I, most times, refrain from writing on religions or&nbsp;ideologies. There is a fear that I might hurt someone's sentiments. But amidst the&nbsp;rising conflict, I had to pour out this time.

When I hear about a crime, inhuman atrocities, I react in a similar way irrespective of whether the perpetrators or victims&nbsp;were Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs or Christians.

Whether it's Kathua rape case (8-year-old Muslim girl was gangraped and killed in Jammu and Kashmir) or Mandsaur crime (8-year-old Hindu girl was gangraped in Madhya Pradesh) - the pain I felt was the same, the words I used to express my agony were the same.

Nirbhaya rape case or Bilkis Bano's gangrape, the sense of relief was, again, the same when I heard of culprits being awarded appropriate punishments for the grave atrocities they had committed.

Akhlaq's lynching by cow vigilantes or Ankit Saxena's murder by his Muslim girlfriend's family - the condemnation from my side was indistinguishable.

With the country being clearly divided into the two now - Right Wing&nbsp;and Liberals, it's difficult for us 'neutrals' to speak our mind because we fear being trolled by either faction. (Yes, we exist).

Conflict over religion and ideologies is on the&nbsp;rise. Even Twitter CEO wasn't spared. Some people handed him a placard that said 'Smash Brahminical patriarchy'. Poor Jack Dorsey, who didn't even know what he was holding, was put in legal trouble for an indeliberate hurt he caused.

Same was the case with Air Vistara saga, the airlines decided to honour a war veteran, General G D Bakshi, by posting his inflight picture on Twitter. People opposed to General Bakshi's views&nbsp;trolled the airlines&nbsp;to the extent that Air Vistara had to delete the tweet. 
 
Lest we forget, Surf Excel's Holi advertisement received a lot of backlash even when&nbsp;it promoted Hindu-Muslim harmony.

Let's understand that our ideology&nbsp;may differ but it's not ethical to make the third party suffer. Twitter CEO incident, Surf Excel ad and Air Vistara saga are cases in point.

Moreover, people who were claiming that Buddhist extremists were behind the attacks which killed over 350 people in Sri Lanka, went mum after it was revealed that bombings were planned and executed by ISIS-inspired Muslim radicals.

It's, obviously, okay to follow a specific ideology, this doesn't make us enemies. However, there is a problem when we take extreme positions.

There are extremists in both the factions - Right and Left - which also leads to 'selective outrage'. Crime doesn't have a religion. Hate crime should be condemned as a hate crime by everyone.&nbsp;

Branding each other as 'Bhakts' and 'Urban Naxals', fighting Twitter battles with an intention to score brownie points over the other -&nbsp; shouldn't we all&nbsp;be blamed for inciting hatred?

Let there be opponents and not enemies. Healthy differences and debates are totally fine but extreme views are forcing us to treat&nbsp;everything that goes around with opposing visions. It's so important to remind ourselves that religion doesn't&nbsp;take precedence over humanity. 
 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp;

I, most times, refrain from writing on religions or ideologies. There is a fear that I might hurt someone's sentiments. But amidst the rising conflict, I had to pour out this time.

I, most times, refrain from writing on religions or ideologies. There is a fear that I might hurt someone's sentiments. But amidst the rising conflict, I had to pour out this time. When I hear about a crime, inhuman atrocities, I react in a similar way irrespective of whether the perpetrators or victims were Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs or Christians. Whether it's Kathua rape case (8-year-old Muslim girl was gangraped and killed in Jammu and Kashmir) or Mandsaur crime (8-year-old Hindu girl was gangraped in Madhya Pradesh) - the pain I felt was the same, the words I used to express my agony were the same. Nirbhaya rape case or Bilkis Bano's gangrape, the sense of relief was, again, the same when I heard of culprits being awarded appropriate punishments for the grave atrocities they had committed. Akhlaq's lynching by cow vigilantes or Ankit Saxena's murder by his Muslim girlfriend's family - the condemnation from my side was indistinguishable. With the country being clearly divided into the two now - Right Wing and Liberals, it's difficult for us 'neutrals' to speak our mind because we fear being trolled by either faction. (Yes, we exist). Conflict over religion and ideologies is on the rise. Even Twitter CEO wasn't spared. Some people handed him a placard that said 'Smash Brahminical patriarchy'. Poor Jack Dorsey, who didn't even know what he was holding, was put in legal trouble for an indeliberate hurt he caused. Same was the case with Air Vistara saga, the airlines decided to honour a war veteran, General G D Bakshi, by posting his inflight picture on Twitter. People opposed to General Bakshi's views trolled the airlines to the extent that Air Vistara had to delete the tweet. Lest we forget, Surf Excel's Holi advertisement received a lot of backlash even when it promoted Hindu-Muslim harmony. Let's understand that our ideology may differ but it's not ethical to make the third party suffer. Twitter CEO incident, Surf Excel ad and Air Vistara saga are cases in point. Moreover, people who were claiming that Buddhist extremists were behind the attacks which killed over 350 people in Sri Lanka, went mum after it was revealed that bombings were planned and executed by ISIS-inspired Muslim radicals. It's, obviously, okay to follow a specific ideology, this doesn't make us enemies. However, there is a problem when we take extreme positions. There are extremists in both the factions - Right and Left - which also leads to 'selective outrage'. Crime doesn't have a religion. Hate crime should be condemned as a hate crime by everyone. Branding each other as 'Bhakts' and 'Urban Naxals', fighting Twitter battles with an intention to score brownie points over the other - shouldn't we all be blamed for inciting hatred? Let there be opponents and not enemies. Healthy differences and debates are totally fine but extreme views are forcing us to treat everything that goes around with opposing visions. It's so important to remind ourselves that religion doesn't take precedence over humanity. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

It's okay to be a right winger or a liberal, but worrying when one behaves like an extremist

Myanmar police have arrested five villagers for burning down a mosque last week, an officer said today, as authorities look to contain religious violence in the Buddhist-majority nation. 
 
