Sunday Oguntola, who was one of the nine specialists that attended a one-week religion reporting workshop by Thomson Reuters Foundation in Central London, United Kingdom, recently, reports on his experience.
Everything within me revolted. It was a visit I shouldn’t be part of. When our trainers, former BBC Correspondent, Corinne Podger and Reuters Religion Editor, Tom Heneghan, hinted that we were to visit some religious centres in London, I welcomed the idea wholeheartedly.
But when they said we were to visit a Mosque and a Jewish Synagogue, my religious bias stepped in. My faith community would interpret the visits as journeys to idolatrous centres. A person of my religious conviction was not supposed to associate openly, at least, with people from those backgrounds.
Yet, that religious intolerance and insensitivity were what we had learnt to discard for days at the training. Nine select journalists from across the globe had been chosen by the prestigious Thomson Reuters Foundation to undergo training on how to use the media to disabuse religious sentiments, bias and discrimination.
It was the inaugural workshop by the organisation on reporting religion. I was fortunate to be the one from Nigeria and one of the three from Africa. Participants came from South Africa, Egypt, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, India, Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan.
At home with Judaism
By the time I stepped into the expansive New North London Synagogue, I had convinced myself I wasn’t violating any religious code. If anything, I was instead helping the world become a better place. The urge to understand Judaism and fire questions at the extremely friendly Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg spurred me on.
Wittenberg, who has been serving as a rabbi for 30 years, explained that Judaism is anchored on love for God, love for community and love for strangers. The Jews, he stated, feel a sense of obligation towards strangers because of historical maltreatments.
The Rabbi went on to explain how the holy book of Judaism, Torah, is read facing the arks with members circling around. He said 98 percent of Jewish services hold in Hebrew, though there are always parallel passages. This, he stated, is because “Hebrew is the central point of Jewish identity.”
It was question time and I eagerly asked what Jews have against Christianity. As a Christian, I have been intrigued that Jews do not revere Jesus Christ, one of their own, but feel more warmth towards Islam. Wittenberg smiled and explained: “Jews have been persecuted more historically by Christians than Muslims.”
That struck me hard. The aversion was based more on historical incidents than current realities. And it was a valid reaction from the extremely persecuted Jewish community. I also wanted to know why Judaism is not strong in sub-Saharan Africa. The Rabbi explained that it was because only a handful of Jews were in North Africa and a part of Southern Africa after the First World War.
The community, he shared, got smaller in the last 20 years because Jews moved more to Europe and America. A handful of them also returned home after the independence of Israel in 1948. I have also wondered why Judaism is not growing much.
Wittenberg had a ready answer: “Jews do not look for converts. It is not a belief that everybody has to be a Jew. Because of historical persecution, it is forbidden for Jews to accept converts. Most of the conversions come from marital relations and even that is never compulsory but voluntary.”
The Rabbi took us round the huge facility that boasts of a training centre and massive worship centre. The environment was friendly and it all felt peaceful. It was just my second stint with Judaism in less than four days. Earlier, The Global Pictures Executive of Thomson Reuters, Soraya Kherfi, had taken us through her journey to Judaism.
Born by an Algerian Muslim father and French Catholic mother, Kherfi converted to Judaism ten years ago after 14 years of struggle. The free-hearted Soraya believes religion doesn’t mean much. “Religion is just part of history; one doesn’t go without the other. To me, religion is an identity linked to traditions. It’s more than praying five or seven times a day.”
She explained that she was fascinated by Jewish obsession for saving lives and communal good. “As a Jew, you can go to any length to save lives,” she stressed. She said the inquisition in Spain when the Queen expelled Jews in 1492 was a major infraction the Jews have against Christians. I left the synagogue convinced that religion is just about personal prejudices shaped by one’s origin and background.
Iftar at East London Mosque
I wasn’t new to being in a Mosque. While growing up, I ‘prayed’ several times in a nearby mosque during Ramadan. Our Muslim neighbours dished out irresistible meals for breaking fast. We were all invited to have a bite and naturally pretended to be fasting the next day to have another fill. We attended mosques to pray afterwards as an obligation.
But nothing prepared me for the cozy atmosphere at the East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre. The Community Cohesion and Special Projects Officer, Juber Hussain, a remarkable, lively young man, made us feel at home. Though only one of us was observing Ramadan, we all shared Iftar.
Naturally, we were more interested in Islam and the challenge of terrorism. Hussain was very forthcoming. Al-Qaeda and ISIS, according to him, are “questionable strategies to build a central authority for Islam.” The lack of central authority, he admitted, has led to misrepresentation and misquotations by preachers. “There is a lot of chaos and many Muslims today are confused.”
I wanted to know how he feels each time a terrorist group beheads or detonates bombs in the name of Islam. “I feel sad and depressed,” he began, frowning. “As an ambassador of Islam, I feel ashamed. A lot of our members call each time they strike that they (terrorists) are not representing us well.”
ISIS and Al-Qaeda fighters, to him, are “inexperienced young men. According to the Prophet, they will appear in each generation. A lot of Muslims don’t know how to express their anger.”
The London Muslim Centre is a classic example that religion is a good weapon if well channeled. You feel a sense of transparency and openness, unlike what obtains in some mosques in Africa.
The visit to West Minister Abbey in Central London was routine to me. The service was familiar and the songs too well sung. For non-Christians, it is unexplainable how some tombs are found within a church. It’s all down to nothing but simple local traditions. Tradition is religion and religion is tradition.
Paying more attention to religion
As good as religion can be, it has been the greatest source of conflicts, violence and war in the world. This is because religion has been sidelined in global affairs for far too long. Heneghan, who has covered religion for over two decades, said: “Religion is the deepest feelings people have about their existence, origin and destination. It is an important aspect of humanity.”
Relying on the Pew Research Centre statistics, the American said over 70 percent of the world’s population professes one religion belief or the other. Despite the huge religious community, Heneghan is worried that global authorities do not pay close attention, allowing fanatics to dictate the pace.
Left uncontrolled and unattended to, religion becomes emotive, divisive, illogical, subjective and manipulative, he lamented. The foremost journalist urged participants to become agents of religious tolerance and eschew extremism in their reports.
The director of Lapido Media Centre for Religious Literacy in World Affairs, Dr Jenny Taylor, lamented that “mainstream media has marginalised religion” despite the fact that Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism account for roughly three-quarter of the world’s population.
According to her: “In terms of motivation and allegiance, religion is what drives people and the world, but we have sadly left out what drives the globe. Religion is the integral worldwide perspective of human beings. There is no other thing worldwide more powerful than religion.”
The former journalist said the media must embrace religion literacy to save the world. “We need religiously sensible and sensitive world. We are doing a lot of damage because we don’t understand people anymore.”
Wittenberg, on his part, said: “The pulpit is more powerful than the modern man wants to admit. It is what determines how people respond to situations among them.”
So, aside from the media, global leaders must also take religion more seriously. It is the only force that has the potential to destroy or save mankind. With more sensitivity and tolerance towards other faith communities, religion can become a tool for global advancement. Terrorism, wars and violence that have become offspring of religious intolerance can give way to mutual respect and understanding.
I never saw it that way. But thanks for Thomson Reuters for changing my religious worldview. No more sentiments or fears towards other religious communities. They are motivated by factors I might not have experienced. If I was born somewhere else to a different parent, I probably would have been in their shoes. It took only few days to come to this realisation. It took only a conference to embrace religion tolerance.
