion over another. Let's agree on this: everyone who follows a religion believe that their religion is the "better" religion... otherwise why would they follow it at all?

Most religions follow the same basic principles of doing good rather than bad. Which means, all we are really arguing when arguing about religion is what is our definition of "good" and "bad". That lays in much deeper than belief in the after-life, karma, or reincarnation. Religion is, afterall, a way to dictate a way of living in righteousness and all of them lead to punishment or reward sooner or later, whether in this life or the next.

Now, there are some who don't believe in religion, don't beleive in a higher power, don't believe in an afterlife. THAT'S FINE!!! They still hold basic principles of what is right and what is wrong. Everyone has a moral baseline within themselves and refusing to attribute it to a deity doesn't make that person any more right or wrong. The argument can always be made that many religious leaders have abused of their powers to do what most of us would consider "bad" things, while I'm sure many atheists have lead perfectly righteous lives worthy of reward in many faiths: who cares if they don't need to believe in a reward to aim at doing good!

I am often faced with questions about faith. I have turned to Islam but still keep many of my Christian traditions. Which faith do I like best? Why? There is no answer to give you. I have found a communtiy where I feel accepted, understood, appreciated and I do not ask to be given the name Muslim or Christian, but simply believer. I believe. And if one day I chose no longer to believe in one deity, one God, then I will still be a believer. A believer in righteousness and good deeds.

So next time you want to ask me about my faith, please ask me "what good deeds were you able to accomplish through your faith?" and I will be glad to elaborate. As far as which faith is better? I beleive that having faith is better than none, whether it is faith in God, faith in humanity, faith in goodness, fairness, life; faith has many forms and many targets, but faith definitely should be had.