Anti-Muslim sentiment has fomented across Myanmar in recent years, sporadically erupting into bloodshed and threatening to damage democratic gains in the former junta-run country.&nbsp; 
 
In the past two weeks, Buddhist mobs have ransacked two mosques in separate towns, sending Muslim residents fleeing to other villages for safety. 
 
Myanmar`s state security forces, which are overwhelmingly Buddhist, have faced criticism for slow or incomplete investigations into previous acts of religious violence.&nbsp; 
 
But today they said they had arrested five people linked to the attack on a mosque in northern Kachin State last Friday. 
 
&quot;We have arrested four men and a woman. They (were part of the group) who destroyed the mosque,&quot; Moe Lwin, a police officer from Lone Khin, the affected village, told AFP. 
 
&#39;It is not very easy to take legal action against all people concerned&#39;&nbsp; 
 
The group allegedly joined the armed Buddhist mob that stormed the prayer hall and burned it to the ground last week.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;It is not very easy to take legal action against all the people concerned with this case as there were many people there on that day,&quot; he added.&nbsp; 
 
But no arrests have been made in the central Bago village where another mosque was ransacked last month, according to a local Muslim leader. 
 
&quot;I can see the people who destroyed the mosque walking in front of me every day in the village,&quot; Win Shwe, the mosque`s secretary, told AFP. 
 
Bouts of religious violence have left scores dead&nbsp; 
 
Bouts of religious violence in Myanmar have torn communities apart and left scores dead in recent years, with the worst bloodshed hitting western Rakhine state in 2012.&nbsp; 
 
Rakhine remains almost completely divided on religious grounds, with the one-million-strong Muslim Rohingya facing heavy restrictions on their movement and discrimination from a government that denies them citizenship.&nbsp; 
 
Carving out a solution for the stateless minority, who are reviled by increasingly strident Buddhist nationalists, has posed a steep challenge to the new administration led by Aung San Suu Kyi.&nbsp; 
 
The veteran rights activist has come under fire for failing to take up the group&#39;s plight as she seeks to avoid stoking further unrest over the sensitive issue. 
 
UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said the body was particularly concerned by reports that police were at the mosque on Friday but had failed to take action to prevent it being destroyed. 
 
&quot;We call on the government to investigate both these incidents, as well as the responses by local authorities, in a prompt and thorough manner,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;These acts of mob violence could fuel a further cycle of hostility in the country, and we urge immediate steps be taken to prevent further incidents of religious intolerance.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

In the past two weeks, Buddhist mobs have ransacked two mosques in separate towns

Myanmar police have arrested five villagers for burning down a mosque last week, an officer said today, as authorities look to contain religious violence in the Buddhist-majority nation. Anti-Muslim sentiment has fomented across Myanmar in recent years, sporadically erupting into bloodshed and threatening to damage democratic gains in the former junta-run country. In the past two weeks, Buddhist mobs have ransacked two mosques in separate towns, sending Muslim residents fleeing to other villages for safety. Myanmar`s state security forces, which are overwhelmingly Buddhist, have faced criticism for slow or incomplete investigations into previous acts of religious violence. But today they said they had arrested five people linked to the attack on a mosque in northern Kachin State last Friday. "We have arrested four men and a woman. They (were part of the group) who destroyed the mosque," Moe Lwin, a police officer from Lone Khin, the affected village, told AFP. 'It is not very easy to take legal action against all people concerned' The group allegedly joined the armed Buddhist mob that stormed the prayer hall and burned it to the ground last week. "It is not very easy to take legal action against all the people concerned with this case as there were many people there on that day," he added. But no arrests have been made in the central Bago village where another mosque was ransacked last month, according to a local Muslim leader. "I can see the people who destroyed the mosque walking in front of me every day in the village," Win Shwe, the mosque`s secretary, told AFP. Bouts of religious violence have left scores dead Bouts of religious violence in Myanmar have torn communities apart and left scores dead in recent years, with the worst bloodshed hitting western Rakhine state in 2012. Rakhine remains almost completely divided on religious grounds, with the one-million-strong Muslim Rohingya facing heavy restrictions on their movement and discrimination from a government that denies them citizenship. Carving out a solution for the stateless minority, who are reviled by increasingly strident Buddhist nationalists, has posed a steep challenge to the new administration led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The veteran rights activist has come under fire for failing to take up the group's plight as she seeks to avoid stoking further unrest over the sensitive issue. UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said the body was particularly concerned by reports that police were at the mosque on Friday but had failed to take action to prevent it being destroyed. "We call on the government to investigate both these incidents, as well as the responses by local authorities, in a prompt and thorough manner," he said. "These acts of mob violence could fuel a further cycle of hostility in the country, and we urge immediate steps be taken to prevent further incidents of religious intolerance." (AFP)

Five arrested in Myanmar for burning down mosque

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It's okay to be a right winger or a liberal, but worrying when one behaves like an extremist

Five arrested in Myanmar for burning down mosque