Based on available accounts, Genghis Khan was a fierce and fearsome warrior, unravelling his might from the expansive lands of Asia to the revered portals of western Europe in the 13th century. Outside of his notorious reputation for impaling people on spikes, Khan had another oft-forgotten focus – religion.
Although Khan was not particularly devout, he bore an open-minded and even enigmatic approach to the broad spectrum of religions. Were he ruling today, his tolerance would manifest in the form of interfaith schools in every town and multidisciplinary religious institutions in all cities. Notably, he would facilitate the exchange of principles among followers of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism to understand their shared commonalities before resuming his territorial conquests at dawn.
The subtle message here hints at the unnecessary involvement of God or gods in our brutal conflicts, an irony given the peace and unity most religions preach. God, in all his divinity, is often used to justify wars, when he has far more pressing universal issues to address.
War seems less challenging when you perceive God to be on your side. Yet the irony is that God, in his omnipresence, is equally on everyone’s side. For instance, during the Spanish conquest of Mexico, the Spanish believed God favoured them, while Huitzilopochtli supported the Ottomans. However, when the Spanish were defeated during Chichimeca war against the Aboriginals, it seemed like divine favour had shifted, providing a dangerous precedent that faith can be unreliable during conflict.
It is hence perilous to intertwine faith with political disputes, as fluctuating allegiances can cause the lines to blur. It would be wiser to keep the corrupt, earthly world of power separate from the celestial, untainted realm of religion.
Though some may not experience it, in the 17th-century, a religious aspect was visualised in a recurring incident that occurred in the north-eastern region of our country, especially overseas. Interactions between Catholics and Protestants were non-existent due to a conflict over the acknowledgement of the celestial presence and the reverence of the Mother Mary. Yet, it was reported that the frequency of mass in western Belfast increased in the latter part of the 70s. This allowed individuals to subtly exit when the priest began admonishing the neighbourhood youth in his sermon, hence sparking violence.
The friction between England and Scotland in the year 1637 was intriguingly due to the words included in the official prayer book, a valuable repository of conflict. Equally worth mentioning are the noble Christian facets of America’s KKK standing against what they viewed as an impurity, the cleansing of society’s unrighteous indifference, in staunch support of the divine command.
When faced with a communal crisis, faith appears to firmly intertwine with politics. If the Irish Catholics had not been on the receiving end of discrimination, the level of their fury would not have been so strong. Meanwhile, the teachings of Sayyid Quitb, which led to a rise in Muslim extremism, were a direct response to the triumphs of conquests that suffocated the Arabian faithful with blatant disrespect and disregard.
There may be wisdom in heeding an age-old adage: ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.’ Perhaps, Genghis Khan was onto something with that logic.