The Bible's moral and unscientific teachings. For example, the prohibition of abortion even in cases of rape or serious fetal malformation, the prohibition of condoms even though they can help prevent AIDS and prevent pregnancy in poor countries (it was not until 2010 that Benedict XVI softened on this issue), the condemnation of homosexuality as impure and sinful, the prohibition of stem cell research, the promotion of Creationism in schools to be taught on par with natural science, etc., etc.
If the above-mentioned dogmas still have the potential to seriously affect our daily well-being, then why should we not worry about the poisonous weed “destroy the infidel to glorify God”?
There are extremists in every group and at every time. Every religion has its fanatics or those who exploit the fanaticism of others to commit evil deeds. For example, as has been said, it is obvious that we are seeing the widespread terrorist movement of Muslim fanatics. The history of Christianity has been (and will certainly be) full of similar fanatics. History has shown that extremists have taken power many times. Since the cruel and immoral commandments of the Bible have not been erased or changed, they can still be applied to their crazy ideas and actions from time to time. How can anyone dare to say that such crimes will not happen again in the future?
And this is a remarkable, memorable and disturbing thing.
However, removing or modifying the above commandments in the Bible is extremely difficult. On the purely religious level, the Holy See would never allow it to happen (even if they also recognized the above concerns). That is because the Bible is the unchangeable teachings of the Supreme God and the foundation of their religion. Although the Bible has been modified many times in history, any further modification today would further shake the somewhat declining faith of Christianity (most evident in many European countries).
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As stated above, the policy of the Holy See today is to avoid, if possible, propagating or referring to these dogmas. And the “Christian Apologetics” schools frequently use some of their typical arguments in defending and justifying the shortcomings of the Bible.
These poisonous weed seeds will probably remain in our gardens for a long time. It is our responsibility and duty to continue to take note and remind
We need to remind each other of their presence. They will occasionally sprout when conditions are right. We need to continue to warn everyone around us, especially Christians and leaders, about this problem. We need to be intentional about uprooting them as early and thoroughly as possible. Democracy and freedom of speech allow us to do this in many peaceful and legal ways.
As conscientious gardeners, we need to protect and improve the society we and our families live in. We just have to accept that this is a regular, long-term and often frustrating job.
The issue of concern is the special regulations for Muslim women. They have to comply, whether they like it or not, and the reason can only be explained by the fact that they are women. These regulations are harsh and show the inferior status of Muslim women compared to men. Here are some of the main regulations:
First of all, we must mention the specific regulations in the field of marriage and family: The average age of marriage for Muslim girls is from 12 to 15 years old. Compared to the legal regulations in most other countries, the age of marriage for Muslim girls is too young. According to the laws of most countries, this is the age of adolescence, the age of "not yet full, not yet worried". At that age, women have not fully developed both biologically and cognitively and have to become wives and mothers. Therefore, most of them are entangled in family work when they are young and do not have the conditions to study. According to the concept of parents in Muslim families, girls only need to learn enough to read the Bible, so most women do not go to school and have a very low level of education. Meanwhile, men have many more rights than women.
A man has the right to marry many wives, but a woman can only marry one husband. In terms of criminal law in relationships with the opposite sex, men are not guilty of adultery, adultery only applies to women. When committing adultery, the guilty woman will be punished by being stoned to death. The Quran considers heaven to be a garden of eternal sensual pleasure. In the world, while a man is alive, a woman is a field of pleasure that every man can enter if he wants. Thus, Muslim women are only considered as tools to maintain the species and satisfy men's sexual desires.
In a marital relationship, when family life is not going smoothly, men can divorce their wives at any time, and they even have the right to keep their children. Husbands have the right to beat their wives. The authority of men over women is explained in the Bible as: men have authority over women because God created men to be noble.
than women and because men have to spend their property to support women. A good woman must be obedient to men because men take care of women's spiritual well-being. For women who do not obey, men have the right to abandon them, not let them sleep in the same room and have the right to beat them.
Regarding the right to inherit the parents' property: daughters are only entitled to half the inheritance compared to sons.
On the right to participate in social activities:
As a Muslim, when going to the mosque for Friday prayers, women may not be allowed to enter or must go through a separate door, not the same door as men.
When women testify in court, their testimony is worth only half as much as that of men. When a murder victim is female, if compensation is awarded, her relatives are only paid half as much as that of a male victim.
