Religion, etc.
Dear Yasmine,
I agree with that assessment of the situation. One time I had a conversation with a Muslim who was attending a Roman Catholic university here in spokane (Gonzaga, in fact, for those of you who might follow college basketball for any reason!). He was taking one of the required religion classes and we began to discuss exactly who it is that is attracted to religous leaders in any historic era and time.
It is usually either those who are physically or emotionally suffering and vulnerable and who are looking for some kind of answer in order to have a better life on some level, either physically or spiritually. This makes it easy to find followers/victims. We discussed Jesus and his role as a "rescuer", but it could have been any religious/political/medical/rock star or any leader type of figure in any time or place. It could have been anyone who promises something better to those who are in any kind of need.
The important thing is to be able to tell the difference between Charles Manson and Joan of Arc.
Regards,
A'isha
|