Compelling people to believe in anything really is pointless. You can’t compel people to believe. At best, you can compel them to obey or toe the line. But belief: that’s all about sincerity, and if you have been compelled it can’t be sincere. We have that too, though you wouldn’t know it from how we sometimes behave.
Let there be no compulsion in religion: truth stands out clear from error: whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things.
Quran 2:256
I don’t see the point of compelling people to wear certain clothes, or not wear certain clothes: two versions of the same extreme. I don’t see the point of forcing people to identify with one particular sect or school of thought: mostly this is simply politics.
In anything you do, you have to do it because you want to, otherwise there’s no moral choice. There are, of course exceptions, as in any society. Where your actions cause harm to others, you should anticipate restrictions of some kind. But those pertain to actions not beliefs.
Belief can only come from within. It’s a choice you have to make. A commitment. It has to come from the heart.
Last modified: 10 October 2022