Regarding clothing: The Quran prescribes a very strict dress code for women. Women must wear completely covered clothes, and must not reveal any part of their body (including their face and hands) to any man other than their husband. Because of this regulation, in public places, it is easy to recognize Muslim women in similar clothing: a loose robe covering from head to toe with a veil. This outfit has many folds, is heavy, and causes a lot of discomfort for the wearer in the summer.
Compared to similar regulations for Muslim women in some other countries outside the region, Muslim women in Southeast Asian countries seem to be luckier because they are not subject to the strict regulations listed below.
For example, to maintain the dress code, some countries openly (or secretly) implemented a barbaric medieval-style punishment of throwing acid in the faces of women who did not wear veils. The Taliban regime also had an army called the Morality Police or the Ministry of Moral Improvement to maintain the dress code for women by beating women anywhere with sticks or whips wrapped in cables if they did not wear the right dress.
In Iran, Muslim women’s rights to divorce are ignored. Men can divorce their wives at any time, simply by repeating the words “I divorce you” three times.
The personal rights of Muslim women in Southeast Asian countries are also more respected than in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, women do not have identity cards when they
When a woman is unmarried, her brief biography is recorded on her father's identity card. When her father dies, that biography is recorded on her brother's or sister's identity card. If she is married, her biography is recorded on her husband's identity card. When her husband dies, it is recorded on her son's identity card. Women's rights in economic activities are also incredibly limited. Women are banned from certain professions that are very popular among women in many countries, such as driving, lawyering, and engineering, and are banned from working as civil servants in state offices.
The above facts show us that in some aspects, Muslim women in Southeast Asia are luckier, and their personal rights are also more respected. Of course, if we only consider the provisions of the Bible. Aspects of social life, including the lives of women outside the Bible, are also regulated by legal provisions and other factors.
In reality, issues related to religion and belief are issues related to tradition and history. Religious regulations, whether normal or harsh, have been deeply rooted for thousands of years, so changing them cannot be easily done overnight and by separate, individual measures.
In addition, the issue of gender equality or in fact, expanding women's power, properly assessing the position and role of women in the family and in society cannot help but affect the rest of the international community, which is men. That cause, more or less, reduces the "prestige", the "power", the so-called power of men over women. Some people consider it and do not even like to mention it because they feel that their interests seem to be reduced. Therefore, the issue of gender equality in reality must be carried out by women themselves. Women must work together to win, maintain and must be recognized and voluntarily implemented by men, and must also be organized and implemented simultaneously in many countries and must be continuously maintained over a long period of time.
A general policy that needs to be taken into account is to have specific measures in exploiting female human resources in Muslim countries. Women are half of the human resources for all human development processes. Mobilizing, exploiting and effectively using this human resource is an indispensable task in all countries and regions in the world. Furthermore, exploiting female human resources in all countries (including ASEAN countries) cannot be separated from natural factors, history, socio-economic status..., including the influence of Muslim traditions and international relations of each country in different stages and periods. Here are some main solutions:
First of all, it is necessary to exploit the Islamic cultural features in economic development in countries. Economic development, strengthening regional integration on the basis of exploiting the common and unique historical and cultural factors of countries.
In recent years, in the trend of regional and global economic integration, cultural, religious and ethnic factors have more and more conditions to clearly demonstrate their diversity and richness. Unity in diversity is the trend and the fundamental, long-term solution in international integration in general and in the development of the ASEAN community in particular. Implementing gender equality in Islamic countries is considered a driving force to exploit human resources for development, which is not outside this general solution. In fact, in some countries, in some business activities, people have also talked about cultural features and Islamic factors.
Second, raising awareness of the role of women for women themselves. Islamic law restricts many rights and is unfair to women. With a history of 14 centuries, the regulations on the status of women have certainly been deeply ingrained in the lifestyle of believers, becoming psychological factors and traditional habits that are not easily faded. From here, we see that the cause of gender equality for Muslim women is not only hindered by the "inviolable" nature, no one has the right to change those regulations, but also by the concept of women themselves about their unchangeable status and patience becoming their natural duty. Success in the struggle for and maintaining gender equality depends on many factors, but the important factor must come from the awareness and needs of women in Muslim countries.
