From Lajja by Taslima Nasrin; Hard truth to swallow

I won’t criticize this book because it is important that it exists. It opens up about a topic seldom cared for in our western aping culture, and rewards the reader with a disturbing sensation in the bones. Why is that? Because the book is a glaring proof of the horror men have inflicted upon men, all in the name of religion. The book switches from a story about a humble hindu Bangladeshi family to mentions of atrocities against other hindus in Bangladesh, all forming this horrifying tale of the way Bangladesh evolved to what it is today.

“Was is possible to refer to the events of 1990 as riots? And did the word riot mean one community’s ruthless victimisation of another? No, such a phenomenon could not be dismissed as rioting. What had actually happened was that one community had invaded the sanctity and privacy of another community in a cold-blooded, remorseless way. This was nothing short of tyranny and oppression.”

“Let humanity be the other name for religion.”

“Ironically, all religions point towards one goal — peace. Yet it is in the name of religion that there has been so much unrest and lack of peace. So much blood had been shed and so many people have suffered. It is indeed a pity that even at the close of the twentieth century we’ve had to witness such atrocities, all in the name of religion. Flying the flag of religion has always proved the easiest way to crush to nothingness human beings, as well as the spirit of humanity.”

“According to Abdul Kalam Azad, ‘It is one of the greatest frauds on the people to suggest that religious affinity can unite areas which are geographically, economically, linguistically and culturally different.”

“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”