Religious heads slam Paris attack, say dialogue and greater religious understanding is the answer
Various communities in the city unequivocally slammed the terror attack in Paris. Members of different religious communities stated that non-violent means should be used to resolve issues. They also advised greater tolerance, legal channels, and greater responsibility to ensure that religious sensibilities do not turn into a joke.
"Violence is not allowed in any religion. We still have a letter of Gandhiji that complimented our community for taking over a gurdwara through absolutely non-violent means. At the end of the day, people need to understand that even after violence they will have to come and sit together for a dialogue. And that should be the first thing in case of differences," said Kulwant Singh, vice-president of Shree Guru Singh Sabha, the main Sikh body in the city.
Some members stated that growing intolerance needed to be addressed with greater understanding and dialogue. "There is hardly any inter-religious dialogue. People need to understand religions and sects, freedom of expression, and where to draw a line between healthy criticism, satire and spreading hate and bigotry. In the West, criticising is considered a basic right. But care should be taken because social media has removed geographical boundaries and in a fraction of time there could be a problem. Authorities need to take care of this, and those responding should reply through nectar of love to hatred and make others understand," said Shyamanada Das, priest at ISCKON.
"A wrong as a response to wrong can never make a situation right. There were three wrongs in this. One was making the Prophet's cartoon, the other was people getting angry, and then, this terror attack. All three wrongs need to be condemned and not just the last two," said Maulan Mehmood Dariyabadi.
"We do respect the freedom of press, but there have to be sensibilities to emotions and one cannot pass it off as a joke. But violence is not the answer. We need to find common ground. If people have problems, they need to resort to legal means to resolve issues," said Father Nigel Barrett, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Bombay.
"At the end, people should not sit and judge (punish). God will do that. People write things about our religions too. But greater tolerance is the answer," said Dasturji Khurshed Dastoor, high priest of the Zoroastrian community.
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