To achieve true gender equality, the revolutionary cause of women in general and Muslim women in particular will certainly face many difficulties and complications. From the failures and successes of women in other countries and their own experiences, they will learn lessons and have more confidence to be determined to win. The correct perception of the position and role of each woman, the solidarity of women in the struggle to win is one of the basic solutions that must be considered first.
Third, increase exchanges between Women's Associations of countries: Create opportunities for women in the region to exchange experiences at international and regional forums in all fields. Organize forums to honor women who are good at business, actively participate in environmental protection activities, participate in activities to help each other solve difficulties in life, have many achievements in scientific research... In which it is necessary to take into account the participation of female Muslim followers.
Fourth, build and strengthen people's legal awareness, bring legal regulations into life on the principle of non-discrimination against gender, ethnicity, and religion.
The above activities will be more effective if information about the positive changes in the lives of Muslim women is widely and continuously disseminated over a long period of time.
The caste system in Hinduism is also a cause for condemnation. Caste discrimination is a serious problem in Indian society. Millions of Dalits (people who are outside the Varna system of Hinduism) are regularly tortured and even killed.
CONCLUDE
The views of religions on human rights are contained in many scriptures, described and reflected in an integrated and interwoven way, not clearly defined according to specific rights like today's international human rights law. Therefore, we study the views of religions and see that in the ideology of freedom there is the value of democracy, in the ideology of respecting the right to life there is the value of the right not to be tortured, in the ideology of equality there is the value of respecting the rights of the disadvantaged, in the ideology of freedom there is the value of freedom of expression, the value of freedom of religion and belief... and it would be difficult to see if we did not consider the ideology of religions as a theory of life.
Beyond comparing, contrasting, and explaining the teachings of religions that are compatible with some human rights according to today's international human rights law; we realize that the most important thing is: religions have ideas and principles. The ideas of religions that are compatible with today's human rights ideas are all derived from and directed towards "human dignity" with humans as the center, taking humans as important, the principles of religions reflect the respect and protection of human rights. The ideas of religions are the high awareness of morality and ethics as the basis for universalizing human rights, for building a culture of human rights, for establishing a society that respects and guarantees human rights.
Therefore, promoting the positive values of religions for the world, where religious beliefs are present everywhere, should be exploited and potentially realized to promote and raise awareness of human rights values in the process of building a culture of human rights.
As one of the elements that have created national culture for thousands of years, religions in the world today still preserve positive values that contribute to building ethical lifestyles for all humanity. The benevolence in the views of religions is one of the origins of humanism, an important basis for respecting and ensuring human rights in history; the ideas of equality and peace of religions are consistent with the integration of all humanity. The positive values in the views of religions are associated with specific actions in social life, such as the hungry being provided with food, the ragged being warmly clothed, the sick being cared for and treated... The views of religions also always attach importance to the balance between humans and nature, with nature and the living environment around humans, encouraging humans to build a life close to nature and landscapes. Therefore, religion not only contributes to preserving traditional cultural values but also has the effect of preserving
A balanced natural environment, then of course the right to live in a clean environment of human beings will be guaranteed. Those factors, when promoted, will be factors promoting the sustainable development of all humanity in the current globalization process. This is even more meaningful in further promoting religious education, a necessary task that should be done regularly, systematically and widely for many subjects in society. The ideology of religions associated with cultural values will see the closeness of human rights values in seeing the similarity between the ideology of their religion and the ideology of human rights; therefore, education to improve understanding of human rights in general, in accepting basic human rights on the basis of respect for human dignity, education from traditional values will go into people's hearts more, avoiding the inherent psychological barrier of not liking to accept by copying or imposing according to external standards and models.
In terms of the legal profession, it is the raising of awareness of human rights and respect for and protection of human rights. Respecting and ensuring human rights, as well as fairness, democracy and freedom are eternal aspirations of human beings. These are based on ethics; without ethics, social justice is more theoretical than practical. The practice of international human rights law shows that, in its own development, the ways of protecting human rights in the world are increasingly developing in the direction of limiting violent and coercive methods; at the same time, more popularizing the encouragement and support of raising the understanding of the parties, raising awareness and ethics of people. That is a more sustainable and humane approach and solution.
Besides, it is necessary to deeply condemn religious views that violate human rights. Because, respecting and ensuring human rights is a measure of social progress.