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The terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001 on the symbols of American might i.e. on the 110-storey twin towers in New York City and on the Pentagon in Washington have brought to the fore the concepts of secularism and the separation of church and state.
The people who organized these attacks want to establish the rule of Islam in various countries around the world. The question that comes to mind is this. Which form of government is superior, the secular system of government that exists in India and in the West or the theocratic system of government that exists in countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia?
The secular system of government is based on the idea that the state should be separated from the church. The state should not side with any one religion but should support the institutions and the places of worship of all the religions of its people. This is why in all the major cities in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom you find churches, mosques, temples and gurudwaras.
The web site www.hindutemplehouston.net gives its philosophy on the very first page. It says the following:
We believe that there is only one God named differently by different religions. This God is named and interpreted differently by different religions. Let us give an analogy. Just as water is called "agua" in Spanish, "jala" in Sanskrit, "pani" in Hindi, "aab" in Urdu, God is called "God" by the Christians, "Allah" by the Muslims, "Krishna" or "Rama" by the Hindus. If visitors from different countries were to assemble in a city in the hot summer, some would ask for "pani" some would ask for "aab" and so on. But they would all be asking for the same thing. In the same way when people need God in times of need, Hindus pray to Brahman, or Rama, or Krishna, Christians pray to God through Jesus, and Muslims pray to God whom they call Allah. All are praying to the same one God.
This is very important and powerful concept. If people truly realized the truth of the above mentioned idea, there would be much less hatred, much less conflict than what exists today.
Another point is this. We are not living in the seventh century. We are living in an era when man has accumulated vast amount of knowledge, including spiritual knowledge. The world has become much smaller. There is hardly a country where all people belong to one faith. Thus to establish the rule of Islam in a country just because the majority of people are of Islamic faith would be totally wrong because it would violate the religious and other civil rights of people of other faiths. Similarly to establish the rule of Hinduism in a country would be wrong just because the majority of people belonged to the Hindu faith.
The concept of secularism is as valid as ever. In the modern times, when people migrate from one country to another quickly, secular form of government is the only form that can provide justice to all of its citizens
.The philosophy of web site
www.hindutemplehouston.net also has the following idea:We believe that people who think that their own religion is superior to other religions are either ignorant, or prejudiced, or politically motivated to spread their own religion at the cost of other religions.
We are against extremism of all forms, including religious fanaticism, and political extremism. We are against racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia of all forms.
In some countries such as Saudi Arabia, people of non Islamic faith are denied freedom of religion. They are not allowed to bring their holy books or symbols of their faith into that country. Such books and articles are confiscated right at the airport during customs checking of their personal belongings. This sort of policy breeds ill will towards Islam in the minds of non Islamic people who witness such events.
Hopefully the Saudi government and any other government that follows such policies would quickly consider eliminating such practices. They should allow all people in their country full freedom of religion, just like India, United States, and all the Western countries do.
The philosophy of web site
www.hindutemplehouston.net also has the following idea:We believe in rational thought and reject all ideas that do not pass the test of reason.
This is an important point. Educated people should weigh each idea on its own merit. If an idea does not pass the test of reason, then it should be discarded. An idea should not be accepted just because it is written in some holy book.
This author also holds the view that the democratic form of government that gives the people the right to elect the government through universal suffrage is the best form of government. When people are denied their right to change the government, the government tends to become autocratic and corrupt.
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