Islamic and Christian radicalization, both
quench from the same fountain. One cannot condemn Islamic extremism and fail to
condemn Christian extremism in this country – they after all drink from the
same fountain. They all seek to impose their religious world view on others because they seek to have their creed become the source-code for public
policy.
True Christian extremists are more subtle
and will often use endearing terms like Kenya is a Christian country, or is a
God fearing country which is a code-word for adoption of their world views. But they still use the most extreme of threats for those who oppose their views particularly on social issues. Never mind their projections have been proved wrong in the past – Remember they
opposed the constitution because it would make Kenya an Islamic state (thanks to the Kadhi’s court)
and that abortion would be on demand and all manner of accusations in their “10reasons why the country should vote No”.
As Rev. Karanja said then, “If Christians
are convinced that there are provisions in the proposed constitution that
undermine their practice of religion; they will stand to be counted for God.”
In the event none of the apocalyptic predictions has come to pass. Islam and
the Moslem continue to feel as marginalized as they were before the passing of
the Kenya Constitution 2010 and in some respects the current struggle with extremists is a consequence of this marginalization.
Christians have continued to exercise undue influence on public policy. Perhaps
the religious leaders need not worry because the Deputy President was on their side
in rejecting the “still referred to as NEW” Constitution. Indeed only recently
at a church in Nakuru, Mr. Ruto is reported as having said that “Kenya is a God Fearing Nation.”He was castigating president Obama for calling for equal treatment for all
people before the law – including gay people.
Of course the constitution says that Kenya
is a secular state and it also provides for freedom of conscience, which should
include freedom to believe or not to believe in any particular religion. This
then goes against Anglican Archbishop - Rev. Wabukala’s, desire to influence public policy on the
basis of his religious views on marriage. In his statement on marriage Mr. Wabukala
seeks to impose his religious views on non-Anglicans and non-Christians, in a
law the he very well admits does not apply to practicing Christians. This is how he puts it:
“It is true that this legislation would not
apply to Christian marriages, but we cannot stay quiet when we see the place of
women in our society being demeaned. God’s pattern is given for us in one
man and one woman, Adam and Eve, before the fall and is reaffirmed in the New
Testament where we see marriage used as a picture of the love of Christ for his
bride, the Church.”
He justifies this clear desire to impose
his creed on non-believers, because his creed says, that it’s the only
legitimate view world and faith view – well all creeds do that. Even Mr
Harrison Mumia, the president of Atheists in Kenya, believes in his “atheist creed.” What if he wanted it to be the law of the land?
I have greater admiration for Mr. Harrison
though, because his group, is actually helping Kenya realize the dream anticipated by the
Kenya Constitution 2010. It is people like him and his group, who are at the margins,
(religious in this case) that are helping protect the rights of those at the center from tactful but
progressive chipping away of their constitutional rights and freedoms.
The constitution says that Kenya is a
secular state – and this needs to be emphasized at every slight opportunity.
What unites us as Kenyans (much to the shock of Mr. Wabukala, Cardinal Njue, Mr.
Karanja of NCCK) is not the Biblical values or those of the Qur’an or the Gita,
but the National values and principles of Governance as outlined in Chapter 2section 10 of our constitution. These
are the values that we should uphold in the public space or as the constitution
says; these are binding in the interpretation of the constitution, in the
enactment of any law or in the making or interpretation of any public policy
decisions.
We must understand that when we make
religion the heartbeat of our public policy, then each church/denomination will seek to
calibrate that heartbeat according to the pulse rate of its own creed.
As a society we must appreciate the
vanguard role played by the people at the margins (boundaries) of our rights
and freedoms. The protections of the rights and freedoms of the people at the center are only as strong or as weak as the ability of the people at the
margins to protect theirs. That is why, it is imperative to empower and
strengthen the people at the margins – they are after all at the front-line of our defenses
and we need to ensure their rights are not taken away by the pervasive
Christian Radicalization of our nation!
