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Religion is just a mask some extremists use to justify violence that has many other causes, according to a United Nations human rights expert.
Violence committed in the name of religion does not simply ‘erupt’, but stems from interrelated drivers that provide the fertile ground for hatred, said Heiner Bielefeldt, rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council on preventing violence committed in the name of religion.
It typically originates from geographic, historical, political, social, economic circumstances as well as communal, local, regional and international factors.
“Above all, it is important to overcome fatalistic attitudes,” he warned. Usually, such violence is more likely to be fuelled by an official or State religion or when a religion is used as a medium to define national identity.
One result of such narrow definitions of national identity is that “violence committed in the name of religion disproportionately targets religious dissidents, members of religious minorities or converts… people suspected of undermining national cohesion are also frequent targets of intolerant violence.”
While it would be wrong to focus on religion in isolation when analyzing the problem, it would be equally simplistic to “reduce religious motives to mere ‘excuses’ for violent crimes perpetrated in their name.”
Typical reasons for violence include lack of trust in the rule of law and fair functioning of public institutions, narrow-minded and polarizing interpretations of religious traditions that may bring about fragmentation of society and have far-reaching negative effects on relations among diverse social groups.
Tendencies to violence are worsened by “policies of deliberate exclusion, often in conjunction with narrowly defined national identity politics and other factors; (and) denial and impunity for serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.”
In particular, violence against women and against LGBT persons is often justified and given legitimacy by discriminatory laws based on religious precepts or supported by religious authorities. Examples include criminalization of adultery, homosexuality or cross-dressing.
“Only a full account of the various root causes of the problems can build an awareness of the joint responsibility, which a broad range of actors have in fighting violence committed in the name of religion,” he argued.
Remedies for containing and eliminating such violence will start emerging when all relevant stakeholders act together, including governments, religious communities, interreligious dialogues, civil society and media.