The devil told me I won’t enter paradise
In our modern world, where religious declarations have
become a commodity and fatwas are traded like currency, it is easy for
political Islam clerics to categorize people as if they were mere chess pieces
in an endless game. These men, standing on pulpits, distribute tickets to
heaven and hell as if they were clerks at a registration desk, judging others
based on superficial criteria that barely scratch the surface. Paradise? It is
a reward for the righteous, according to them. Hell? The fate of those who don’t
align with their narrow interpretation of faith.
But here lies the irony: these men, who speak of heaven and
hell as if they have been entrusted with the matter of salvation, fail to see
that the true path to paradise is open to those who embrace their humanity with
sincerity, not by climbing over the backs of the poor. While they chant
“actions are judged by intentions,” their only intention seems to be holding on
to power, clinging to pulpits, and ignoring the fact that sometimes the devil
speaks more truthfully than those who divide people into the “good” and the
“bad,” and determine who will rise to heaven and who will fall into hell.
Yes, the devil told me I won’t enter paradise. And no, this
wasn’t a warning from a mythical being. It was a warning from those who
re-engineer religion to suit their agendas, making people hostage to their
ideologies, using heaven and hell as political tools more than true spiritual
messages.
In a society filled with noise, where truths are buried
under the rubble of delusions, I write from here, from a narrow corner
surrounded by walls, where everyone sees
with their eyes, yet they refuse to perceive. Their problem isn’t that they are
blind; it’s that they have chosen to remain blind to the truth. This voluntary
blindness is far worse. It grants them a false sense of comfort while leaving
the truth bleeding on the side of the road. In these lines, I will talk about
the pain of clarity in a society that flourishes in blindness and about my
ongoing struggle against forces trying to erase the truth and monopolize the
light.
Voluntary Blindness and the Neglected Truth
It is unfair to describe these people as visually impaired,
for they see, move, and distinguish between light and shadow. But the blindness I mean here is blindness
to the truth, and it is the worst form of blindness. It is a choice to turn
away from anything that disturbs you or shakes your conviction, even if that
conviction is built on lies.
Before their eyes, the manifestations of corruption and
injustice unfold, yet they prefer to bow under the weight of naïve
justifications. They convince themselves that what is happening is not their
problem, or that someone else will take care of fixing things. When the truth stands before them,
shouting, they turn their faces away as if it were a terrifying ghost.
This blindness is a
societal disease that has infected people with intellectual lethargy. It offers
them a deceptive psychological comfort while pushing society toward the abyss
of ignorance and regression. And as this blindness flourishes, the voices
daring to speak the truth are targeted and suppressed.
My Real Enemy Is Not What They Say
We have heard enough about the eternal enemy narrative. They
told us that the Jews are our enemies, that Christians are lurking around, that
atheists undermine our faith, and that Muslims who suffer like me are not our
enemies. But I have never seen the Jew who lives at the far end of the earth as
my enemy, nor the Christian who prays in his church as my foe, nor the atheist
who tries to understand the world without relying on doctrines as a threat.
My real enemy is the one who stands on the pulpit every
Friday, delivering sermons on patience and asceticism, but dares not speak
about my stolen rights or the tyranny of the ruler who drains the country’s
resources. He is the man who teaches me
to accept injustice in the name of religion, who turns ignorance into a virtue
that should be praised.
I have realized that our problem is not with imagined
enemies living outside our borders, but with those who spread their destructive
ideas from within, cloaked in the garb of religion. These are not religious
leaders; they are merchants of faith.
The Business of Religion and Ignorance as a Core Product
In a society that worships slogans, religion has become a
profitable business. Those who excel at talking about virtue and asceticism are
the very ones who organize fundraisers and trade in rituals to increase their
influence. They have adorned killing with the phrase “jihad,” made slavery allegiance
to the ruler, and turned ignorance into the foundation for building their
cohesive society.
The worst part of
this business is that it contributes to solidifying ignorance as a societal
value. They don’t just allow ignorance to exist; they strive to make it the
cornerstone of educational institutions and curricula. In this system, children
are not encouraged to think freely or ask questions; instead, they are taught
blind obedience and mindless repetition of what is told to them.
They export this ignorance as their main product to future
generations, making myths their principle and science a threat. They shut every
window through which light could enter because they know that the light of
truth will burn their false trade.
Speaking the Truth from Within, Not from Outside
I still live in this society, and I know very well that my
words here will not be welcomed by many. They will be considered rebellion,
treason, or perhaps even a threat. But I will not flee to the outside world to
speak the truth, nor will I write from a safe exile where their oppressive
hands cannot reach me. I believe that
true struggle begins from within, just as violence and ignorance spread from
within.
We cannot wait for change to come from the outside or from
the heavens. If we want change, we must face the problems directly, illuminate
those dark corners with our thoughts and words. Awareness must spread like an
infection and be more powerful than the darkness that cloaks people’s minds.
I know that this path is not easy. Speaking
the truth requires courage, but it also carries responsibility. If we choose
silence, we become partners in injustice. If we decide to speak, we give
society a chance to heal, even if this path is fraught with danger.
Staying in the Dark Is Not an Option
It is not easy to be among the ones who can see in a society
that prefers blindness. The truth is exhausting, but it gives you a freedom
that ignorance can never offer. I may
not change the world with my words, and I may not convince everyone of what I
see, but I believe that every word carries light, and every idea could make a
difference.
We don’t need
miracles or divine interventions to escape this swamp. What we need is courage
— the courage to see the truth, speak it, and hold on to it no matter the cost.
Staying in the dark is not an option, and remaining silent about injustice is a
betrayal of the soul and society.
In the end, the truth will always remain, even if people
close their eyes to it. It doesn’t need pulpits or slogans; it just needs
people who believe in it, fight for it, and spread it in the face of anyone who
tries to erase it.
Asia Alhammadi is a Yemeni researcher in the natural
sciences and quantum computing technology, a reviewer of scientific manuscripts
in the Department of Quantum Physics and Information Entropy at Springer Nature
Publishing, and an author of many books and articles published on Amazon and
elsewhere.
Credit: TOI
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