Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 7
Chapter One Inter-Religious Peace Religious Values Have Become Redundant Examining the overall religious scenario, one cannot fail to notice that in religion there seems to prevail a paradoxical situation today. In general, religion is losing its grip yet simultaneously tightening it in different areas. In some sections of society, in almost all religions, there seems to be a powerful swing back in the direction of dogmas with medieval rigidity and intolerance of opposition. On the moral side, religion is on the retreat; crime is rampant; truth is disappearing fast; equity and the deliverance of justice are on the verge of extinction; social responsibilities to the society are being ignored; and a selfish individualism is gaining strength in its stead even in such countries of the world as would otherwise claim to be religious. These and many other social evils, which are positive signs of a morally decadent society, have become the order of the day. If moral values in any religion form the life and soul of religion itself, then a progressive strangulation of these values can lead us to the inevitable conclusion that while the body of religion is being resurrected, the