Religious Leaders and Peace

The purpose of every religion is to create social amity and global unity. Peace is the first job of all religions. Unfortunately some of the religions have become conflict manufacturing zones in the recent past. It is crucial to revive the original purpose of religious and religious leaders. Today's religious leaders are stooping to the lowest level. The consumer creed hasn't spared the highly respected religious leaders. No wonder the fundamentalists are targeting electronic media, MNCs, and external exposure. Caught between the devil and deep sea we are forced to opt for the less harmful. Now it is the turn of public and religious leaders to understand the larger consequences of the violence and hatred on society. Now it is high time for the religious leaders to return to their original path of peace making.

The Times of India writes on 17 November 2009

Even now I can still feel the ambience of a house that had so much love and warmth inside," says Rabbi Abraham Cooper, tears welling his eyes as he passed through each bullet-ridden room, dusty and pocked marked, at Nariman House.

Six Jewish inmates died in the building also known as Chabad Housem, when terrorists held hostage the five-storey building at Colaba for around 45 hours last November. Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which hunts Nazi criminals, revisited 26/11 terror sites like Nariman House, CST and Cama Hospital on Monday and expressed solidarity with the victims.

As head of the largest Jewish human rights organisation in world with around half-million members in USA alone, Cooper has been studying in detail broad trends emerging from terror attacks, be it the London Underground blasts, Madrid terror strikes or serial car bombings in Bali. "The language of the terrorist is the same everywhere, that is to isolate people from each other. But the terrorists don't realise that nations who are hit by terror come closer like never before and today the West listens when India talks about terror attacks."

He says Indian intelligence agencies should look at new digital methods used by terrorists as it has become very tough to trace them in the vast worldwide web. "Our research studies that looked at terror strikes across the world show that terrorists are using the Internet in a big way to not only co-ordinate with their sympathisers and accomplices but to even learn to how to make a bomb," he says.

"The technology to make a bomb in your kitchen is given in detail in many of these sites," he adds. Cooper emphasises that religious leaders should come forward and play a role in fighting the menace."