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Maria E. Vizcaino
Professor Massey
ENC1101
8 December 2015
The Influence of Interpretation of Religion in Human Rights Violations in the Middle East
During the 21st Century
When a soldier enters a battlefield not only is he or she willing to give up his or her own
life but is also willing to torture, oppress, and ultimately kill those of his or her kin in order to
defend a cause. Since the beginning of times, especially in the distant and obscure Middle Ages,
religious convictions have been the gasoline that set wars on fire; only something as uncertain as
faith is could ruin kinship among human beings. Fortunately, this generation has a set of
parameters that establish our rights as inhabitants of this world, regardless of race, ethnicity,
gender, or religion; and individuals are all equally protected under international law by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, as the 21st century goes by, many violations
of these rights continue to be inspired by religious beliefs. The United Nations has endlessly
debated the limits of religious freedom. Beyond the different views among people all are human
and, stepping onto someone elses. In a world in which religious commandments encourage
human rights violations, education should make clear to children that humanism and each others
rights are more important than religious practices.
Religion has been the cause to numerous degrading acts of violence, consequently,
secularism is at its highest peak in history; yet, so many people keep on advocating to extremist
religious practices based on sacrifices such as martyrdom. There are many radical groups whose

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beliefs include self-sacrifice but the most popular at the moment is the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria. This extremist religious and militant group recruits people instilling fear by Jihad, the
physical struggle against the enemies of Islam. According to Lu, as of last year ISIS recruits
increased by twenty everyday; most of these being male foreigner fighters lured by the promise
of a paradisiacal afterlife. The story told from a mothers point of view is frankly tragical. A
mentally institutionalized teenager, Damian, found light by reading the Quran and despite the
familys Christian faith, they not only accepted but also welcomed his faith. As he began to carry
a more social and extrovert life some strange behaviors, like picking up the phone outside the
house, arguing about justified killings, and agreeing with polygamy. Soon enough, he moved to
Syria to join an al-Qaeda branch. Christianne Bourdreau, Damians mom claims he once called
her and he told her the plains were flying low, meaning they were about to drop the bombs (Iofe).
In the same scenario is Danish mother Karolina Dam, whose son, Luckas, was ruthlessly
converted into Islam. Shortly after getting an internship at a local garage where most of the
workers were Muslim, he converted. As soon as he turned eighteen he moved to Syria; the
mother worried about the boys whereabouts, found a private Facebook group in which she
describes, Im looking at videos with beheadings, rape, slaughter (qtd. by Iofe). How can a
mother understand the position of her son leaving for a war-torn country to serve a deitys will?
How is it possible to understand that a son would cut ties with a mother, in order to fight a holy
war? Damian and Luckas left their mothers, the human beings that physically brought them into
this world, with whom they have a concrete and palpable tie, to serve a spiritual purpose.
Spiritual purposes are regarded as needed by individuals who want to live a meaningful and
fulfilling life; thus, it is valid to choose a religion or not chose one at all. However, humanistic
kinship, that is, understanding and respecting each others thoughts in spite of these, is the only

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unifying principle of the worlds population given that religion has proved to be erratic to serve
this purpose. Only when people comprehend the absurdity of valuing uncertain beliefs, that
impulse them to dehumanize others, will make humanity destroy itself from within, they will
realize that unification is strength to fight real world problems such as the eradication of
illiteracy and starvation.
Alleged blasphemy or profane talk has been a root of Human Rights violations given that
extremist believers of all religions are indoctrinated to accuse those with different convictions of
disrespecting their beliefs when in reality, they were practicing their right to freedom of
expression by prophesying their own. Last month a Pakistani couple, was locked inside a brickmaking factory, and then murdered for allegedly disrespecting a physical copy of the Quran.
Witnesses of the event stated, the couple was beaten, surrounded by a 1,500 strong crowd and
thrown on top of a brick kiln, (www.thecable.ng.com). The woman was four-months pregnant
and the couple had three other children. This is a massive violation of Article 5, that affirms, No
one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
(www.un.org). In the same manner, the first clause of Article 11 of the UDHR guarantees the
right individuals have to be innocent until proven guilty; therefore, is a direct violation of
international law. As if torture were not enough, the couple was expecting their fourth child,
which makes it a triple homicide; is hard to conceive that gods of all religions would approve of
this. Although blasphemy is considered a crime, the reason this people acted blindly and
immediately is because they were taught their religious duties more rigorously than their human
rights. A solution for this, is instilling humanism over spirituality in education around the globe.
On the same topic, Coptic Christians in the Middle East are in constant fear of those outcomes.
On Nov. 30, two Coptic Christian Egyptians were murdered by militants of the IS. However, the

