Wicked men exploit the naivety of children in the name of religion. I am not of the “throw away the key” school of thought, no matter how stupid and foolish the teenage runaways were. A fourteen or fifteen year old is not mature enough to navigate religious bullying and pious propaganda. I feel sorry for young people led astray by suspect eschatology — tales promising eternal damnation, attributed to their prophet — to scare them into taking action a mature mind would shun. Who do I blame? Parents, maulanas, muftis and social media demagogues, themselves immature and insecure, incapable of calling children to a middle way. The tantrums of teenagers dwarfed by the tantrums of grown men and women, playing out in public for all to see. Too much religion and very few faithful ones.
Last modified: 16 July 2020
