‘Islam, on the other hand,’ continued Raja Rao, ‘is supposed to be a concise creed without any scope for ambiguity. It’s as though the faith was fashioned keeping in mind the intellectual limitations of the common man. Maybe, this clarity coupled with the egalitarian concept of its teachings could have led to the conversion of those Indian masses who were either unable to comprehend the precepts of the Hindu dharma or those oppressed by the prejudices of the caste order. But at the same time, this very virtue of definitiveness of Islam precludes any philosophical discourse about life, making it fundamentalist in its precept and practice.’
‘What do you think of Christianity?’ Narasaiah, a Christian convert, asked Raja Rao.
‘To my mind,’ said Raja Rao, ‘going by the progress made by its followers in shedding the dogmatic shackles, it’s the most dynamic of all religions. But its emphasis on sin is intriguing indeed.’
‘All religionists claim their religions preach peace,’ said Sandhya, ‘yet what governs the world is strife.’
‘That’s the paradox of the faiths,’ said Raja Rao in exasperation. ‘While one wails over the death of a co-religionist in a riot, the same person is indifferent to the slaughter of scores from the other community! But will it be a consolation for a woman who lost her man, that a dozen from the other faith were widowed in the same riot? Why, would ever wounds differentiate human bodies on religious lines to heal themselves? What else is religious strife but human stupidity?’
‘Inshah Allah,’ said Aslam, ‘let it subside without further trouble.’
What an irony that modern man, engaged as he is in the pursuit of knowledge, allows himself to be stymied by the dogmas of the Dark Ages, perpetrated as religious tenets.