APROPOS the letter ‘Sectarianism & civil society’ (Oct 18), the menace of sectarianism is getting stronger with each passing day. And although the Council of Islamic Ideology has given a code of conduct in the form of 20 points, it is not going to bring any fruitful results. The same ideas were tried in the past and we all know where we stand today.

As history reveals, the West had its share of trouble dealing with issues before it became what it is today. It dealt efficiently with its clergy and only then it witnessed prosperity. Instead of blindly following the clergy, people in the West studied the Bible themselves and it did not take them long to realise that they were simply being used as pawns to fight their internal battles.

There is a clear lesson for us to learn from history. No religion preaches hate or violence and we should see the error of our ways.

Imran Ali Siyal
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2020