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terrifying side of the news is the clerical authorities reactions to the event. Father Sulaiman
Botros said, They kept the faith and refused to deny the Lord Jesus Christ. They are our
church's martyrs. We are proud of them. They aren't dead but have been saved by God in
Heaven, (qtd. by Lodge). They are justifying their deaths as sacrifices to God rather than
recognizing that two human lives were lost due to lack of tolerance. This rationale is the biggest
problem with devotion to religion. Father Botros uses the word proud of two people who
unwillingly gave their lives for a religion. If the those in charge of prophesying gods words
realized, that although forgiving is part of the solution, the problem is not really solved until
humans stop ruthlessly assassinating other humans in the name of a god.

Violations of Article 1 due to religion are very common in countries in which there is an
official religion that directly affects the form of government. Despite of the small amount of
theocracies in the modern world, a lot of countries like Argentina and Thailand have a
established state religion, meaning the state endorses a specific religious body. In countries like
Syria, where Islam is the official religion, a tax named Jizya is still imposed over non-muslims.
This is an archaic method of segregation is imposed strictly to discourage other religious
practices; and consequently, violates of Article 1, that states all humans are born free and equal

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(www.un.org). These type of government supported indoctrination impulses acts of
discrimination, such as what happened WHN; Syrian rebels went into a Christian mans shop and
gave him two options, pay $70,000 (Jizya) or be killed along with his family (Chasmar).
Although only a small amount of countries still impose taxes over followers of other religions,
some people continue to disrespect others beliefs; thus, discriminating them. On the same
manner, a well-known victim of Article 1 violations, the Nobel Prize-winning author, Malala
Yousafzai, was attacked for attending school after a Pakistani religious group, the Taliban, made
an edict on banning all girls from schools. She is a Sunni Muslim and an education equality
advocate. In her book, she states, We should all consider each other as human beings, and we
should respect each other (Yousafzai). She makes this remark referring to the concept the
attackers have of other human beigns because they are blinded by their goal. Throughout the
book, Malala makes emphasis in her religious convictions, and as a human rights advocate,
expects the children of the attackers to receive education regardless of their genders.
For many people serving a god is a way to get fulfillment from their actions; when in
fact, everyone is absolutely able to contribute to the greater good through other means that do not
involve extremist interpretations of holy scriptures. Religion has evolved to adapt modern-day
society, Not a single one has withstood all the turbulence and violent struggles throughout
history. That does not mean that Christianity, Islam, Judaism, humanism or any other religion is
necessarily prone to extinction, but it does mean that people of all faiths can afford to and should
take themselves and their faiths less seriously (Harris). This argument is based on the armed
conflict between the Islamic State and Palestine, in which religion has been one of the main
causes of Human Rights violations especially Article 3, the right to life (www.un.org). Therefore,
according to Taylors A Secular Age, there are many ways to conceive meaningful lives in God-

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free ways. Enriching altruistic organizations to fight poverty, studying to be a scientist and
painters in the service of art and knowledge respectively, are good examples in which ones
dreams may be fulfilled.
To conclude, Article 28, guarantees the right to social and international order, which
certainly is not guaranteed for anyone in spite of his or her faith and individuals should try to
work towards peace and tolerance. Furthermore, it is important to acknowledge that spirituality
is more of a need than a desire. Many religious people help those in need, spreading the good
around; and could not conceive the atrocities extremist do In the name of God, because God
is a being of goodness, forgiveness, and most importantly love. As long as religious practices or
rituals do not interfere with the rights of others, meaning, as long as kinship prevails over faith,
they are great way to enrich oneself spiritually. However, everyone is born human before being
introduced to a religion; and one may change faiths throughout life but will never stop being
human; hence, education should be enhanced everywhere in the world to teach children that
guaranteeing these rights is more important than following religious practices that instill hostility
among people.